“Is that a question?”

God, what a stupid thing to say.

Thankfully, Anatoli shakes his head. “No, it’s not.”

“How—how do you know?”

And an even stupider follow-up.

“I’m not stupid,” he replies, taking a step forward, halving the distance between us.

Well, that makes one of us.

My senses suddenly come alive, and I’m aware of the sweltering heat coming off of his body, his intoxicating scent and the way he towers over me with a presence that would terrify me if the same angry fire were still in his eyes.

“You wouldn’t do all of this just to get laid,” he says, taking another step. He’s almost on...