Page 127 of Emerald Malice

“Nothing.”

Leonty defers to his boss and slips away while Andrey moves closer. “I don’t think so, lastochka. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Just the consequences of my actions. Our actions, I guess.” Blinking back tears, I try to blurt it fast. “I’m suspended from work until further notice.”

His eyes flare wide. “Why?”

“Because you got jealous and threatened my boss,” I spit. “Because I was weak and had sex with you on his desk.”

I hate that this is every bit my fault, too. I hate that I can’t pin this all on Andrey, no matter how much I want to.

“God,” I screech, “I can’t even blame Byron. I mean, he reported me for the wrong reasons, but he had every right to do it from the very start. We had sex on his desk, Andrey! There are cameras!”

Remi is squinting at me, his ears pressed down with worry.

“Natalia.”

At the sound of Andrey’s voice, even Remi cowers. He bares his teeth, a low growl emanating from behind them.

Andrey ignores him. “Byron did this?”

He reaches for me, and Remi snarls.

Andrey flicks an irritated glare at my guard dog. “I can fix this.”

Twisting around, I jab a finger into his chest. “Stay out of this. You’ve done enough.”

Remi barks loudly and jumps in between us. I’m not sure if I’m more nervous of him or Andrey. Both of them look more than capable of murder.

“Remi,” I say, “it’s okay. ‘Sidet.”

Andrey fixes me with a penetrating stare that’s hard to break. “Come with me to my office.”

“Not the first time I’ve heard that today,” I huff. “I don’t want to.”

Andrey ignores me and turns for the door. “Now.”

With the word echoing in my ears, I find myself following Andrey through the house and into his office. He closes the door behind me, shutting Remi out. His wet nose pokes under the gap, a frustrated growl rumbling through the wood.

“If you think you can manipulate me again—” I gasp, swallowing the words as he pushes me back against the door.

Andrey’s entire body presses hard against mine. His fingers trace the column of my throat. “You’re mad at me.”

His silver eyes are fixed on me. They’re distracting, but it’s not like there’s anything else to look at, anyway. Andrey is too close. Too big.

Too much. So much that I lost my mind and let him fuck me at work. What the hell was I thinking?

Andrey presses me more firmly against the door, and I remember all at once what I was thinking: God, he feels good.

“Yes, I’m mad,” I hiss. “I’m mad at you and myself and Byron and—everything!”

He follows the chain of my necklace down and down, his fingers dipping below the collar of my blouse to pull the golden cherries out. “The trinkets I give you can’t make up for that. I understand. You need an outlet for your anger.”

I frown. “I don’t…”

He takes a step back as Remi starts clawing at it. I don’t have the presence of mind to console him right now. My attention is wholly caught by Andrey’s hypnotic gaze.

“You want to rage at me?” he asks. “You want to slap me? You want to shout curses and break my stuff?” He gestures around at this office. “Go right ahead.”

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