Page 118 of Bratva's Intern

The rejection stung more than it should’ve. His reason sounded like a paltry excuse for not wanting to be with me. “You can sleep in my bed.”

“You know if I come over, we’re not going to sleep. It’ll be more of last night.”

“But you enjoyed last night.”

“I did.” Twin spots reddened his cheeks. “So much, but… just this one night off?”

I rubbed my temple. “All right. But this weekend, you’ll stay at my place.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t try to take it back.”

He grinned. “I won’t.”

He pushed up on his toes and kissed me. I slipped an arm around his waist, but he danced away from me.

“You started it,” I growled.

“I know, sorry. I should get back to my desk.”

“Or you could suck me off. I’ll lock the door and?—”

“Go for lunch, Mr. Morozov. I’ll keep the fort down here.”

He blew me a kiss and slipped through the door. Would have served him right if I went after him and dragged him back to my office to have my way with him. Who kept a professional relationship with someone by blowing them a kiss?

The promise of the weekend deterred me. I could be patient until then.

Barely.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

WREN

“You sure you’re not coming out with me tonight?” Jess was reapplying her lipstick with surgical precision in the reflection of our hallway mirror. “Hot bartenders. Sweaty strangers. And we have a bachelorette party happening tonight. It’s practically chaos with a drink menu.”

I lay sprawled on the couch, hoodie two sizes too big, an old blanket tangled around my legs, and an unopened bag of microwave popcorn on my stomach like a sad little snack baby.

“Tempting,” I said flatly, “but no. Besides, you’re not going out partying. You’ll be working.”

She gave me a look in the mirror. Theyou’re making bad choices and I’m disappointed in youlook. I knew it well.

“Plans with tall, dark, and brooding?” she asked, voice casual. “Though I hope that’s not what you’re planning on wearing.”

“Nope.”

Her lipsticked mouth twisted. “No? Did Maxim do something stupid? Should I stab him?”

I snorted. “No. I told him I wanted to sleep in my own bed tonight.”

How could I have done something so foolish? I didn’t want to be apart from Maxim, but it was scary how much I wanted to spend all my time with him. And that damn guest bedroom haunted me. It made me feel like I was a temporary fixture in his life.

Jess turned around, hands on hips. She was in full black. Tight jeans, low-cut top, leather jacket slung over one shoulder. She looked like someone who both made bad decisionsandhad fun doing it.

“And why, exactly, would you tell a six-foot Russian god with a questionable temper and a yacht-worthy jawline that you didn’t want to sleep in his bed? You told me the sex was incredible.”

“It really was.” I shrugged. “I didn’t want to seem too needy.”

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