Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
She reached the first floor to wait by the door for a car. She should have texted him to find out what he was driving. It was difficult to find parking in San Francisco. She had a space in the lot at the apartment building where she could park a car if she owned one, but she preferred the bus system so she wouldn’t have to try to find parking everywhere she traveled. She’d been using buses and the BART system for so long she knew the various connections and stops without looking at maps.
She hadn’t been waiting more than three minutes when a BMW pulled up to the front of her building and Andrii stepped out of the car. Instantly, Azelie couldn’t breathe. He was incredibly gorgeous in a dark suit. The jacket emphasized his wide shoulders and deep chest. When he moved up the walkway toward the building, his gait was so smooth he appeared to be gliding—or prowling like a great jungle cat.
Azelie had no idea why she was so susceptible to him, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Draped over one arm appeared to be a full-length coat that clearly was too small for him. Her heart accelerated and a million butterflies took flight in her stomach. He was too thoughtful for words. She didn’t think men like him really existed. In her world, they never had.
She stepped out the door of the building just before he reached it, watching his face, needing to see if her appearance pleased him. Andrii’s eyes softened and his mouth curved into a smile. Not only was there approval in his eyes, but the way his gaze drifted over her body and returned to her face filled her with a strange pride. His eyes had darkened with intense sensual desire. For her. All for her. She wasn’t used to a man’s entire focus or admiration, and she felt color sweeping up her neck into her face.
“You look beautiful.”
His voice, that compelling velvet voice, played over her skin like the touch of fingers. Goose bumps rose. Her sex clenched. She even went damp. She found herself blinking up at him, unable to speak.
He cupped her chin and tilted her face up toward his. “Solnyshkuh, when I give you a very sincere compliment because you are truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, it would be nice if you acknowledged it.”
His thumb slid along her chin, featherlight, sending flickering heat streaking through her veins. He was truly deadly when it came to seduction.
Azelie swallowed the tight knot in her throat. “Thank you, Andrii.”
Immediately, she got a warm look of approval that added a hard knot of desire to the emotions already roiling inside her. She decided honesty was the best policy, even if it was embarrassing.
“When I look at you, or you speak to me in that voice you have, sometimes I find it difficult to breathe, let alone speak.” She made the admission in a low tone, but she kept her gaze fixed on his. It was important to see his reaction to her honesty. If he looked amused, she would turn and go straight back to her apartment.
His eyes went from gray to liquid mercury. His expression softened even more. Her heart stuttered at the look of complete approval and desire in his eyes. She had made him happy with her admission.
“Telling me that must have been difficult for you,” Andrii said. His voice was always low, even when he sounded commanding, creating an intimacy between them. “Thank you for being so honest with me. When you don’t answer me, I’ll be more cognizant of giving you time.”
He held up the black coat. It was full-length, slim, long-sleeved, straight cut with a tailored neckline. The coat was double breasted with two slanted in-seam pockets. The front closure was enhanced with a wide tone-on-tone belt with a large gold buckle and gold eyelets. The adjustable cuff tabs were gold buckles matching the large one on the belt.
“You aren’t allergic to wool or cashmere, are you?” he asked. “I should have asked before I brought this coat. It was just so perfect for you, and I worried you might get cold.”
Azelie knew that coat had to cost the earth. It was from that same famous designer, Label 287, which she could never afford in a million years, but then she couldn’t afford the dress or shoes. Now she worried that the earrings and necklace might be real.
“I’m not allergic to anything but bug bites,” she admitted. She struggled with herself to tell him she couldn’t accept the coat, but he was already holding it out for her to put her arms in. She wanted that coat even more than the dress and heels. It was one of the most exquisite items of clothing she’d ever seen.