“Makes sense,” I murmur. Lifting my hand to Ariana’s face, I let the pads of my fingers trail from her temple to her jaw, and then I take hold of her chin. “You can ask me anything at any time.”

She nods. “Okay.”

I lean down, and with my lips brushing against hers, I say, “But in the meantime, I’m still going to chase you.”

She chuckles, and I feel the sound come from her. “Wouldn’t want to rob you of all that exhilaration.”

I press my mouth to hers, and then I take a deep breath as I wrap my other arm around her lower back, pulling her against my body.

Ariana’s hands frame my jaw, and unlike the times before, the kiss is slow and deep.

“I fucking missed my calling,” Alexei suddenly says. “Master fucking matchmaker.”

Pulling back from Ariana, I mutter, “Fine, you’re the best. Let’s drop the subject now.”

“Get your asses on the boat,” Alexei says as he grabs one of the bags I left by the front door earlier. “We’re behind schedule.”

ARIANA

The flight back to Seattle is a whole different experience than when Demitri kidnapped me.

No blindfold. No being tied up. No drugs.

The private jet is more luxurious than anything I’ve ever been in. The hottest part? Demitri is the pilot.

The man can fly planes. I’m not going to lie, that made my stomach flutter.

I also have time to think because Alexei’s busy on his phone.

My grief took a back seat to the betrayal. I suppose it hurts so much because it came from the last person I expected it would be. It’s still hard to believe Yuri wants me dead.

All of this is hard to believe.

And then there’s Demitri. We went from abductor and captive to having sex to being in some kind of relationship at warp speed.

I feel like I should question my sanity. Who has scorching hot sex with her kidnapper and then begins to fall for him?

Me. That’s who.

Also, why am I so damn calm while we’re heading back to Seattle so the guys can kill an assassin?

Yep, I’ve lost my mind. Pretty sure of it.

“What’s bothering you?” Alexei suddenly asks.

I shake my head quickly, but after a couple of seconds, I let out a sigh and admit, “I feel like I should be panicking, or at the very least be upset that you’re going to kill someone.”

“You’re not?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow at me.

“No. That’s weird, right?”

Alexei lets out a chuckle. “There might be hope for you yet, little one.” He shifts in his chair, and leaning his elbow on the armrest, he swipes over his bottom lip with his thumb.

It would really be hot if Demitri did that.

“There’s no reason for you to feel bad about killing someone who wants to kill you. It’s called self-defense.”