“Dillon deserves worse now, then.” Millie disappeared from sight, only to return with a suitcase. “I’ll figure out how to program his phone, so his alarm goes off every half hour. Now, wait, that’s not enough. I’ll gut him like your daddy does those deer he hunts—”
“You don’t need to avenge me, Millie,” I said. Though I wanted her to. But if I wouldn’t let Maxim fight my battles, then I wouldn’t let Millie, either. Millie was still raving, so I raised my voice. “I’m good, Millie. After Dillon hurt me, he scared me, and I told Maxim, and now I’m staying here, but I’m not sure it’s the best idea because he’s sexy and kisses like a freaking rockstar, and I don’t want to leave, but he wants me to marry me to save himself from deportation, and I want to help him, too, not just because I’m scared to go back to my apartment…” I panted for breath.
“Well, someone had a lot to say,” Millie said. She dropped her chin on her fisted hands and leaned closer. “Let’s start with the important bits: he kisses like arockstar? I needallthe details.”
I laughed as I shook my head. “Not unless you tell me about Stolly.”
“His name’s Luka,” Millie said, sounding prim. She shrugged, but her expression was dreamy. “He’s a good guy.”
“Bethekisses like a rockstar.”
She frowned. “Of course he does, thanks to all the practice. He has more hands-on experience than most.”
“Stol…Luka’s not that bad, and he seemed into you—”
“For the night.” Millie waved her hand. “I knew what I was getting into with him, and I wanted it. But in a few days, if not a week, he’ll have a new fuck buddy.”
Millie’s lips turned down, and she looked away. She swallowed and the delicate tendons in her throat stood out in stark relief.
“I’m sorry, Millie. I didn’t realize…”
She turned back toward me, her expression fierce but tears sat in her eyes. “There’s nothing to realize. I was a fling—the nerd-girl fantasy he had and now can check off his long, long list. We would never last.” She barked out a harsh laugh, sounding more like a seal than a woman.
“Mil—”
“I’m not going to talk about him anymore. Tell me what you plan to do about Dillon. Since you aren’t going for intense violence, how about changing his locks? Ooh! I know! I heard about these condoms laced with chili powder…”
My cheek and stomach hurt because I laughed so hard. We talked a while longer, but as I’d feared, our lives were diverging. Millie’s was glamorous; she’d been to a trendy restaurant with an internationally-acclaimed chef the night before. Her projects were sophisticated and bored me. I could feel her slipping away, and losing my friend weighed on me as I got ready for the day. Once I tamed my hair in a high ponytail, I peeked out into the hall, feeling like a clumsy version of James Bond.
The house was quiet. As inemptyquiet. That was…good. I wasn’t disappointed. I was relieved.
I tiptoed down the hall and stairs. By the time I wobbled to the kitchen, I was lightheaded from trying to hold my breath and anticipation and hope and so many feelings that I had to exhale in a mighty gush just to inhale fresh oxygen into my greedy lungs.
“That’s quite an entrance,” Maxim said from the other side of the living room, near the door to his bedroom.
I screamed, my hand slamming against my chest to protect my heart as I sank to my butt.
He crossed the room in a few long strides and squatted in front of me.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes.” My face flamed as my ego crawled into a deep hole. This seemed to happen whenever I was around this man. I didn’t enjoy feeling the fool.
“Good.” He rose to his full height, pulling me up with him effortlessly. “Now, that was an over-the-top reaction. Do you typically scream when someone greets you?”
I shook my head, too horrified by my dramatics to respond.
“Good to know it’s just me.”
He was all business. I missed the heavy-lidded eyes burning with passion and the warmth of his embrace.
I’d dreamed of him last night and woken to my sex aching and throbbing. My lack of orgasm was making me twitchy and ridiculous.
“Do you drink coffee? I have a machine that makes all kinds of drinks.”
“Yes, please.”
He kept his hand around my elbow, his warm fingers gently squeezing my biceps. I inched closer to him, already shivering.
