"Did you want me to come?" He threw on some black joggers and then walked to where I was standing. He had his hands in his pockets, and he was standing directly in front of me. "Answer me."
"No. I was just asking." I couldn't let my guard down. I smiled and got into bed. He let out a sarcastic laugh before joining me. I had my back turned to him.
There was a longing for him and he knew that. But my pride was too big to allow me make a move. He knew what I wanted, but he needed me to ask. He wanted to play games tonight. I shifted uncomfortably in bed, trying to get his attention. And it worked.
"Sophie, why are you acting like a child who doesn't want to go to bed?" He asked without turning to me. At this point, we both had our backs facing each other.
"I can't sleep." He gave a long sigh before turning to me. At this point, I also adjusted to face him.
"And why is that?"
"I don't know." He knew. We both knew. But pride just wouldn't let us!
"Come here." He opened his arms and I laid my head on his bare chest. He had his arms wrapped around me, and I instantly felt at ease. The thing with Karrion is that sex is never a dramatic necessity. Sometimes, we could actually just be together and be happy. "I missed you. A lot."
"Then why didn't you come?"
"I did. A couple of times actually. But, when I stood in the shadows and saw you, you always looked happy. Happier than I had ever seen you before. That life felt like it was all you ever wanted, and unfortunately, it's the only thing I will never be able to give you."
"I don't need anything from you, Karrion. I just want you. Being away from you for so long felt painful. I don't want to ever experience that again."
"And you never will." I raised my head and he was just looking at me. I placed my hand on his face and he leaned into my touch. "Don't leave again. I don't think I can handle that again."
"I won't." He leaned in and our lips connected. There was a hunger for each other. We could both feel it. As our kiss got more intense, I changed my position to enable me to straddle him. His grip around my waist tightened, he wanted me to get impossibility closer to him. We both needed this. We wanted each other in this moment, and we were going to satisfy that want.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the shower running. He was taking a shower. I was completely naked, so I figured that joining him wouldn't be the worst idea. I walked into the bathroom and stood in front of the glass shower doors. It was a huge bathroom. He couldn't see me yet because the glass was covered by steam. I opened one of the doors and stood behind him. I wrapped my arms around his torso from behind and he instantly turned to face me. He took my bare look in and smiled.
"I don't mind starting every single day like this." He said as he leaned down and kissed me.
"Well, I'll put that into consideration." We were happy. Just us in our space, nobody else.
"You're driving me crazy at an insanely fast rate, Sophie."
"Not fast enough."
After our shower, we stepped out to get dressed.
"What's your plan for the day?" Karrion asked as he picked out his outfit for the day. No matter what he was wearing, it was always black. Today, he had a black turtleneck, black pants, a black coat, black gloves and black shoes.
"I don't know. I think I'll check on work virtually, then maybe I'll just wander around this place."
"Well, have fun. It took me two weeks to fully go around this entire place. It's unnecessarily huge."
"That's because you weren't fully dedicated to it. I have nothing else to do."
"You could always help me run a couple of my businesses here in Russia. That will keep you busy."
"Karrion..." I have a mind that needs to be kept busy. But running some of his businesses would be a lot to take on.
"Just think about it. The files for each one is in my office, you can go in, look through them, and have your pick."
"Ok. But, I'm not promising you anything. And you know that I still have to keep a close eye on my ventures."
"That's fine." I was trying to pick the right shoes to wear. Irrespective of where I was, I was always dressed to the tee.
"What's your plan? Meetings around the manor all day?"
"I wish. But I have to head into one of the companies today."
"And here I thought you were a full time criminal." I said laughing.
"That's a sort of turn on for you, isn't it?" He asked as he pulled me by my waist to him.
"A little bit. The bad boys have always been my taste." I said as I wrapped my hands around his neck.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm no boy." He leaned down and kissed me. He pulled away and walked out of the closet. "You have my men and the cars at your disposal. If you want to reach me, call me or ask one of your guards to bring you to me."
"I'm sorry, one of my guards?"
"It's non negotiable. I won't let you walk around without security."
"I am my own security."
"Then consider it an addition. I'll see you when I get back." He gave me a quick kiss and walked out of the room. I got my laptop and phone and walked out of the room. I made an effort to ignore the five men that were apparently walking behind me. This was crazy! I'm inside! I made my way to the highest balcony overlooking the city. It was that period where the winter was getting to leave. The place was already warming up. I sat there and just made a few work calls, checked in on some clients and that was it. When I checked my time, it was 1pm already. I had been here for about 6 hours. I wanted to get something to eat so I went down to the kitchen. It was magnificent.
"Она здесь! Уходи, уходи, уходи. Я разберусь с этим. Но мы бы не хотели сегодня расстраивать босса." (She's here! Leave, leave, leave. I'll sort it out. But we wouldn't want to upset the boss today.) This was the first thing I heard as I entered the kitchen. The rest of the staff ran out, and I was left with this older woman. Based on her outfit, I'm assuming she's the head chef here. She turned to me with a big smile. "Good afternoon, Ms. Kane, what can I do for you today?"
"Maybe you can start by telling me why you just asked everyone to leave."
