Page 22 of Bad Teammate

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We sat in stunned silence.

She took in a deep breath and blew it out. “It’s okay. It’s late. We’ve both acted a little crazy tonight.”

I peeked up at her. “So … your brother …”

“I won’t tell Sasha a thing. And you shouldn’t, either.”

I nodded. “Hell no, I won’t.”

“Okay. Good.”

Thank God we both agreed on that.

The two of us stared at each other. I still wanted her so bad. And I could see it in her eyes—she still wanted me.

Maybe just one last kiss?I wondered. One last kiss to remember each other by, or something.

But she must’ve seen the wheels turning in my head. Before I could act, she cast her eyes towards the door.

“Go, Derek. Go before we do somethingreallystupid.”

Argh.

Iwantedto do something really stupid.

But no—God, no—she was right.

She’s Niko’s sister,I reminded myself.

I slithered out of bed. With my tail between my legs, and a bulge running down one leg of my trousers, I scooped up the linens and clothes I’d dropped earlier and made for the door.

“Goodnight, Katerina,” I said as I backed out of the room.

She didn’t answer.

I gently shut the door and quietly sneaked away.

Fuck.

That was dumb.

God, I hope she doesn’t tell Niko.

8

Katerina

Moscow, Russia.

The morning sun shone bright, piercing the veil of my shut eyelids.

Still half-asleep, I began to stir. I stretched, waiting for my limbs to touch the wall, or dangle off the edge of my twin mattress, like they normally did.

But that didn’t happen.

Confused and needing to orient myself, I stretched as far as I could in every direction. But my limbs traveled over a vast expanse of mattress, never meeting the wall, never going over the edge of the bed.

Suddenly aware that I wasn’t where I thought I was—inmybed—my eyes shot open.

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