“I don’t give a shit about sleeping next to you. Or in the same room. You don’t make me feel anything but disgust.” My heart is racing as I say the lie. The flicker of amusement over his face tells me he isn’t buying it.
Frustrated, I need to put space between us, so I storm into the bathroom and slam the door behind myself, turning on the shower and sitting on the edge of the bath with my head in my hands, trying to even out my breathing and calm my pulse rate.
“Fuck,” I mutter to myself. This is so bad. Everything he does turns me on, and now he wants me to share a bed with him.
I can’t stay here. Guards or no guards, when he’s not looking, I’m making a break for it.
That night, after dinner, Yulian excuses himself to go shower while I’m sitting in the living room watching a series that I wasn’t really paying attention to.
I’ve been watching the guards, counting the time between each patrol passing the window. It’s a long shot, but I’m going to take it.
I wait a few minutes after Yulian leaves. Then a few more just to be sure.
The sliding door key is in the lock. I turn it, and it opens silently. A cool breeze brushes over my skin and sprinkles goosebumps over my arms.
With one deep breath, I slip through the door into the darkness outside. There are small patches of light, lit by the garden lamps, spread through the bushes and trees. I avoid those as I dart towards the gate in the distance, keeping low, trying to stay hidden.
But I don’t get far at all.
The guard is so polite when he catches me, it almost makes me laugh.
“I’m sorry, miss, but I don’t believe you are allowed to escape,” he says, his hand resting on the gun, still strapped into his belt.
“I guess I’m not, no. But I mean, there was no harm in trying, right?” I huff.
“Of course not, good try. But please let me escort you back inside the mansion. It’s going to be cold tonight, and I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable in there than hiding in a bush out here.”
I giggle and shake my head. “Thanks, I know my way back,” I sigh.
“The whole garden has motion detectors. You can’t take two steps out here without triggering one of them,” he smiles. “Just letting you know. You’re wasting your time. Unless you enjoyed our chat and wanted to try again tomorrow?”
“Who knows. Maybe I will,” I smirk at him. “Um, we don’t have to tell Yulian about this…do we?” I try, smiling as sweetly as I can.
“Sleep well, Miss Katerina,” he grins, standing firm and watching me as I head back into the mansion.
Giving in to the inevitable, I head upstairs to the bedroom. I didn’t sleep at all last night. I’m exhausted. Clearly, I’m not escaping tonight, and I refuse to let Yulian get the better of me.
He’s still in the shower, so I grab some sweatpants from my side of the closet and get changed quickly, keeping an eye on the door in case he comes in. But I’m already tucked in bed with my back turned to his side when he comes out of the bathroom. I try to control my breathing so that I look like I’m already asleep.
The aroma of his body wash and hot steam quickly fills the bedroom. A fresh shower. His masculine scent. My body begins to hum with desire.
Nope. Nope, we are not doing that, I lecture myself, squeezing my eyes shut, waiting to feel the bed move when he climbs into it. I doubt I’m going to get any sleep tonight, either. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right—I am so freaking turned on by him I can’t focus.
But he doesn’t climb into the bed. Instead, I hear a grunt as he flops down onto the massive sofa in the corner of the room. I prop myself up on my elbow and squint at him.
He’s pulling a blanket over himself and getting comfortable on the sofa.
Wow.
That’s a lot more respectful than I expected.
I flop back down onto my pillow. Why does it annoy me more that he’s sleeping there? Like, I don’t want to view him as a decent guy. Or is it that I wanted him to sleep next to me?
Dammit, Katerina, your head is a mess.
I thought I’d sleep better with him further away from me, but I was wrong. I’m still so aware of him. I can still hear his breathing and smell him. I can’t relax.
It’s late in the night, or very early in the morning, when I do finally drift off to sleep.
