“What’s that? Cat got your tongue?”
“No,” she fires back. “I just don’t want to talk to you. How does it feel not getting what you want all the time?”
I seize the moment, stretching out a hand to snatch the hanger and fix it on the metal rod before she can protest. Defiantly, she spins on her heels, coming face to face with my bare chest. The pink on her cheeks turns a deep scarlet and her gaze loses focus for a moment before it scorches my face again.
I lower my head, making sure we’re eye to eye. “That’s where you have a problem, ptichka.” Slowly, with enough suspense to drive anyone insane, I crook a finger under her chin and slightly tilt her head backward. “Somehow, I don’t think you have the slightest idea what Iwant.”
I sense the tension rising between us. It’s thick and suffocating, filling every square inch of the room.
It’s a dense, mutual awareness of the raw, undeniable attraction that we’re both too proud and too terrified to name.
Her breath hitches and her shoulders tighten as she feels the weight of my presence enveloping her. The silence is the only shield between us, like a fragile barrier keeping the floodgates from bursting open.
“Well, whatever it is, trust me when I tell you, I’m going to say no.”
“You sure?” I raise a brow. “What if you want it, too?”
“Want what?” Her eyes crinkle at the corners, widening only for a fraction of a second, like she’s been caught. Then her walls rise back up and she squares her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t.” I chuckle, then tip her head farther back. I drag my eyes to her lips, letting my gaze linger untilshe draws in a sharp breath. “When you’re not stubborn, you’re oblivious. But I know you know, Elena. There’s that nagging voice at the back of your head telling youexactlywhat I want.”
Elena jerks her chin out of my grasp and takes a sharp step backward, like she’s been burned by my touch.
“Okay, I know one thing: you want me to eat, so I’ll go now, to have a cup of water and pancakes or...or something,” she whispers, as if she’s out of breath. “But I need you to move out of the way first.”
I suppress a smile, enjoying how flustered she is. “I’ll consider it.” I lean backward, folding my arms across my chest. “Why a cup of water?”
“Cold water,” she murmurs, then looks away and fans her neck. “I’m hot and thirsty. That’s why I need to go get it now, if you would grant me passage, your highness.”
A sizzle ignites in my chest, then travels straight to my groin. “Look who’s cracking jokes now. Say please.”
She flashes a smile that barely lights up her eyes. “Please.”
My obsession grows by the second, twisting into something deeply dangerous.
This is no longer just about possession or curiosity.
It’s a mix of both. I want to understand the brilliant, stubborn gears of her mind; I want to completely control her world so nothing can ever harm her; I just want to be near her, to feel her heartbeat matching mine in the dark.
I angle my head to the side again, intently watching her mouth when I say, “Say it again, slower, and say my name.”
She steps forward, holding my gaze with a soft confidence when she smiles, brighter this time. “I need to go get a cup of water to quench my thirst. Will youpleasemove out of the way, Leo?”
I clench my jaw, immediately thinking of many other ways we could quench her thirst.
We stand there in the quiet of the bedroom, and as I stare down at the woman who’s supposed to be a stranger in my heart and my home, the truth finally forces its way into the light.
I’m falling for her.
The realization is a crack in my armor. I know it will bring nothing but further conflict outside these walls and within my own chest.
But as I look at the soft curve of her jaw, I know I’m already too far gone to care about the heat of the fire.
Chapter Fourteen
Elena
I’m not sure how many times I’ve repeated this in my head, but for emphasis, I repeat it again, hoping it might change something: my life is a mess.
