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“Anyway,” said Duran hastily. “What do we do?”
“We wait and hope nothing goes wrong. My information could be faulty,” said Lucien lightly. “In the meantime, I’d prepare yourself for the serious possibility that you might need to protect her if things go south.”
The conversation was coming to a close and Duran moved toward the door. I backed up swiftly and darted into the room across the hall, pushing the door shut behind me. I was in a sunroom with a large, oak table and chairs. There were plants all along the windows, spilling out of their pots and filling the air with a fresh scent. I moved toward them just as the door opened behind me and Duran stepped through, pausing when his eyes fell on me.
“Iris, what are you doing in here?” he said.
“I was just exploring,” I said hastily.
His eyes narrowed and I knew he was wondering if I’d heard his conversation with Lucien, but he didn’t mention it. Instead he drew up beside me and took my wrist in his big hand, backing me against the table. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him after last night and his intense sex appeal coupled with the hungry expression in his eyes was overwhelming.
His mouth brushed over mine and when I didn’t respond, he drew back. “What’s wrong, Iris?”
I considered telling him that I’d heard, but under the desire flickering in his gaze, there was that hint of darkness that made my scalp prickle. Instead I just shook my head and kissed him, letting him take his time. His tongue tasted of coffee and it moved just inside my mouth, caressing and setting my body aflame. When he pulled back I couldn’t remember anything save the warmth of his chest and the firm pressure of his forearm against my back.
“What’s wrong?” he repeated.
“Nothing, I’m just hungry,” I said. “I haven’t been down to the kitchen yet.”
“I wish I could take you to breakfast,” he murmured. “Then maybe we could not have sex upstairs in your room for a while. But I have to go.”
I drew back, my palm pressing against his chest until he moved off me. “Where are you going?”
His gaze darkened a little and shifted from my face. “I have business with Lucien.”
He left a few minutes later and I stood in the front door and watched him descend the stairs, heartrendingly handsome in his crisp pants and shirt. There was a sedan with darkened windows waiting at the end of the drive and he disappeared inside with a brief glance over his shoulder.
He was gone until the early morning hours when he woke me with his hard body sliding beneath the covers behind me. I rolled against him, letting my hair fall from my neck so he could press his mouth to the exposed skin. It was intense how comfortable this felt, as though we’d done it hundreds of times before.
I rolled onto my back and he shifted halfway on top of me, his hard arousal pressing into my thigh. He smelled faintly of whiskey and a slight smoky scent that I couldn’t place. I ran my fingers up his sides and felt a bandaged place on his side, just below his right pectoral.
“Are you hurt?” I whispered.
“Had a brief encounter with the sharp side of a knife. But it’s just a shallow cut, nothing I won’t recover from. The Russians are getting feisty.”
His tone was casual and I had to remind myself that violence like this was probably commonplace for him. I brushed my fingers over the bandage and he shifted in the dark and I knew it hurt more than he was letting on. “Want me to look at it for you?”
“You’d be a sexy nurse, but no, I’m good,” he murmured against my throat. “I had our doctor wrap it up.”
“It must not be all that bad,” I said as he ground his erection harder into my leg. “You just got stabbed and you’re already horny.”
“I got cut, not stabbed. And I’m always hard when I’m around you, princess,” he said. He moved closer, pressing himself against my ass and thrusting gently. This man was insatiable.
“Are you sure you won’t reconsider the sex thing?” he said after a while.
“I told you that I’m waiting.” I blinked into the darkness, barely able to keep my eyes open.
“Until a husband comes to whisk you off your feet and wed and bed you, in that order.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, we’ll see what happens.”
I wondered for a sleepy moment what he meant by that, but darkness enveloped our bodies in a warm cocoon. The sleep I got with him laying at my side was some of the best I’d ever had, his presence a soothing balm to my habitual unrest.
The next few days stretched on uneventfully. Duran and Lucien were gone most of the day so Olivia and I spent our time walking by the lake, wandering the gardens, or watching TV in the enormous theater room. We went shopping and Olivia paid for it all on a shiny credit card with Lucien’s name on it. The feeling of being owned was uncomfortable for me, but Olivia seemed used to it. I had my doubts that she’d ever been allowed to earn money of her own.
When we left the shop with our purchases, Olivia had the driver bring us to a nearby café for some lunch. Our bodyguards followed us into the modern, airy café, taking a seat at the table nearby, their faces stony as they scanned the room. I ordered a latte and a chicken sandwich and Olivia poured over the menu, shifting nervously and chewing her nails.
