My teeth sink around my bottom lip.
“Incredible, I hope.” His knuckles stroke my jaw.
“More than that.” A smile appears on my face, even as my cheeks heat up.
“Don’t be shy.” His thumb brushes my chin. “You’re beautiful, Sloane. You were perfect. Youaretoo perfect for me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. You don’t know who I am.”
He’s right. I don’t. And maybe I’d rather live in denial a little longer.
“You don’t know who I am, either.”
“Maybe.” His voice drops, rougher now. “If I was a different man, you’d be mine already.”
“Right,” I say, even though it stings. “Of course. Someone like me doesn’t belong in your world. I get it.”
“What?” His brows knit, surprise flashing before irritation hardens his mouth. “That’s not what I said.”
“Then what?” I try to slide out of his grasp, not wanting him to see me hurt by his words.
But he doesn’t let me go, caging me in with two fists planted on either side of my head. “My business comes with risks, and you’re too young. There’s also Lev, and he needs a lot of my time.”
A bitter little laugh escapes me. “You think I wouldn’t understand that? Me, of all people?”
He sighs as he pushes off of me. “You have a whole life to live, and I’m the last man who can give you everything you deserve. I would only destroy you.”
“I’m already broken.” The smile that pulls at my mouth is dry and worn. “You have no idea what I’ve been through and what I’ve done to survive. I’m not asking you to be with me, okay? But don’t tell me what I need. Iknowwhat I need.”
I need money. Safety. The kind of safety I feel when I’m with you.
Emotion clogs my throat because he’s right, and I hate that he is.
I don’t know why I’m fighting it when I should be thinking about Milo, about what kind of life I can actually give him. Whatever line of work Kirill is in, it can’t be safe. Milo is my priority, just like Lev is his.
“Maybe I should go.” The words come out quiet, but I can’t help but feel scraped to the bone, like he took what he wanted and now he’s rewriting the moment into nothing.
Except we didn’t even sleep together, so what did he really take? And why does it still feel like this?
“I don’t mean to hurt you.” His knuckle slopes my cheek, making my lashes flutter, and I curse myself for reacting like this when I’m trying to put distance between us.
“You didn’t hurt me.” My chin lifts. “You were honest. This was just…whatever it was.”
His hands close around my face, and he pulls me in until his forehead rests against mine. “This was everything, malyshka. Too much.”
My heart twists. I hate this. All of it. We don’t work, no matter how much we like each other.
He pulls in a long drag of air and backs away, like he has to force his feet to move. “You should get some sleep.”
He’s right, even though I shouldn’t stay here, but the last thing I want is to sleep in my car tonight. I know sleep won’t come anyway. Not with everything we just shared. Still, I have to try, because I can’t show up at the Whitlocks’ ranch tomorrow looking exhausted. Greer definitely won’t hire me then.
“Fine.” A yawn sneaks out.
“I will show you to your room.” His arm circles my back as he guides me out, and that touch alone is enough to make me forget—for half a second—why we’re wrong for each other.
We climb the spiral staircase in silence, my fingertips skimming the railing as we go, my heart still pounding like itcan’t catch up to my body. When we reach the top, he stops at a door to the right and opens it, flicking on a soft lamp inside.
