A man’s voice from the doorway had me jumping back. As I jolted away from Andre, shocked to have been caught red-handed in an intimate position with the boss, I knocked my hand against his arm. The wounded one. He hissed with a wince.
“Oh, shit.” I steadied his arm, my hand on his elbow. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He nodded, looking at me one last time. “I know.” He didn’t knowme, but I wagered that he could connect the dots that I hadn’t intended to make him feel any more pain when I’d been so careful to nurse him last night.
And in that moment, I was struck with how naughty of an adventure it would be if he knew me—all of me.
“Your father’s here,” the guard announced at the door.
“Thanks,” Andre replied, never taking his eyes off me.
I lowered my gaze, trying my hardest not to be disappointed that the moment—whatever it was—was now over. The mood was killed. The privacy we’d fallen under here was shattered. In the back of my mind, a nagging, niggling voice insisted that I couldn’t actually want anything from him. That it would be against the rules to want him to lean close like that again and kiss me.
He set his finger under my chin and tipped it up, prompting me to face him.
Under the heat of his attention zeroing in on me, I accepted that this man, this killer, this stranger who was so obsessed with me, was a side quest I didn’t have time for. He unsettled me, and I had to wage a war with myself to know whether it was a trick. Or real.
Real?
Get a real grip, Sof.
Nothing’s happening here.
With anOrlov? Are you nuts?
I had to be, because when he almost smiled and leaned close to press a chaste kiss on my cheek before striding away, it took conscious effort not to let out a swoony, lovesick sigh.
You know why you’re here.
Furrowing my brow as I watched him exit the room, I bit my lip and dreaded how much more complicated this supposed spying exercise was getting to be.
5
ANDRE
Istrode away from Sofia, feeling her lingering stare on my back. Holding her attention like this coaxed me to smile, and I shook my head slightly.
What are you doing to me?
Why?
What is this nonsense?
Sofia was new. But that wasn’t the only reason I was addicted to being near her. Sure, she’d helped me with my wounds, and yes, she proved to be an unflinching, no-nonsense hard worker.
I’d been around countless gorgeous women in my life and she was no exception there. Something else gnawed at me, teasing me to want to peel back her layers.
That’s it.
It wasn’t mere curiosity or physical attraction. She was an enigma.
I pulled my phone out to text Oleg again. He’d just come to tell me that my father was here, but he couldn’t have gone far.
Andre:Please question Sofia.
His reply came immediately.
Oleg:About?