"I'm sorry, madam. But it was the boss' order."
"Karrion told you to do what exactly?"
"I'm not at liberty to say. But the kitchen is a busy place, you shouldn't be in here, madam."
"Well, I was just hoping for a quick brunch."
"Any specific thing?"
"None at all. Just make sure that there's a hot cup of coffee to go with it."
"Of course, madam. Will that be all?" She was so formal with me. And I could smell Karrion all over it.
"Yes, thank you." I smiled warmly before stepping out. I ran into Sion in the hallway. "Well, hello." I said as he joined me.
"Sophie. I was hoping to run into you today."
"If you're about to thank me again, don't bother."
"Well, this was short." We both laughed, as we walked to one of the sitting rooms.
"Shouldn't you be with Karrion?"
"Well, I was, but I forgot something here, then I came back."
"Really?"
"Mhmm."
"What did you forget?"
"What?"
"What did you forget?" He laughed nervously.
"My phone. I forgot my phone."
I nodded slowly as a smile crept on my face. "He asked you to come back and check on me, didn't he?"
"No..." I didn't break eye contact, and he finally caved. "Fine. He did. But it's your first time here absolutely alone. He's usually here with you."
"No. He's usually here in meetings. And I'm fine. He worries too much."
"It's because he cares."
"Did you know that he gave some sort of order in the kitchen and now they all run when they see me?"
"He doesn't want you getting burnt, or even stressing yourself. You have someone to do everything for you."
"I don't want that."
"Then take control. Start by showing him that you're not some 19th century princess."
"How?"
"Take control of the businesses, Sophie. Especially the clubs."
"I'm not interested."
"Get dressed. We're going out."
"Where are you taking me?"
"Out."
"But I just ordered for brunch." I was grumpy because I was hungry. I hadn't eaten all day.
"We'll have brunch on our way. Just go get ready." I walked past him and made my way to the room. Because I didn't know where we were going, finding the right outfit was going to be hard. But I did it.
As promised, Sion actually had my brunch in the car. And he also had my coffee packed up too! As we settled in and ate, I had to ask again.
"Sion, where exactly are we going?"
"We're paying a visit to one of Karrion's clubs." He didn't even look at me. He couldn't.
"Sion!"
"I'm sorry! But before you turn it down, see it." I didn't say anything about the club again. But I definitely had some questions that I needed answered.
"You've known Karrion for a while right?"
"Roughly about 15 years. Why?"
"Is it safe to say that you know him more than anyone else?" He was wondering why I had all these questions, but he still answered them nonetheless.
"I wouldn't say that. I just happen to know a bit more than the rest of the guys. The only person that knows Karrion inside out is his mother. Why all the questions?"
"Well, just some small observations."
"Like?"
"Well, his middle name is Xavier. He's Italian. That's unusual."
"His mom is of Latino descent. If I remember correctly, she might actually be Colombian." Well, that settles one of my questions.
"Ok. The accent." He smiled.
"Let me guess. Sometimes, he has the Italian accent. Other times, it's Russian. Most times, it's just your basic American accent. You should hear his German...it's heavenly." Why was he laughing? This wasn't funny.
"Why so many different accents?"
"He lived most of his life in all these places. Especially here in Russia. It's his most dominant accent. But, when he's not here, he tends to switch them, based on where he is. And even then, you can still hear the Russian accent."
"But he only yells at me in Italian. Why not all the other languages? I speak them perfectly."
"You're asking me why my boss only yells at you in Italian?" It was a weird question.
"I am."
"I wouldn't know. Do you yell at him in other languages?"
"It's not funny." I said as I playfully slapped his arm.
"It is. But maybe you can ask him."
"I'll probably forget. He's going to be working all day."
"You're in luck. We're stopping by his office after you see the club." Yayyy? I didn't want to admit it, but I missed him. I would literally give anything to have him miss work to stay with me again. I know I complained a lot the last time, but I want that now.
As planned, we saw it club and funny enough, I instantly liked it. I think it's probably because it screamed Karrion. Everything about it. When I was in there, I felt like I was surrounded by a huge version of him. Hell, call me crazy, but I could perceive his scent. I instantly fell in love with the place. I almost didn't want to leave. But then I remembered that we were going to see the actual Karrion.
His office was quite something. It was actually one of the tallest buildings in Moscow. Black Industries. Quite an unusual name.
I walked in with Sion next to me, and four men following behind us. The receptionist in the lobby didn't say anything. She just gave a low nod when she saw Sion. We walked straight into the elevator and went right up to the highest floor. It was a beautiful place. When we got to the floor, we were instantly approached by some of Karrion's men.
"Sion, we weren't expecting you back so soon." One of the men said. But when Sion moved aside, his frown changed into a smile. "Ms. Kane, you're welcome."
"Thank you. Is Karrion in?"
"Of course. Right this way." He led me down a long hallway, and then we approached a huge glass door. We walked through the door, and all I saw was a table, and a young lady behind it. I'm assuming that's his secretary. Paying no mind to her, I went ahead and walked through the doors in front of me, and there he was.
He looked up from his work and smiled broadly. "Sophie, what are you doing here?"