MasukShare
25|Never Swipe Right
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2024-11-26 05:18:03
Bab terkait
Reckless Hearts 26|Flaws, And Scars And All
"Holly?" "Andrei? " They both spoke at once, gawking at one another. Well, Holly was sure she was staring more than him, because he liked his woman warm-blooded, and she was anything but. "You keep showing up like a bad penny," she said caustically, remembering his comment earlier as she strolled to the kitchen to get a glass of water. "You live here now?" Andrei arched his eyebrows, ignoring her snarky comment. "What's it to you?" she asked. "Do you live here or not?" "What does it matter? You have my penthouse now, and because of you, I have to squat at my brother's place." Andrei stepped closer, his face an expressionless mask. Holly inched back with each of his measured steps, only to trap herself against the kitchen island. Finally, he also paused, leaving very little space between them. His cool cigarette-laced breath fanned the side of her face as he whispered, his voice sending a tingle up her spine, like he'd run his sensual fingers on her skin, "Listen here, you li
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-11-26Reckless Hearts 27|Not A Lovable Man
Upstairs, Andrei couldn't bring himself to sit down. He was so afraid that if he did, his mind would come to a complete standstill, too, and he'd have no choice but to think about his confrontation with Holly and her expired crush. What the hell was he supposed to do with an expired crush? He fumed as he paced the sparsely furnished monochrome space. The only piece of decor in the room with some personality was the hauntingly realistic painting of a man kneeling in front of a crib, cradling his head, and for some inexplicable reason, Andrei was drawn to it. He couldn't see the man's face—no, Liam's face, because surely that flame-coloured hair had to be his—but his agony screamed at him in ways he'd never felt before. "Good heavens!" Andrei whispered, wondering what had possessed Eden to paint something so heartbreaking, and why Liam would want to hang it proudly in his home office. Thoroughly disturbed by the painting, Andrei stepped away and frowned at his Patek Phillipe timepi
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-03Reckless Hearts 28|Last Woman On Earth
"What did you do to her? You'd better not have touched her!" Andrei shoved Liam off, growling at him as he fixed his clothes, "Get your shit together. What the fuck do you take me for? She came to my penthouse, drunk as a skunk, trashed my clothes and fell asleep. I took care of her, and you're welcome!" "Look, Drei," Liam said, addressing him by his nickname for the first time in a long while. "I'm sorry. It's just that she's my baby sister and going through a rough patch. I'm sure you heard about her injury." "Well, you might want to keep her on a leash. I'm not the one you should be worried about!" Andrei shrugged off his apology, still pissed out of his mind that Liam had the nerve to put his hands on him. He was damn lucky they were old friends and business partners. Otherwise, he would have put a bullet right between his eyes. Nobody fucking touched his Armani suits. Well, nobody except Liam's bratty sister, of course. The same woman at the centre of their conflict. "Wha
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-03Reckless Hearts 29|Frightening Realisation
Andrei returned to the study, and while he waited for Liam, he checked both his mailboxes, Aero's and the family's. Nothing was burning on Aero's side, but too many pots were with the family. Juan had heard through the grapevine that they had decided not to do business with him. In a lengthy email, he expressed his outrage at Andrei for making him fly to the shithole third-world country for nothing. But he was enjoying the safari, so his trip wasn't a total waste after all. Andrei read and reread the email, trying to figure out the most diplomatic way to respond. But nothing his tired brain came up with sounded remotely civil. So he shelved Juan, promising himself he'd handle him later. There was no doubt in Andrei's mind that Mikhail or one of his men had whispered into Juan's ears about their proposed exit plan. He'd deal with his cousin and his men later, too, he decided as he moved on to his father's email next, his blood running cold at the message. The meeting with the Petrovs
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-03Reckless Hearts 30|Show Me That Woman
