Page 23 of Dirty Grovel

“Just for the record, I wasn’t going to have you arrested. I had to check in with the port authorities about the yacht. It had nothing to do with you.”

“You just seemed really… buddy-buddy with those cops.”

“I come to Nassau a couple of times a year. I’ve established relationships here. Those cops are more like… friends.”

“Translation: they’re useful contacts that you use to your advantage whenever you’re in Nassau.”

He arches an eyebrow, his lips twitching upwards for the briefest of moments before his expert control is back in action.

“How about we call a truce?” he suggests. “Let’s stop arguing. Let’s try to put the last few days behind us. In any case, you need to rest and recover.”

“And then what?”

He hesitates a little too long for comfort. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let’s just go home.”

“Home,” I murmur under my breath, wondering if I can even feel at home where Oleg is taking me.

There’s warmth at my fingertips. I look down and see Oleg’s hand curling around mine.

Freezing, I stare at our entwined hands.

Just the warmth of his touch is making my eyes tear up.

It’s the comfort I didn’t realize I needed.

From the man I didn’t realize I missed.

Because the truth is, over the last several months, despite that stupid contract that stood between us like the third person in our twisted little ménage à trois, I’d caught feelings.

The big kind.

The life-changing kind.

The kind of feelings that stick around even when you know they shouldn’t.

My fingers twitch against his, but I can’t bring myself to break the contract. Quite apart fromwantingit, it also feels right.

Familiar.

Natural.

As much as I wish it were otherwise…

… Oleg’s hand feels likehome.

8

OLEG

Two days and she’s completely hijacked my life in Nassau.

She made fast friends with my caretaker, Jesse. She won over Jesse’s son, Teo, with nothing more than a smile.

The three of them have taken to strolling the gardens in the evening while they plan changes in the landscaping.

Every room I walk into holds her scent.

Every meal tastes like something she had a hand in.

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