His only consolation had been the thought of what he would do to her as soon as she walked through the door. He’d rip her out of whatever sexy outfit she had chosen for the trip and then take her just as he’d described back in his office, so she’d know who had bought her and who was now fully in charge of her body. He’d developed a raging hard-on just thinking about fucking Eva again, of having power over her this time, of making her bend to his will.
When he heard her come in, he made his way out to the penthouse’s main room and silently dismissed Emilio while Eva’s back was turned. But then he’d been thrown off his game yet again by the look of pleasant surprise on her lovely face as she cooed over the luxurious trappings of the penthouse, the sort of which he’d long ago started taking for granted.
He was also taken aback by what she was wearing. She had chosen to make the trip in flip-flops, a bright, blue denim skirt, and a Kelly green UT Dallas T-shirt. That outfit, paired with the happy smile on her face and her hair, which she’d pulled into a large lopsided puff at the back of her head, made her look almost exactly like she had back at UTD. Exactly like the girl he’d fallen in love with.
With the same boundless energy he remembered, she jogged from one side of the room, then started toward the other, saying, “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel room this nice in my whole life.”
A surge of personal satisfaction swept through him, that something he owned could make her respond like this. “You say that, and you have not even seen the bedroom yet,” he joked from his position behind her, forgetting for a moment this woman was his enemy and he had brought her here fully intent on revenge.
But he remembered soon enough when she skidded to a stop and turned around to face him. The youthful light disappeared from her eyes and the smile died on her lips, as if his presence alone erased all the joy from the situation.
His own moment of good humor evaporated as well, and he once again cursed himself, this time for giving a damn what she thought in the first place. Falling back on his business instincts, he said the thing he knew would show her she held no sway over him and that he was in the power position in their little arrangement.
“You are already in violation of our agreement,” he said, his voice as cold and monotone as he could make it. “You are still clothed and I do not see a bow in your hair.”
Her gaze spiked with fury and he stepped forward more than ready to go to battle with her over this, but then she surprised him by saying, “As you wish.” She curtsied and batted her eyes prettily before asking without a trace of her Texas accent. “Where do you want me, sir?”
Before he could answer, she put a hand to her cheek and said, “Oh, my bad, you already said you wanted me spread out for you on the bed.”
She hurried past him and he found himself in the strange position of silently following behind her as she looked behind each of the doors, all the while prattling on in that simpering, sweet, accentless facsimile of her own voice. “Oh, no, that’s not a bedroom, that’s a conference room—nice touch. And that’s not the bedroom either. That’s a bathroom. I like the marble flooring. You’ve done so, so well for yourself, Mr. Rustanov. You’re so much better than me in every way.”
Finally she came to a door that led to the penthouse’s master bedroom. She smiled with false brightness and looked back at him. “Oh, here’s the bed. Wow, I think this room has more square footage than my entire two-bedroom apartment back in Dallas. It’s very reflective of your immense power and the oodles and oodles of cold, hard cash you now have. This country girl is just about bowled over.”
She entered the master bedroom suite, and continued on with her monologue. “It feels like I’m sinking into this carpet, it’s so soft and luxurious. And these area rugs—you must have paid a pretty penny to ship them in from the Orient. That’s where fancy rugs, come from, right? The Orient? I wouldn’t know. I’m so back-country. Ooh, is that a Jacuzzi in the corner? I bet you’re going to bang me but good in there before these two weeks are through!”
He gritted his teeth, “Eva…”
She flopped a hand over her heart. “Oh goodness gracious. Where is my head?” She let her large, plastic, neon-yellow purse slide to the floor. “You don’t want to hear me rattle on. You want me naked on the bed. I’m so sorry I’m still clothed, sir.”
She yanked her green T-shirt off over her head and wiggled out of her skirt. She then stepped out of her flip-flops and made hasty work of removing her panties and bra. Now naked as the day she was born, Eva kicked everything she’d just shed under the bed. “My ugly clothes have no business in a venue like this. I’m just going to hide them under this bed. My purse, too. Oh, but wait…”
She pulled a small, red gift-wrap bow out of her purse before putting it under the bed with the rest of her things. “Can’t forget the bow,” she all but trilled.
Then she stuck the bow to her forehead and lay back on the bed with her legs spread eagle. “Let me know if this is wide enough for you, sir.”
He stood there, feeling like a fool. “If you think acting like an idiot will keep me from making you uphold your end of the bargain, then you are mistaken.”
“Hmm,” she said from her position on the bed. “I’m not sure how you want me to answer that, sir. I’m just trying to be whatever you want me to be. I want to make sure you get everything you paid for, so please let me know if I’m not doing a good enough job. Your satisfaction means everything.”
For a moment he had to physically restrain himself from going over to the bed and throttling her until she dropped this stupid act. But after a few moments of holding himself still, he came back to his senses—his business senses.
This was just a tactic on her part and he had plenty of experience with tactics.
“My satisfaction means everything to you?” he asked, walking over to the bed.
“Oh yes, sir,” she said with enthusiasm so false, it bordered on contempt. “I want nothing more than to please you. “
“If you want to please me, then shut up,” he said.
She immediately clamped her lips together and pantomimed a turn-key gesture. Even without talking, she made it clear she thought his request childish and that she still had the upper hand.
But not for long, he vowed to himself.
He’d gained quite a bit of experience with chatty Americans over the past few years and he knew how to deal with them. In Eva’s case, he did exactly what he would have done in any business negotiation. He stayed silent for five minutes without saying anything.
But unlike with his business counterparts, he used the moments of silence to openly observe her naked body. Her breasts were larger now, and she’d gained weight all over. He found he liked this version of her body more. Most of the women he’d slept with since making the transition to business mogul all looked the same, long and lean with D-cup breasts provided by A-plus plastic surgeons, and hard bodies that served as a testament to the hours they put in at the gym. Eva’s soft curves and pretty girl-next-door looks called to him and made him realize how long it had been since he’d slept with anyone who looked like a real woman.
It was a struggle to keep his gaze cool and removed when he wanted nothing more than to crawl between her legs and sink inside of her. His penis was hard to the point of being painful, but he forced himself to maintain control.
And it was a good thing he did, because when he risked a light stroke over one of those thighs that he soon planned to have wrapped around his waist, she surprised him by shivering and quickly averting her eyes. This let him know she wasn’t quite as removed from the situation as her vapid act would have led him to believe.
Unable to resist one more touch, he ran his hands over her inner thighs and to his delight, she audibly caught her breath, her body tensing in a way that told him she was more than ready to receive him.
* * * *
Eva had thought she had taken at least a little control of the situation back from Alexei, but it only took one touch to show her whatever control she thought she had was fragile at best. The involuntary shiver released a corresponding wetness between her legs, and when he ran his large hands over her inner thighs she could feel her clit swell as she creamed even more.
But then he did the unexpected and stepped back from the bed. She refused to give him the satisfaction of watching him go, but out the corner of her eye, she could see him stop a few feet from the bed and slowly remove his jacket, before unzipping his pants.
“I am confused, Eva,” he said, after several more moments of silence had passed.
He walked back over to the bed and crawled between her legs with the panther-like grace she remembered, his usual scowl deepened with contemplation. “You are acting like someone who is only here under duress, but let us see…”
She felt rather than saw him take himself out of his pants and settle his thick erection against her throbbing entryway. “When I put my dick right here, I can feel you are already very wet.”