Andrei thought heading home, having a few drinks, and sleeping it off would do the trick. But it didn't. When he woke up the following morning with a mother of headaches, he was still hopping mad. An hour later, all showered, dressed up and slightly sober thanks to Helga's nasty ass hangover cure, he felt almost human again. Almost. But his rage was nowhere close to cooling. When he jumped in the car a little while later, Ivan and Igor barely spoke after their usual greetings. They'd known each other all their lives and could read the other like a book, so one look at him told them to keep their wisecrack comments to themselves. "Where to?" Igor asked from behind the wheel as they paused at a four-way stop. "Glen Eagles!" Andrei replied. Wordlessly, Igor indicated, switched lanes, and took a left to connect them to the highway. Not a single word was uttered between the three men for the duration of their drive to Glen Eagles; the uncomfortable silence swirling in the ca
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-03Reckless Hearts 31|Lead You Nowhere Good
"Everything okay?" Ivan asked when Andrei jumped in the back. "How do you swipe right on someone again?" he asked. Platitudes and niceties were wasted on him. "Swipe right?" Igor scratched his head. "Where?" "On the Hot Connexions app." "If you haven't declined the match-up, you should still be able to swipe right on your connection," Ivan clarified. Andrei threw his phone at him, "Swipe right on Holly Anderson!" Igor slammed the brakes hard, jerking all of them forward. If their seat belts weren't on, Ivan, with Andrei's phone, would have flown straight through the windscreen. And Andrei couldn't allow that. Not when he was so close to a brilliant plan. He held out his hand, and Ivan returned the phone while Igor waited for an explanation. And when it didn't come willingly, he forced it out of him. "Why are you swiping right on Holly Anderson?" "Because she's the only woman who swiped right on me," Andrei replied simply as he scrolled through his phone and accessed the
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-03Reckless Hearts 32|Intervention
While Andrei went about his morning, making his grand plans, across town in Green Point, Holly lay in bed, staring at the digital clock on her nightstand. It was just after 8:00 AM, and if it was any other Tuesday, she'd be at the Institute by now, where she'd spend six, sometimes seven hours drifting between classes, rehearsals and dress fittings. But now that her knee had fucked out on her, there'd be none of that today. Wracked by an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and grief, Holly wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and hide under the covers until her life made sense again. But she couldn't bring herself to do it; she wouldn't get a second opinion by wallowing in self-pity. So she dragged herself to the en suite bathroom to start her day. She flipped the switch, gasping at her reflection when the overhead light flickered to life. She didn't need anyone to tell her she looked like death warmed over. Her pasty complexion and gigantic panda eyes were doing an excellent job
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-10Reckless Hearts 33|Out Of Character
"Great! Just great!" Liam shook his head at Willow, glaring at her. "This is not the right way to approach an intervention! Linda said we should ease her into it!" "Whoa!" Holly shrieked, bursting into horrified laughter as she sprung from her seat, pain racking her body at the abrupt movement. "Who exactly asked for this intervention?" Sure, she'd gone on a bender two nights ago, ended up in Andrei's bed and kissed Cooper in full view of the paparazzi. But they were all minor incidents. Nothing as scandalous as half the shit Willow had done. Like that one time she lied to everyone about holidaying in Clifton Bay when, in fact, she was in Belize at some nudist beach with an oil tycoon twice her age she'd met on Hot Connexions, and whose only saving grace, in Holly's humble opinion, was his bank balance— "Oh, you poor thing, come here!" Willow opened her arms again. But Holly pushed her away. As close as they were, she didn't want her coddling, especially when Willow had just admitt
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-10
Bab terbaru
Reckless Hearts 120|Love Was Meant For Other People
