With This Ring

There were very few places to hide in our small apartment. I ran my gaze across the one couch and armchair we had in the middle, and the hideous bright red hanging chair that Britney had bought from the flea market.

There was no one there, so I headed towards the two bedrooms. Mine was empty, and so was Britney’s, so I returned to the living room to think.

Fortunately for me, I had found no one, but with the passing of danger I began to shake. I’d never been haunted like this despite all the enemies my father had managed to accumulate throughout the years. Anyway, where were the guards that I knew my father had on me?

I pulled out my phone to call him, but given the cold way we had parted, the last thing I wanted was to give him a reason to reiterate his point that I needed a man to protect me.

I needed to tell someone about this, and it had been instilled in me from a very young age that you never call the police. No matter what you didn’t call them. There was only one person I could think of. It was all his fault anyway. Until he came into my life, everything had been normal. I knew he’d already be back in town so I pulled out my phone and called him.

I got straight to the point as soon as he answered. “Someone broke into my apartment.”

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice calm and sure.

Something warm broke open inside me, and began to spread through my veins. I cleared my throat to rein in my focus. “Sure, I just thought to let you know, and to find out if you can think of a way to quickly bring this harassment to an end.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said.

Before I could protest or agree, the line went dead. I rose in a moment of instinctive panic. The apartment had been trashed, but then I sat my ass back down, refusing to be bothered by the complete mess.

I went into my room and busied myself with unpacking and putting away the clothes I took to Moscow and the four new dresses I brought back. Then I gathered all my underwear that had obviously been rifled through and dumped them in the washing machine. Bastards!

“Freya,” I heard my name called.

I walked out to see Maxim in the most casual form I’d ever seen him in. He had on a dark polo shirt and dark slacks. Suddenly, the most irrational and stupid thought crossed my mind. I wanted him to pin me against the wall and take me. Against my will.

My gaze moved restlessly over his body. I couldn’t stop staring at him.

The bulge of his thick biceps against the material and the way it molded to the ridges of his chest made me feel hazy. He rested his icy blue gaze on me, and I had to blink twice to clear my head.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice seductively velvety.

“I’m fine,” I replied, my body tingling with awareness of him. “You didn’t have to come over.”

He turned around to inspect my broken lock. I watched him as he dialed a number and issued out the instructions in Russian to fix my lock immediately. His voice was brusque, but the language had never sounded so sexy to my ears.

I needed to sit down, I was losing my mind. I didn’t want him. I wanted a career. I wanted a normal man. A normal life.

He turned to me, concern in his blue eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look dazed.”

That snapped me right back to reason. “Um, I most definitely am not dazed, and I need to leave right now. Britney needs my help at a shoot.” All of a sudden fear gripped my heart. Britney. Was she actually safe?

In my state of shock I hadn’t even called to find out if she was actually okay and not been kidnapped or something. I scrambled for my phone and dialed her, but she didn’t pick up. I shot to my feet, terrified out of my mind.

“Pick up, pick up, Brit,” I muttered through gritted teeth, as I paced the ground.

“Is there a problem?” Maxim asked.

I spun around to face him. “Britney, my roommate. I need to find out if she is okay.”

“Do you know where she is supposed to be?”

“I’m not even sure. On some freaking rooftop somewhere.” I sounded hysterical. I turned my back on him and choked out, “Pick up, Brit!” The panic was so real, I felt as if I was being suffocated.

Maxim took the phone from me.

I spun around ready to fight him.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Freya

“Calm down!” he said, his eyes narrowed.

The blood seemed to be rushing through my ears, my chest was heaving, and my hands were trembling. My chest felt so tight simply breathing was a feat. My vision blurred.