Page 44 of Vas

He smiled down at her as they stepped onto the sand. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

They walked in silence until they reached the water’s edge. A strong breeze blew and he wrapped an arm around Anya’s shoulders, turning them so their backs got the brunt of the wind. “I need to go away for a while.”

She wrapped an arm around his waist as they leisurely strolled. “Ah. The reason for your preoccupation is revealed.”

Not quite, but he didn’t correct her.

“When do you leave?”

“Monday.”

She tipped her head back to look at him. “So we can spend the day together tomorrow?” Then shequickly added, “I mean, if you don’t need to spend it making travel plans.”

“I already booked my flight and I always have a bag packed. I’d love nothing better than to spend the day with you,” he reassured her.

“How long will you be gone?”

“A few weeks. I’m going out of the country.”

“Oh.” There was a note of disappointment in her tone which she tried to hide—unsuccessfully—with her next remark. “Well, that’s exciting. Where are you going?”

“Hong Kong.”

She nodded. “There’s a lot of banking industries there.”

“Yes,” he agreed. There were also triads and street gangs in the seedier underbelly.

They’d traveled a good distance, so he turned them back toward the restaurant. The wind off the ocean was growing cooler and he didn’t want Anya to get a chill.

“Do you travel out of the country a lot?”

“On occasion. I work freelance, so I can pick and choose the jobs I take.” He stopped them, turning Anya to face him. “This job was in the works before you and me.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t hinting at anything.”

“It’s important to me that you know leaving you for so long wasn’t my choice.” Unable to resist, he cupped her face, running his thumbs along the silky skin of her cheeks. “You’re so damn beautiful.”

Her head tipped back, lids falling half closed, and lips parting. He didn’t ignore the invitation. Dropping his mouth to hers, he tasted those lips, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss.

Kissing Anya was the sweetest bliss and the purest form of torture. Her sweet taste, the light brush of her fingertips against the skin of his neck, all the blood rushed from his head straight to his dick where it painfully throbbed behind the zipper of his jeans. Unable to take anymore, he broke away, trailing a line of kisses along her jaw.

Raising his head to look at her, he said, “It’s also important for you to know where we stand before I leave.”

He couldn’t pull his eyes from her kiss-swollen lips as she issued her throaty reply, “And what’s that?”

“You’re mine. Only mine.”

Chapter 16

Anna was just stepping out of the shower after spending the morning cleaning her apartment when she heard her phone ding. Wrapping a towel around herself, she plucked it from the bathroom counter, smiling as she read the message.

It was from Vas.

How’s your day going?

Though he’d only been gone for three days, she missed him. She’d been spoiled spending all day and most of the evening with him the day before he’d left. They’d hung out at her place, watching movies. She’d made them lunch and then, hours later, they’d ordered dinner. They’d snuggled and kissed but he hadn’t pushed for more—not that she would have stopped him.

Maybesheshould’ve pushed, given him the cue that she was okay with taking their relationship to the next level, but she was a bit awkward and shy when it came to matters of the bedroom. Though no longer a virgin, she wouldn’t call herself vastly experienced either.

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