“I want the opportunity to find out.”

“I believed that you would know better than this, that you had better instincts with men.”

My eyes shot wide. “You didn’t just say that. My instincts are untouchable!”

“Don’t you get it? Your father intends to give you the goddamn world; even if I wanted it, a man like me will never be in your future.” He turned toward the cabin door.

Staring after him, I murmured, “How strange.”

He paused at the threshold without turning around. As if he couldn’t help himself, he said, “What is strange?”

I tilted my head. “That you think I won’t be deciding who gets to be in my future.”

Shoulders bunched with tension, he slammed the door behind him.

Chapter 10

“My alarm!” I shot upright in bed, knowing I was late for work, wondering why the hell my clock hadn’t gone off. “Late!”

Rubbing my eyes, I gradually comprehended that I was on a plane, that all the events of last night weren’t a dream.

What had happened in this bed wasn’t a dream.

I turned toward the door, found Sevastyan hanging up garment bags, a suitcase at his feet. “Relax, Natalie. You no longer have those worries.”

Whereas I was naked, wearing nothing but a sheet over my lap and my wildly curling hair over my br**sts, he was clad in an immaculate three-piece gray suit and a long coat. It fit his broad shoulders flawlessly.

I blurted out, “You look incredible.” Like a billion bucks, like the dream man who’d rocked my world. No, he’d knocked it off its axis. It was as if I’d thought pleasure was only rated on a scale of one to ten, and then this guy had seductively whispered, “Didn’t you know? The upper end is infinity.”

And then this guy, let’s just call him Sevastyan, had demonstrated. Surely that deserved an encore?

At my compliment, his high cheekbones grew tinged with color, but he said nothing.

Roll with it, Nat. “Hey, we’ve landed? I can’t believe I slept through it.” I frowned to see that the curtains were closed.

Had he come back in here after I’d fallen asleep again and drawn them for me? Awww.

“How much did I miss?” I’d slept like the dead—how long had I been out, anyway?—and now felt rested for the first time in weeks. A quick inventory of my body told me I was sore, but in all the right places.

“It’s overcast, so you wouldn’t have seen much.”

When I leaned over to peek out the window, he glanced away sharply.

Outside, the skies were gray, the airport of no particular note. A limo was parked, cool and indifferent, on the tarmac near the jet. It looked like a car the British monarchy might favor.

“There are clothes here for you,” Sevastyan said. “Everything should fit.”

I gave him a saccharine smile. “Because you broke into my house and took down my sizes?”

He narrowed his eyes. “And then I personally confirmed your measurements.” With that, he left me.

Oh, did you ever, I thought as I dashed into the shower. Minutes later, I returned to find steaming coffee and warm pastries left for me. I sipped the coffee . . . loaded with sugar and soy milk. Just as I took it, which he would know because he’d invaded my privacy.

Ignoring my irritation, I tore into the garment bags and suitcase. Jess would’ve had a clothesgasm over the selections. Even I appreciated the designer sweaters and slacks, the boots of soft, soft leather.

And the lingerie? The stylish bras and panties weren’t overtly sexual—despite their see-through lace and coy ribbons—but farm girls in Nebraska just didn’t wear stuff like this.

I wasn’t in Nebraska.

So I shuffled through the undergarments, donning a matching pair in peach silk. I pulled on a form-fitting jade-green sweater of the finest cashmere I’d ever felt and a pair of black ponte pants. Normally I would’ve balked at the clinging material, but the sweater hit me almost at midthigh, so I wouldn’t be flaunting anything. Flirty ankle boots molded to my feet, completing the outfit.

I checked myself in the mirror, surprised by the color in my cheeks. My eyes looked clear, the green more vivid. I appeared . . . well-loved.

Almost dewy-eyed.

If one session with Sevastyan affected me like this, I couldn’t imagine what sex with him would do to me. One way to find out.

I packed the remaining clothes, then awkwardly rolled/carried the suitcase from the suite. If I’d expected Sevastyan to compliment me on my outfit, I was mistaken.

“You don’t carry bags,” he snapped. Once I’d dropped the suitcase like it was hot, he squired me to the exit.

At the head of the plane’s stairs, I paused to inhale a deep breath, wanting to smell the country; all I smelled was jet fuel, and it was freezing here.

Anticipating my needs, Sevastyan said, “Here, I have a coat for you.”

Fur, full-length. Decadent sable. “Oh, I don’t do fur,” I said firmly, even as I petted the silky expanse.

“In Russia, you do.” I was opening my mouth to argue when he said, “It was your grandmother’s. It’s been altered for you.”

My grandmother had worn this? Argument quashed. I slipped it on, not even surprised that it fit perfectly. As we descended the stairs, warmth enveloped me. “Why would Kovalev give me something like this?” He didn’t even know me.

“Who else should this coat go to, if not the owner’s only granddaughter?”