Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
And since she had been pretty sure the whole crew heard them, Daria had desperately avoided everyone’s gazes the entire flight back.
Remembering the incident made Daria sigh now. Their arrangement wasn’t perfect, she knew, but she was also aware that she hadn’t been this happy since the days she had spent with Nik on the island.
Sighing again, Daria padded towards her desk and pulled the main drawer open. Taking a seat, she rummaged through the magazines and sketchpads until she found her calendar. It was custom-designed, with only Mondays and Fridays to make the waiting more bearable whenever Nik wasn’t with her.
As she slashed a red X on the eighth Monday, Daria heard the door open as Nik stepped out of the shower. She hastily put the calendar back inside her drawer and took out her sketchpad, pretending to be busy.
“You’re going to work at this hour?” Nik was surprised. She had never worked while they were together.
“Umm, yeah. I need to give this to the printer tomorrow.” She flipped the sketchpad open to a blank page. “Do you mind?” She expected Nik to simply shake his head and leave her be. Except for that one time in the island, Nik hadn’t bothered asking her about her work again.
But instead, she saw Nik reach for the stool from the dresser and, pulling it closer towards the desk, lowered himself on it. “Mind if I watch you?”
Daria blinked. “You want to watch me work?”
“That is what I said,” he answered dryly.
“Why?” she blurted out.
He shrugged.
“Are you sure you won’t be bored?”
“I doubt it.”
Realizing that was all she was going to get, she mumbled, “Up to you.” Pulling the smaller drawer open, she took out her pencils and paints and started to draw.
Nik quietly watched Daria work, and as her drawing came to life, it was obvious that she had also started to forget Nik and her surroundings. Her face was a picture of concentration, with her brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and lips slightly parted.
Daria was just working, Nik thought broodingly. Just Daria moving her damn pencil on paper. She wasn’t the first artist he had seen working either, so why the hell couldn’t he take his eyes off her?
When Daria looked up, her neck and fingers were aching. A glance at the alarm clock on her desk told her it was already one in the morning. She had been drawing for almost an hour.
She quickly looked behind her and was startled to find Nik still there. Startled and pleased, but by now she knew better than to let him know that.
Putting her pencil down, she asked, “Do you work at home, too?”
“Yes.”
She made a face. “You’ve got communication issues, do you know? I mean, really.”
Nik rolled his eyes. “Preferring to answer a question with yes or no is your definition of a communication issue? Really?” He mimicked her tone with the last word.
Daria giggled, caught by surprise by Nik’s rare display of humor.
Seeing that she was still rubbing her neck and hating the sight of her in pain, Nik came to his feet and took her hand away. He started kneading her neck, almost smiling when Daria moaned in pleasure.
Daria closed her eyes as she surrendered herself to the pleasure of Nik’s touch. “What kind of work do you do at home?”
Her sleepy tone made the urge to smile harder to resist, but he managed, answering mildly, “The usual.”
Without opening her eyes, she made a face again, but as soon as she did, Nik bent his head and kissed her on the mouth.
Oh!
When he lifted his head, Daria still had her eyes closed, but she wore a dreamy expression on her face. “Mooooore.”
Third time was the charm, and this time Nik failed to stop himself from smiling. “Spoiled little vixen,” he murmured in Greek.
Her eyes opened a little as Daria asked suspiciously, “Did you say something bad about me?”
“Not at all.”
“I don’t believe you.” She sighed. “But your touch feels so good, I’m going to forgive you.”
“How magnanimous of you,” he said.
“You might as well speak Greek when you use words like that.”
He allowed himself to smile again, but only because Daria’s eyes were closed now.
When her head started to fall, Nik swept her up in his arms and placed her on the bed, tucking her in before joining her under the covers.
She rolled immediately towards him, snuggling against his body. She was the only one who cared to do that. Not even Miranda had ever displayed a desire to have contact with him after sex.
“Nik?” Daria mumbled. “Maybe next time you can bring your work with you here, so we can work together and you don’t waste your time.”
Nik didn’t answer.
Beside him, Daria, who had only been pretending to be sleepy, tried not to be disappointed. No harm in trying, she told herself. She could give it another week or two, and then she would try again.