He must have come at the sound of commotion, but Andre snapped out of his obsessive need to look me over for any injuries.
“No, Oleg,” he told him. “Have Damon handle this. You’re supposed to be resting after the injuries from last night.”
Oleg grunted. “Ain’t you supposed to be resting too?”
I swallowed again, unnerved by the steady intensity of Andre watching me with so much concern. As if it broke something deep in his soul tothinkthat I was targeted and assaulted. Him. This rival of my uncle. This dangerous killer. This… strong man who was supposed to be my fake boss.
A stranger to me.
“Yes,” I answered. “He should be taking it easy,” I replied to Oleg. “Nice and slow.” I furrowed my brow and set my hand on Andre’s arm, worried. “That wasnotnice and slow, Mr. Orlov,” I scolded gently.
He grunted and spared a glance at Oleg as he approached the guard on the floor. Without a word, he guided me out of the room.
Being near him confused me. I was here to spy on him and get out. Yet each time he sought me out and pestered me with questions about anything and everything, I was sucked into wondering how else it could be between us.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he steered me down the hall.
“Me?” I shot him an incredulous look. “You just beat him when you’re still recovering. You’re not supposed to exert yourself if you want those wounds to heal?—”
He shook his head. “Sofia.”
“Mr. Orlov.”
Pulling me into his room, he closed the door and urged me to lean back against it. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” I wasn’t doinganything. I sure as hell wasn’t doing what I was supposed to accomplish here. I hadn’t gone into his office at all. No spying or snooping or copying anything was going on.
“Don’t call me that.”
I frowned.
His dark-blue gaze pierced me as he lifted his hand to cup my cheek. “Being so formal with me isn’t going to stop this.” Advancing toward me, he lowered his gaze to my lips. “Calling me by that name won’t discourage this need to be near you.”
I licked my lips, unsure how to handle the seriousness of his interest. Or how he watched my face like he was memorizing every line and feature to dream about it later. I furrowed my brow.
“And giving me that look wouldn’t stop me from worrying about whether that asshole hurt you.” He stroked his fingers over my cheek, a physical cue to relax my face.
“It’s not your concern if he hurt me.”
He growled, leaning in closer. “Itis, Sofia.”
I shook my head, but with his hand on my cheek, I couldn’t really pull off the gesture. “You are my concern. Whether you want to be or not, you are.”
“I’m just a maid,” I protested. I wasn’t supposed to be anything to him. I wasn’t even supposed to have ever met him!
“Not after last night.” Piercing me with his blue stare, he kept me pinned in place and wanting more of his body heat to surround me. “Not after you showed your concern forme.”
“Oh.” I huffed, straightening my shoulders, as if jerking out of the moment. “That explains it. You’re trying to pay me back. I helped you last night and you helped me just now. Okay. That evens the score.” I tried to dodge him, but he didn’t budge.
“There’s no tally between us.”
“There’snothingbetween us,” I argued frantically.
This desire that snaked through me was bullshit. Attraction was the last thing I needed to allow when I was here to spy for my uncle.
“Liar,” he taunted gently as he stroked his thumb over my cheek. It came close to where my uncle had backhanded me recently, where a bruise had almost completely faded. I didn’t flinch, but he reacted. His eyes darkened with anger. More worry had him tense.
“What have you gone through to be this tough?” he asked quietly, as if marveling at my presence. He searched my face. “Where have you come from to show up and make me…” He shook his head.
