Page 18 of Sins and Virtue

Alright, enough dilly-dally.

I couldn't stall and avoid him forever, so I opened the door and stepped out of the room, flicking the light switch off. Looking at where he was supposed to be, but there was no one there. Only the moonlight that glimmered through the dark room from the window. It was a rare sight to see but a pretty one. There wassomething about the unknown that drew me in, spinning me around like a spider web and making me fall under its spell.

I raised a brow, wondering if he really ran off.

“Behind you.” His low, hoarse voice sent shudders down my spine. Feeling the trail of his intense gaze stuck on me and only me.

Wishful thinking, Blair.

Swiftly, I turned around and faced him, noticing him backed against the wall. His tattooed muscular arms folded with his gun in hand, one of his legs crossed against the other, and watching me with lazy bedroom eyes. His sight glazing over my curves in admiration, satisfaction, and a distinct sensation I’d starved myself for months and would continue to do so for the rest of my life— pleasure.

Something inside me relished in the fact he wanted something he would never have. Because at the end of the day, no matter what people’s opinions were, you could never deny my beauty.

But I wasn’t going to allow him to have all the fun.

Indulging in some eye candy for the last time in my life, my eyes roam over him. Realizing now that we had some distance between us, he was much taller and stronger than an average man. To expect anything normal from him would exceed expectations. There wasn’t a man like him.

His ruthless aura was coaxed with something subdued— more compelling and more sensual. His eyes called you out to the sea, unbeknownst to the danger that you could drown.

The glint of the moon highlighted the silver pistol.

Now that’s going to be a problem.

Ending our stare-off, I whisper-hushed. “Put the gun away.” Stepping forward and attempting to shove it away. Not wanting anyone to see that weapon here.

He kept a hard grip on it, his gaze unrelenting. “It’ll stay with me. After all, you never know who will come crawling in at night, and I’ll have to shoot them.”

I clicked my teeth, turning around and muttering under my breath. “Hope you shoot yourself in the ass, then.”

“Heard that,” he replied monotonously, his glare burning the side of my temple.

“Well, you’re in my room, so deal with it.” I waved my hand in the air and shuffled my feet to the bed as I started to move some of my pillows to the floor along with a blanket. Attempting to make a makeshift bed.

“You’re not sleeping on the floor.” He roughly dictated.

His order made me stop in my tracks.

His sudden chivalry was unexpected, nothing beyond this world, but if a common criminal like him had the basic courtesy to not let a woman sacrifice her beauty sleep, then he wasn’t half bad.Maybe.

“You're right, I’m not, but you are.” I smirked, throwing a pillow at his face, though it landed right beneath his chin. Heat bubbled to my cheeks for some odd reason, and I shook my head. Passing him a blanket and then an extra towel I had so he could dry himself off and not get sick.

“Sleep tight, Konstantin.” Throwing my slippers off and lifting the sheets as I shimmed my way into the bed and pretended to fall asleep.

My heart rang in my ears as I patiently waited for him to settle down and not stare against the wall like some creep.

Some time later, it could have been five or twenty minutes, he began moving. His feet were light and tactical, although the old wooden boards creaked under his weight.

I tried my hardest not to smile, as it seemed ridiculous.

Thankfully, my composure stayed while he slowly made his way onto the floor, accommodating and shifting around to find a comfortable position to rest in.

A few more minutes passed before I lifted my head over my shoulder, observing him lying on the floor, his back facing me as he faced the front. His chest rising and falling in even breaths as it appeared he had fallen asleep.

Good.

Turning back to my original position, my fingers slithered underneath the pillow, where the most precious thing in the world was hidden so no one would sully it with their greedy hands.

I pulled a small Polaroid photo. One that was taken a few months ago as I stared at the small portrait. My finger outlining his soft face, brown hair, and pure green eyes. Bubbles of longing carved a hole inside my chest.