Page 70 of Porcelain Lies

My cheeks burn as whispers ripple through the crowd. The black bag feels like it weighs a ton against my chest as I try to back away.

“Look at her — must be staff,” someone mutters.

“Probably drunk,” another adds.

The woman in the ruined dress advances on me, her voice rising to a screech. “You’ll pay for this, you little—”

“Sofia.”

The deep voice cuts through the chaos like a knife. The crowd parts instantly, revealing a tall figure in an impeccably tailored black suit.

My heart nearly stops.

Oh.

My.

Fuck.

It’s him. The stranger from the charity event. The man I spent that anonymous night with.

What the hell is he doing here?

“Aleksei!” the woman says sharply. “Can you believe what this stupid bitch just did to my dress?”

My heart rate screeches to a rapid halt.

Aleksei?

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit!

Him! The man from the charity event. The one I had the best sex of my life with… is Aleksei Tarasov.

The man who wants to kill my brother.

“Talk about sleeping with the enemy,”says Boyana.

I can’t find words. Not even to shut up my imaginary sister. So, I say nothing. Just stand there like an idiot.

His dark eyes sweep over me with no hint of recognition, but my body remembers his touch with devastating clarity. The same broad shoulders that loomed over me that night. The same strong hands that…

“Sofia.” His voice carries the same commanding tone that made me shiver before. “You’re making a scene.”

“But Aleksei, look what she—”

“Enough.” Just one word, but Sofia’s mouth snaps shut. “Go change. Now.”

She opens her mouth to argue, then thinks better of it. With a final venomous glare at me, she storms off, trailing the scent of wine and Chanel No. 5.

The crowd disperses quickly, no one wanting to attract his attention. My legs won’t move. I’m trapped in his gravitational pull, just like that first night.

He studies me with cold calculation, so different from the heat in his gaze when we-

No.

Don’t think about that.

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