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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I SAW ONLINE ONCE that sleeping next to a romantic partner reported better sleep than sleeping alone or next to a child, and that information chose to slither into my brain at the crack of dawn.
I wasn't confirming or denying this study-Aleksei and I weren't even close to being romantic partners-but maybe these researchers were onto something when they came to that conclusion. Maybe.
When I knocked on his door last night, I didn't even plan to sleep in his bed.
Did the thought of sleeping in the same bed as him cross my mind when I climbed up the stairs? I was ashamed to admit it to myself, but yes, the thought did linger in the back of my head a little.
I was also honest with him last night when I told him I just wanted to hand him the cake. I thought it'd be the nice thing to do after shunning him from my dinner plans last night. He said he'd already eaten, but when I asked the kitchen staff if that was true after my family left, they'd all denied serving dinner to Aleksei meaning he lied to me to spare my feelings.
I felt like the worst type of human after the realization dawned on me that my hesitance had played a role in him turning my less-than-enthusiastic invitation down. The cake was an olive branch of sorts. I wanted him to eat something, and at the same time, I wanted to use the opportunity to check on him after working nonstop.
I didn't think he'd let me come into his room, but somehow, that had led to us having a conversation that briefly touched on his relationship with his fucked up mother. I was surprised he even opened up to me, at all. He seemed like a closed-off person at first glance.
In a rare occurrence-yes, I was calling it rare even though we'd only slept together twice-he was still fast asleep beside me when I opened my eyes earlier this morning, his soft, even breath brushing over my neck like silk.
I'd gently lifted his heavy arm draped around my waist, turning as quietly as I could in his arms so we were now facing each other. His arm had fallen limp on my waist again, and I ended up snuggling against him, chasing more of the heat the hard planes of his body emanated.
I distinctly remember him watching me crawl under his sheets last night in just his T-shirt with satisfaction dancing in his eyes because he refused to let me step out of his room.
He'd returned to his seating area after that, his watchful eyes pinned on me as he played chess against himself until I finally fell asleep. Long after I drifted off, I felt him climb into the bed last night and press a kiss on my temple. He opened his arm, and I immediately rolled into his side, cocking a leg over his torso with ease like we'd done this dance a million times.
"Earth to Ari." Michael snapped his fingers in front of my face to get my attention.
I shook the thoughts of this morning out of my head to address Michael. "Sorry. I'm a little distracted."
"I could tell," he said dryly, leaning back against the couch. "So you speak now."
"Please, don't tell me you came all the way from work because of that," I groaned, throwing my head back against my chair. "You're all acting like it's a record-breaking event."
