He’s always watching. Always calculating.
I smooth my hands down the sleek white silk of my dress, feeling its cool glide against my thighs, trying to ignore how tightly strung my nerves are.
“The view’s amazing,” I say, glancing out at the golden lights twinkling across the French Riviera, the water black and endless beneath the stars.
He tilts his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, and it’s as though whatever was making him cold earlier is gone. “My view’s even better.”
My pulse kicks up a beat. Would a man who’s thinking about throwing me into the ocean be commenting about how much he likes me?
I almost laugh to myself, because of course this man would.
“You look beautiful tonight, Mrs. Marinova.” That familiar warmth spreads through my chest like wildfire.
God, when he’s like this—relaxed, flirty—it’s so easy to forget who he is. What he’s capable of. So easy to pretend I’m just a wife out to dinner with her husband. Not a federal agent embedded in a monster’s world. Not the sister of a man whose life hangs in the balance.
“I’m sorry I’ve been a bit distant today. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
His confession has me sitting straighter, focusing on every word.
“Is everything okay?”
“It will be.” He reaches for the bottle of wine, pouring himself another glass while I sip on an iced tea. “Once I’ve gotten rid of theproblem.”
“The problem?”
Do you mean me? The DeLucas?
My God, I wish I could read his thoughts.
He eyes me for a long moment, forcing the invisible walls around me to tighten.
“The one making everything more complicated than it should be,” he finally answers.
My stomach twists.
Well, shit. What does that even mean?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
EMILIA
Five days later,and I’m happy to report that I’m still very much alive.
Not only am I alive, but Konstantin has been his normal self.
We actually had a nice time, walking the streets of Nice, eating ice cream at ten in the morning, laughing about silly things. And at night, when his body was tangled with mine, was the most alive I’ve ever felt. But that’s how it always is when we’re together.
In these past days, I’ve forgotten about my job, the mission that brought me here, and the tangled mess of secrets I’m still keeping from him. It felt real, like we were an actual couple, not just two people forced together by circumstances beyond our control.
But now, as we walk back into his home hand in hand, the reality of everything slaps me right in the face. It’s then I feel my phone vibrate inside my handbag, and I immediately wonder if it’s Riley.
“I’m gonna go up and take a shower,” I tell Konstantin, throwing my arms around him and kissing him slow.
“Mm.” He grabs a fistful of my behind and tugs me flush to him. “If I didn’t have business to catch up on, I’d join you.”
His lips trail hot, teasing kisses down my jaw, a low growl escaping him as a soft sound of pleasure slips from me. When he pulls back, his eyes are flooded with desire.
“Go. I’ll meet you in the bedroom as soon as I’m done.”
