Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Her hiss this time is more in jealousy than pain, but I let her play it off as if it is in response to me removing her shoe, because she has no reason to be jealous.
Even weeks after our first meeting, I still can’t be in the same room as Veronika for ten minutes without wanting to dig a pen in my ear. There’s no way we would have lasted the eight-year term of the contract Fyodor wanted us to sign, and mercifully, both Veronika and my mother are out of time to prove otherwise.
Veronika’s “invitation” expired this morning at 8 a.m. sharp.
She is finally out of my hair, leaving me only one gargoyle left to wrangle—and perhaps a heap of guilt I’ve never truly acknowledged belongs on my shoulders as much as it does everyone else’s.
When Mara’s chest sinks, disappointed by my lack of reply, I wet my lips before saying, “Apparently, the makeup Veronika left behind when she packed this morning is invaluable to her, so Rafael organized to have it couriered to her hotel.”
Needing to keep my focus off the rapid rise and fall of her chest before it forces me to make a similar mistake to the one I made last Friday, I lower my eyes to her foot.
When I saw Mara through the boutique window, my feet moved for her before my head could talk me out of it. That’s how hard I have to fight to keep my distance when our exchanges could be eyeballed by a lady threatening to throw more than my career under the bus if I act on my desires.
Annoyance about how close I came to forcing Tillie to walk in on a scene inappropriate for a child grinds my back molars together as I inspect Mara’s foot more diligently.
It is swollen, but I don’t believe it is broken. She should still seek medical attention, though. Even if she didn’t make my dick ache, she is an employee who was hurt on my watch. Seeking medical assistance is the right thing to do.
“Did you have your ankle looked at when you rolled it?”
The shampoo I’m obsessed with wafts into my nostrils when Mara shakes her head. “Rafael offered”—when I growl, she speaks faster—“to take me to the ER, but I told him it wasn’t necessary. My foot is fine. Look…”
She rolls her ankle and almost howls.
When I shoot up to my feet, confident I never want to hear her cries of pain again, Mara’s watering eyes follow my stalk. “Where are you going?”
“To call a doctor,” I answer, not looking back.
“A doctor? Don’t be absurd. I rolled m-my ankle. It isn’t an emergency s-situation.”
“Dr. Morgasten is a resident of the Chrysler building. He’ll come straight down. Then you can get back to…” A growl ends my reply when I peer up at the chandelier. It is even more hazardous from this viewpoint. “Home. You can go home as you should have hours ago.”
I loosen the tightness of my jaw with a quick grind when the receptionist answers my call. “Good evening, Mr. Orlov. How can I help you?”
“Dr. Morgasten’s residence, please,” I request through clenched teeth, frustrated by her inability to refer to me by my given name as asked numerous times over the past three weeks.
Apparently, my mother’s orders outrank mine.
“Right away, sir,” she replies, not missing the sternness of my bark.
A clank sounds before it is swallowed by a noise I never want to hear again. “He-he? Dr. M-Morgasten is a m-man?”
Mara’s eyes widen when they meet mine. Although they still stimulate a jolt of excitement to my cock, that isn’t the only response they entice.
They announce that she is scared.
My focus momentarily rips away from Mara’s whitening cheeks when a gravelly voice sounds down the line. “Arkadiy, what a pleasure it is—”
I hang up before Dr. Morgasten can issue all of his greeting, before twisting to face Mara front on.
I don’t need to ask the profession of the man who hurt her.
Her frightened expression tells me everything I need to know.
Medical professionals are meant to save lives.
Her unvoiced confession just cut one of theirs short.
I try to keep my tone neutral. It is a woeful waste of time. It couldn’t be more possessive if I tried. “If you don’t want to see someone about your foot, you need to ice it.”
Mara’s chest sinks when she sighs in relief. “I will. The instant I get h-home—”
“No. Now. You will ice it now.”
“Now?”
She looks as bewildered as I feel when I stride across the den, pluck her from the armchair, lift her into my arms, and then veer my steps to my bedroom.
22
MARA
Iswallow to soothe the dryness of my throat when Ark’s long steps veer us past Veronika’s room. There wasn’t an ounce of deceit in his tone when he said she had left this morning. However, I’m still shocked to see her room is empty. All the designer dresses she picked last week are gone, and the vanity mirror the cleaning staff wipes down every morning doesn’t have a speck of the compact powder that gives her skin a luminous shine.