Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Ah.
She burst into tears instead.
The Russian billionaire laughed softly, which incensed her enough to make Fredericka struggle as he tried to draw her in his arms.
“I hate you, Sergei Grachyov,” she muttered against his chest even as her eyelids closed in sheer relief. Home. It was all she could think of even as his crushing embrace threatened to cut off her oxygen supply. In this man’s arms, she was...home.
“I had a meeting I couldn’t cancel earlier,” she heard him murmur above her head. “But as soon as I was done, I used our jet to get here and still arrived before you did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here, too?”
“You wouldn’t have believed me if I had,” she heard him reason above her head. He pulled away, looking down at her with a mocking smile playing on his lips. “You always seem to forget I can afford to do most things people can’t.”
“It’s hard to remember you’re a billionaire,” she snarled under her breath, “when you always make me pay every time we eat out.”
“Because we’re friends,” he dismissed easily.
She made a face. “Why do I feel like you’re conning me every time you say that?” But she wasn’t really mad, and she had a nasty, shameful feeling he knew she was feeling the exact opposite. When he took hold of her hand and led her out of the tarmac, she could only let him, unable to muster even the strength to murmur a single word of protest.
Immigration controls practically laid out the red carpet for them as they walked past, and Fredericka was shocked to find paparazzi instantly swarming towards them the moment they left the airport. The press wasn’t ever this intrusive back in Rockton, and Fredericka secretly welcomed the way the Russian billionaire drew her protectively towards her side as his security cleared the way to his limousine.
As they drove away, she looked at him ruefully, saying, “I wondered about your diva’s entourage a while ago—-” She caught sight of the way color stained Sergei’s high-boned cheeks, and she said hurriedly, “But I totally get it now.”
Sergei shook his head, half-amused and half-irritated at being called a ‘diva’ by the woman who had been the object of his desire for so long. A diva. Only Fredericka Spears would have dared call him such a thing to his face—-
And survive, he thought with a mental sigh. He wanted to fuck her too much to kill her, after all.
“Where are we going?” Her inquiring voice drew his gaze back to her. Fredericka’s gray eyes were sparkling now, a far cry from how dull they had seemed back in California. “I haven’t checked in yet,” she was saying, and all the billionaire could do was stare at her as she chatted away in an unusually perky voice. That she was happy and excited was very much evident, and knowing that he was the reason for it made the billionaire clench his fists, the only way to keep his hands off her.
Ah, pchelka.
How could one woman be so impressively smart in one field and be silly in remarkably equal measures in another? How could Fredericka not realize that she was meant to be his forever?
“Sergei? Are you listening?” Fredericka was staring at him, bemused.
He forced a smile. “Prosti.” I’m sorry. “Were you asking about checking in at your hotel?”
“If it’s out of the way—-”
“It’s not, but there is no need to bother.” When she blinked at him, he said simply, “I canceled your booking.”
“What?”
“I want you to concentrate on just me in the forty-eight hours I’ll be here,” he drawled smoothly, “which is why I thought it’s better that you stay at my apartment—-”
“Since when did you have an apartment in Miami?” Fredericka gasped.
“Since I learned you’ll be moving here,” he answered.
“WHAT?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Do you even realize how impossible that sounds?” Fredericka asked helplessly. Yes, she knew he was a billionaire, but to buy a house for that reason? That was insane!
“It’s a good investment,” he dismissed, “and I don’t fancy staying at a hotel whenever I come to visit you.” When he saw Fredericka blink at him again, as if unable to believe he intended to visit her frequently, Sergei gave her a mildly exasperated look. “I will come visit you often, naturally.” He shook his head at her. “After all this time, Fredericka, you must at least accept the fact you are not just anyone to me, da?”
She stared at him, stricken.
A moment later, she started to blink again, but this time it was obvious she was doing it to control her tears.
“Whatever.” The charmingly ungracious reply came in the form of a defensive mumble, accompanied by the defiant toss of her head as she deliberately turned away from him, her gaze focusing on the scenery outside the window.