Page 29 of Deceitful Promises

“Okay.”

“Can I come in?”

“It’s a gym, not a bedroom.”

“I’m trying to be polite here.”

Anothersmile. How does he keep doing this? “Okay, come in.”

He pushes the door open, his T-shirt seeming so damn tight around his arms. I hate and love that’s the first thing I notice. His face is serious and mature, telling me he’s definitely a few years older than I am. He walks right up to me, his hands behind his back, looking more like a military man than ever. I resist the insane urge to reach over and touch his firm chest. I cansmellhim, and it does something to me.

“Your brothers hired a local Bratva to look for you. You were right. They were morons. They figured they’d take it upon themselves to send a message, but neither Dimitri nor Mikhail ordered that fire.”

My mouth falls open. Is he serious? Does he think that’s big news? “Oh, wow, thanks for telling me my brothers didn’t try to kill me. That’s really useful information.”

“I’m just getting the facts straight,” he growls. “They worked fast for criminals.”

I’m sure he adds thefor criminalspart just to annoy me, but I don’t rise to the bait. We’re standing so close to each other. Itwould be so easy to lean forward, to rest my head against his chest, to feel his firmness, to savor justhim.

“How do you know any of this, then?”

“I’ve got cameras with long-life batteries all over the forest. The footage showed a tattoo on one of the men’s arms, and then it was a simple phone call.”

“Phone call?”

“Their leader is in prison. I threatened to move him to a worse one if his lackey doesn’t back down.”

“You work fast, too,” I murmur, thinking about how this is why my brothers never wanted tattoos. It identifies people too quickly when caught on camera or in trouble with the law.

“Not fast enough,” he says. “That never should’ve happened. Those idiots. What if you’d been inside?”

Something in his voice makes me turn away. There’s too much passion in it, like he thinks he owns me orcouldown me, whatever that means. I’ve heard Mikhail and Dimitri talk about their love for their new wives and the intensity of their feelings, but I never thought I’d feel it. Truthfully, I’m not even sure if this is it. I’ve never had a boyfriend. Not even close.

“Well, I’m safe,” I say, wanting him to change the subject.

“Hmm.”

“What now? Are you sending me home?”

He reaches over and touches my chin. It’s so abrupt that I almost flinch away. Yet somehow, it feels natural, too. It feels like something heshoulddo. He looks down at me like he can’t decide what to do. He seems so unsure, which is strange for him.He’s a stranger, and already, some things seem normal while others seem odd.

“You don’t want to go home,” he says, leaning down further and further.

Then he stops and drops his hand.

“What?” I whisper, my mouth tingling like I’m getting ready for a kiss. Is that what’s going to happen? Is he going to kiss me?

“It’s just … in this light, damn.”

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

He turns and abruptly walks away, leaving me to stare and wonder what the hell just happened. Washesleepwalking this time? His touch lingers on my chin, a warmth that shivers all over my body, pulsing through me, making me want to follow him. I’m not sure what to do. What if I run into my mom? In the end, I sit on the bench, waiting.

About ten minutes later, he returns, seeming distant this time around. “Let me show you to your room.”

“What was that about?” I retort, standing up.

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