Yuri gives me a startled look. “With Mr Balabanov?”
“No.” I mock slap him, then fold my arms so I can’t do it again, just in case one of these days he play-hits me back and I die. “Your bodyguard friends didn’t exactly welcome me with open arms.”
“They said hi.”
“Because you made them.” There’s a strange rumble that I take a moment to identify as laughter. “What’s so funny?”
“They’re employed to disarm, incapacitate, or kill anyone who breeches the perimeter of this property and poses a potential threat to everyone inside. Not killing you is how they show friendship.”
“Guess I should count myself lucky I got assigned the talkative one of the bunch, eh?”
“You should definitely count yourself lucky. Showing up at our gate, covered head to toe in blood was the most perilous thing you’ll ever do in your life. And look”—he waves his hand up and down the length of my small body—“not a scratch.”
“I’m limping.”
“You were limping before you got here.” He stops and knocks on a door that looks like all the other doors we didn’t stop at.
“Just a second,” Baxter calls out, sounding flustered.
I step back, uncertainty winning the battle for current emotional supremacy. A moment later, I’m grateful for the retreat because Meri storms out of the office, cheeks flushed red, and fists clenched.
Her eyes alight on me, and I freeze, thinking she’s about to scream something. Probably deserved. Definitely negative.
But with a lip twist, she’s gone, stamping along the hallway as though she’s spoiling for a fight.
“Can I change my mind?” I ask Yuri but he’s already waving goodbye to me from the corner.
“Come in,” Baxter calls out and I make my feet obey him.
* * *
“Lookslike I’m impressing people all over today,” I say, raising my right eyebrow at Baxter as I walk inside. “Have I upset Meri somehow?”
“Believe me, it’s not you.”
I nod but experience a sudden rush of shyness that has me ducking my head. “I was just going to see Sophia. Nora thought it might be time to start on her lessons again.”
“Did she?” Baxter tips my chin up until I have no option but to meet his gaze. “That sounds like a terrible idea and one that Sophia will fight you on every day until you stop.”
“She doesn’t like lessons?”
“She does not. Very much an experiential learner, I’m afraid.”
Those are certainly all words, but I don’t really understand what they mean. I bite my lip and hum under my breath, not sure what protocol to follow. My last few mornings-after involved getting up to find the previous night’s companion long gone.
Then Baxter pulls me into a hug, and I relax against him, closing my eyes. “I’ve got you another few presents.”
“Hm?” I pull out the skirt of my cashmere dress, still unused to how rich the fabric feels against my skin. “Something other than this?”
My nipples harden at the look in his eye, easily spotted through the thin material. I’d cross my arms to hide the reaction, but he’s still holding me close. “Something to wear and something to do.”
The huskiness in his voice sends a ripple of lust from the hairs on my head all the way down to my toes. I lean towards him, and he holds me again briefly before pulling away and gesturing towards his desk.
The first gift bag holds a jewellery box containing a diamond necklace that I could trade in for a house, maybe even one in a pleasant suburb. The second is a squeeze bulb with a short nozzle. Without instructions attached, I have no idea of what it’s for.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to try something new tonight.”
“Clue a girl in, would you?”
