* * * *
For a couple of long moments they just stared at each other, and during this time, Eva took in every detail of Alexei. He had apparently been keeping up with his workout regimen, because he was still massive, with no indication that there was anything but muscles and skin underneath the tux he wore. His wavy dark brown hair was cut much shorter than it had been when they had been together, and his beard was gone. But his jaw was just as square, and his distinctive green eyes were just as flinty as she’d remembered. Those, paired with the semi-permanent scowl he’d always worn on his face, told her exactly who she was staring at in person for the first time in eight years.
Back when she’d first spotted him in the School of Social Work’s lobby, bent over a textbook at the security desk, she’d found his scowl endearing. It had felt at that moment like she had been put on this Earth to wipe it off and make him smile. But now in the Sinclair Mansion’s hallway, the scowl felt dangerous, like she was a small rabbit trapped in the angry gaze of a very large predator.
One word formed in her head, distinctive and clear, Run!
Schooling her face into the best look of nonchalance she could muster under the circumstances, she cut left and tried to oh-so-casually walk away, like she did not recognize him, like she had no idea who this Russian man staring her down in the hallway was.
He’d probably let her get away, she reasoned. After all, he was a bajillionaire now, and she was just some social worker from Drummond, Texas. He was probably embarrassed he’d ever dated her. As far as he’d gone in his career, he probably thanked the stars every night he had dodged the Eva-shaped bullet—
She didn’t make it three steps before he was on her. He grabbed her arm and in two swift moves, had her pressed against the wall where she’d just been texting Aaron, her arms pinned above her head. She could feel his erection against her stomach even as his eyes scanned her face with furious efficiency, as if he was trying to memorize this new version of it.
At first she kept her own eyes adverted and to the side. Some primal instinct told her this was the best way to avoid riling him further, like playing dead with a bear. But she could feel his hot breath on her face. He was so close. In the end, she couldn’t resist taking just one little peek. But almost as soon as her eyes met his, she was locked in. She couldn’t look away, even when he crashed his mouth down onto hers, swallowing any protest she might have made, and enveloping her in a storm cloud of lust and anger.
Chapter Two
SHE had tried to walk away from him. From him, Alexei Rustanov! The only reason she’d even made it three steps was because it had taken him that long to process what she was attempting to do.
And before he knew what he was doing, he had her pinned against the wall. But when he got her there, he found himself without words. Seeing her like this again, close-up, made it feel like he’d just found the break-up letter yesterday. Opposing feelings warred inside him, effectively striking him mute. He wanted to yell at her for what she did. He wanted to caress her face and let her take him in her arms like she used to. He wanted to show her he had made it and could now do better than her any day of the week. He wanted her to smile at him in that beautiful way of hers and say it had all been a mistake, a huge misunderstanding.
But most of all, more than anything, he wanted to not be hard as a rock after only a few moments in Eva’s presence. He’d been soft just a few minutes ago, even though he’d known what he and Caroline would do once they got back to their hotel room. But now his dick was straining so hard in his pants he could feel the outline of his zipper through his briefs. And he could barely think straight, knowing Eva’s dark triangle was just a few tantalizing inches below his erection.
He had to let her go. He understood it was inappropriate to pin any woman against a wall like this in public, even one who had hurt him as badly as Eva had. But just as he was beginning to get himself under control, she chose that moment to stop looking like a frightened rabbit with her eyes purposefully averted and peek up at him.
Their eyes locked. Hers were curious, like this was some fun little game they were playing. What else could he do but kiss her? It seemed like the natural conclusion, the only way to control her that he’d ever known.
At first she just took his kiss, her shock evident in her non-response. But then she opened her mouth wider and pushed her tongue into his, moaning as she did so, as if she had been waiting years to kiss him. This should have felt like a win for him, but her acquiescence stripped away the last shreds of his usually iron-clad control. And what had started out as a power move on his part became his undoing.
He hiked the soft chiffon of her evening gown up just far enough to position one of her legs around his waist, then he ground his hips against her silk clad mound in a frenzy of need that wouldn’t even allow him to unzip his pants.
For minutes all that could be heard in the darkened alcove was the sound of fabric rubbing together and their frantic breathing as they kissed, her body flush against his, the heat of her hot pussy beckoning him through three layers of clothing. He was a grown man who had made sexual conquests all over the world, but here he was just a few minutes away from coming in his pants.
As if compelled by his thoughts, she moaned against his lips and then cried out in surprise when she climaxed. They were so close, he could feel the orgasm shuddering through her body, radiating from her pelvis, and it caused him to grind against her even harder so he could join her in that special place, self-control be damned.
“Lex?”
She was calling his name. But she sounded irritated, like she wanted him to stop. He slowed down.
“Lex?”
He opened his eyes and found Eva staring back at him, her own eyes wide with confusion, her mouth partially open in an “oh” of surprise.
“Lex!”
The voice was much harder now, and he realized it didn’t belong to Eva, was in fact coming from behind him. Caroline. He closed his eyes, slowly blinking himself back to reality, where he could see the scene for exactly what it was: him dry-humping his ex-girlfriend against a wall and getting caught doing so by his current mistress.
Eva seemed to be putting together what had happened, too. She quickly withdrew her leg from around his waist, and tugged her arms down, trying to release herself from his right hand, which was still gripped around her wrists, pinning them to the wall.
In a state of shock, he released her and turned toward Caroline, who took in the scene with cynical aplomb before saying, “Will she be joining us in the hotel room?”