Page 59 of The Darkness is Calling

I gently wrap my fingers around her wrists and kiss her palms before taking a step back.

“Not from the first day.”

It takes her only a few seconds to realize what I mean, and she doesn’t even seem to notice when I continue undressing.

“The Christmas party,” she whispers.

I wink in confirmation.

“But we didn’t even speak. That doesn’t count as seeing each other.”

I lean toward her and breathe the words over her lips.

“Believe me, Katya. I saw you.”

Chapter 13

Ekaterina

I saw him too.

And now I want to kiss him, just as I think I would have accepted that night if he had asked me. But the moment I open my mouth to confess that he was not the only one looking, his trousers fall onto the heated tile.

My eyes travel down the length of his perfect body, now left in nothing but black boxers, and I freeze.

He is hard.

And very thick.

“When did you undress?” The air is stuck in my chest.

“When you were thinking about kissing me again.”

“That’s not true! I was only remembering that Christmas party.”

“What exactly do you remember?”

I gulp, trying not to stare at his tempting body, standing there with his hands on his hips, waiting for my answer.

Would it be too much if I dragged my tongue over his perfect abs?

Probably.

“A man speaking to my brother,” I answer after another dry swallow.

“There were many men who spoke with Mikhail that evening.”

“But only one scared everyone there.”

He takes one careful step toward me. “Not you.”

I slowly shake my head, hypnotized by his eyes.

“And yet, that night, I was the one you should have feared the most. You still should be, because now you have seen how dangerous I can be even around you.”

He exhales heavily, with guilt, and brushes past me toward the shower.

“I don’t want to hurt you again, Katya.”