Defiant. Sweet. Alluring.
A business deal gone wrong brought me to her doorstep.
She's everything I shouldn't want; everything I was against after watching my mother's obsession destroy her.
Still, I can't stop myself from craving her.
I should know...
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A KNOCK ON MY DOOR dragged my attention from the business call I was on. My fingers hovered over the chess pieces I toyed with as I spoke to a business associate on the other end of the line.
I checked the time on the digital clock on the wall above the fireplace.
10:35 P.M.
What the fuck did Mikhail want by this time of the night? Knowing him, I could bet it was something stupid as fuck.
I gently rose to my feet so I didn't topple over the glass chessboard, padding across the room to open the door slightly.
I was prepared to glare at him and slam the door in his face, but I paused with my hand curled around the knob, shock making my entire body freeze.
It wasn't my little brother knocking on my door as I'd expected.
It was Ariana.
It would've been less surprising if it was Mikhail even though we lived in different wings of the house as opposed to Ariana whose room was on the same floor as mine---a few doors away, to be exact, but I didn't in a million years think that she'd come knocking on my door.
I flicked my gaze down to the slice of chocolate cake on the plate she held in her hands.
"Going to bed, my a—"
I pressed my thumb on her bottom lip, sealing the rest of her words. Her brows pinched with a frown, but that was quickly replaced with understanding when she saw my phone pressed to my ear.
"I can come back," she mouthed, already taking several steps back.
I stopped her with a shake of my head, stepping to the side and opening the door wider for her to walk in. I closed the door after her, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she walked deeper into my room.
"Are you still there?" The deep baritone on the other end asked, momentarily pulling my attention away from Ariana.
"Yes." I returned to the couch I just vacated. "Please, go on."
I would've rescheduled the meeting, but it was already hard enough to find a suitable time for us to have this discussion because of our conflicting time zones. A few minutes wouldn't hurt.
My game of chess long forgotten, I leaned back in the chair, watching Ariana scan the wide expanse of my room with her whiskey-brown eyes. As her eyes swept over the room, I realized this was the first time she'd entered my room since we got married.
The weird urge to know what she thought of my space filled my head, providing me with the extra distraction I needed.
So, I watched her kick off her fur slippers to the side haphazardly.
I watched her trail her fingers over my sheets.
I watched her open my drawers and rummage through the contents like they belonged to her.
