Page 92 of Inked Adonis

I barely resist the urge to gloat in the woman’s face, but only because Marnie looks nervous all of a sudden.

Even when she stops outside of a door at the end of the hall, there’s something hesitant in the way she knocks. Like she’s afraid of what’s on the other side.

Katerina’s words echo in the back of my head. “… possessive, controlling and cruel. It’s just a matter of time before you see that side of him…”

A deep, muffled voice rumbles something from the other side of the wood, and Marnie takes a step back. “You can go in. He’s waiting for you.”

Before I can thank her, she pivots on her heel and clicks her way back to her desk.

Don’t be ridiculous,I tell myself, reaching for his office door.This is Sam—your Sam.

That last part is debatable, but I need the confidence boost to push through the doors.

They open easily, revealing a tall figure silhouetted against the glass windows behind a massive desk. But the moment the doors seal closed behind me and the man turns towards me, a sneer stretched across his unfortunately familiar face, I realize…

Wrong Mr. Litvinov.

32

NOVA

After the last couple days, I’m starting to really see the benefits in a panic whistle. Or bear mace.

First, it was Katerina.

Now, another slimy creep is staring me down, licking his lips like he’s a vampire ready to lunge for my jugular.

I stand my ground, trying to hide the fact that my palms are sweating. “You’re not the Mr. Litvinov I came here to see.”

Ilya waves my words away like they hardly matter, walking around his glass desk to be closer to me. “Take a seat anyway. Maybe I can help.”

“I doubt that very much.”

He arches an eyebrow, and annoying as it is to admit, I can see some similarities between him and Samuil. There’s a certain angularity in his cheekbones, a familiar flash of confidence. But it’s in the same way that backyard birds vaguely resemble dinosaurs.

One is a hell of a lot cooler than the other.

“Can I offer you something to drink? Coffee, perhaps?”

He gestures to an espresso machine that looks like it could be made by NASA. Not that that matters. The machine could imbue the beans with the ability to keep you young forever, and I still wouldn’t ingest a drop of anything this man gave me. My skin is crawling just breathing the same air as him.

“Thanks, but I’m good.”

“Come on, Nova, loosen up.” He wags his shoulders dramatically, letting his arms flop at his sides. “You’re dating my brother now. We’re practically family.”

It’s unsettling the way his smile, much like his eye contact, never falters.

“I hear the two of you are living together,” he continues. “Does that news call for congratulations or are you here looking for an out?”

Again, Katerina’s warning echoes in the back of my head.

Is there any chance I have this backwards? Could Katerina and Ilya be warning me away from a dangerous situation? Should I listen?

Then his smile ticks up another notch, and I have to suppress a full-body shiver.

This dude scores a zero out of ten on the vibes test. My intuition wants absolutely nothing to do with him or his creepy questions.

“I just came to talk to Samuil. If you could point me towards his office, then?—”

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