Page 108 of Devious Corruption

“You do,” he says. “I’d like to take you out to dinner,and you’ll need something a bit more formal than what you own. Next week there’s a charity event I need to attend, and you’ll need a dress for that, as well.”

I stand shocked, staring at the amount of clothing in front of me. There are way too many pieces. “Lev, I don’t think I even tried all these things on today.”

“Some of it you didn’t.” He leans against the bed post, crossing his arms over his chest. The muscles in his forearms are visible, as well as the thick muscles in his neck when he tilts his head to the side.

I press my thighs together, refusing to let the extreme sexiness of this man derail me from this conversation.

“What is that?” I point to a black box on the dresser.

“Open it.” He gestures with his chin.

“I’m afraid to,” I admit. “It’s probably a diamond tiara, and I’m going to have to smash it over your stubborn head and ruin it.”

He laughs. “It’s not a tiara. And even if it was, you wouldn’t smash anything. I’d have you pinned down before you could try. And you’d be begging for mercy.”

Heat flashes in his eyes, and I know exactly what he’d do to make me beg. Or at least I have an idea. He could probably simply look at me this way for another moment and snap his fingers, and my body would respond.

I should be ashamed. Only weeks ago, I was ready to yank this man’s head off, taking almost everything he said as an insult. Now, I’m waiting for his command to strip out of my clothes.

“Open it, Max.” He pushes away from the bedpost and scoops Marion from my arms.

Immediately, she nuzzles into the underside of his chin. He squeezes his eyes shut and turns away from me, barely suppressing a sneeze.

“Bless you,” I laugh. “Is the big bad Lev Yakovlev getting a cold?”

He sniffs. “No. Now open it.” He points to the box.

Lifting the lid, I find five pairs of glasses inside neatly seated inside velvet casing.

“Glasses?” I pick up the first pair. It’s lightweight with a thin plastic frame, similar in style to the ones I’m wearing now.

“Try them on.” He eases my glasses from my face and holds them as I try on the new, stylish pair.

“How did you get my prescription?” I ask, blinking through the clear lenses. Not a single scratch in place.

He deadpans, staring at me until I have to laugh.

“Of course. The same way you get everything else.” I move to the closet and open the door, checking myself out in the full-sized mirror.

“Try on the others.” He brings the box over to me so I can try all of them.

They’re all perfect.

“Okay, I get how you could get my prescription, but how did you get all these frames that look perfect on me?” I bend over, waiting for the frames to slide off my face like my old pair. “And they stay in place.”

“They used your photo to pick out the frames.” He taps the bridge of the glasses.

“You didn’t need to do all this.” I close the door to the closet. “You shouldn’t have.”

He puts my old frames in the box and puts them back on the dresser. “Why?”

“Because.”

His eyes narrow. “Tell me why.”

“Because it’s too much. And you’ve been generous enough letting me stay here. I’m sure my brothers will be back soon. They’re never gone for more than a few weeks.”

His jaw tightens at the mention of my brothers.