Page 81 of Heart of a Villain

“We’re here for Eesh’s birthday?” Sayeda tilted her head back and looked up at the hotel in Stockholm overlooking Nybroviken Bay.

The massive building boasted the flags of various nations flapping in the wind like tear-dampened handkerchiefs on a departing ship. Yachts and ferries sat docked at the bay, and she found herself wanting to ask how she could have her birthday held in this hotel when the time came. The expense was clearly more than a little bit, but things would improve once she established herself. The remaining money she had from Adrían was supposed to go toward her restaurant fund, but that dream hadn’t been deferred. Yet, it was far more shriveled than a raisin.

Adrían gently tugged on her hand, pulling her aside just before she would have collided with a family walking in the opposite direction. Eventually, she would watch where she was going. In the meantime, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the opulence of it all.

“I love the windows,” she went on. “They remind me of the Palace of Versailles.”

“You’ve been?” Adrían asked, looking everywhere but down at her.

“No, but I’ve seen pictures. By the way, how long are we staying?”

He searched the lobby, brows narrowed. They’d all traveled separately but would be meeting up later that night, officially, for this mysterious outing she had only scant details about. However, he’d seemed on edge since they stepped off the train. Unfortunately, as the hotel’s high ceilings and sparkling chandeliers caught her attention, she would have to ask him about his weird shift in mood later.

Everywhere she turned, she spotted modern luxury. There were marble floors and wooden desks in the reception area, staffed by employees without a hair out of place who were also dressed like financiers on Wall Street.

The place smelled like money.

The rest of the team lived very well, and Adrían had left her a million euros the last time they saw one another—without blinking. It was probably safe to guess that he’d made more than that over the last decade, which was probably why she was the only one who looked like a child experiencing Disney World for the first time.

“Is this your first time here?” she asked.

Still, he didn’t answer.

Something caught his eye, and she followed his gaze to a dark-haired, light brown-skinned woman walking toward the hotel’s exit doors. The woman, attempting to be discreet, glanced at Adrían and then held eye contact, so caught up that she didn’t feel the second pair of eyes watching her watch Adrían.

“She’s pretty,” she said.

Adrían looked to their right, frown deepening.

“I have my own room, right?”

Finally, she caught his attention.

“Your own room? No. Although,” he angled his head, “it could be considered foreplay to creep into your room in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep.”

“Or I could creep into yours,” she suggested. “It’ll be the night you’re sleeping naked. I’ll think I’m crawling into bed when, oops,” she covered her mouth, “I’ve accidentally taken a seat on your dick.”

His gaze seared hers.

Hopefully, the pretty dark-haired woman was a distant memory. They’d encountered far more beautiful women than semi-attractive men, so it wouldn’t be an equal playing field if she wanted to join the jealousy game.

They stopped at the reception desk.

“Who’s pretty?” he asked, reaching for his wallet.

“The woman in the red top.” She pointed behind them. “You didn’t see her?”

“Oh. No, I saw her.”

“She was staring at you.”

“I noticed.”

“Something you’re used to, I’m guessing?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s the price I must pay for being as good-looking as I am. I’m sure you understand my plight.”

She rolled her eyes.

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