“Does that upset you?”
“I said before that you’re ruthless.”
“This is not news.”
No, it really wasn’t. “My mind doesn’t work like yours.”
“Make no mistake, you have your own brand of ruthlessness, but if you were too much like me, we would not fit so well together.” Both his hands moved to settle on her waist.
She was distracted by the sensation of his thumbs brushing up and down against her lower ribs. “You think we fit?”
“I know we do.”
“So, you’re saying you don’t just want the company. You want me, too.” Not just sex with her, but Maddie as a complete person.
At least the Madison Archer he knew about. What would Vik think of Maddie Grace?
“You will support my dreams in a way a woman of less strength could not do.”
“Your plans would have been really messed up if I’d picked one of the other candidates Jeremy put forward.” She gave in to the irresistible urge to poke at the bear.
Vik’s gorgeous mouth twisted in disdain. “You were never going to choose another man.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I know.”
“Another word for excessive confidence is arrogance.”
“I prefer honest.”
She laughed softly and then had a revelation. “You manipulated the choice of candidates.”
“I was not expecting Maxwell Black.”
“Neither was I.” And she still wanted to know what the man had done to Romi. “He’s intense.”
“He’s a good businessman.”
“Is he honorable?”
“Yes.”
“As honorable as you?”
Vik considered his answer for a second. “I would do business with him on a handshake.”
“Good to know.”
“Why? Considering your options?” He didn’t sound too worried by the prospect.
“According to you, there are no other options.”
“True.” Vik looked like he was considering what he was going to say next. “We grew up together.”
“What? Like in the same neighborhood?”
“Same Russian-American-dominated street, same school, same afternoons spent in activities sponsored by the Russian cultural center.”
“Were you friends?”
“We still are...of a sort.”
“You’re too alike to be really close.”
“We jockeyed for the top place in class until we went to different universities.”
“No one else had a chance.”
“No.”
Maddie bit her lip, but finally decided she would be honest about her concerns. “Romi dated him.”
Vik’s gaze flared. “I see.”
“He’s intense,” Maddie repeated.
“Are they still dating?”
“No.”
“Then...”
“I don’t need to be worried?”
“He is a good man.”
When it was Viktor Beck making the claim, Maddie believed him.
“Are you really spending the night?” she asked, focusing on what mattered most in the present moment.
“Yes.”
“After a single day.” One day in which they had decided to get married, made that decision public and negotiated a future they could both live with.
“In one respect, but between us?” He pulled her body close so they shared heat. “Tonight is the culmination of ten years.”
“We’ve barely spoken in six.”
“When was the last time Frank was in town?” Vik asked her, like she’d know.
And she did. “Three months ago. He was in San Francisco for Christmas.” Vik’s father had attended Jeremy’s holiday party along with Misha and Ana.
Vik nodded, his expression dour. “Babulya was pleased.”
“But you couldn’t wait for him to leave.”
“You are the only person who knew that.”
She found that hard to believe, but then...maybe not. Vik didn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve.
But that wasn’t the point, was it? “Just because I saw your father at my father’s home and knew he was in town doesn’t mean you and I communicated in any meaningful way.”
“Didn’t we?”
Okay, so in the past two years, they’d had increasing numbers and depths of conversations. And it struck her. She’d thought she was just being grown-up about the past, but he’d been working on rebuilding that rapport he had mentioned earlier.
The man made Machiavelli look like a preschooler in the art of the deep play.
“Still.” Not a brilliant comeback, but what she had.
Vik smiled that shark’s smile. “When was the last time I took a date to an event?”
So, she knew the answer. She’d revealed earlier in the car with Conrad how closely she watched Vik without meaning to watch him at all. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Vik...”
“I believe both the fact that I have not had another woman on my arm in over a year and the fact you know that is significant.”
“Really?” she drawled sarcastically even as she couldn’t help wondering if he was right.
“I know that you haven’t dated, either. I wasn’t entirely sure about Timwater, but the way you two are together doesn’t imply sexual intimacy.”
“I should hope not.”
“Besides, he was sleeping with other women.”
She’d suspected, though Perry had always tried to play it like he didn’t sleep around. She wasn’t sure why. It wouldn’t have mattered to her either way.
Vik knowing however, meant he’d been paying attention. “You have a file on him, don’t you?”
“Naturally.”
“And Romi?”
“Romi has been your friend for longer than me.”
“You’re saying you don’t have a file.”
Vik leaned down and spoke softly, right into Maddie’s ear. “I’m saying I don’t need one.”
It wasn’t exactly sweet nothings, but she still shivered from the sensation of his breath gently blowing across her ear.
“You know her well, too,” Maddie said, not even sure why she was trying to keep the conversation going.
“Yes.”
Curiosity and concern prompted her to ask, “Did you know she’d dated Maxwell?”
“No.”