When she sets aside her napkin, silently signaling that she’s finished with the meal, I flash her a wicked smile.
“Are you ready for the next event on tonight’s agenda?” I ask.
“You can’t be serious. I have to get up early tomorrow. I can’t spend every night fooling around with you until dawn,” she states, crossing her arms over her chest as she leans back in her chair.
Ignoring her objections, I stand and offer her my hand. She glares at it for several long seconds, refusing to budge. But I can be patient when I want to be, and as she looks up at me, I simply quirk an eyebrow. With a huff, Tatiana takes my hand, and I haul her from her chair. She stumbles forward on her feet, her palms finding my chest as I catch her waist with my hands.
“Was that really necessary?” she demands.
Appreciating her soft curves pressed against my body, I smirk. “I think so. Come on. I have something I want to show you.”
Keeping one arm wrapped around her waist, I guide Tatiana from the dining room and up the steps, past the second floor and our master bedroom until we reach the rooftop door.
“If you married me just for the excuse to push me off a building, you probably should have picked a higher roof,” Tatiana states, her expression guarded as her body language grows suddenly hesitant.
I chuckle. “Maybe I brought you up here to give you the opportunity to push me off,” I tease. Then I open the sliding glass and flick on the string lights hanging between the roof’s eaves. The lights of my infinity pool turn on at the same time, illuminating the tranquil space of my rooftop terrace. Lounge chairs line one side of the pool with a glass patio table behind them. The recessed hot tub sits off to one side, near the far corner of the rooftop and only a short walk from the pool steps.
Tatiana gasps, her lips parting in shock as she takes it in, and for a moment, the tense resistance in her body vanishes. I can see the astonishment on her face—and the temptation. Beyond the ledge of the infinity pool is a black night sky, devoid of thecity lights behind us. And while we’re not far enough from the city to completely avoid the light pollution, at this distance, we can still see several twinkling stars along the horizon.
Taking a step forward, as if drawn to the rare glimpse of nature this close to Manhattan, Tatiana almost seems like she’s forgotten to hate me or the marriage I’ve trapped her in. Instead, she kicks off her heels to pad across the flagstone tiles toward the far end of the terrace.
I follow her, kicking off my Italian leather dress shoes and shrugging out of my suit jacket before dropping it onto one of the lounge chairs.
“You like it?” I ask softly, coming up behind her as she stares out across the open expanse of my property to the line of trees beyond.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmurs.
Humming appreciatively, I wrap my arms around her waist, bringing her back against my chest. Pressing my lips against the soft curve of her neck, I murmur, “Let’s go for a swim.”
“Lucian,” she chides, but the breathy sound of her voice makes her resistance far less convincing.
“Say yes,” I murmur, trailing the kisses down to the top of her shoulder.
“I can’t.”
“Sure you can,” I tease. “You just like telling me no.”
“I don’t even have a swimsuit.”
“You don’t need one,” I promise, scooping her into my arms bridal-style.
“What are you doing?” Tatiana demands, her voice suddenly panicky, her arms flailing as I carry her to the pool’s edge. “Lucian, don’t you dare?—”
A horrified shriek escapes her as I toss her into the deep end of the pool.
Sputtering, she surfaces a moment later, her perfectly tamed hair and fancy outfit waterlogged as she stands and glares at me. “What iswrongwith you?” she screams, her mascara bleeding down her cheeks as she wipes at it furiously.
With a wicked smile, I strip out of my dress shirt and jump in after her—still wearing my slacks. She seems stunned by my decision to join her, her blue eyes widening and her hands stilling on her face.
She’s so shocked, she doesn’t even try to push me away as I pull her into my arms. And when I seal her lips with a kiss, her anger melts away. Slowly, her arms wrap around the back of my neck, and heat surges between us as her tongue strokes out to tangle with mine.
10
TATIANA
For as ruthless and violent as Lucian has proven he can be, there’s a side to him that I can’t seem to resist—no matter how hard I try. This playful, flirtatious side batters at my high walls and evaporates the imperious demeanor I use to keep him at arm’s length.
But when he kisses me, it sets my soul on fire.
