SWNOVELS Chapter 35
The only thing keeping me tied to New York is Anya. And I fucking refuse to give up on her.
She’s avoiding me—I know she is—but she can’t avoid me forever. I know all her little ins and outs now. I know the night she works, the days she goes out to shop. And the days she doesn’t leave the house.
It might’ve only been a day since I saw her last, but I’m done with this back-and-forth runaway shit. I’m certainly not going to wait a week like I did last time. Little by little, I’ll wear her down. Not because I want to see her fire dim but because I want her to admit that she’s made for me. I just need to make her realize I don’t want to take her power or empire away. I just want to be in her world.
Some may call it stalking, but I call it being efficient.
I want to maximize every opportunity I have with her, which is exactly why I’m walking into Cartier, her favorite jeweler, again.
When I step inside, Clay and Vance are standing stoically near the back of the store. She’s definitely here.
The sales assistant eyes me, evidently recognizing me from the last time I was here.
“Do you have an appointment, sir?” she asks, and makes a pointed look at Michael, who looms over my shoulder.
“Yes, my soon-to-be wife is seeing someone in here,” I say.
Her eyes light up. “Who is your fiancée?”
“Anya Ivanov.”
“Oh, Miss Anya never told us she was engaged. Would you like to join her?” she asks, a lot less frightened of our intrusion, which says wonders if she thinks so highly of my she-devil. Then again, she’s probably one of the most frequent patrons here.
“Sit. Stay. Drink champagne, and don’t scare anyone,” I instruct Michael. Anya might think business between us is done, but it’s not.
And she still has my fucking car.
The saleswoman walks me to a back room, Anya’s pair of guard dogs not overly impressed to see me. The feeling is mutual. Anya twists in her chair, and her eyes narrow as the jeweler showing her some diamonds looks up, surprised.
“Anya, sweetheart, you didn’t wait for me.” I step inside and lean down to kiss her cheek. She doesn’t pull away when I do, and I linger a second longer than necessary.
“Please, have a seat,” The jeweler says, seeming surprised that Anya has any friends, let alone a male one. I take the chair next to Anya. I eye her hand, thinking of grabbing it, but she pulls it away, as if reading my thoughts. I hold in a chuckle.
“More diamonds?” I ask her, leaning over to look at the tennis bracelet she’s currently eyeing, only to see she’s wearing the last gift I sent her.
“Yes, more diamonds,” she says through gritted teeth, clearly not happy I’m here.
“Miss Ivanov is deciding which she likes from our new collection, so I’m laying out the options.”
I lean forward to have a better look. Next to the tennis bracelet is a ring, which has a flower on it made from diamonds.
“We’ll take both,” I say, smiling as the woman from the front comes in and offers me a glass of champagne. A glass of water is positioned in front of Anya, untouched. Raising the glass to my lips, I take a sip as her beautiful eyes narrow at me. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“That’s great. I’ll get these two wrapped for you. If you’ll excuse me for a moment,” the jeweler says, then gets up to leave. As soon as she’s out the door, Anya turns to me fully.
“You,” she spits. “Why are you here? Was I not clear enough last night? We’re done.”
“You still have my car,” I point out. “And I was hoping we could finish our discussion regarding your brother and Meredith. Also, blackmail aside, I was hoping for a repeat.” I wink at her before I down the rest of the champagne.
“A repeat? So you think by buying me jewelry, you’ll get laid outside of our already completed agreement?” I can hear the laugh in her voice.
“A man can hope, right?” I say. I turn her chair so she’s facing me. “Anya, what do I have to do so you let me in? You can say it’s all just sex. If you had friends, I wouldn’t mind if you told them that’s all it is. But you and I both know this runs deeper than that.”
“You think too highly of yourself,” she scoffs.
“Why do you think we get along so well?” I retort. “Help me understand yesterday. You come in, guns blazing at my restaurant because you want to talk business. You ask me to stop following up on your brother and Meredith, which, by the way, I’m trying to find your brother to help you. Then we have sex and you split.”
“You just want to know where my brother is so you can deal with him instead,” she seethes.
“I don’t want to do business with anyone but you, Anya. I won’t apologize for my ambition in wanting in on the auctions and territory. Personal feelings aside, we will both profit if we work together. But I’m here for you, Anya. So what did you want to say to me yesterday?”
She turns away, and I wait. And wait. And wait. Getting this she-devil to open up is a nightmare. But when the silence becomes too great for her, she looks to the snake watch and says in a clipped tone, “My brother finally called me. You need to back off. Whatever you’re doing, stop it. He’ll kill you if he has to. The same goes for Meredith.”
“Sooo, you’re trying to tell me you care about my safety?” I ask, grinning.
“No,” she snaps, abashed by the insinuation.
I chuckle, wanting to place my hand on hers but knowing better right now than to touch the prickly bitch. Anya will come to me again in her own time. And if it’s not within a week, then I’ll break into her fucking house to make it happen.
Chivalry be damned when she likes to be fucked like a whore.
“You want Alek found, don’t you?”
“I don’t. Now, leave it.”
“It’s all you’ve wanted since he disappeared, Red. I couldn’t care less if he threatened me. If finding your brother is what will make you happy, then I’ll make it happen.”
She goes to speak, but the jeweler walks in. I hand her my credit card, and she swipes it with no issue before I sign for it. Reaching for the bag, I hold it as we stand. Anya eyes it but doesn’t say anything as we walk out.
“How about lunch?” I ask.
“I’ve already eaten,” she says, still not reaching for the bag in my hand.
“How about dinner?”
“I’m sure I have plans,” she bites back.
And just when there’s a glimmer of the vulnerable woman she can be, the she-devil comes back out.
“What can I get you to do for this jewelry?” I ask, holding it out of her reach.
“You can keep it. I’m sure it will look amazing on you.” She turns and walks off. I watch her go, dressed in a different red dress today, her hair up in her usual bun, and wonder what I have to do to make her scream my name next time I fuck her.
Because there will be a next time.
I have no doubt.
I just need to pull out more of the Anya I’ve seen glimpses of hidden underneath that tough exterior.
As I stand here and watch her ass swaying back and forth, all I can think is… When did I become so whipped?