Page 17 of Weeping Roses
The lazy way his gaze drags across my body heats my blood way more than the sun. I can’t tear my eyes away as his eyes flash into mine and he says huskily, “I think you are very much as it happens. I’m guessing if I dipped my fingers between your legs, they would be dripping with your interest in me.”
“You’re disgusting.”
I turn away and push my legs together firmly because he’s not wrong and the last thing I need is him to act on his words.
He shifts closer and I swear my breathing intensifies as he whispers in my ear, “We will test that theory later on tonight.”
“We will not!” I gasp as he smirks into my eyes and moves away.
“Tell me no next time I ask and I’ll keep my distance.”
“The answer will always be no, so spare yourself the humiliation.” I bark back and grit my teeth. Why am I so hot all of a sudden and how the fuck did he know the call was a scam one?
We reach the nearest town and I don’t miss the surprise on the faces of the passers-by as we head to the mini supermarket in the center of it.
As we pull up in convoy, I say in shock, “You can’t park here. These are double yellow lines.”
“You’re wrong.” The doors open and as he makes to leave, he says over his shoulder, “If anyone has a problem with that, I’ll speak to them personally.”
I stare after him in amazement and he sighs and leans back in and jerks his head toward the store. “Are you coming or not?”
I am so tempted to say ‘not’ but that would be foolish as it was my idea in the first place, so I paint a blank expression on my face and ignoring his outstretched hand, I march past the curious onlookers and head inside the shop, grabbing a small trolley on my way inside.
I try so hard to ignore my companions as they take up residence in every aisle of the place. If I walk down one, they block it off, much to the annoyance of my fellow shoppers who hiss, “Who does she think she is, bleeding royalty?”
“Who’s that? Is it that star from the new Netflix series?”
“Look at those guys. I wouldn’t kick any one of them out of bed.”
My face is in flames as I pretend not to hear them and it doesn’t help that Valentin is looking as if he just stepped out from a Hugo Boss campaign. Every so often, he tosses something into the trolley and I say in a low whisper, “Get your own trolley.”
“This is my trolley.” He shrugs. “I’m paying for the contents, so I may as well include some of my own choices.”
“I don’t want you to pay for my things. I can pay my own way.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t, but money is nothing to me, so enjoy the ride.”
I stop and glare at him as I juggle a frozen pizza with a tub of ice cream and stutter, “You really are–”
He places his finger on my lips and says huskily, “Careful, little rose. You only get one warning and this looks as good a place as any to carry out your punishment.”
I stare at him in horror as he removes the items from my shaking fingers and tosses them into the trolley.
“Come. We still have several more aisles to cover.”
He actually clicks his fingers and one of his men pushes another empty trolley toward us and he hands him the full one and says something in Russian. The man wheels it away and Valentin turns and scoops several more items from the freezer and shakes his head. “You are going to kill me with your fast food. Tomorrow I will send for my chef.”
“Your what?” I blink in disbelief as he wheels the trolley to the spirits aisle and proceeds to load several bottles of vodka, gin and whiskey into the rapidly filling trolley.
“My chef. He travels with me but is currently in my London home. It’s an inconvenience, but he will be here to serve us breakfast.”
He carries on filling the trolley and before I know it, another guard heads our way and replaces it with another empty one and I can only stare after him in astonishment as he proceeds to strip the shelves of stuff that would feed this entire town tonight.
I can’t even concentrate on my own choices and as we make our way through the supermarket, I am struggling to breathe. This world is a strange one for sure and not one I imagined really existed. They have completely taken over. Me, my new home and my life. Now they are taking possession of this store and, like me, the customers can only look on in disbelief.
As we make our way to the checkouts, they are already ringing through the other trollies and as Valentin pushes the last one toward the cashier, she stares at him with open adoration.
I’m shocked when he winks as he pulls out a black credit card and I glance around me and notice a little old lady staring at him with astonishment and as she catches my eye, she leans in and whispers, “Now that my darling is a keeper. Don’t mess it up. You’re one lucky girl.”