Page 41 of Seduction (Wicked Vows)

She sighs on the other end of the line. “I know, I know, I just. . . I felt so awful sending you off with that silent man who doesn’t even speak the same language as you. It felt like feeding my child to the wolves.”

“I’m not a child, though,” I say gently. I look around the room again. “And you’d never guess but he actually very much does speak English.”

“What!”

I fill her in but leave significant chunks of details out, like my faux marriage. I tell her about the program, getting to meet Dr. Morozov in person, and the other people joining me when the door opens, and Markov comes in, dressed in running gear, scowling at me.

“Let’s go.”

I sit up and glance at the time. Oof. It’s well past the wake-up time.

“Mom, I have to go. I’m going to get a run in before I go to my first session, okay?”

“You’re so dedicated and disciplined,” she says tearfully. “Yes, yes, of course, sweetheart. Text me some new book titles before you go. I need something to occupy myself with you gone.”

“I will, promise.” I got my love of reading romance from my mom, so we swap titles all the time. Not sure how she’ll feel about my latest obsession, though.

I hang up the call and get out of bed. “Did you plug my phone in? That was really sweet.”

Shrugging, he walks over to the bed to tidy the blankets. He lifts the sheets and quickly snaps them into place.

“I did. It was responsible, not sweet. You can’t start the day off with a dead phone. Are you going to get dressed, or are you going to stand here and tell me making the bed is sweet?”

“In science, we learn that two apparent contradictions can coexist,” I say over my shoulder as I walk to the dresser to grab running shorts and a tee. “The duality is a foundational concept in quantum mechanics. Or take the classic example of Shordinnger’s Cat?—”

“Vera,” he growls. Oh, I love me a good growl.

“Yes?” I ask. I slide out of my pajamas and get dressed in front of him. I don’t bother looking over my shoulder. He seduced the fuck out of me last night, so I have no intention of being modest. I smile to myself at the sound of his muffled groan.

“I was going to tell you to stop jabbering on about duality or whatever the fuck it was and get dressed, but apparently, you can do both at the same time. Impressive.”

His lips are pressed in a thin line when I turn to face him and pull my sports bra on. “All I was going to say was that someone can be grumpy and sweet at the same time, and you’re a classic example.”

“Call me sweet again and see how that goes for you,” he says as I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. “And where’s your top? You can’t go out dressed in shorts and a bra.”

I shut the door. “Of course I can. I get hot as hell running.”

“I’ll douse you with water. Wear a top.”

I frown at myself in the mirror while I brush my teeth. I’m not exactly sure how far I’m going to push this whole thing. I am not the type to allow a man to dictate how I dress, but. . . that whole spanking thing last night was hot.

I don’t know if I’ll ever really know how much I like in terms of dominance and submission if I don’t give it a go.

“I’m not wearing a top!” I yell, just to see what he’ll say. There’s no response.

My heart thumps.

When I open the door to the bathroom, I’m not sure what to expect. Markov stands, one of my running tanks in hand.

“I chose the smallest one. I’ll carry an extra bottle of water if you overheat and pour it on you. But you are not running on this campus—on my watch—without a top, at least not until I’ve had a chance to truly survey who’s here and who we have to watch.” He leans forward and tips a finger under my chin. “My job is to keep you safe, Vera. Don’t make my job harder for me, please.”

There he goes again. For some reason, his request, combined with that finger under my chin, does a lot more to sway me than his bluster and threats.

I sigh. “Fine, I’ll wear the top.” I tug it on. “Happy?”

Markov regards me with his arms crossed on his chest. Wearing a sleeveless workout top and shorts, his muscles are on full display.

Lord.

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