Free When I Love (Vassi & Seri 3: Russian Stepbrother Romance) by Marian Tee Page A

him the keys when they got to the hotel’s basement parking. “Your turn to drive.”
    Vassi caught it without a word and after pressing the unlock button, he wordlessly opened the passenger door for her.
    As she got in, Daniela blew him a kiss. “Thank you.”
    He closed the door shut.
    Fuck.
    How the hell had his world turned upside down in less than a day?
    When Vassi got inside the driver’s seat and started Daniela’s car, she told him with a giggle, “This is kind of exciting.”
    “Is it?”
    “Sneaking around, making sure no paparazzi sees us,” she said ruefully, “With Andrew, it felt sordid, but with you – it’s like an adventure.”
    He didn’t answer, but she didn’t seem to mind as Daniela only smiled at him, saying, “That reminds me. Have I told you how handsome you are?”
    You have, Vassi thought as he drove out of the basement. Six times in the past five minutes, and he was counting every instance not because he was egotistical but because it was almost like a total stranger had taken over Daniela’s body. From a colleague who had been mildly entertaining, she had somehow transformed overnight into an incomprehensibly clingy woman who didn’t know when to shut up.
    She chatted almost nonstop throughout the ride, but Vassi nonetheless bided his time. When she finally paused for breath, he said right away, “We need to talk about last night.”
    Daniela squeezed his arm, saying teasingly, “You were great, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
    No. It wasn’t. What did worry the hell out of him was the fact that he remembered nothing at all, and he couldn’t remember being this wasted since the night Seri turned eighteen and he had forced himself to hurt her.
    Daniela peered at him. “What do you want to talk about?”
    Good question, and one he could answer better if he could just remember the most salient facts.
    His fingers tightening around the shift stick, Vassi tried to recall what he could of yesterday’s events. The time he spent at work was clear enough.
    But after that---
    He remembered calling his driver to let him know he was no longer needed, remembered getting inside Daniela’s car. He remembered the two of them talking, and when they realized that they could be putting his own family in danger by taking her home with him, they had mutually decided that it was better for her to check in at a hotel instead.
    He remembered having dinner in her suite, followed by drinks---
    And then nothing.
    His lips tightened.
    Daniela’s smile faded at the look on his face. “What is it?”
    He said tautly, “I don’t remember anything happening between us.” Daniela fell silent, and he cursed under his breath. “I know that came out wrong, and---”
    “ Vassi. I’m five-foot-five, and I weigh one hundred and ten. Do you really think I could have carried you all the way to the bedroom and have my wicked way with you?”
    Vassi had no answer to that.
    “We had some drinks last night, and clearly it was more than what was right for you, if you can’t remember anything that happened---” She broke off all of a sudden, and when he saw hurt flashing in her eyes, he knew he only had himself to blame.
    “I’m sorry,” he forced himself to say. “None of this is your fault---”
    She said in a small voice, “I didn’t ever think it was.”
    He stilled.
    “I’ve always liked you, Vassi. I just didn’t let you know because I thought I never had a chance, and it’s why I keep dating bad boys. I was trying to look for someone like you.”
    Vassi forced his face to stay expressionless even as her words made him feel sick inside. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Looking at her now, he knew every word she spoke was true, just as he knew that all these years, he had only deliberately blinded himself to it.
    “Last night… you kissed me, and it was the happiest moment of my life.”
    Fuck.
    She raised her gaze to his, saying sadly, “But it’s not the same for you, is it? You still love