And once I find out, there’ll be hell to pay if they’ve touched a hair on her head.
But first things first. Let’s get her alone and peel back some layers. And not just the ones she’s wearing.
“Drop me at the service entrance,” I demand, my arms tightening around her body possessively. As if she’ll suddenly disappear.
Maksim shoots me an incredulous look. “You sure about this…?”
I meet his stare dead on, my tone brooking no argument. “Ya v etom pizdets kak uveren.”
I’m so fucking sure that it hurts. And if she’s as dangerous as I suspect…
I glance back down at Red, a predatory gleam in my eye.
Well, that just makes the game more fun, doesn’t it, kitten?
ten
Clara
My head is killing me, like I’ve been whacked with a crowbar and chased it with a bottle of cheap vodka.
Wait… I was drugged, wasn’t I?
Hazy memories flash through my mind—the club, the mark, that creep Ashton looming over me, then a dark figure in a mask…
I reach instinctively for my gun, but my fingers meet only the flimsy fabric of this ridiculous red dress.
Fuck.
Blinking hard, I try to bring my surroundings into focus. Plush black sheets, heavy crimson curtains, thick dark carpeting. Definitely not the club. Strains of classical music reach my ears, clashing bizarrely with the pounding in my skull.
I start to push myself up but freeze when I spothim.
A large silhouette by the bar, pouring himself a drink. Broad shoulders strain against a half-buttoned black shirt, the gape revealing an expanse of ink-covered skin. Powerful thighs showcased by fitted gray slacks.
A jolt of recognition hits me.
It’s him.
Our eyes had locked for a heated moment before he melted back into the shadows.
He looks even more imposing up close, I think, pulse picking up. The mask obscures half his face, but I can feel the intensity of his gaze from here. He moves with the coiled grace of a born predator.
Suck balls!
I reach up to touch my own face, relieved to find my mask still firmly in place. The last thing I need is for this dangerous stranger to recognize me.
Play it cool, Clara. Assess the situation.
Keeping my movements casual, I swing my legs over the side of the bed, bare feet sinking into the plush rug.
“Well, well. Sleeping Beauty awakes.” He turns to face me fully, a glass dangling casually from one big hand.
He crosses the room with a predator’s lazy grace, looming over me. Up close, the sheer size of him makes my pulse kick.
He could snap me like a twig… but strangely, I’m not afraid.
I look up at the man; he seems to take up the entire room. The spicy, masculine scent of him tickles my nostrils. I have the sudden, bizarre urge to bury my nose in the crook of his throat.
