Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Romanov went down on one knee, bending his head to speak at Hadley’s level. The little girl was the spitting image of her mother, her skin hinting of the Middle Eastern descent she’d inherited by way of her maternal grandmother, her hair a wild riot of dark curls. She was a solemn child, and she was serious in the extreme as she spoke to her uncle until he pulled a floppy bunny from his jacket. He couldn’t have had the thing the entire time, but he managed to make it look like a magic trick. Hadley’s trill of delight could be heard even halfway across the room.
“Cute.” Charlie sank into the chair to his left, her attention following his.
“Yes, it is.” He looked at her, searching for any signs of doubt or softening. “Still on board?”
She frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? Even monsters have soft spots. That doesn’t make them less monstrous. He could cuddle his niece and turn around and order a person’s death without blinking.” She shook her head. “No. The kid’s young enough. She’s got a good mom. She’ll be fine if her uncle disappears off the face of the earth.”
Aiden didn’t ask whether she was looking for Romanov to end up in prison or six feet under. He didn’t have it in him for a fight—not here, not now. “It’s almost time for food—and toasts.”
“Toasts?”
He shrugged. “It’s part of the process. We’ll have a meeting to hash out the details and argue to a standstill about which ceremony will be performed.”
She stared. “You’re serious.”
“The Romanov family is Eastern Orthodox. We’re Catholic. They might not seem that different to an outsider, but they are—and neither family will be happy about compromise.”
Charlie didn’t look any more convinced. “You’re not actually planning on letting Keira marry that piece of shit, so why does it matter?”
He glanced around, but there was no one particularly close. That didn’t stop him from hooking a hand under her chair and towing her over to his side, the move putting her half in his lap. “What is it with people wanting to discuss state secrets while we’re in a room with fifty other fucking people.”
“That’s the best time to discuss secrets,” she murmured.
To anyone looking on, they were a couple in love—or at least in lust—so entwined with each other that the rest of the room didn’t matter. With Charlie’s citrus scent teasing him, it wasn’t a hard part to play. He kissed her neck. “Romanov is many things—a fool isn’t one of them. If I don’t fight and argue and bitch the same way I would in reality, he’ll know something is up. Ultimately, it’s Keira’s choice, but until she makes it, we have to proceed accordingly.” Until the deal with the Eldridges is done and she knows she has a choice at all.
“Makes sense.” She inhaled sharply as he nipped her shoulder.
“You going to tell me what the fuck was up with that game you were playing with Mae?”
“Now’s not the time.”
He growled, which only seemed to amuse the infuriating woman. She grinned at him. “But I’m more than willing to be persuaded.”
“Oh, bright eyes, I’ll persuade the fuck out of you.”
* * *
Charlie did her best to focus, but it was a lost cause. All she could feel was Aiden’s attention heavy on her, the promise of persuasion in her future. There was no mistaking what that meant—not when he’d spelled it out in the car earlier. Sex. He’d made her beg, something she’d thought was impossible. Charlie was hardly a virgin, but she liked her sex like she liked everything else since her life had gone down the shitter—without fuss. Why bother with romance when the only thing both partners were after was a pair of mutually satisfying orgasms?
Not that she could call what had happened between them in his bed romantic.
“Charlie.”
She turned, her breath coming a little too short to be totally at ease. Seeing how smug Aiden looked made her want to set him on his ass. That was her problem, though. Not his. He’d been mostly consistent up to this point. She was the one who was in danger of changing the rules. Hard to take the high ground when I don’t have a ledge to stand on. “What?”
“It’s time.”
She looked around, a little panicked at the realization that the room had emptied while she was obsessing over the thought of having sex with Aiden. You’re trained better than that, distracted to high hell or not. She tried for a smile and failed miserably. “Great.” All she wanted to do was get the hell away from here. The night had left her feeling raw and exposed in a way that had nothing to do with the physical.
She’d thought she was prepared for everything that working with Aiden would entail.