start the shower. Now that Eva knew them all, they were going to have a hell of a time shadowing her without her picking them off. She was no dummy. But they’d deal. Her protection was the most im—
Gabriel’s stomach dropped like he’d just taken a leap out his bedroom window.
Protection.
He hadn’t used anything last night. Not once.
Fuuuck.
Could Eva be on the pill? Or had she just been too caught up in losing her virginity to think about condoms. How the fuck had he forgotten about the box he’d tucked into his nightstand just yesterday morning?
Easy. He’d been with her.
An image of her naked body drifted through his mind, but it wasn’t until that image morphed into a pregnant Eva that Gabriel’s obsession hit a new level.
Jeeesus Chriiist, he thought as he quickly slammed a trap on that shit. What the hell was he thinking? A happy little fucking family wasn’t in their future. What would that even look like? Him, post punishment, rolling around in a wheelchair—or worse—with Vasily’s goddamn daughter dodging bullets while dragging their perfect fucking child around corners for the rest of their short lives?
Yeah. What sane woman would sign up for that? Because, despite having left that world in his rearview, most, if not all, of Gabriel’s friends still played integral roles in their respective families. Hell, Eva’s own father was a fucking Bratva Pakhan. Stefano was out for blood. The Baikov Bratva was in the shadows.
He cursed as he stepped under the spray. Bareback. Fuckin’ rookie mistake anyone over the age of consent should know not to make.
As he soaped up in record time, maneuvering around his rock-hard dick, he refused to even consider that forgoing protection might not have been an oversight at all, but subconsciously done.
† † †
Leaving Gabriel outside the Crown Jewel, Eva whipped home to get ready for her first day at TarMor.
While she changed into a bloodred dress she hoped screamed confidence, she overthought everything from Gabriel’s expression when he’d appeared in the dining room, wearing a custom-fit charcoal suit, to the hungry, verging-on-indecent goodbye kiss he’d given her before she’d poured herself into her car.
First one-night stand?
Or would he call.
Hadn’t arranged to see her again.
They weren’t eighteen-year-olds.
But what if he turned out to be one of those assholes who preyed on innocent—naïve—women? Sure, he’d said all the right things last night, she thought as she slipped her feet into a pair of black heels, but wasn’t that how womanizers operated?
As she drove back into the city, she waffled between sadness and relief.
The sadness came from knowing she might be forced to move on after an incredible experience with a man she was wildly attracted to. Though she wasn’t crazy about the idea of forever wondering what might have been.
The relief came from a similar place. Gabriel Moore was the kind of man a woman could get lost in, and after seeing how horribly that had worked out for her mom, Eva was in no hurry to experience it herself. Better to consider her first sexual experience a win and move on. No point in getting all romantic about it. And there was definitely no need for her to repeat history and have her life ruined by a guy just because he made her feel things she never could have imagined.
Made her body feel them, she clarified as she parked in a public lot. She was referring to orgasms, of course.
Of course, she assured herself as she grabbed her purse and briefcase and made her way into the building that housed her new, but temporary, office. Anxiety churned in her stomach—due to her thoughts or first-day-jitters she couldn’t say—as she walked through the mirrored lobby to reach two women sitting behind a long counter.
“Good morning. May I help you?”
She returned the attractive Middle Eastern woman’s friendly smile and greeting. “I’m looking for—”
“Ms. Jacobs?”
She turned to find a dark-haired, hazel-eyed man who belonged on the cover of GQ approaching.
“Markus Fane.” He extended his hand and she shook it. “Natalie said you’d be here around this time. Shall we?” He motioned to the elevator and moved her in that direction with a light hand on her elbow. She quickly wished the receptionist a nice day before she was led away.
They entered the half-full car and her handsome guide got down to business, not allowing for even one question as they stopped at various floors to let people off. After explaining that, aside from two large boardrooms, the owners’ spacious offices were