If anyone had asked Andrei how he felt at that moment, with Holly in his arms and his mom's ring on her finger, he would have told them he was delirious with joy. But honestly, that, too, didn't even come close to describing the happiness swelling in his heart. In fact, he was so ecstatic he wondered how it wasn't a crime for anyone to be as happy as he was."You've made me so happy, Milaya," Andrei whispered, kissing Holly's forehead. All his life, he had always believed love was meant for other people—good, deserving people like Liam and Levi. And until a few weeks ago, marriage was the furthest thing from his mind. But now, with just a simple 'yes' to his proposal, Holly had opened the door to a world of possibility."You have no idea how happy I am right now," he murmured in her hair. "I could die this moment, and I'll be okay with it—"Holly playfully slapped him on his arm, chastising him, "Hey, don't joke about dying, especially after today.""It was just a figure of speech,"
Reckless Hearts 119|Endure
Eventually, Holly got over her stunned shock and spluttered out her confusion, her eyes roaming wildly over Andrei's face in search of answers. "But Naomi said it's from Mexico!" "Naomi's right. That vial is from Mexico. There are only ninety-nine others in the country. Or at least there were.""What do you mean?""Like I said, Jonah or whoever he's working for stole the drugs from me, and it would be remiss of me to let them get away with it," Andrei replied and swiftly changed the subject, asking her how long the doctors planned to keep her at the hospital, even though she'd already told him it was only for tonight."I should be discharged tomorrow.""I'll pick you up," he offered, but Holly shot him down, reminding him there were four men outside her door, watching her every move under the guise of keeping her safe. If it hadn't been for her phone call to Eric, he wouldn't have been allowed to see her."So what are you saying?" Andrei asked as he touched the ring in his pocket for
Reckless Hearts 118|Glimpses Of Herself
With seven minutes to go, Andrei charmed the nurses into letting him see Holly early, sweet-talking his way to her private ward. His luck ran out when he found four of Liam's guys, including Eric, Holly's driver, standing guard outside her door."You shouldn't be here," said Eric as he got up in Andrei's face. "Miss Anderson almost died because of you."Ignoring him, Andrei pulled out his phone and called Holly. "Milaya," he said when she picked up. "Where are you? You sound so close.""I'm outside your room, but your guard dogs won't let me in.""Let me talk to them," she said and hung up. A moment later, Eric's phone rang. He picked up Holly's call and let Andrei through without saying a word.Holly's face lit up like a Christmas tree when Andrei stepped inside. She shoved her bed covers aside and sprung to her feet. But the pain in her knee sent her crashing back on the bed, and she howled in agony.Andrei was at her side in a heartbeat, asking as he cradled her in his arms, "Wha
Reckless Hearts 117|The Real Deal
Andrei was in Forrest Creek just as the sun dipped in the horizon, catching Helga as she was about to knock off. "Your dinner's in the microwave," she told him as she gathered her stuff. "And don't forget I'm not in for the rest of the week. My daughter—" "Thanks, Helga." Andrei smiled at her and saw her off, telling her to enjoy her time off with her new grandkid. With just under an hour before visiting hours, Andrei dashed upstairs to freshen up, scoffing down his dinner while getting dressed. When he was done, he called Monique to confirm the chopper was ready to pick up his twin from Poolsmoor prison bright and early tomorrow. "I thought prisons had strict rules about this sort of thing," said Monique, sounding as exhausted as Andrei felt. "And I thought I paid you enough to know when something is not your business, Monique!" Andrei retorted and promptly hung up on her. She was right, though. Prisons had strict protocols in place when it came to prisoner transfers. But Andrei
Reckless Hearts 116|Fought A Thousand Battles
"What is this about now, Papa?" Andrei asked. "Sit!" Nikolai pointed at the armchair while he made himself comfortable behind his desk. "I'll get Pavel to bring in some refreshments, and since you're here, maybe you can stay for supper?" "No thanks," Andrei declined the seat, drink and meal, explaining he had to take Ivan to the airport. "Where's he flying to?" asked Nikolai, resting his hands on the surface of his desk. "Botswana," Andrei replied, but didn't offer any more information, and he was glad when his father didn't press for details. "Your brother's transfer is happening tomorrow?" Nikolai's statement sounded more like an accusation than a question, and Andrei wasn't sure how to respond. Nikolai took the decision out of his hands when he went for the offensive, accusing Andrei of keeping him in the dark. "Why did I have to hear from your assistant that your twin is coming home?" "Maybe if you had answered Leks' calls, you wouldn't have had to hear it from Monique.
