Racing inside Constantijin’s office, I switched Constantijin’s expansive touch screen monitor open. The sleek machine beeped, prompting for a password. This one I knew since Constantijin had given me a bunch of passwords to memorize yesterday, alongside my own set of undercover bodyguards. He had said it wouldn’t do not to be too careful, now that a lot of people knew who I was in his life.
The screen went alive, focused on one of the numerous conference rooms of Kastein Inc. This one was all in red, white, and blue – I’m guessing he used this to impress potential business partners with how Americanized his products could be. Smart, bold, in-your-face move, that one, but that was and had always been Constantijin’s style.
Constantijin stood at the head of the table, which was occupied by a dozen of executives from several film production companies. He looked extremely hot, his beautiful face proud and his voice smooth and confident as he discussed the latest offerings of Kastein Inc.
Dressed in a black and white suit, minus a tie, he looked exactly like the conquering billionaire CEO he was, and it made my heart go still for more than a moment. “Oh my God,” I whispered.
Constantijin stopped speaking.
The executives were looking around the room. “Did I hear that?” one of them muttered.
“Shit,” I said before I could stop myself. Did this thing have speakers?
When I glanced back at the monitor, Constantijin was staring straight at me.
“Shit.”
“Apologies, gentlemen,” Constantijin drawled. “My girlfriend is apparently impatient that I have not yet finished with the meeting to take her to bed.”
The good-natured laughter from the executives only made me feel more like disappearing.
“Now, sweetheart, do us all a favor and switch off the speakers. I’ll be with you in ten.”
Constantijin was laughing when he strode into his office at exactly ten minutes later. I threw my shoe at him, but he caught it without even breaking his stride.
“Did you miss me?” He scooped me out of his chair and I automatically wrapped my legs around his waist while twirling my arms around his neck.
Leaning away from him, letting Constantijin carry my weight, I glared at him. “Do you really have to let everyone know I’m…you know…you?”
“Fucking---oww!” he yelped when I pulled on his ear, but he was still grinning.
I couldn’t help grinning back even though I still thought he was an ass for saying what he said. God, he was so adorable when he was like this.
He cleared his throat, looking serious all of a sudden, and it made me frown. “What is it?”
“Will you be terribly mad if I tell you I need a half hour more to finish work? I want to be able to send the contract to Summit Entertainment tonight so I can be free for the weekend.”
Constantijin actually looked tentative, and that made me love him more. I smiled at him. “No problem.” Wriggling so he’d put me down, I padded barefoot towards the couch after taking my bag off his desk. “I’ll wait for you, don’t mind me.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Constantijin.”
“Just thirty minutes,” he promised, but I could see that his mind was already on work.
Plugging my ears, I switched my iPad on and started watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead. When the episode ended on another cliffhanger – oh my God, that prison scene totally blew me away --- I started in shock when I realized Constantijin was crouched down in front of me, his gorgeous face inscrutable but with a soft unfamiliar gleam in his silvery eyes.
Flustered at his nearness, I unplugged my ears and said lamely, “Hey.” Ten days. This man had been my boyfriend for ten days and I still couldn’t believe it.
"Hey." He looked up at me for a long silent moment. Then his lips curved. "Do you know you're the first woman I know who cared to wait for me here for work?"
"Did you ask them to?"
"Yes."
"Oh." Then I shrugged helplessly and said, "Why shouldn't I wait for you? I don't mind."
He kissed my nose. “And that’s what I like the most about you.”
After that, it just seemed natural to be the first one to lean close so I could kiss him. The kiss was sweet for a moment, but soon Constantijin took over, and it turned blazing hot, leaving me dazed and breathless when he pulled away.
“Yanna?”
"Mmm?"
“What do you feel about moving in with me?”
My arms fell away from him as I waited for Constantijin to repeat what he said. When he only looked at me, I stammered, “D-did I really just hear you ask me to move in w-with y-you?”
“I want to be with you all the time,” he said levelly.
Oh my God, like, like, oh my God, oh my God. The longer Constantijin stared at me, the more a ditz I became, with my common sense melting away bit by bit.
Squinting at him, I tried looking for any signs of amusement, proof that he was joking. But there was none.
“It is…what is the word…too fast for you?” Constantijin must be rattled himself if his normally flawless English failed him and he couldn’t remember those two extremely simple words.
They were apt, too, and I didn’t hesitate to seize it immediately, head bobbing and relief flooding inside me as I said, “Yes, you’re right. It’s too fast. I mean, you probably said it impulsively, right? And now you think---”
“Yanna.”
I shut up.
“It feels right with me.”
“I-it does?”
Constantijin stood up, demanding, "Why do you doubt my desire to have you in my home?”
“Because you’re you?” I asked weakly. It’s like I had to point out how different we were all the time. Couldn’t he see that for himself? He hadn’t even wanted to court me, and that wasn’t in any way a commitment. And now he wanted me to move in with him?
“People change,” he returned coolly.
I watched him stalk away, stopping when he reached the ceiling-to-floor windows of his office. Staring at the skyline, his back to me, he asked quietly, “Don't you want to move in with me?"
"But it's too soon," I blurted out.
Silence.
Constantijin turned around. “I know it is, but I also know what I want and it is you, with me, all the time.”
His voice was quiet and sincere, which I supposed I had to be grateful for. If he had tried seducing me into saying yes, he was likely to have succeeded. I was plain hopeless in his arms, his kisses and touches able to make me do things I never thought I’d do or say.