It wasn’t an invasive gesture, he was just there, and it felt so good she found herself with her face against his shoulder, taking a few sustaining breaths because she had to end this in a moment. She couldn’t be doing this with this man.
‘I meant to me,’ he said quietly against her ear. ‘You should have spoken up for yourself to me.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I like to get my own way. But I’m human, Sybella. I could have got this wrong.’
She stilled.
‘Besides,’ he said, ‘what was I supposed to do? Let this all slide? I had to get to the bottom of it. I owe my grandfather a duty of care.’
‘No, of course.’ Breathing deeply, Sybella extricated herself and he let her go.
She’d seen how tender he’d been with his grandfather, the bond between them. It made her feel graceless for her critical words to him. She’d clearly understood very little. And Nik was…well, overwhelming her. Sybella allowed that thought in for the first time. She guessed it was only to be expected. He felt so solid and dependable and she was so tired of being the solid and dependable one, and, besides, he made her feel like a desirable woman.
She couldn’t remember Simon ever making her feel this way. Loved, yes. Cared for. But not this pulsing, breathless awareness every time he came near her.
She gave him a quick upward look. ‘I should go.’
She opened her car door. He held it while she climbed in, but the hand she extended to reach for the ignition was shaking badly.
Nik knew this was down to him. He had this out-of-character urge to reassure her. He couldn’t stand it that her lips were mashed together and seeing that tremor in her hand had him wanting to put his arms around her again, but she was clearly embarrassed.
Instead he said gruffly, ‘I’ll drive you—that way you won’t end up parked up a tree.’
To his surprise she didn’t argue. She let him take the keys with another subdued ‘thank you’. He walked her around to open the passenger door.
‘You have amazing manners,’ she said, looking a little shy now. ‘I guess it’s a Russian thing.’
‘Net. It’s my grandfather’s thing.’
‘You are close to him, aren’t you?’ she said when he got in the other side.
‘He raised me from the age of nine.’
She was looking at him curiously as he adjusted her driving seat to accommodate his long legs. ‘I didn’t know that.’
He never spoke about his childhood or his relationship with Deda to anyone, but there was something about Sybella that consistently had him relaxing his guard.
‘They had a summer house on the Baltic. There were cherry trees along the drive so in spring it was like a tunnel of pink and white petals, and in summer Deda would take me sailing the fjords.’
‘It sounds idyllic.’
He shrugged. ‘It was a haven of sorts.’
‘From what?’
‘Boarding school.’
‘We have something in common,’ she said.
‘I know.’ He named the elite public girls’ school she’d attended and then regretted it because she went stiff as a board again. ‘I did a little basic research on you this morning.’
‘Research?’
‘You’re in my grandfather’s life. I have to check you out.’
She sighed. ‘I guess so. What did you find out?’
‘Don’t worry, I didn’t have your taxes hauled over.’
‘I didn’t know anyone could do that. Search into someone’s background that easily.’
‘It’s just basic facts anyone could find on your social media page.’
‘I’m not on social media.’
‘No.’
‘Then how—?’ She broke off and shook her head. ‘Don’t bother, you’re rich, you have your ways.’
‘You probably know just as much about me from the Internet.’
‘I know you have a big mine in the Urals. I looked it up. It looks like a vast crater.’
‘You can see it from the moon,’ said Nik.
‘I won’t ask you if you have a problem with your ego,’ she murmured, and for the first time a small smile tipped up one corner of her mouth.