world, for thirty days? Her body already told her yes, even as her mind clung to logic and questioned her sanity. A month in his bed… She’d never had as much as a one-night stand. Her life was ruled by control, by order, not by impulsive decisions or lustful choices.
Suddenly, as she looked back on her meticulous and careful choices in dating, always going for the safer options that never worked out anyway, she knew she was going to do it. For once, she was going to throw caution to the wind, and maybe also control. Even Mac had been a decision based on logic, on the pros and cons of living together and a careful analysis of their compatibility, and look where that had left her.
Another thought hit her. Since she’d broken up with Mac, she hadn’t been on the pill. “What about birth control?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’m infertile.” He said it like it didn’t matter to him, his face impossible to read.
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. “Good, I guess.” She added hastily, “I mean, not for you. We’re both clean, but would you want to use condoms?”
“What would be the point? In Russia we say using a condom is like smelling a flower with a gasmask.” He cocked his brow. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Her cheeks burned hotter. If anyone had told her this morning that she’d be standing here discussing a month-long physical relationship in clinical detail with Lann Dréan, she would’ve laughed in that person’s face. When Diana learned of this, Kat would never hear the end of it.
“If I agree to do this, I have to tell my roommate,” she said. “She’ll want to know why I’m moving out for a month.”
“You can tell her that you’re staying here. Nothing more.” His voice held a note of warning when he said, “I don’t like talking out of the bedroom.”
Fair enough. She respected his privacy. She didn’t share the intimate details of her relationships with her friends either.
“What is your answer, Katherine? Think carefully. I’ll hold you to your decision.”
She took a deep breath. Before she could change her mind, she blurted, “Yes.”
“After thirty days, you will walk away, and never look back. Can you do that for me?”
He was asking for a physical affair. No emotions, no love. He couldn’t have made himself any clearer.
“I understand.”
He took both her hands and kissed them. His eyes were so heated she thought he might do more, a lot more, but he stepped away from her and checked his watch.
“It’s only five. Do you care to join me in finishing my evaluation of this book?” He motioned to the table where he’d been working when she’d entered. “We’ll get you settled in before dinner.”
Her stomach summersaulted. If she had a wise bone in her body, she’d be running right now, but instead, she took the hand he offered and allowed him to pull her next to him.
As he explained the content of the book, quoting Latin phrases, and showing her what needed repair, his arms and thighs brushed against her from time to time. Every sweeping touch ignited a new fire. Every breath of air that fanned from his mouth over her face made her want to feel his lips on hers again.
After a grueling hour of his proximity, his deep, calm voice doing nothing to relax her, he finally put the book away.
“Come, Katherine.”
If the smile he gave her was meant to be soothing, it had the opposite effect. Her body was as tight as a violin string. He took her hand and led her outside. The monastery was eerily quiet.
She looked around. “Where are Martina and the others?”
“They get off at five.”
Of course. She’d lost track of time.
They walked down the hallway and up the stairs to the end of the landing. He opened the second to last door and pulled her inside.
She was too aware of the fact that he’d closed the door to inspect the room. She glanced back at him, her heart pounding in her chest.
His expression was warm, affectionate even. “Do you like your new room?”
Her room? She turned her attention with difficulty to the room. There was a big bed in the center of the floor, a living area facing a balcony, and two doors on opposite sides. It was a handsome room, masculine, with dark furniture and finishes in hues of blue.
“Will this do?” Lann asked.
The question didn’t require an answer, but she nodded anyway.
“Good,” he