“You’re married.”
His hand slipped away, and he hung his head while his other hand tightened on the steering wheel. I waited for the she’d never know line which never came. “Coffee in a public place then, and I’ll tell you about Irina, my soon to be ex wife.”
Well, at least he wasn’t hiding her from me, and I was being an idiot for even entertaining the thought of coffee, never mind anything else, with this man. But fuck it.
“Hotel.”
“Get in.” He flashed a soft smile, putting me at ease. I knew in that moment, wherever we ended up, he would never put a finger on me unless I asked him to. He was dangerous, but not to me. Not tonight anyway and I desperately needed a reprieve from everything in my life.
Yannick drove a few miles through to Knightsbridge, then stopped outside a Bolton in Kensington. Switching off the engine, he turned to me. “You sure I can’t take you home?”
“No.” Hell, once he saw where I lived, he’d be off. Bemerton was notorious, and while my flat was all right and I got no trouble, the estate certainly left nothing to the imagination.
My mind was made up. I wanted this night and if it was the only one I got, I was going to enjoy myself and tuck the memory of Yannick Ischmov away to bring out when life got too rough and I needed something wonderful to look back on. I wanted to hear his story, wanted to be locked away from everything for a few hours. I was where I was meant to be right then, even if it meant walking out in the morning and never looking back.
This night was mine.
Yannick
Once inside the hotel room, Jolie kicked off her trainers after dumping her bag on the floor and removing her coat.
“No mini bar?” she smirked.
“You want room service?” I asked, moving to the phone.
“No. I could go a cup of tea though, you want one?”
Wrinkling my nose, I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. “Coffee. I can make it though, you’ve been on your feet all night. Get yourself comfy.”
Jolie eyed the room, then grinned as she pulled off her jumper revealing the tank top she’d been wearing at the bar. Next came her jeans, unashamedly might I add, then she pulled back the covers on the bed and climbed in. Okay then… I hadn’t expected her to get into the bed.
It didn’t take long to make the beverages once my large fingers prized apart the tiny sachets of sugar and those damn little pots of creamer. Handing her the mug of tea, I sat on the other side of the bed on top of the covers, kicking my shoes to the floor.
“I don’t mind if you get in,” she said around a yawn.
“Hhmm, I don’t want you to think I expect anything.” This was unfamiliar territory and as much as I would have loved to have laid her out flat and sunk my cock inside her, the company she gave was more than enough, my semi hard arousal could take a hike for the time being.
“Get in.”
With no other plausible argument, I rolled off the bed and undressed down to my boxers and undershirt, carefully laying out my clothes on the chair. Jolie watched, and I wondered what she saw. Thickly inked across my arms and chest, I sported black lines and images that weren’t pleasant to look at in the light of day. Angry mistakes and decisions I’d had inked onto my skin to remind myself of the person I’d been turned into and hated in times I struggled to walk the line. They served a purpose, and I knew how I looked when others stared, apart from that, they were just haunting memories of a life I wanted to forget but never would. Jolie didn’t ask, so I pretended her scrutiny wasn’t an issue, and she liked what she saw, then I climbed into the bed, keeping some distance between us.
“I am married, yes,” I said truthfully. “It’s not conventional, more of a business contract that ended recently.”
“You have children?”
“Fuck, no,” I snorted. A small saving grace. I hadn’t even slept with my wife, something Jolie didn’t need to know. How on earth did someone explain that?
“Who are you?”
“Not anyone you need to be afraid of.”
She was quiet as she gazed at me. “I know that now.” I puffed out a breath, happy to hear it. “But you were once. Can you blame me?”
“Not at all. I’m really glad you no longer feel such a way and I’m sorry for the repercussions to you after that night. I spend little time thinking how my actions impact others.” It was something I intended to change once I was out from under the clutches of Lev’s organisation and influence.
“And your mindset is changing?” She was a curious creature, not afraid to ask the questions she wanted the answers to. I enjoyed her forthright ways, the transparency she showed, Jolie was utterly refreshing, making me want to spill all and sundry.
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
Jolie drank her tea in silence, and when finished, she discarded the cup on the bedside table, then slid further down in the bed. I dimmed the lights, doing the same and twisting around to face her. Now she was closer, I could see how exhausted the
