Page 16 of Mikhail Petrov

“Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

She sits on one of the beige leather seats, crossing her legs slowly, capturing my attention. A jolt to the dick makes me shift my weight.

“You know what I mean.” Aggravation replaces the nostalgia of her presence.

“Oh, you think my brother just sent his poor, defenseless baby sis to an arms deal for shits and giggles. Did it ever occur to you that this is what I do?”

My forehead creases with intrigue and confusion. “No, last I heard, you moved to Spain.” Hurt flashes in her eyes.

“You think I’ve just been gallivanting across the globe, spending Daddy’s money and looking pretty?”

“I could think of one hundred things you’ve been doing besides this.”

“You’re impossible,” she groans and gets to her feet. As much as I try to ignore that sweet sound, I instantly crave to hear it again, to hear her break with my name on her lips like she did when she was mine.

“Mikhail, I know what I’m doing.”

Leah is standing about a foot in front of me, and the urge to reach for her is damn near overwhelming. But this is business. I can’t let our past get in the way of the job.

“Do you?”

She smirks, peering at me through thick lashes, hands crawling up my chest. “Maybe you can be the judge of that?”

I swallow hard and catch her wrists. “That’s not what I was referring to.”

When she bites her lip, it takes everything in me not to haul her to my waist. “I know what you meant.” Freeing herself from my grasp, she struts back to her seat. My eyes stray to her plump little ass beneath a tight grey skirt.

Leah is sin incarnate. I want nothing more than to bend her over the seat, push that goddamn skirt over her ass, and take back what’s mine.

CHAPTER 8

LEAH

Yesterday, four years felt like an eternity—more than enough time to flush Mikhail Petrov from my system in all the ways I needed him to be gone. Yet all it took was seeing him exit that car for every memory, every kiss, and every caress to come barreling to the surface.

But the worst was how I felt my heart shatter all over again, like I was that nineteen-year-old girl in his office, feeling like the world was caving in on her.

With a deep breath, I steel my resolve. He won’t shake me. I didn’t come all this way for nothing. Rekindling my relationship with Mikhail is not the reason I’m here. My objective is closure. I’ve tried to seal this door for years, but somehow, it creeps back open when I least expect it. And I can’t move on until all our cards are on the table. Sure, it’s an unconventional way to force a conversation, but when has anything about us been practical?

Sneaking a glance, I notice his rigid posture and the crinkle in his eyebrows, and it’s clear he’s upset and uncomfortable. I don’t blame him. He’s always been such a stickler when it comes to the family business, and my being here is throwing off his entire game plan. But maybe I don’t care.

I shift in my seat, and he tenses.

“Look, I’m sorry.” His emerald-green eyes find mine as he waits for me to continue. “I should have let Rod tell you I’d be taking his place. But I swore him to secrecy and threatened to cut off his balls.”

The hint of a smile touches his lips. “Why go through all that trouble?” “Because you know as well as I do you wouldn’t have agreed to have me.”

“You’re right. We could have met under any other circumstance if that’s what you wanted. Leah, how did you get wrapped up in this?” He leans on the armrest, and his sinful cologne washes over me. “So many unnecessary risks. You deserve better.”

My eyes damn near roll to the back of my head. This is the energy I need to sear the half of my heart stuck in the past. “You know what I deserve, Mikhail? To stop being told by the men in my life what I should and shouldn’t do. What’s good for me and what’s not. That’s why I’m here.”

“So you’re doing this just to prove some point?”

I dig my fingers into the armrests and push to my feet as a flush of anger rises up my neck. “Yeah, the one that flew right over your thick, stubborn head.”

“Where are you going? The seatbelt sign is still on.”

“Case in point. I didn’t know I needed permission to take a piss.”

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