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Engagement of convenience or not, I was being paid millions to act like a doting fiancée. I wasn’t going to ruin my plans over a few stray thoughts.

“How do you want to do this?” I asked after he was safely clothed. I nodded at the bed.

Vuk gave me a sardonic look.It’s a bed. We sleep in it.

“I know that. But it’s…You know what? Forget it.” I stalked into the bathroom with a huff.

I changed into my pajamas and spent the next half hour doing my nightly hair and skincare routine while Vuk did whatever he did. Brooding and plotting how to murder me in my sleep, probably.

I didn’t understand how he and Jordan were friends. Jordan was so gregarious and easygoing, and Vuk was…not.

After I layered on the necessary serums and creams, I brushed my hair, plaited it, and secured it with bobby pins. I wrapped it all up in a silk scarf before I reentered the bedroom, where I found Vuk sitting next to the bed, reading.

It was some sort of crime thriller, and I almost asked him about it before I caught myself.

I’d made enough overtures for the day. He was rude half the time, and I wasn’t a glutton for punishment.

If he didn’t want to converse like a civil person, I wasn’t going to force him to.

I climbed into bed and deliberately turned my back to him. Petty of me, sure, but this way, I didn’t have to notice how irritatingly attractive he looked with a book in his hands.

I never would’ve pegged him for a fiction reader, but I didn’t know much about him at all. Even his answer about how he’d gotten into the alcohol business had been vague.

I stared at the clock on the nightstand. Half past ten.

Pages rustled, followed by the soft thud of a book landing on wood. A moment later, the bed dipped, and body heat engulfed me.

I stiffened, afraid that if I breathed too hard, we might touch.

It didn’t matter how big the mattress was. We could be sleeping on opposite sides of the room and that would still be too close.

The comforter slid over my bare skin as Vuk settled into bed.

I squeezed my eyes shut and wished I’d worn something other than my skimpy satin pajama shorts.

I also wished I’d brought a book or my knitting needles to bed. That way, I’d have something to focus on besides the infuriating hulk of a man next to me.

Since I didn’t, I simply lay there, restless, until I finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

VUK

It was three in the morning, and I’d done fuck all since I turned off the lights besides stare at the ceiling and listen to Ayana breathe.

Her body had relaxed, and her breaths had evened out hours ago. She was clearly sleeping soundly while I was tormented by the far-too-small gap between us.

Under normal circumstances, the hotel’s king-size bed was enormous. Under my current circumstances? The Pacific Ocean wouldn’t be large enough.

I could still feel her warmth.

I could still smell her shampoo.

I could still imagine how easy it would be to close the distance between us and kiss her until she was wet and wanting.

My teeth ground together. I closed my eyes and forced myself to think about something,anything, else.

The performance of Blackcastle—the London football club I’d bought—this season.