Page 124 of Bratva's Intern
Before finding out he’d been sitting in his caroutside my apartment, I would have freaked out about my feelings. But maybe… just maybe, I wasn’t another plaything to him. Maybe he had feelings for me too.
CHAPTER THIRTY
WREN
The office was quiet in that way it only got when the sun had dipped below the skyline and the cleaning crew hadn’t arrived yet. Most of the staff had gone home an hour ago, but I was still at my desk, dragging out the last of my admin tasks like I actually had something important to do. Truthfully, I just didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
Not when Maxim was still here.
He had another late meeting. That made three days in a row of him staying back at the office. Three consecutive days of him coming home moody. Three days of intense sex that usually snapped him out of it.
I glanced toward his office door. Closed. But the glow from under it said he was still working. Either that or brooding, which he seemed to treat like a second job lately. Even more than the usual.
He never told me the full extent of what bothered him. Over the past week, I’d caught snippets enough to figure out he and Archie had a spat. That whatever he’d gone toChicago to take care of hadn’t been successful, and he seemed to work more than ever.
Even his business plans to go to London had changed. He’d sent Bradley in his stead, though I had a feeling he wanted to get Bradley out of the office. Bradley seemed to watch us a lot lately.
I would wake up in the middle of the night to find Maxim not in bed. He would be in his office, usually a drink in hand, and his computer on. Sometimes, he was on the phone, but most of the time, his conversations were in Russian, so I didn’t understand a word of it.
For that reason, I’d started learning Russian in secret, though I wasn’t sure the app I was using was of much help. Just what his nicknames for me meant. Little sun. His pumpkin.
I shut down my computer and smoothed down my shirt. I’d discarded my jacket earlier. At Maxim’s office door, I knocked once, then entered.
Maxim stood by the window, suit jacket off and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His tie was loose, and a glass of something amber sat untouched on the edge of his desk.
Maybe I should worry about how much he was drinking lately. But he was never drunk, so he must at least know his limit.
God, he looked good like that—worn around the edges in a way he let no one else see. Just me.
He slowly turned, and the second his eyes landed on me, his entire face softened. That little curve of a smile, crooked and slow, like he’d been waiting for me.
“Still here?” he said, voice lower than usual, like it’d dropped just for me too. He glanced at his watch. “My meeting’s not for another half an hour.”
I leaned against the doorframe, casual, pretending my heart wasn’t doing a triple axel in my chest. “Sure you don’twant me to stick around? I could sit in your lap and take notes.”
His smile deepened, and he took a step toward me. “Tempting, but you should go home and rest.”
His eyes did the thing they always did when he looked at me—start at my face, then drag down slowly, lingering. My chest. My hips. My legs. He didn’t hide it. Didn’t even try. Just let his gaze settle where it wanted.
I should feel objectified by the way he ogled me. But I felt… wanted. Desired. His eyes were so intent on me, so focused, that I understood the cliché about how a glance could undress you right then and there. Fact was, I’d never felt sexier, bolder, or more irresistible.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay here with you? I don’t mind.”
“But if you stayed, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate,” he murmured. “It’s already tough not touching you every minute during eight to five. You’re off the clock, and I just might risk sexual harassment.”
I laughed. “Are you sure I’m worth the risk?”
“I’ve never been so sure of something in my life.” He closed the distance between us and curled a hand lightly around the back of my neck, fingers warm against my skin. He brushed his thumb over my jaw, slow and deliberate, like he was memorizing the shape of me. “And you know what?”
“What?”
“You’d love it too.”
“Now, aren’t we presuming much?”
He slipped his hand down my neck and squeezed gently. “You’d better be glad I don’t have the time to prove you wrong. But one day before your internship ends, I’m gonna put you right where I want you, over my desk, and have my way with you.”
His declaration held a heat that had me flushed, mybreath hitching as my heart pounded. I knew he wasn’t joking. His gaze was smoldering, full of dark promises that tied knots in my stomach.
