Free Born to be Bad (International Bad Boys Book 3) by Carol Marinelli

just to think of him. She knew he wasn’t going to be there tonight.
    Simon had texted her during the week to tell her that Roman had checked out.
    Milly hauled herself out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel and wondered how she could possibly love a man who thought so very little of her.
    When her phone rang Milly she picked it up hoping it was Simon to tell her that her shift had been cancelled, as often happened around this time.
    It never entered her head that it might be Roman.
    Until she heard the deep of his voice. “Milly?”
    She didn’t respond at first. It would be easier, she knew, to simply turn her phone off, to block him, delete him, as her head told her to do.
    Instead, she answered him with a question.
    “How did you get my number?”
    “Millicent Harper,” Roman said. “I watched you audition.”
    “That doesn’t answer my question.” Milly burned in embarrassment that he had been there at the rehearsal, but was also touched that he had been there too.
    How this man confused her, she wished he would let her go, leave her heart, let her carry on in the world without him. Yet now, he was dragging her back to the black vortex of his dangerous existence.
    “How did you get my number, Roman?”
    “I told my staff that I wanted you for one of my hotels and to head-hunt you and then give me your details.”
    “You shouldn’t have done that.”
    “By whose rule book? Anyway don’t your regular clients ring you?”
    “Where are you?” Milly asked, evading the question.
    “In Russia. So, don’t your clients call you?”
    “Is it phone sex you want?”
    Roman let out a low laugh. “Maybe later.”
    “Well you’re out of luck, because I’m just getting ready for work.”
    “What are you wearing?” Roman teased, but then his voice was serious. “I miss you tonight, I wish to God I was going to walk into Club and you were there.”
    Milly wished for the same.
    “Roman, what do you want? Are you drunk?”
    “I’d love to be, but unfortunately I’m not. I just called Isaak on his honeymoon and told him that he really needs to think about visiting our father if he wants to see him before he dies.”
    Milly sat down on the bed. “Do you think Isaak will?”
    “I doubt it. He hates him.”
    “Why did you visit him?” Milly asked.
    “Am I being charged for this call?”
    “You don’t have to pay to speak to me, Roman.”
    “You’re not a very good business woman. Most charge by the minute.” He stopped teasing her then, he was simply too bleak. “I came to visit him because I wanted to know if he had a conscience. I always wondered if he would ever apologise for what he did to us. I never expected him to, but just now he did.”
    Milly could feel tears pricking her eyes and safe that he couldn’t see her, she didn’t blink them back, they just quietly fell as Roman spoke on.
    “He said, he would drink and then he would get more and more angry. He said that his temper would build until he beat my mother, or hauled us from our beds to do the same to us. I asked him why he got so angry and he told me today it was because he knew that we weren’t his sons.”
    Milly said nothing, she was scared he might recognize that she was crying.
    “Ivor, the man I always thought was my uncle, is our father.” He heard her sniff. “Are you crying?”
    “I’ve got a cold,” Milly said. “Have you told Isaak?”
    “Nope,” Roman said. “And I don’t know that I ever shall. I never wanted to be my father’s son, but there’s little solace when you find that the man you loved, was cheating with his brother’s wife . . . ”
    “Roman,” Milly interrupted. “You don’t know the circumstances.”
    “I don’t need to know them. So what, if Ivor sent for us when we were older? I always thought of him as our saviour. Instead, he left his lover and his own children to deal with boots and fists. I’ll never forgive him for that.”
    “What about your father?” Milly