Page 38 of His to Ruin

“I am Vlad.” His clipped tone tells me he’s the taciturn type. “I will drive you.”

“Oh, I thought…” I wave a hand at Marko.

“I will drive. Marko guards you.”

“Wow, three men all to myself. It’s like my own reverse harem.” I wince as I realize Jimmy is one of the three and I could never think of him that way, not that I’d consider sleeping with the other two, either. Even if I found them remotely attractive, Piotr is as much brooding male as I can handle.

“What if I prefer to walk?”

Vlad shrugs. “We will follow.”

I’m not sure I like the idea of strolling along the boulevards of Paris with three men trailing me.

“How far is it to the Eiffel Tower?” I ask.

“About two kilometers.”

I have no idea what that equates to in miles. It doesn’t sound far, but I am hungry and it’s hot out, so I’ll maybe save the walking for when I tour the galleries and museums instead.

“Let’s take the car.”

Vlad nods. He opens the back door for me. I get in and Jimmy joins me while Marko takes the passenger seat.

“Can we stop somewhere for breakfast first? I need something seriously unhealthy.”

“I know a place,” Vlad confirms. “Bacon, eggs, sausage, as much as you like, very cheap, very delicious.”

Cheap isn’t a priority for me, but delicious is essential. “Okay, then, Vlad, I’m in your hands.”

I get my cellphone from my purse and snap a quick selfie to send to Piotr with the message, “Going to be a great day. Hope yours is too.”

I don’t add an emoji because my husband doesn’t seem like the type of man who’d appreciate a string of red hearts. He’d probably view it as a sarcastic gesture, which I guess it would be since I don’t love him. At least, I don’t yet. The day may come when my attraction for him grows into something deeper. Untilthen, I’ll just have to enjoy him on a purely physical level and hope that’s enough.

CHAPTER 13

Piotr

“Everyone’s here,” Sev announces as he walks into the room, letting me know the other members of our consortium have arrived.

I look up from my cellphone, which I’ve been staring at for the past ten minutes. I’ve been rereading the messages Olivia has sent me throughout the day. She’s checked in with me five times, sending me pictures and brief comments about what she’s up to. It isn’t something I asked her to do and I’m surprised she wants to share so much with me. The last photo she sent was from outside a clothes store. She captioned it withbuying something sexy for tonight. I don’t know whether she’s trying to show me what I’m missing by not being with her or if she just wants to keep in touch, to build a relationship. Either way, I appreciate that she’s trying.

I get up from the seat behind the desk. “Thank you for giving me the use of your study today.”

Despite being distracted by my wife’s messages, I got a lot done today.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t take the day off to be with your wife.”

My jaw ticks in irritation. “Business doesn’t stop for Olivia. She needs to learn my work comes first.”

“Did she have to learn it on the first day of your marriage?”

I don’t know what’s crawled up Sev’s ass. “Since when are you a relationship expert?”

He shrugs. “I’ve never claimed to be, but even I can see that neglecting a woman who was reluctant to marry you in the first place is a bad idea.”

“Olivia will be fine. She’s used to…”

“To what?” Sev interrupts. “Being ignored? She may accept that from her brothers, but from you she needs more.”

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