My hands went to my hips. “Katarina–”
She put her hands up. “Call me Kat, or Katya. Or anything besides Katarina.”
“Okay.” I leaned on the counter. “Do you have a preference?”
She shook her head. “No. Just stop calling me Katarina. It makes me feel like I’m in trouble.”
“It’s a pretty name. And until now, you hadn’t corrected me. Your brother calls you Katya, right?”
She nodded. “And most of my friends.”
“Well I’m not your friend. I’m your husband. I’ll figure something out.” I didn’t want to call her the same thing as her brother. And Kat was too… something. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it didn’t feel right, or enough.
“So for now, I’m the nameless woman. You never told me the story of your name.”
“Not much of a story. My pop knew I’d follow in hisfootsteps so he gave me a strong name.” Clenching my jaw, then taking a deep breath and blowing it out, I asked, “Why were you laughing before?”
“Oh. I was talking about a stand mixer. For baking. Not a drink mixer. I’m more of a chilled vodka with a twist girl.”
“But you were drinking martinis?” I only knew because I had to be observant, not because I worried about what she liked to drink.
“Yes, because that’s what father prefers. A lady shouldn’t drink a man’s drink, not before dinner, anyway.”
My feet moved on their own volition toward her. Looking down into her warm brown eyes, I said in a low voice, “I prefer you do what you want.”
The air grew thick between us and her floral scent hit me. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for, but nothing happened. Instead, she just stared back at me. It was strange, having a woman like this in front of me. Usually they were the first to look away and would either slink down, or crawl all over me. She did neither. And I both loved and hated it.
Technically, she was mine to do what I pleased with. But that wasn’t interesting. I could have and do anything I wanted with any of the bunnies, and some women that weren’t even familiar with the club, just because I wore a cut– not even because of my status within the club.
Having a woman be this close to me and not clamoring to suck my dick or promise the best fuck of my life was unfamiliar. It drove me mad that I liked it. I wanted her. But like I told her before, I never forced myself on a woman, and I wasn’t doing it now.
Even though I wasn’t certain she wasn’t some sort of spy, or even an unknowing plant by her father, I knew I had to have her. And it wasn’t going to be tonight. We’d both had long days, I was on edge, she was in a new place surrounded by strangers, and I was still adjusting to having a woman in my space.
“Let’s finish the tour,” I said and backed away.
After grabbing our bags, I led her down the hall, showing her the guest bathroom, the door to the basement, then the two spare rooms before leading her to the master. Everything besides the basement was on the same floor. The spare rooms were pretty bare besides futons, some riding gear, old pictures, and souvenirs from rallies I’d attended over the years.
“Here’s the master,” I said, flipping the light switch and waving her inside.
She stepped inside and looked around. I dropped my bag near the closet, but placed hers on the bed then went to the bathroom and flipped the light on.
“Master bath here, nothing fancy but the water will melt your skin off, so be careful.”
She stopped in the doorway and looked around. She had a better poker face than I did. I wondered what she was thinking but she wouldn’t tell me honestly. Glancing around, my house was tidy and functional, but not even the size of their poolhouse.
Passing her, I did my best not to graze her as I passed through the door, but the long few days were catching up to me. I removed my cut and hung it on the hook by the bedroom door. “Alright, well, you have a good night.”
She popped her head out of the bathroom. “What are youdoing?”
“I’ll be in the basement. Oh,” I said, pulling the new phone from my pocket. “Gotta get rid of your cell. Any important numbers you need, pull them off and add to this one.”
She walked out of the bathroom and to the bed, pulling her phone from her purse. She walked over, her perfectly arched brow cocked high. “I know the ones I need. Do you have a charger for that one?” she asked as she handed me hers and took the new one.
“Top drawer next to the bed has a universal charger that’ll do for now. I’ll be sure to get a regular one for you tomorrow.”
“Do you usually not sleep in your room?” she asked as she opened the screen on the new phone, not looking up.
“Sometimes. Why?”
