He stepped closer, his gaze roving her face. “Jesus Christ.” His arm moved, and then relaxed as if he’d thought better of taking his hand from his pocket. “Daylight does for you the opposite of what it does for most of us.”
Oh, why did he continue reverting to Russian? In that deep bass, their language had always weakened her knees. It was no different now. She remained silent, hoping he would say his piece and go away.
“Were you bringing the children inside?”
She nodded.
“Would you let me accompany you?”
“No. You can say what you came to say right here.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. I’d like to speak with you in private. Since you had the night as a reprieve, I don’t think a few minutes of your time is asking too much.”
Even though apologetic, there was no room for argument in his tone. His refusal to simply get this over with was a statement delivered, and he obviously expected the result he demanded. As was his way.
Well, she would not be striving to please him this day. Gripping the handle as if it were a lifeline, she pushed the stroller forward. It hit something, and thinking it was a stone, she pulled back and tried again only to be thwarted. She looked down impatiently to see the toe of Alekzander’s shoe jammed under one of the middle wheels.
“Excuse me.”
“I need you in private, Sacha.”
A swift breath flew through her lips as her dirty mind turned that into something sexual. She tried to maneuver around his foot as anxiety clawed at her back. She couldn’t let him do this to her. Could he see she still wanted him? What if Lekzi woke and began crying? What if he saw her? Would he recognize her as his own?
I’m not ready for this!
“What are you afraid of?”
The curious note in his voice had her snapping, “Nothing. After all this time, I just do not see the point in listening to anything you have to say.” She leveled him with a look she hoped was daunting. “Please move.”
He stepped over so that he was completely blocking her way. Guess she had to work on her daunt.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes flew to his without her permission. His breath caught audibly. Because she’d obeyed? Yes. She was sure it must be quite a rush to have a puppet. Looking away, infuriated by that, she shifted her gaze to look over his shoulder. Grigori was talking with Maksim and Anton, the man from last night.
“Was it Maksim who found me?” she asked, thinking the man’s arrogance in his ability to locate anyone was justified. She wanted to kick him.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked him to.”
“Why?” she repeated.
“Because after searching for you since not long after you left me, I ran out of places to look. Besides, he’s better at it than I am.”
That made her blink. In horror. How could they not have come across her name in the hospital records she knew they must have checked? Then again, they wouldn’t have searched the maternity ward.
“At the risk of sounding like a child, I will ask you again. Why? Why do you want to speak with me? Did I take something from the apartment when I left that I should not have?” She chanced a look, and her fingers tightened involuntarily when his expression lost some of its tension. The corner of his lip tipped up, putting that sexy grove in his cheek that only showed when he was amused.
“As a matter of fact, you did take something with you when you left,” he murmured. “And I’ve come to get it back.”
“I packed only a few things. I could not have taken anything of yours. I would not have,” she insisted.
“You did. And it’s something I’ve realized I can’t live without.” He looked around, nodding to an older gentleman as he walked by them. “Come on, Sacha. Let’s take this inside?”
No! she screeched silently.
Alekzander’s head went down, and her hand came up to settle on her throat. He was smiling, fully and without reservation. Oh, God. So beautiful. She followed his gaze to see Tanner had a fistful of his pants and was jerking on the expensive material.
“Hey, buddy. Sorry for holding you up.” He spoke to the nine-month-old with ease.
Moving quickly, Sacha bent and removed the chubby hand. She then made the mistake of smoothing out the material before she realized by doing so she was also caressing the firm muscle of Alekzander’s thigh. She jerked her hand back and straightened with a snap, her fingers tingling. When she met his eyes, there was a pale flame staring down at her. Her head went back and forth in a slow shake of denial, meant for both of them.
“I cannot…I must…”
“Do all of the babies you care for live in your building?” he asked, interrupting her stuttering.