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“I really need to get back to studying, Lev,” she said, pretending to ignore me. The high color in her cheeks showed she was rattled, and I repeated the question.
Was my wife hiding something from me?
Chapter 18 - Jenna
Oh crap, what did I do? I was so flustered to see Max that my mind went blank. I didn’t even know what I was saying, only that I couldn’t let him run back to Katie and blurt out my secret. Then I might really be stuck. If she and Aleks knew, enacting my revenge plan would make it much more difficult. It might make it impossible, then how would I ever be free?
What did I even say again? That we were just figuring things out? I didn’t understand why Lev was so upset. He certainly wasn’t proudly proclaiming we were married. At least I didn’t say something like this was just temporary. Then I’d really be sunk.
I tried to ignore him and pretend I was studying, but he kept drilling holes into my back with his steady glare. I turned and sighed, prepared for the anger I heard in his voice but not the hurt in his eyes. That did something to my heart that I had to shove aside, or else I’d get up and hug him to make that look of pain go away. And if I hugged him…
I’d been dodging his advances since the dressing room incident, claiming I was bogged down with schoolwork, which was mostly true. I was determined to stay on a strict Lev diet. Cold turkey, not even a nibble. He’d been wonderfully accommodating, and we’d been getting along so well that I was the one who was starting to act a bit ravenous, as much as I tried to fight it.
The quickest way to distract him now would have been to get up and kiss him, but that would be the end of my self-imposed restrictions. I sighed again, really beginning to hate this spy crap. The last reason I wanted to get intimate with him was because I was trying to distract him from my ultimate plan ofrevenge. So far, I was no closer to learning anything useful to bringing him down, but it had only been a week and I was still gaining his trust.
Which I might just have toppled by speaking carelessly. So, maybe a kiss would be the best route to take.
Damn it. Was I just looking for an excuse to get close to him again, throw the stupid diet out the window?
“Why would you say we were nothing?” he asked. Yes, there was definitely hurt beneath that icy tone. “What exactly did you mean by we were just figuring things out?”
“Oh my gosh, I just said whatever I thought would get him off our backs,” I snapped, irritated at my mixed emotions, tearing me in different directions. “Now I really need to study for my evening class.”
I turned away and pretended to read, but I could feel his eyes on me as he stood there silently for a long moment. He could have pulled rank and said he needed me to do something in my role as his personal assistant. I kind of wished he would, to ease the guilt that gnawed at me. I had no idea why I should feel guilty, but that feeling seemed to follow me around like a lost ghost, determined to haunt me whether I deserved it or not.
Soon enough, I heard him turn and leave the apartment. I put my head down on the table, suddenly bereft at the loss of his presence, which had been stifling only seconds before.
In short, I was a mess. I rewound through the whole scene, starting when he brought Max home. They’d both been so shocked to see me there that I would have laughed if I didn’t recognize his brother and start to have a mild heart attack.
I’d also noticed both of them had bruised and cut knuckles, and I realized I had no idea where Lev went thismorning. Out of curiosity, I’d looked on his calendar, which I had access to as his assistant, but it was only full of upcoming meetings for the lobbying firm, or with other legit business owners. Of course, he wasn’t going to put his Bratva business on an online calendar, and I’d already spent a good portion of my morning wondering where he was.
If he was okay. And now he came home with bruises? What if he was hurt somewhere else that I couldn’t see? I should have asked instead of freaking out and ignoring him.
Oh great, was I worrying about him now?
It was a good thing I was mostly ready for the upcoming test because there was no way I would be able to concentrate again for the rest of the afternoon. As my driver let me know he was waiting for me, I went down the elevator, giving myself a firm pep talk on the quick trip down to the street.
The driver, who I had begun to assume was also a bodyguard of sorts since he was always waiting around for me outside of whatever class I was in, asked me how I was doing.
“Great,” I said through gritted teeth, so forcefully that his usually gruff expression cracked into a smile.
“That good?” he asked with a short laugh.
“No, really,” I said. “I’ve got this.”
He raised a brow at me in the rearview mirror and started the drive down to campus. I may have sounded manic, and maybe there was a touch of that, but I was determined to keep my emotions under control. No more wavering this way or that. I had to stay on track. Sure, there were good things about Lev that drew me to him. That was something I had to be able to use to my advantage. I couldn’t soften to him too much, but I did need to keep the peace.
And I did enjoy this last week together, with everything going so smoothly. I pulled my phone out of my bookbag and sent him a message, asking if he wanted to have dinner with me tonight after my class.
It was an olive branch, nothing more.
Less than a minute later he messaged back.
Absolutely. Can’t wait. I’ll take care of everything. Good luck on your test.
Oh hell. I read it over six times before putting my phone away to keep from sending something gooey back. His message made me way too happy. Any anxiety I had over the test I was about to take was far surpassed by excitement for what Lev would have waiting for me at home.
Chapter 19 - Lev
