Sometime later, I woke again to his husky words in my ear: “I now understand the appeal of waking to a lover.” With a long exhalation, he slid inside me.

CHAPTER 13

“I slept for five hours?” After sex, he’d risen, frowning at the clock. “This is a record. I feel like a new man.”

“You look ten years younger,” I told him as I stretched. “Now I’d put you at mid-twenties.”

“I just turned thirty-one.”

“Yes, but you looked thirty-five before.”

He raised a brow. “You won’t ask why I don’t sleep? I’ve had insomnia for decades.”

I sighed. “Why wouldn’t you? You’re in a high-pressure job—which might be dangerous—and you’re running a billion-dollar empire.”

He chucked me under the chin. “I don’t know if I’ll quite be a billionaire today, querida.” When he strode to his closet, the lines across his back saddened me anew. He returned wearing broken-in jeans, with an undershirt for me. “Here. Arms up.”

I hopped from the bed, raising them, and he pulled the shirt over me. It swallowed my body.

He grinned down at me. “Almost as fetching as you were in that dress.”

“The smirky attendant downstairs ought to have a field day with my appearance now. Fuck knots in my hair and a T-shirt hem under my coat.”

“You’re not leaving.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve decided to book you until the twenty-eighth.”

Stay here with him for ten days? A vacation in paradise with a sex god?

No, no, no! I’d be breaking rules one, three, four, and even six to a degree. “Oh. That’s a lot to decide.” Besides the fact that I was leaving town on the twenty-second, I feared growing used to hooded blue eyes and mind-blowing sex.

While he was enjoying a regular piece of ass, my infatuation would be spiraling out of control. Afterward, the hobbyist would wash his hands of me, and I would be devastated. “Can’t we take it one night at a time?”

“Nyet. I want to know that your luscious little body is mine alone.” He dragged me over to sit across his lap, more aggressive than he’d been last night, even more proprietary. “I expect a heated negotiation—I welcome it—but this will happen, Katya.”

“I had some things planned over the next week.”

“Like what? Tell me, and I can be reasonable.”

Disappearing. I shrugged.

His eyes darkened. “You still won’t reveal a thing?” Yet then he seemed to make an effort to keep things light. “What are you—a wanted fugitive?”

“Ha. That sounds exciting.”

“Then what is it?”

“You realize Christmas is coming up?” Wouldn’t he have somebody else to celebrate with? His brothers?

Comprehension lit his face. “You already have plans with another. Of course you would.” He sounded casual, but his expression tightened.

I had no idea what my holiday would be like. I’d be fresh off the bus. Starting over. Knowing no one.

The thought exhausted me. Maybe I could remain here till the twenty-second, earning more of a safety net? With that money, I could hit the ground running in California.

But to stay with Máxim, I’d need to go home and get some things—without him learning where I lived. Tomorrow night, I’d have to figure out a way to sneak to class.

Unless I skipped. No penance?

He set me away, then stood. “Is a regular client taking you skiing? Or maybe a partner is bringing you home to meet his family?” There was no mistaking his jealousy now.

“I don’t have either,” I said. “I’ll come back tonight, and then we’ll work out a schedule, okay?”

“What do you have to do that’s so important? Another date you don’t want to break? You intend to go from my bed to another’s, then back to me? Unacceptable.”

“That’s not it.”

“Then tell me.”

“I have a private life, Máxim. Even if I don’t book dates—or have a boyfriend—I still have things to do. You just assume I have no life outside of this.”

“How much money will it take for you not to?”

I glared. En serio? “This can’t be taken from my life.” I was almost tempted to tell him about school, but I held off.

For one thing, I didn’t know this guy. Not really. And I’d paid dearly for my lesson never to trust another man. If I broke that rule, then I would’ve paid in vain. Not to mention rule number two; if there was ever a place that linked things in my life, it was my community college.

“Tell me what’s so important—or cancel it.”

Cancel? Maybe I could skip that one measly review period on Friday. It wasn’t even a regular class. As for the exam, I could call Ms. Gillespie and try to reschedule it for after Máxim left. She might let me.

Risk/reward. Risk: my interest in him deepening too much. Vasili snooping around. Reward: money. Again, great sex. After last night, that particular reward was even more pressing.

I didn’t like extending my time in a place where Edward might be, but figured I would be safe here with Máxim. “I have to make a call, then.” I crossed to the dresser and grabbed my phone, unlocking it.

“Smart girl.”

“In private.” When he didn’t budge, I said, “You’ve won this round. You’re getting your way. Please leave.”