Page 28 of The Pakhan's Secret Baby

I can't bring him home to Batya, and I can't let Batya's employers know this man has anything to do with me.

It'd only make things worse.

"Emory," Rashid whispers, reaching up to cradle my cheek. I turn to look him full in the eyes. "Please, don't break my heart. Let me take you to dinner."

My hands tremble around the velvet box as I chew my lower lip.

Either he's very sincere or he's very good at plucking my heart strings.

I don't want to hurt him; I just want safety.

And I want love and intimacy as much as any woman, but I'm not sure I’m willing to sell my soul to the devil to get a shred of it.

The dream isn't worth the risk, and what if this is some sort of trap?

"I just..." I don't know how to protest this when part of me feels so whole and hopeful just looking into his eyes.

How do you turn away from something you've always wanted but you've never had?

Of course it's not the package I hoped for.

I dream of a man my age sweeping me off my feet, but let's be honest—men my age are tools.

"Shh," he whispers, leaning in close.

The door handle is right there. I could open it and slip out, but morbid curiosity makes me linger, waiting for the instant his lips brush mine.

I want to see if the spark is still there when I’m sober, and older, and wiser.

When I'm not hiding from responsibility and wearing a skimpy dress to draw attention.

His lips seal over mine and the electricity sizzles between us.

I kiss him back just as gently, as he kisses me and I remember every touch of his hands, every sensation of pleasure in my body and the way he made me feel.

I can almost taste the whiskey on his breath and see the vibrant colors of that Sokolov painting hanging across the room.

But I can't do this. Lex is waiting.

I press a hand to his chest, attempting to pause this for the moment, but Rashid takes it, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to my palm, then my wrist. "I've dreamed of this moment a thousand times,milaya." He kisses me more, my palm, my fingertips. Then says, "Stay with me. Let me have you."

He tugs at the coat sleeve until it's coming loose and I'm shrugging out of it, a prisoner to my own lust, now swelling in my chest impatiently.

What could it hurt?

I've slept with him before, and I'm just a block from Lex now. And my body is on fire, suddenly desperate to feel something.

"I shouldn't," I protest, but Rashid swallows it as he claims my lips in another searing kiss.

His mouth devours mine with a hunger that steals my breath, tongue sliding deep to taste every hesitant moan I try to hold back.

The velvet box slips from my fingers onto the seat as his hands roam, pushing the heavy coat down my arms until it puddles behind me.

The air chills my moist skin, but his palms are fire, sliding over my shoulders, down my sides, claiming every inch like territory long denied.

I arch into him, fingers tangling in his crisp shirt.

Rashid growls against my lips, but breaks contact only to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses along my jaw, down the column of my throat where my pulse hammers wildly. "Just as beautiful as I remember," he murmurs, teeth grazing my skin just enough to make me shiver.