Page 58 of Inked Adonis

“You’re a professional. It seems appropriate. Just a business tip for you: try not to let him get kidnapped by any handsome strangers this time.”

She scowls. “Asshole.”

“What I heard was ‘Thank you for being so accommodating, Samuil. Not only are you unfairly attractive, you’re also attentive.’”

“I’d rather stay in the crate full-time than give you a compliment,” she retorts. “You’re making my imprisonment mildly more livable. I wouldn’t clear off a place on the mantel for your Nobel Prize just yet.”

“Fine.” I turn toward the door. “Stay in your cage then. I’ll walk Rufus myself.”

“Wait! I’m—” She huffs out an angry breath. “I’ll grab my coat. Give me two minutes.”

She meets me at the elevators in one.

Nova does her best to look surly and displeased as the elevator takes us down and we cross the lobby, but the second we emerge through the revolving doors, she can’t hide her excitement.

She leans her head back and breathes in deep. “Do you smell that?”

“Piss-stained concrete and gasoline?”

She shakes her head, a smile sliding across her face. “It smells like autumn. Crunchy leaves and a chill in the air.”

She’s right. The sky is scrubbed in that faded autumn blue, with the burnt orange and copper red of tree leaves stark against it. For a moment, the city looks as beautiful as I’ve ever seen it.

“All I smell is urine.” Then I stride away, leaving Nova in my wake.

She catches up eventually, even though my strides dwarf hers. She keeps a tight grip on Rufus’s leash, but for the first time in recorded history, he’s on his best behavior. Every time a pigeon gets too close or some fast walker’s trench coat whips him in the ear, all it takes is a sharp whistle to redirect his attention and keep him in line.

When we find a bench in the dog park, she lets Rufus off leash, but I keep a firm hold on his collar. “If you hump anything, I’m leashing you up and taking you home. It’s best behavior or bust, my friend.”

I give him a good scratch behind his ears before sending him off. He drops his snout to the ground and goes barreling after the nearest squirrel.

“It’s weird how madly in love with you that dog is.”

“Par for the course.”

She snorts. “Right. Because everyone is in love with you, right?” She drops her voice a few octaves, doing what must be her very offensive impression of me. “‘I’m rich and handsome and a passable texter, so who wouldn’t trip over themselves to hump this beefy thigh?’”

“Actually, I was going to say that every time Katerina disciplined Rufus with an iron fire poker, he took refuge in a pile of my clothes in my old closet,” I say. “But thanks for calling my thighs ‘beefy.’ I assume you meant it in the most flattering way possible.”

Nova’s jaw drops. “Oh my God… He got used to your scent. He wascomfortedby your scent.”

“Which is why he was so enthusiastic when he came across me that day in the park. I think it was his way of thanking me for being there for him.”

Her gaze drifts to where Rufus is terrorizing a squirrel, his front paws pressed against a tree trunk as he barks threats at the poor creature.

“He loved you before he even met you.” She sniffs, shifting on the bench. The movement puts her closer to me, close enough that her heat seeps through my clothes. “The news should hear about this. You two could be the feel-good story of the day.”

“Does dog abuse and abduction make you feel good? I had no idea you were so dark, Nova.”

She rolls her eyes. “Just for the record, I’m not a fan of the way you got not-quite-custody of him, but I am glad he’s out. He deserves better than Katerina Alekseeva.”

“On that we agree.”

After a few quiet moments, she says, “I’m sorry I said you were like her. You may be a rich, elitist asshole who lied to me and kidnapped me, but at least you’re a rich, elitist asshole who’s also kind to animals.”

“You’re really showering me with compliments tonight.”

“Do you want me to be mean to you now to balance it out? I could slap you around, call you a few nasty names.”

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