Page 33 of Sinful Games

"Seems like there’s not much else worth discussing, anyway," he snorted.

I shot him a cold look and motioned to my nearly empty vodka glass, silently demanding another round.

As I downed the fresh drink, a grim determination settled over me.

Deep down, I knew one thing for sure—I was going to prove him wrong, and it would be fucking glorious.

Chapter

Eleven

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

?Ralph Waldo Emerson

Alexsei

“You need to ease up on the stalking. It’s starting to freak me out.”

I scoffed and dragged a chair over, plopping down with a smirk. “I thought I’d already got you scared, baby.”

The library was deserted on this Tuesday night, just shy of 8 p.m. She sat alone, engrossed in three magazines sprawled out in front of her. For the past half hour, she’d been flipping through them, jotting down notes every now and then. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore a matching set of black leggings and a hoodie. Occasionally, she’dtug on her ponytail while studying the pictures, her striking green eyes glowing even brighter against her dark clothes.

She was fucking stunning—so stunning, I almost wanted to drag her by that ponytail, caveman-style, straight to my place.

“You don’t scare me, you just annoy me, Romaniev.”

“Ouch,” I said, pretending to be hurt as I clutched my chest. “And here I thought we were making some progress.”

A smile graced her lips, revealing a dimple on her right cheek. "What brings you here? Decided to finally fill that empty brain of yours?"

"I doubt that'll help me—or anyone," I retorted, pointing to a black-and-white picture in the magazine before her. It depicted a naked man, hiding his penis with his hands, while red-painted hands covered his body.

"Of course,youwouldn’t get it," she remarked, holding the magazine closer to my face. "This is art—a representation of unwanted hands reaching for intimate parts."

I grabbed the magazine. “And here I thought it was just a dude embarrassed about his micro-penis.”

She chuckled while gathering her notes and magazines into her bag. "Guess that's something you two might have in common."

Leaning forward, I rested both hands on the table between us, tilting my head slightly. "Maybe you're curious to find out."

Her gaze traced from my hands to my lips before meeting my eyes. "No, I'm not."

"Never say never, Caia."

She zipped up her bag, letting her hair cascade down from its ponytail, and donned her long black furry coat. "What brings you here, Romaniev? Don’t you have better things to do than lurk around an empty library?"

I followed her, quickly stepping forward to open the door.

Despite the roll of her eyes, a faint blush tinted the top of her cheeks.

“I came to take you out to dinner, Caia,” I said, lying through my teeth to mask the awkwardness of why I was really here on a random Tuesday night.

Truth is, I was here for one reason only: I just couldn’t resist seeing her face again.

“I’m not hungry—” she began, but I stepped in front of her, cutting her off.

“That wasn’t a question.”

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