Page 72 of Broken Bonds

His fingers frame my face, before pulling me in to give me a soft kiss on the lips.

“Ethan has the best men looking after his wife, I’ll talk to him tomorrow anyway. When are you planning to go out?”

“I don’t know,” I reply because that’s the truth. I tell him about our call, without revealing any details. I want him to be surprised when he sees me.

“Don’t forget to buy something for the party,” he tells me. “And maybe a couple more cocktail dresses for some upcoming events on my calendar, you should at least let me pay for those.”

The list goes on and on.

“We’ll see,” I reply. Nothing is impossible.

“Don’t forget, Hvezda.” His words are soft, but his tone sounds like a warning. “In the end I always get what I want.”

He kisses me again, in less than ten minutes he has me gasping for air. I have no doubt, this man is used to getting his way. And my body is his new playground.

I’m a very lucky girl.

Chapter 23

“At what time is Alexandra picking you up?” Lionel asks me as he slides the razor across his stubble. We are both standing in front of the counter in the bathroom. While I braid my hair, he shaves. And it’s a sight worthy of admiration, more so knowing that he’s using the new shaving cream I made for him.

Nothing is sexier in my eyes. It isn’t just the towel that hangs low on his hips, nor his muscular arms, or his curly hair that’s still damp, and combed back.

No, I couldn’t choose one thing, it’s all him.

“You smell so good.” Those words come out of nowhere, I can barely remember what he asked me, how could I possibly focus when I have this sight right in front of me.

“Have you heard a thing I said?” he says, smirking, since I handed him the airtight glass container with my concoction, he has been using it, as well as the soap with the same aroma. “There is a line of masculine products created by a beautiful and talented woman, and they’re exclusively made for me.”

“Oh, yeah?” I play the game by getting a little closer to kiss his shoulder, as he does so many times with me. It really does smell so good. The combination of bergamot, honey, and mint suits him tremendously.

“Yes, just like the girl. They’re exclusively mine.”

His arm wraps around my waist as he kisses me, playfully covering my face with the traces of cream left on his. These past few days I haven’t been feeling the best, but I made sure to hide it well. I don’t want him to worry, the stress of everything we have been through must be wreaking havoc on my body, I must have caught one of those pesky viruses. No matter how much I sleep, I’m tired and yesterday the smell of watermelon had me throwing up what I had eaten for breakfast.

“We don’t have time for this,” I complain, his mouth trailing kisses down my neck and his hands already untying the knot on my robe.

“We can be fast and furious,” he murmurs, his lips still on my skin. “You smell great too, I want to be at the office knowing you’re on my skin.”

“Easy, tiger. We both have things to do,” I say, putting my hands on his strong chest. “Alexandra is coming to pick me up soon and you’re going to your office.”

It’s Thursday, Alexandra called me two days ago telling me she had secured an appointment, apologizing for not being able to do it sooner. Knowing how busy she is, I greatly appreciate that she’s making time to be my partner in crime in this adventure.

“You didn’t tell me what time she’s going to pick you up.”

“Before nine o’clock,” I reply. “According to her, she had to pull some strings so that they could see us on such a short notice. We should leave early.”

I hear Lionel muttering under his breath, complaining about my stubbornness.

But I’m delighted to do this with relative independence. I really like to feel that even when I hold his hand I have freedom. This new relationship that we are building is turning out to be much less suffocating than the previous one.

And much more exciting.

“Don’t forget to buy the dresses I told you about,” he insists again.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” I tease him a little, I know he has commitments that he must fulfill and that now he wants to do it accompanied by his wife, so I need to dress for the role as Alexandra told me. It’s not like I can go to investor dinners wearing long skirts, T-shirts, and Chucks. My usual outfits work for my everyday tasks, but not in this world I’ve been transported to.

Alexandra Conrad looks as stylish as if she just came out of a fashion magazine at eight-thirty in the morning, even though she’s wearing an informal outfit, as she labelled it.

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