Page 27 of Owned By the Russian

Fuming, she dried off as best as she could, her damp hair hanging limply as she wrapped her towel tighter around her body. She hated this. She hated being forced into this position, forced to ask Ilya for clothes, but she wasn’t about to walk around the freezing lodge in just a towel. Not in front of him.

“Deep breaths, Valentina,” she murmured to herself, putting a long-abandoned breathing technique to use as she stood in front of the mirror. “You’re just going to ask for spare clothes. That’s all. Don’t let him get to you.”

When she finally stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped firmly around her body, she hesitated. There was no way around it?she’d have to ask. She scowled as she walked down the hallway, her mind racing with the possibility that he might find some twisted enjoyment in her misery.

When she reached the room, she found Ilya already there, standing by the desk. He glanced up when she entered, his eyes scanning her body with an unmistakable hunger. She stiffened as his gaze skimmed over her exposed shoulders and cleavage, and for a moment, Valentina couldn’t tell if she was irritated by the fact that he was not trying to hide his stare or the fact that a defiant part of her enjoyed being at the center of his attention.

“I figured you’d be needing something to wear,” he said, tossing a pair of sweats onto the desk. He wasn’t smiling or frowning. Besides the darkness in his eyes from her appearance, he looked neutral. “You can change into these.”

Val frowned, but before she could make a comment, she noticed something different about him. His usual cocky smirk was replaced with something more genuine, almost caring, as if he were making an effort to give her space.

As she looked at the sweats on the desk, irritation burned in her at the thought of him joining the train of people babying her again. It wasn’t like him to be mincing words with her.

She glanced at the bed?the single bed that would inevitably be the new focus of their continued argument. Her mouth opened, ready to voice out her frustration, ready for another round of their tiresome back-and-forth about the one-bed situation.

But before any words could leave, Ilya raised his hands in mock surrender, exhaling with a resigned sigh. “You can have it,” he said without hesitation, offering it up with a calmness that was a stark contrast to their last encounter.

Val blinked, thrown off by his unexpected concession. She had been prepared for him to argue, to make some sarcastic remark or insist on him sleeping on the floor. But instead, he was simply letting her have the bed?without a single protest.

“Wait, what?” she asked, her confusion evident.

“You can have the bed,” he repeated, his voice steady.

“Are you serious?” she asked, still wary but now caught off guard by his sudden change in attitude.

“I don’t mind,” he shrugged casually. “You need the rest. I’ll manage.”

Valentina stared at him, torn between annoyance and surprise. She wasn’t sure which unsettled her more?the unexpected kindness or the sudden shift in his behavior. But with the exhaustion weighing on her, she chose not to argue.

“Go on and change into something warmer. I’ll take care of the heating,” he said, his voice low as he gestured to the sweats on the desk. “You must be freezing.”

She raised a brow, skepticism tugging at the corner of her mouth as she slowly grabbed the sweats from the desk. Without another word, he turned and left her alone in the bedroom.

A few minutes later, as she lay in bed, a strange sense of unease settled over her. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was off with him. And she hated it. She hated this version of Ilya that babied her like her father and siblings. She preferred the version of him that was ready to get on her nerves and step on her toes.

Determined to know what his deal was, she rolled out of bed and walked into the main room. But she froze in the doorway when she saw Ilya sprawled on the couch in nothing but black spandex boxer briefs that clung to his hips, the outline of a noticeable bulge hinting at the sheer size of his cock.

The hearth behind him crackled, casting a soft, orange glow across the room, illuminating the defined muscles in his chest and arms. His relaxed posture made him seem effortlessly confident, and the sight of him caught her off guard, stirring something in her that she wasn’t prepared to deal with.

He caught her staring, his gaze following hers to his pelvis. Amusement flickered in his eyes, and a teasing grin tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Like what you see?” he asked, his voice low and confident.

Val’s face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and irritation. She scoffed breathlessly, “You wish.” And without saying another word, she slammed the bedroom door shut behind her, trying to block the image of him from her mind.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about his body?how he looked now and how he had glistened earlier, fresh from the shower, as he tossed her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing more than a feather.

Chapter 10 - Ilya

It was early, and the store was still quiet, with only a handful of customers scattered across the aisles. The fluorescent lights flickered above as Ilya moved through the aisles, the faint echo of his footsteps blending with the hum of overhead ventilation.

He meant it when he told Val he would sort everything out. Since they would be staying at the lodge for a while, it was only necessary for him to get every supply they would need. If he couldn’t get her to love the place, the least he could do was to make her stay comfortable. So, right before she woke up, he set off early to buy necessities in a neighboring town.

His trolley was already piled high with the essentials?groceries, toiletries, and other supplies he thought necessary. And now, in the women’s section, he remained focused, his gaze scanning the racks of clothing with a surprising level of determination.

He ignored the few curious glances thrown his way from other women in the aisle. He didn’t care for what they thought. He was used to standing out?whether it was in the face of a gun or trying to find the right size of underwear for a woman.

Ilya skimmed the rows of clothing, his mind focused, measuring the sizes and mentally cross-referencing them with Valentina’s figure. Red, black, lace, silk?he ran his fingers over the fabric, making quick decisions.

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