Page 15 of Ruthless Rustanovs

EVA had thrown her passport in her purse just in case, but she’d expected Alexei’s plane to take her back to New York where she’d figured he’d hole her up in a penthouse made entirely of glass while he did whatever he wanted to her for the next two weeks.

So, she was surprised when the plane began to descend only an hour after take-off.

She looked out the window and saw a coastal island she decided must be South Padre since there weren’t many islands only an hour’s flight from Drummond. A few minutes later she found she’d been correct when a gray-haired limo driver greeted her and Emilio at the bottom of the small plane’s stairs.

“Welcome to South Padre Island, Miss St. James,” the driver said before turning to Emilio and saying, “Welcome back, Mr. Alvarez!”

So, Alexei had decided their tryst would go down on Texas’s largest barrier island?

South Padre was a known party destination, a place that attracted mostly spring breakers and families who didn’t want to go as far as the Caribbean.

She wondered why a billionaire with access to any number of glamorous locales would choose to spend his vacation here.

“Does Alexei spend a lot of time here?” she asked Emilio once they were settled in the back of the limo.

“No.” Perhaps sensing she needed it, Emilio poured Eva two fingers of bourbon and handed it to her. “But he does own the resort you’re staying at.”

Eva blinked hard for the second time that day. “Say what now?”

Fifteen minutes later, she received her answer when she stepped out of the limo and saw The R resort.

Even though it looked like it had undergone an expensive remodel, Eva recognized the location as the old Surfside Hotel which was where she had been planning to spend Spring Break before her father cut her off.

The weekend after that disastrous dinner, she’d not only moved in with Alexei, but also called the fellow SSW grad student who coordinated their trip to South Padre to say she wouldn’t be able to go.

She could still remember Alexei regarding her with mournful eyes when she got off the phone. “I wish to have money for you,” he’d said. “Then I send you on this trip and maybe go with you, da? I am sorry I cannot do this. You deserve more.”

She’d masked her disappointment about the trip she’d really been looking forward to, and said, “I’d much rather stay here with you for the break, anyway. And nobody really deserves a trip to stupid South Padre Island.”

But he shook his head and insisted, “No, one day I will find a way to give this trip back to you. I promise.”

And now he owned the hotel she was originally going to stay at.

She craned her neck upward to take in the entire structure. Man, when Alexei decided to show somebody, he really showed them.

Emilio escorted her up the elevator and past two large burly guards sporting shaved heads, to the penthouse suite.

As it turned out, Eva had been right. Alexei decided to hole her up in his penthouse.

Only it was at the top of this hotel as opposed to New York City.

When Emilio showed her into the suite, she could barely believe her eyes.

Unlike his office in New York, this space was warm and inviting, decorated in a sumptuous red-and-gold color scheme that made it feel more like a palace than a room in a hotel known for hosting well-heeled spring breakers.

At least half of the penthouse was taken up by a large living room featuring a standard-sized pool, of all things, complete with chaise lounges and a small wet bar.

There were plate glass windows that provided a 180-degree unobstructed view of the island.

Eva went to the Texas-facing side of the suite and swore she could see all the way to Corpus Christi.

“Wow,” she said to Emilio as she jogged to take in the view on the other side of the large living room. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel room this nice in my whole life.”

“You say that and you have not even seen the bedroom yet,” a male voice said behind her.

Eva gasped and skidded to a stop before turning to find Emilio was gone. And a very smug Alexei Rustanov had taken his place.

His eyes scanned over her. “You are already in violation of our agreement,” he said, frowning. “You are still clothed and I do not see a bow in your hair.”