“I don’t know,” he drawled, dragging his amused gaze to mine. “You looked at me like I was a god. I think you would have believed anything I told you—being a chimney sweep included.” There were a dozen reasons he would never pass as a manual laborer— his obvious wealth number one. Though how I decided to confirm I wouldn’t have believed his lie was to roll my eyes and say, “There’s no chance you’d fit in a chimney.” He laughed deeply. “My apologies for underestimating your deductive reasoning skills.” I fought a smile. “Apology accepted.” As I held his dark gaze, the amusement faded, and a tense silence worked its way into the room. It sat so heavily on naked skin and my heart, I suddenly felt the need for space. But again, Ronan grabbed my wrist. “Where are you going?” “To my room.” It came out a little breathless. “Why?” “To take a shower. And then to scrounge around for a snack since you ruined my breakfast.” “Nyet,” was all he said before releasing me. “No?” “Yulia is bringing up some food. You can shower in my bathroom.” My brow furrowed. “Do you share a telepathic connection with your housekeeper?” He smiled as his phone buzzed on his nightstand. “Fortunately for her, only a technological one.” I didn’t even notice he’d texted her. Though it wasn’t that surprising; the sight of him lying there naked was distracting. So many inches of pure man. He was perfectly flawed—from the scars to the crude tattoos—his body forged in bone and muscle and fire. I wanted to trace every line of ink on his skin with my tongue. Another desire rose and burned in my chest with a desperate emotion: I wanted to call him mine. I straddled his hips and braced my hands on either side of his head, my breath thick. “Sometimes, I’m convinced you’re immortal.” A smile played on his lips. “Just diabolical.” Absently, I touched the sharp point of his incisor. It was a dangerous game putting my finger anywhere near D’yavol’s mouth, but he only gently