Page 60 of Captivated By Him

As I watch, she wipes them onto the back of her hand then licks it clean. I clench my jaw. Fuck me, how did I ever let this woman out of my sight all those years ago? I should have chased her down right then and dragged her ass back to Chicago.

“You’re going to kill me,” I mutter and get to my feet. I duck into the closet and pull on a pair of boxers and grab a nightgown from her side.

“Did you have a good night at the club?” she asks when I return with her nightgown.

“It was fine. What did you do?” I ask, looking around the room. Everything’s put away, no books laid out, no evidence she’s even been in the room all night.

“You mean besides…” Her attempt to tease me sends another blush across her cheeks.

I laugh and hop into bed beside her, pulling the thick blankets over my legs. My girl likes it cold when she sleeps, so the air conditioner is turned up making the room more an icebox than a bedroom. Not that my body even realized it while I had my cock shoved down her tight throat.

“Yes, besides that.” I pull her up to me once she’s under the covers with me. “And about that… you keep your hands away from your pussy unless I know about it.”

This dictate earns me a raised brow. “Seriously?”

“Damn right.” I nod, but I’m not delusional. I fully expect her to rebel against this rule first chance she gets. I can only hope I get to catch her in the act.

She rolls her eyes, then scoots down until she can lay her head against my chest. I wrap my arm around her, enjoying the feel of her body against me. I’ve snuggled women before, but never has it felt so… intimate. I press a kiss to the top of her head.

“I read for a bit, took a bath. Watched the news.” Her words are followed by a yawn.

It’s not late, but she’s stolen my energy.

“You watched TV?” I ask, a little surprised.

She snuggles further into me. “I had it on while I ate. That sushi you sent over was amazing by the way.”

I hate sushi even more than Thai food, but she’s big on it. “Good.”

“I’ve had the taste for soup lately. Maybe I’ll make some borscht tomorrow night.”

“You can cook?”

“When I want to. My mom used to make it on my birthday, it was my favorite soup. We had on it Christmas Eve every year, but she made it special on my birthday.”

It’s the first time she’s talked about her mother willingly.

“She wasn’t always a drug addict. It was just the last year before she overdosed. Dad was working more and more, and they fought a lot. I think she finally realized what he did to earn a living. I think it was her way of rebelling against him, but it backfired.”

I remain still, letting her talk.

“After she died, we moved a few times before we ended up here in Chicago. This was the longest we stayed in one place before we moved to New York. I think Dad was trying to outrun his guilt.” She shrugs then yawns again. “I’m sleepy.”

“I can see that,” I whisper, enjoying this peek into her. She’s always had to be strong. Always had to be ready to go. And with the work her dad did, they were able to move around as much as he wanted. There’s always someone to hurt somewhere in the world for a few bucks.

I say nothing else for a few minutes before I realize she’s fallen asleep. Another look around the room, at the lack of her possessions, the lack of her touch.

She’s still ready to leave everything behind and run.

Chapter 17

Nicole

It’s been two days since Jakub locked me away in his apartmentfor my safety. He finally relented to letting me go out when his sister called to invite me on a shopping trip with their sister-in-law. And then it wasn’t so much an invitation as Jakub telling me I needed to get out of the apartment and quit burying myself in work.

No matter the grand opening of the restaurant and cigar room is in one week and there are a few hundred last-minute details to take care of. He wants me to march down Michigan Avenue like a pampered little princess with his black Amex. But I’m so starved for the outside, I agreed.

“Sorry about the babysitter,” I say to Lena as we climb out of the SUV Jakub sent to pick me up after collecting Lena and Kasia.

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