“Hm,” he remarks, as though he hasn’t noticed. “Apparently it does.”
“Put some pants on.”
“I like sleeping naked.”
I roll my eyes and grit my teeth. He’s impossible.
Changing course, I drag the sheet over to the sofa in the corner of the room and settle myself on the cushions. I’ve just gotten nestled in when he looks over at me. The gleam in his eyes is impossible to mistake.
“You think it’s gonna be that easy to seduce me?” I snap.
“Yes.”
“You don’t affect me as much as you think you do.”
He smiles. “I’m in your head, Willow. You can’t deny that.”
“I don’t waste my time thinking about you,” I lie.
“Somehow, I don’t believe it.”
“Because it’s not what you want to believe.”
“No,” he says easily. “Because just before you woke up… you were crying out my name.”
14
LEO
The steady rapping on the door wakes me up. I roll out of bed and answer the door.
Ariel’s waiting on the other side. She raises her eyebrows as her gaze flickers down to my erection.
“Had a good morning, boss?” she asks. “Or was it a really good night?”
She tries to peek into the room, but I pull the door closed.
Willow is still sleeping. She tossed and turned for hours before she finally settled down in the early pre-dawn. I’m certain I’m partially to blame.
Ariel sighs, disappointed. “So protective. It’s cute.”
“You’re talking a lot,” I snap. “But you’re not really saying anything.”
“Right down to business, huh? I don’t even get a good morning?”
She’s managed to get a hold of herself since last night. She needed to get some things off her chest, and I needed to remind her of who she really is.
But that can’t last forever. She has a job to do. And being Brit and Ariel at the same time just takes too much out of her.
She can only choose one.
When I snap my fingers at her, she sighs and gives her report. “Anya’s getting closer to finding our location,” she explains. “Some of her men almost caught sight of me when I was heading into the village this morning.”
“Why were you in the village to begin with?” I demand.
“Because I had to make a call,” she says. “Belov may be in Russia, but he still keeps tabs on me.”
That annoys me, but I have no choice but to let it go. “You spoke to him?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m telling you now.”
“I meant before the fucking call, Ariel,” I snap. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because I didn’t really think about it.”
“Jesus. What’s the point of you being my spy?”
“I’ll tell you everything he told me,” she says. “He’s cutting his trip short by two days, which means I’ll have to leave a little earlier than planned.”
Now, I understand why her alter ego is back. She’s preparing herself, getting back into character for the asshole whose days are numbered.
“Okay. What else?”
“He got the mercenaries he wanted.”
I shake my head. “He actually went through with it. Crazy son of a bitch.”
“There was never any doubt.”
“How many?” I ask.
“A thousand.”
“Seriously?”
She shrugs. “He likes to be prepared.”
“A thousand men,” I repeat. “Do you have company names?”
“Nope. He wasn’t interested in giving me details.”
“Does he ever?”
“Sometimes,” she says, a little defensively. “He trusts me.”
I give her a pointed look. “You’re too smart to believe that, Ariel.”
“I’ve been at his side for six years.”
“And he still checks up on you,” I remind her.
A flicker of doubt crosses her face, but she lifts her chin. “You may know Belov. But I know Spartak, okay?”
“Just be careful.”
“I always am.”
I nod. “How big was the contingent of Anya’s men that you saw earlier?”
“Just one jeep. Five men, tops.”
That’s good news. “So she’s still just feeling the territory out.”
“Yeah, but it’s only a matter of time.”