16
Chloe
“I was looking for you,” Nikolai continues, approaching with a panther-soft stride. “Pavel said you were upstairs with Slava.”
I swallow hard as he stops in front of me. “Yes, I just came down here for a moment to throw in some laundry. I hope that’s okay.” Despite my best efforts, my voice wavers, and it’s all I can do not to step back in an effort to put more space between us. Not that he’s overly close—at least three feet separate us—but now that I know the smell of his cologne, I can pick up the subtle cedar and bergamot notes in the air, and my memory fills in the rest, from the heat coming off his skin to the hard contours of his body pressing against me. And that big, thick bulge… My knees wobble, and I almost sway toward him but catch myself at the last moment, stiffeni
