His eyes flashed. “Like them? No, Printsessa. I love them. Now come here.”
Dropping the half-eaten cookie into the box, he caught my wrist and pulled me down onto his lap.
“Thank you. This is the best present I have ever had,” he mumbled against my jawline.
“You’re welcome, Viktor.” Wrapping my arms around his throat, I found his lips and kissed him.
We melted together, hot breath and tongues mingling as he pulled me down on top of him.
“I’ve never had anyone give me something so thoughtful, Leah. I mean it. This is the best present I have ever had, and I will never forget it.”
The rest of the day was like that. Perfect. We lay on the sofa like a couple of teenagers chilling out. It reminded me of old times, like we were just a normal couple.
And he kissed me like his life depended on it. But any time I tried to take things further, he always had an excuse to leave the room for a few minutes, and it was driving me insane.
Why wouldn’t he touch me? He kissed me like he wanted me, and when I caught him looking at me, I could see the heat in his eyes, but it was like he couldn’t stand to do anything about it.
“Do you want to watch another movie?” His voice cut through my thoughts. “Or are you tired?”
Twisting in his arms, I turned into him. Tilting my face up to stare into his handsome, relaxed face. We had been like this, lying on the sofa, tangled in each other’s arms, most of the day. Our half-empty plates were on the table along with an empty bottle of non alcoholic champagne.
It had been the most perfect day, and I didn’t want it to end. I wanted the rest of our lives to be this relaxed and happy.
Which was just a stupid thing to want, really, because more than anything, I was a realist. Even if we were a real couple, no one’s life was this perfect all the time.
I knew that better than most.
“I’m not tired.”
“Good.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “What is your next favorite movie?”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. That’s what we had been doing all day. Watching all my favorite holiday movies.
“How about we watch your favorite?” I said softly.
“I don’t have one,” Viktor said quickly.
He said it too quickly, and my eyebrows shot up. He was lying, but why was he lying about a Christmas film? It seemed a weird thing to lie about.
“Ok.”
“I mean,” his shoulders hunched. “I remember watching one with my mom before she left. I think it was called Santa Claus the—”
His phone started to vibrate across the table, and he picked it up without finishing his sentence.
Speaking in Russian made it impossible for me to follow along, but I could tell by the way the happiness on his face turned to anger that it wasn’t good.
Finally, he dropped the phone to his side and sighed.
“Is everything ok?” I didn’t want to pry, but at the same time I wanted to make sure everything was ok.
Because two minutes ago, he had looked happy, and now he looked like he wanted to murder someone.
It always amazed me how quickly he could change.
“Yeah.” Bending down, he found my lips with his. “Put the film on and relax. There’s something I need to sort out that can’t wait.” Another kiss.
“No one else can?”