Reckless Hearts 115|Shone as brightly
"Give me five minutes," Andrei said when they pulled into the horseshoe driveway and parked close to the front door a little while later. "You'd better hurry up. I have a flight to catch," Ivan retorted, reminding him about his trip to Botswana. The team of four guys he'd assembled to bring Sienna in were already on their way to the airport. "Yes, sir!" Andrei called over his shoulder, giving his lieutenant a mock salute as he ran up the front steps. The housekeeping staff were taken aback when he stepped into the lavish foyer and found them polishing the bannisters of the grand double staircase. "Mr Ivanov, we weren't expecting you." "I know!" Andrei replied. He never made unplanned stops. And if it weren't for his father's insistence to have a home-cooked meal with him at least once a week, he wouldn't even bother coming by. The place had stopped feeling like a home long before his mom died. "What can we do for you, sir?" The two ladies asked, ready to be of service, as they
Reckless Hearts 114|Like A Pendulum
"First time?" asked Thabo, Lev's mortuary technician friend. His brilliantly white teeth, as he smiled at Andrei, were a stark contrast to his smooth mahogany skin. "Hardly," Andrei replied and quickly shut his mouth, afraid if he didn't, the unbearably warm stench would creep into him and taint every inch of his soul. They passed several closed doors as Thabo led them down an endless corridor. He candidly explained that the air-conditioning system was out of order, hence the humidity and smell. "We logged it two days ago, but they have yet to send the technicians to fix it. I guess no one cares about the material comforts of the dead," he said, taking them deeper into the bowels of the morgue. Just when Andrei began to think the man had no idea where they were going, Thabo abruptly stopped in front of a cavernous room whose metal doors were wide open, like a gaping mouth. "There they are," he said, pointing at several bodies lying on cadaver carriers. "Why are they out in the o
Reckless Hearts 113|Seen And Smelled Death
"I was surprised you went with orchids," said Diane, the beaded strands tinkling softly as she pushed the curtain back in place and returned to her workstation."Aesthetically wise, I would have gone with roses," she added, setting the potted plant on the table. "Anything but roses!" Andrei murmured, running his fingers on the tips of pink tulips peeking out from an elaborate arrangement on the counter beside the cash register."But I like the symbolism behind orchids," she continued, as if Andrei hadn't spoken. Her hands moved deftly as she got down to work and performed magic with the Spanish moss, curly willow vines and some clippers. "Did you know that orchids were associated with virility in ancient Greece? In fact, Greek women believed that if the father of their unborn child consumed large, new orchid tubers, the baby would be a boy. If the mother ate small orchid tubers, she would give birth to a girl."Andrei didn't know this, of course. He'd chosen orchids for their enduran
Reckless Hearts 112|Vaguely of Sympathy, Jaded Dreams and Romance
A fleshy bud of dark, wilting petals peeked at Andrei amidst the jagged pieces of broken glass. He picked it up, twirling the thin, broken stem between his thumb and forefinger as he scanned the street for a nearby florist shop. When he found none, the coldness in his veins steadily turned to ice. Troubled, he carefully wrapped the withered bulb with his silk handkerchief and stuffed it in the inner breast pocket of his tailored cashmere coat before returning to the car, unable to shake off the unsettling feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. "Lev called," Ivan announced as he watched Andrei buckle up. "He wants us to meet him at the morgue." Andrei glanced at his Cartier and nodded. The next slot for visiting hours at Glen Eagles Mediclinic, where Holly was being kept overnight for observation, was at 7:00 PM. There was still plenty of time before then. "Let's do it," he said, texting Austin, urging him to meet him at Crush around 10:00 PM. After a flurry of back-a
