A sudden knock at the door makes me sit up so fast it jolts Clover. She scrambles upright with her ears back, looking around like she’s ready to run for cover.
“My bad, sorry,” I mutter and pet her, trying to calm her down.
Who the hell would be at my apartment right now? Nobody knows where I live except Camilla.
Another knock comes, louder this time. My throat goes dry because the last time someone knocked unexpectedly, it was two cops arresting me.
“Kelly?” That heavy Russian accent.
What the fuck.
What is he even doing here? My hand shakes as I slide the bolt and pull the door open. Alexei fills the doorframe, and my brain short-circuits.
He’s wearing leather boots, black jeans, white shirt stretched tight across his chest, and a black leather jacket. His hair is perfect and slightly damp. The stubble’s longer than the last time I saw him. Every detail punches me in the gut and reminds me how out of my league he is.
He lifts an eyebrow. “Can I come in?”
I scratch at my head and nod, stepping aside so he can pass. My brain still can’t wrap around why he’s here at my apartment. We’re not friends, we don’t even really know each other. The only reason I know his name is because he broke into my clinic, held me at gunpoint, and then basically kidnapped me from a club. And a part of me is still drawn to him. I’m definitely losing it.
He steps inside, and I shut the door behind him. As he moves about into the living room, I take in the mess scattered across the floor.
Boxes half-open, stuff everywhere from when Camilla and I started sorting through things the other day. We ended up going out instead, and I never finished cleaning up. Now it just looks like I live in complete chaos. My stomach twists. This is so embarrassing.
“What are you doing here? How did you even know which apartment is mine or what floor I live on?”
He stops moving and looks over at me, and something’s definitely off. I can feel it radiating from him like heat. There’s an edge to his posture, anger maybe, or irritation, like something happened before he came here.
He opens his mouth like he’s about to answer, but a rustle sounds from my bedroom. His head snaps toward the sound, and before I can explain, he’s already moving down the hall toward my room.
Okay, sure, help yourself to a tour of my apartment …
I almost slam into his back when he stops in the doorway. Clover’s rolling onto her side, scratching at her fur with her back leg.
“Is that a rabbit?” His thick accent almost makes me laugh despite everything. I bite my cheek to keep it in.
“Yeah. I adopted her a few days ago. Her name’s Clover.”
He looks back at me, standing close enough now that I can smell his cologne. There’s something that almost looks like concern across his face. I can’t read the expression properly, but I wonder what the hell happened to bring him to my door tonight.
“Alexei, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to text me, not just drop by. And you can’t just walk into someone’s home uninvited.”
He licks his lips. “I don’t know why I’m here.” He drags a hand over his damp hair, then looks at me; I can’t decipher his expression.
“Is something wrong?”
He shakes his head once, but the tension in his shoulders says otherwise.
“Okay, then why are you here? Really? Why did you want to see me? We’re not friends.”
Clover makes another rustling sound, and his head whips toward her.
“Do you want to hold her?”
He shakes his head. “Nyet. I don’t want to accidentally hurt her.”
What does that mean?
“If you sit on the bed, I can give her to you. She’s not fragile, and you won’t hurt her.”
