“I don’t know what you’re up to, but stop it.”
He shrugged as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
“What if someone walks in here?” His only answer was to skim higher up the back of my thigh. I slapped his hand away again and asked, “What has gotten into you?”
“Let us make a deal,” he offered.
My head tilted to the side. “A deal?” I asked skeptically.
Kova clasped his hands together in front of his face like he was praying. He appeared deep in thought for a moment and then spoke, lifting his eyes to meet mine.
“I will let you come in tomorrow and train, do extra conditioning, even if I do not talk to your father or have an appointment set, if tonight I can see you. Of course your routines will have to be downgraded because I cannot risk you getting hurt, but I will not make you take time off. Taking time off really isn’t needed. We just need to be cautious.”
My jaw dropped. He had me thinking I’d have to take time off! And I think I stopped breathing for a second.
Kova stood up, forcing me to straighten my back as he stepped in front of me. His presence commanded attention and my heart gave it to him completely. This dominating, authoritative side of his is what lured me to him in the first place.
“I want to see you again,” Kova admitted.
Dropping my hands, I gripped the edge of his desk as his leg brushed my thigh. He stepped even closer, so close there was hardly any space left to breathe, and I realized what I had felt hadn’t been his leg.
The air crackled with tension, the chemistry between us was blatant. I could tell he was still on edge over his conversation with Katja, but I wasn’t going to bring it up despite wanting to so badly. My heart raced, my skin prickled with the shiver I fought off. With my eyes cast downward, Kova trailed his hands up my arms, gently over my collarbone and around to cup my neck. He angled my jaw to look up at him where our eyes slowly locked. God, there were no ifs, ands, or butts about it. I was falling for Kova, and I was falling hard. His needy gaze captivated me completely. The swirling desire in his eyes, the way his eyelids lowered and his nose flared, the fullness of his lips. He stared at me like I was the only thing that mattered in the entire world. He was seducing me without saying a word, and I wondered if he felt the same way about me. Our ages forgotten in this moment of silence we shared, the obvious connection could not be denied. The intensity started to smother me. And my heart wrapped around a newfound emotion I couldn’t name. I looked down, I had to. Kova had a way of making the world disappear when I was with him.
“Look at me,” he said quietly. I shook my head. “Ria, I will not say it again.” When I ignored him for the second time, his finger skimmed along my jaw and tilted my head up, but I closed my eyes.
With a breathless murmur, I asked, “What are you doing?”
He ignored my question. “Open your eyes.” When I obeyed, his next words whispered across my tepid skin. “I have
not finished tasting you.” His thumb pressed down on my lip.
“It’s not that easy.”
“Oh, but it is.” The back of his knuckles slid down my neck and over my clavicle. “Agree to my deal.”
I hesitated, my mind going over what he offered.
His hand continued down, lightly brushing my breast. “Malysh…”
“What does tasting even mean? It sounds really odd.” But hot, I thought.
He chuckled low under his breath. “Exactly why I need to show you.”
“You don’t need to do anything. You want to. There’s a difference.”
“If you had not come in here wearing that flimsy little dress and gold sandals, then maybe no deal would have been offered. But seeing you changed my outlook completely.”
“But it’s not even a real deal!” I retorted jokingly. He shrugged it off knowing I was right.
“So it’s my fault you want to…taste me? Kova, your choice of words sometimes worry me.”
The smirk that formed on his face almost made me smile. In fact, it did, and I laughed. Pressing a hand to his hard chest, I tried to push him back. He didn’t budge. “No,” I said again. “Go away,” I chuckled.
Kova’s hand dropped to my thigh, pushing up the seam of my dress. I half-heartedly slapped his hand away, worried someone could walk in at any given moment, but he quickly moved his hand under mine, going right back to his intended destination. He pushed my dress up higher on my silky smooth thigh, meeting the crease of my hip.
“What has gotten into you today? You’re like a dog in heat.” I clutched his shirt in an effort to push him away, but all I did was inch him closer. I was breathless, my heart raced as lust and adrenaline pumped through me.
A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “I think your choice of words worries me sometimes.”