Sophia’s POV
“If you’re delusional, I’m not,” I snapped.
He leaned in and his familiar scent assaulted my nostrils. His body heat warmed me, caressing my skin, stroking every inch of my body, making my cells come alive.
Fuck, this isn’t good. I tried to pull away but he held me in place.
“How are we enemies if we crave each other so badly? Hmm?” He whispered, his lips brushed my ears and my knees went weak.
My breathing quickened as heat pooled at my stomach, his eyes darkened as they dropped to my chest, watching my breasts rise and fall. My nipples hardened under his scrutiny. It
I felt my face burn with embarrassment. Could he feel my hardened nipples against his chest? Could he tell how aroused I was? Because I was. Terribly.
What we were doing felt more intimate, like foreplay than actual dancing.
The lust in his eyes was undeniable and a relief that I wasn’t the only one affected. I don’t know how long we stood there, gazes locked, bodies flushed against each other and rapid breathing.
The music stopped and I snapped back to my senses, I pulled out of his grip. I looked around and thankfully no one had noticed the weird tension between us, the other couples were leaving the dance floor, heading towards their respective tables.
I cleared the lump in my throat. “We are here to discuss with Dante, aren’t we?” My voice quivered. “The wedding’s been over since the first dance, let’s go to him.” My eyes darted around the ballroom searching for Dante.
Ivan grabbed my wrist when I tried to move to Dante after spotting him.
He cleared his throat. “There will be no need for that,” He murmured.
I narrowed my eyes on him as confusion clouded my mind. “What do you mean by that? Isn’t that why we are here?” I asked.
“I already spoke to Dante. We already have a meeting rescheduled for next week,” he confessed.
“You did so tonight? When-” I paused as realization dawned on me, they’d spoken and it wasn’t tonight, I’d arrived at the wedding reception an hour plus before Ivan and he’d been sitting since he arrived.
A gasp escaped me as rage bubbled inside me. “You fucking arsehole! You lied to me!” I whisper-shout, though a few heads turned in our direction.
I mean we were the only ones still on the dance floor and I was sure my face was red with rage, it was pretty obvious what the scene looked like to them. But I didn’t care, Ivan once again had shown me why I should stay far away from him, why he was bad for me.
“Let’s talk outside.” He let my hand go. “Please,” he added.
I wanted to argue but I nodded instead, turned around and headed for the exit with Ivan trailing behind. The cool evening air caressed my heated flesh as we got to the garden area and I came to a halt
“We can talk here,” I said firmly. “Go on, tell me how good you felt making a fool out of me,” I bit out.
He moved to touch me and I backed away. “Don’t.”
He dropped his hands to his sides as he regarded me calmly. And even now as I was the one scolding him, he looked unfazed and in control as usual.
“I wasn’t trying to make you look stupid, I was helping you but I also wanted you to learn,” he said calmly.
I scoffed. “No, you didn’t help me. You lied to me and now you’re calling me incompetent.”
“I lied to you, but I never called you incompetent.”
“You think so? I’d arrived late to work that day, it was my mistake to correct, I was supposed to rectify it, not you all you had to do was guide me. But no, you don’t trust me to handle things. No one ever does.” I barked.
His gaze softened, “I didn’t mean it that way. I-”
Raising my hand to stop him, I cut him off. “It doesn’t matter anyway. After all, you did what was best for the company. I just want you to leave me alone from here on out.”
He grabbed my hand as I started walking away and pulled me into his arms in an embrace.
I tried to wriggle free. “Let me go, Ivan.”
“No, I’m not letting you walk away from me again,” he grunted.
I shoved his chest hard, but he didn’t budge. “I don’t care what you want, let me go!” I bit his right arm. Hard.
He released me with a groan, cursing under his breath as his face scrunched up in pain.
I tried to run away but in an instant, he grabbed my arm in his hand. He started pulling. I dug my heels in, trying to stop myself from moving as I fought against his tightening grip.
“I’m going to scream, let go!” One of my heels slipped out and I was left barefoot.
Ivan ignored my protests as he pulled out his phone. “I’m about to leave, come pick me up,” he said into his phone.
“What? Where are you taking me to?” I glanced around.
He ignored me, pulling me along with him.
“What? Kidnapping me once wasn’t enough for you?” I knew I was pushing it, but fuck it.
His shoulders stiffened and he stared at me. He kept a hold on me the entire time. “I’m not kidnapping you, I’m taking you to my place,” he grunted.
Rolling my eyes, I retorted. “Against my will. That’s literally the same thing as kidnapping, you bloody bastard!”
He ignored me as his grip tightened. I looked around again, but there was no one in sight, it was already late evening, and some guests were still inside while some had left.
A car pulled up ahead of us and the driver came around to open the back seat.
“Get in,” he said.
“No.”
I gasped in surprise as he practically lifted me in his arms and put me inside the car before he slammed the door and I heard it click.
Great!
I glared at him as he stormed around the front of the car, irritation written all over his face.
What was he upset about? I should be the one angry.
That rude, arrogant bastard!
He climbed inside beside me, slamming the door and the driver started up the car.
“What you’re doing is wrong,” I gritted out. When he didn’t respond, I blew a breath. “I left my phone and purse behind, this is so annoying.”
“I’ve asked Sasha to get them for you,” He grunted.
“Right, your minion, was she in on the whole thing too?” I asked sarcastically as he stared out the window. “Right, of course, she is.”
“Sasha didn’t ask me to lie to you,” he grunted.
I scoffed. “But she knew you lied to me,” I retorted.
He says nothing as fixed his gaze outside of the window.
“I didn’t get to say goodbye to Jonathan,” I groaned.
He turned away from the window, fixing his icy gaze on me. “Who is he to you?” He growled.
I waved him off. “An old friend. And thanks to you I didn’t get to take his number.”
“You don’t need his number,” he muttered. And I eyed him incredulously. What does he mean by that?
I huffed. “And you don’t get a say in what I do. You do know this looks weird, right? I have a fiance.”
He scoffs. “No one saw us leave and your engagement to Harry is a sham. You’ll have to break up with him eventually,” he said in a confident tone.
Why is he so confident about me not getting married to Harry?
“What makes you think I’ll break up with Harry? He’s literally perfect, I’m going to marry him,” I lied.
Everything happened so fast, as soon as the words left my mouth. Ivan reached over, grabbed my cheeks and yanked him toward him. My heart raced in my chest as he moved his face closer to mine. I could feel the heat of his breath as it fanned against my face.
“I don’t want you to marry him,” he growled in my face.
I snorted. “That’s not your decision to make, big guy.”
His gaze hardened. “It is,” he gritted out.
I looked at him like he’d gone crazy, ’cause that’s the only explanation for his weird behaviour. “No, it’s not, I don’t interfere with your life or the women you sleep with.”
He looked away before fixing his gaze back on mine. “I… I haven’t been with anyone else since after you,” he confessed.
My brain stuttered as I tried to understand what he’d just said. That can’t be true, everyone knows Ivan has so many mistresses.
I stared into his eyes as his grip on my cheeks loosened. I got lost in his eyes. Ivan’s gaze was always more commanding and with a glint of danger in it, but not right now… right now he looked at me like I was a prized jewel. His eyes held something akin to obsession and it didn’t scare me.
Shit, what does that say about me then? I must be going crazy.
“Can I kiss you?”