Page 49 of Sinful Lies

I stumble back into the bedroom, my eyes darting around for any sign of a struggle. Surely, if something happened, I would have heard? This doesn’t make sense…

Until my eyes land on the pad of hotel stationary on the small writing desk, and I notice Zara’s delicate handwriting.

Dimitri,

Sorry to leave like this, but I needed some time alone to think.

Please don’t worry. I’m at my apartment in the city.

I’ll meet you at your penthouse tomorrow evening.

Zara

Time to think?

I re-read the note a few more times before ripping it off the pad and screwing it into a ball.

What is there to think about? What we did last night was a one-time thing, purely to get it out of our system, nothing more.

If Zara’s suddenly worried that I’m expecting her to sleep with me on a regular basis just because we’re married, then she’s got the wrong idea.

Why didn’t she say something to me if she was worried?

I thought we had the sort of relationship where we could talk about things, but clearly, I was wrong.

I can’t deny it hurts that she felt the need to disappear in the middle of the night, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.

If she regrets sleeping together, then we’ll just have to make sure it never happens again.

“Fuck!” I toss the screwed up note on the ground.

I can’t risk this marriage falling apart, so if Zara wants to keep this above board and purely platonic, then so be it.

I don’t hangaround in the honeymoon suite. After finding Zara’s note, I quickly get dressed back into my wedding tux and make my way over to my penthouse on the Upper East Side.

It’s just a few blocks over from my family’s main residence in the city, and Zara is due to move in this evening.

I thought she would prefer having some space away from my brothers. Plus, it plays into the illusion of having a real marriage if we had our place to call home.

I park in the underground garage and take the privateelevator up to the penthouse. The doors open, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

As much as I love spending time at our family estates, there’s something about being in my own place that lets me fully unwind and switch off from being a Koslov, for a little while at least.

It’s decorated to my taste, which is modern and simple with mostly black and white details with a few navy blue accents. Floor to ceiling windows cover the majority of the walls, giving me the perfect view of the New York skyline no matter where I go. I opened up the first floor to combine the living and dining spaces, not that I ever entertain. The ten person glass table and navy suede chairs are purely for show, though I suspect Zara and I may share a meal or two once she moves in.

A room has already been set up for Zara, and she’s had the majority of her things brought over in the last week.

I glance around the expansive living space, picturing coming home to Zara lounging on the cream couch or fluttering about the kitchen. A smile tugs at my lips as it begins to play out in my mind, and I can’t deny that I’ll enjoy the company.

I’ve never brought a woman back to my apartment before, not only for privacy reasons, but it allowed me to always keep a distance. I could always be the one to leave in the middle of the night, just like Zara did.

My stomach twists as I realize how much I wanted to wake up to her beside me.

I need to pass the time before she comes over, so I head up to the second floor and run a cold shower, my body still filled with tension after picturing Zara naked in the shower. I quickly pump one out in the hopes that when I see her later, I’ll have gotten it out of my system,and the sight of her body won’t have my cock springing into action.

Pulling on a fresh white shirt and black pants, I head down the hall into my office where I pass the time with emails and calls.

I soon lose a few hours to work and when my phone finally buzzes with a notification from Feliks letting me know that Zara is here, I get to my feet.

---