Page 60 of Scarred Ruin

“You are the reason Papa said yes. Papa. Can Izzy come with us? Pu-lease?” She spun around, racing toward her father.

As he’d done so many times before, his expression immediately softened and he scooped her into his arms. “I’m certain Isabel has other plans.”

“Izzy. Pretty please. You can help me pick the right puppy. Papa doesn’t know anything about dogs.”

I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing and shifted my gaze toward him. He wore no real expression toward me, offering a hitch of his eyebrows and nothing else.

“Well, if it’s okay with your daddy. I’d love to.”

“That’s fine, Mina. Grab your jacket so we can get to the shelter before they close.”

“Yay!” She was so excited, clapping her little hands as she ran further into the house.

He took his time approaching and when he was only inches away, my breathing hitched. Which was exactly what he had intended.

The awkwardness between us was entirely different than before. As if a line had been crossed that could never be erased. While his expression was possessive, a man determined to take and keep what he wanted, I sensed something even darker, more intense.

“What did you come to tell me, Isabel?”

His tone was much more formal, laced with enough biting anger I winced. Now was the time to express my feelings and concerns. I certainly wouldn’t have a chance or want to do so in front of Mina.

“While the flowers are lovely and I thank you, they don’t change what I said to you on Sunday night. What we shared will never happen again. I need to maintain a very professional relationship with you and nothing more.” Since what I’d said before had been while wrapped in a velvety haze of lust, I sensed more conviction in my tone.

I caught myself licking my lips as he studied me, his oppressive aura alone making me hunger for him.

The seconds ticked by and I thought he wasn’t interested in acknowledging I’d even spoken. Then he breathed a single word that changed everything.

“Unacceptable.”

As breathtaking as the man always was, the difference now was startling.

And for the first time, I was truly frightened.

Not of the man and what he could do.

But of the feelings he’d already evoked.

I was fearful of becoming lost in him.

CHAPTER 12

Maxsim

Isabel was frightened of me.

Or so it would seem.

She’d said very little other than to my daughter, showering my little girl with attention by answering every question she’d had about dog ownership. Often twice.

Her attire alone had stripped away the limited fury I’d felt in being all but ignored until today. Or maybe I was just furious with myself that I’d allowed her demand to alter my normal behavior.

The flowers had been an attempt to bridge the silence, the gift causing a reaction, but not the one I’d hoped for. Not only had she demanded I call her, she’d also challenged the men I’d ordered to protect her.

But the real reason I remained agitated was her insistence that there would never be anything else between us. As if she had the right to blow me off. Some might say I was acting childish after being spurned by a beautiful woman, but there was more to my caustic reaction.

I’d seen an even more intense desire in her eyes, a hunger that knew no bounds, yet she’d spouted off the words anyway. She wasn’t easily intimidated, although I certainly hadn’t been attempting to do so when sending her the roses. In fact, just the opposite.

Sergei had come back with the full dossier on the woman and I had more questions than answers. I’d already known about her sister and her death at an early age from the same cancer that had nearly taken Mina’s life as a baby. I’d also registered that both her parents were dead.