Page 16 of The Billionaire's Vow

“I have done things, Ava,” he pointed out, not going into specifics.

“Sure, sure,” Ava teased.“But only to the bad guys.And only when they deserved it.”

Dimitri growled.

Ava just laughed.“I’ll text you the tracking info for the package.Oh, and Dimitri?”

“What?”

“Don’t mess this up.I’m guessing this woman is special.”

Before he could respond, she hung up.

Dimitri shoved his phone in his pocket, grumbling under his breath.

A teddy bear?

He was feared across the entire East Coast.He had blood on his hands, and he had no regrets.There was nothing soft about him.And yet…

His gaze flicked back to Giselle’s office, several abandoned coffee cups on the outer edge of her desk.

It was late, and the woman was still sitting at her desk, absently chewing on her lower lip, her delicate brows furrowed in frustration.Whoever had just called her had lied to her, and she knew it.

Hell, he knew it.And it pissed him off.That’s when Dimitri realized he was lurking outside of her office like some lovesick teenager.Stalker much?With a snort of self-derision, he walked right back to her office, unable to stay away.

Chapter 7

Hewashere!

Giselle’s heart lurched, and she barely managed to stay in her seat, resisting the urge to fidget as Dimitri De Luca stood in her office doorway, watching her.

The man was unbelievably handsome.Not in a soft, charming way, but in a hard, uncompromising manner that sent a shiver of dangerous excitement down her spine.His dark hair was slightly mussed, as if he’d run his fingers through it in frustration, and his intense, almost-black eyes locked onto hers with unwavering focus.

She had the sudden thought that if Dimitri De Luca stared at something long enough, it would probably crumble under the force of his attention.

Her gaze moved downward before she could stop herself, over his broad, impossibly wide shoulders and the thick muscles stretching the sleeves of his expensive dress shirt.

Her mouth went dry.

His forearms were incredibly powerful.She could see the definition through the material, and for a shining moment, she imagined those arms pinning her in place.She imagined the triumphant, heated look in this man’s eyes as he stared down at her and…!

She forced herself to look away.

Dimitri wasn’t interested in her in that way, Giselle reminded herself.She’d been reading too many of those deliciously erotic romance novels recently.With a silent sigh, Giselle reminded herself that she was just an accountant who wore terrible, ill-fitting clothes.A woman who spent her days crunching numbers while he attended glamorous galas and dined with socialites who knew which fork to use for every course.

Just last weekend, Dimitri had been photographed at an exclusive event with a stunning princess from Salibar—the sister to a sheik that, according to the tabloids, was actively searching for a husband.The princess he’d danced with had dark eyes and thick, dark hair along with a figure that would make any man drool.

Meanwhile, Giselle sat in her tiny office wearing thrift-store clothes two sizes too big for her, her hair was a mess because her father had forgotten his wallet that morning and she’d had to rush to his house to grab it so she hadn’t had time to pull her hair into its usual tidy bun.

Maybe if her father would stop drinking himself to sleep every night, he wouldn’t wake up in an alcohol-induced fog every morning and Giselle wouldn’t need to help him organize his life!

She exhaled sharply, pushing the thought away because Dimitri was still watching her.

The intensity of his presence made her feel exposed, like he could see through her oversized clothes and might even know about the naughty items beneath the frumpy outfit.

She cleared her throat."I haven’t found anything yet," she admitted, glancing down at her notes.Her hand instinctively moved over the papers as if shielding them would make her feel less vulnerable."I mean, I’ve foundsomething, but I’m not sure what it is yet.I need to track these numbers back to the shipment documents and—"

"It’s late,” he said, interrupting her.“Have you eaten since lunch?"