Page 107 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

I let out a groan. “I wasn’t jealous. You wouldn’t stop talking about him.”

The car was almost dark, but I could make out her features scrunching. “That’s a lie. I talked about other things, but you were barely paying attention till I mentioned him.”

“I was paying attention,” I said.

“You barely looked at the stage.”

My eyes found her face in the darkness and I said the only thing that came to mind. “I already had my own show.”

The air in the car shifted immediately, pulling tightly at every corner till all that remained was a suffocating tension hanging on a very delicate thread.

“Uhm…” she cleared her throat. “Thank you?”

My lips curved. “It wasn’t a compliment, little bird.”

Her lips shaped into an ‘o’.

“It’s the truth.”

The silence stretched for a bit this time and I could see her struggling with what to make of my comment.

“I enjoyed the show,” she finally said. “Thank you.”

I reached out, taking her hand and pressing my lips into her palm. I’d been wanting to do that the whole night.

A shiver swept through her and settled somewhere deep inside me.

“You’re welcome.”

The car pulled to a stop before either of us could decide what next, and I realized I had completely forgotten to give the driver her address.

She glanced sideways, taking in my house through the window.

“I can tell the driver to take you home if you’re not comfort—”

“It’s alright.”

“Great,” I breathed. “I was going to take you in anyways.”

She chuckled. “So what was the use of asking?”

“I’m practicing how to be a gentleman. Isn’t that what you liked about Burr?”

“Burr?” she scoffed, opening her side of the car. “That brute was hardly gentle.”

I opened the other side, rounding the car to join her. “So you like gentlemen.”

“Depends.”

My lips curled. “On?”

“I don’t know. Time, place…” her eyes dragged to mine. “Occasion.”

My cock stirred to life, but unlike the opera, I made no attempt to calm him.

I opened the door with my fingerprint, following after her. “And what occasion would that be?”

“I don’t know, Mr. Ivanovich. Did you bring me to your home to loosen my lips?”