Page 66 of Toxic Temptation
“... thirty years this September,” he’s saying. “I?—”
Before I can think it through, I lean in and kiss her. Right there in front of everyone.
It starts as a quick kiss for show, but the moment our lips touch, everything changes. She’s soft and warm and tastes like coffee and something sweet I can’t name. A small whimper escapes her throat, and just like that, I’m drowning.
I deepen the kiss, forgetting where we are, forgetting why I started this. All I know is that she feels perfect against me and I never want to let her go.
Then someone whistles—probably Osip—and reality crashes back. Vesper pulls away first, her hand pressed against my chest, cheeks flushed and eyes carefully avoiding mine.
“Ah, young love,” Matvey sighs, hands clasped over his heart. “I’m so happy young Mr. Kovan found someone special. It’s about time.”
Vesper’s eyes flick to mine, and there’s that uncertainty again. That careful distance that makes me want to shake her and kissher and demand she stop looking at me like I’m going to hurt her.
But I don’t do any of those things. Instead, I spend the rest of her visit finding excuses to touch her. Each brush of skin on skin is just another a reminder of how fucked I am.
Because what started as an act is becoming something else entirely.
And I’m not sure I want to stop it.
23
KOVAN
“That kiss was something else, brother.” Pavel’s grin is wide enough to split his face. “You almost had me convinced for a second there.”
“That’s the point, idiot.”
“Thepoint,” Osip interrupts, setting down his coffee, “is to make people believe you two have been together for a year. Not five minutes.”
I lean back in my desk chair, studying their faces. “We didn’t accomplish that?”
Pavel and Osip exchange a look that makes my jaw tighten.
“You look smitten with each other,” Pavel explains carefully. “But it’s the kind of smitten that screams ‘new relationship.’”
“She looks at you like a lovesick teenager,” Osip underscores. “Puppy dog eyes. And you look at her like you want to devour her whole. Which, don’t get me wrong, is hot as hell to watch, for those so voyeuristically inclined. But it’s not exactly the vibe of a couple who’s been together almost a year.”
Gnashing my teeth together, I grab the darts from the board and rejoin them at the far end of the room. The metal tip feels cold and sharp against my palm. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying she needs to know more than just your name and your nephew’s allergy,” Osip replies. “She needs to know what kind of coffee you drink in the morning. How you like your eggs. Whether you sleep on the left or right side of the bed.”
“She needs a crash course in being your girlfriend,” Pavel summarizes.
“Poor girl,” Osip mumbles.
The word hits different than it ought to.Girlfriend.Like it means something real.
“Today wasn’t good enough,” I say with a scowl. “If we had more discerning eyes on us, we would’ve failed, and this custody arrangement would’ve been shot to hell. She needs to be better. We both do.”
“Ko, be real. How the hell do you expect to sell a year-long relationship when you met her three weeks ago?” Osip asks bluntly.
I line up my shot and release. The dart hits dead center.
“That’s another bullseye.”
“Fuck.” Osip reaches for his wallet. “How much do I owe you now?”
“Eleven grand. But I’m feeling generous today, so we’ll stop there.”
