Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4)(104)

“Really.”

“Yes.”

“You ever meet any of his boyfriends?”

The disparaging tone he used had her brow tightening. “He does not have boyfriends,” she defended. “He is not a philanderer. If he were with someone, he would consider that man his partner. Have you met all of Tegan’s boyfriends?”

His head slowly swiveled her way. He’d been watching Anton as he talked to Lekzi. All the men seemed to enjoy her. “Why would you bring Tegan into this?”

“Because I think you feel threatened by Justin.” Her fault. “The same way I felt when I first met Tegan, and now Nika, and Sydney, too, but only for a short time. I have no choice but to watch those beautiful women touch you and kiss you and tell you their secrets.” The insecurities she’d been battling every time the girls came around rushed out in a tumble of words. Not that she’d seen Tegan since she’d been back. “I can tell you, I am glad you and Eva are related. If not, I would find it tough to watch you stand in the corner and have your intent conversations with your heads almost touching as you look at your cell phones. I see you interacting with them with such familiarity, and I cannot help but remember how you held that woman in your office. As if you had done the same many times before. You appeared very comfortable with her.”

She stepped away from him, no longer wanting him to touch her. She felt silly voicing this when she now knew why he’d been holding that woman so convincingly. But she supposed sounding like a harpy was better than burying her anxiety and letting it become something more than what it actually was.

“Why should you not have to suffer just a little?” she muttered as she tightened her wrap around her shoulders. “I will not sit in his lap, for goodness sake. Like that woman did in yours,” she added pettily. “If you were nicer to him, Justin would probably prefer to have lunch with you rather than me, so I do not know why this should be a problem.”

She finally looked up, exasperated because he still hadn’t said anything.

He was regarding her with a small smile playing around his mouth. With lazy movements, he came to her and took the corners of her wrap. He twisted them once around his fist and used the hold to draw her in until their chests were touching. His lips were cool where he pressed them to the top of her cheekbone, leaving them there while he spoke.

“I am sorry I created that sense of mistrust in you, but would be sorrier if you hadn’t led me to believe you were sharing your friend’s bed. I would feel extra sorry if I wasn’t so goddamn jealous that he’s known my daughter her whole life while I can count on my fingers the days since I met her. And that remorse would be genuine if the fucking idiot hadn’t played along, relishing the torture he was inflicting by letting me believe he was fucking my woman.”

She was thoroughly kissed before he brought her over and bundled her into the car.

Proving he could be reasonable, despite his Mine Complex, Alekzander gave in and Sacha called Justin. She ended up having a delightful lunch with her two best friends and a happily mauled Lekzi. But no matter how many times she texted and asked Alekzander to join them, he refused, claiming he was in the middle of a call. She wouldn’t let him get away with that next time.

And it was trivial little matters like those that peppered the days that followed as a comfortable routine was established. There was an underlying mutual distrust between them that seem to fade little by little with each veiled comment or snooty remark they tossed at each other. Alekzander found her under-the-breath digs amusing, but it was his that were funny because he’d taken to slipping zingers into conversations he had with Lekzi that Sacha couldn’t help but overhear.

But the humor surrounding their issues didn’t change the fact that they had them and they would have to be dealt with at some point.

The only time all pretense between them fell away and Sacha revealed how completely she’d surrendered to her Russian was when they were in bed. There was nowhere for her hide then. She couldn’t pretend she was anything but his.

The thing that made that more bearable than humiliating was with every touch, every whispered word and scorching kiss, every climax they shared, Alekzander never once tried to pretend he was anything but hers.



♦ ♦ ♦



“It’s funny how once they reach a certain age, they just aren’t that into you anymore. Seriously, enjoy it when it comes, girls, because the adoration doesn’t last.”

Sydney rested the knife she was using to cut a cantaloupe with and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m afraid to voice this, but, I think I hear a clock ticking.” She brought her head to rights and looked at them, waiting for a reaction.