Page 52 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

“That means we are doing our job,” he smiled kindly to her. “Why do you jog anyhow? I never asked and it seems like torture. Between your jogging, yoga, and painting, I’m surprised you have strength left for anything else.”

He stood still waiting for her answer. I wanted to know too. Her twin brother said Olivia hated any physical activity.

She shrugged her one shoulder. “I heard it’s healthy to be busy,” she replied and a smile was no longer on her face. “I’m going to get ready before Tasha wakes up. See you later.”

She took two stairs at a time, ascending towards me deep in her thoughts, and almost ran into me.

“Whoa,” I steadied her, by holding on to her arms so she didn’t risk falling backwards. “Good morning.”

A blush that had nothing to do with her physical activity crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. God, she was beautiful.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t see you.”

My finger brushed against her cheek, and for the oddest reason, I remembered the day I met her. I did something similar, her cheek bruised from her fiancé’s fist. This time she didn’t flinch or pull away, her blue eyes watching me.

“You left your panties by the pool last night,” I teased her playfully, as I watched her turn a hundred shades of red. “I put them in a safe place though.”

“Um, okay.” The words were barely a whisper, her posture uncomfortable. “Thank you.”

Shit, I want her laughter and happiness, not discomfort.

I changed the direction of our conversation to alleviate her uneasiness.

“Can you take a quick shower and meet me for breakfast?” She watched me with a guarded look. I hoped to God it wasn’t because of yesterday. I wanted to make her feel good and would have stopped the moment she ordered me to. “I wanted to discuss plans for Tasha.”

That got her going and she nodded eagerly. “Give me ten minutes,” she spoke in her soft voice and ran the rest of the way to her room.

I got updates from the staff from the moment she arrived and was amazed at the bond those two formed instantly. It was a different kind of bond from anything else. With Olivia, my niece was enjoying her childhood as she should have all along. It was something I failed at when I took her in. I surrounded her with adults but she really needed other children and Olivia rectified that in a matter of a week.

I waited for her in the dining room and was amazed she joined in before ten minutes were up. I pointed for her to sit down next to me and the staff served us breakfast.

“So what did you want to talk about?” she asked me as staff left the room. Then as if she didn’t want to give me too open of a topic, she added, “About Tasha.”

I had to watch my expression, not wanting to smile at her attempt to keep me at a distance.

“I wanted to get your input on whether she was ready to go to school,” I brought up the first thing that popped up in my head. Truthfully, I wanted her with me and it had nothing to do with Tasha.

She looked at me pensively. “I think it would be good for her,” she commented in that soft voice that I craved to hear moan from my touch again. “The socializing aspect would be very good for her. She fit right in at the playground so I think she’d adjust fast. But honestly, as I said before, I know nothing about children.”

“Could you help her and me through it?” I asked. “I have several schools in mind we could check into.”

I had to congratulate myself on such quick thinking. It was quite smug of me to use Olivia’s affection for my niece to get her to spend more time with me. There was a tiny, and I mean very tiny, feeling of guilt but I wasn’t sorry. I’d make sure we have some schools lined up and Olivia would help. All while we enjoyed each other's company.

Win-win,I commended myself.

Olivia frowned and watched me pensively as if trying to figure out my request. I wanted to keep her here with me even if we got rid of Malcome tomorrow, and force her to face this attraction between us. But if I told her that, she’d run fast and hard. She wasn’t ready for that… yet.

She chewed on her lip, while thinking it through. Unlike our passion yesterday, Olivia kept herself at bay and reserved, avoiding to meet my eyes. It told me she wasn’t thrilled to be around me right now. I wanted to know why or if she regretted last night.

“Olivia, is something wrong?” I wasn’t accustomed to diplomacy and wanted honesty from her.

Her eyes snapped to me and she answered in a slightly nervous voice. “No, why?”

“You are avoiding looking at me.” Her mouth opened and then closed again. “Are you regretting last night?”

At the mention of last night, her cheeks blushed bright red.

“No.” Her eyes finally met mine, her chin tilted up, challenging me. “Should I?”

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