“Privet.” Hello. He raised a brow. “So you do know some Russian?” A flush crept up my neck. “A little.” I stepped out, closing the door behind me. He didn’t move back like I expected him to, and it left only a couple of inches between us. We were so close I couldn’t breathe. So close, yellow and black almost touched. So close, I could kiss him with a small rise to my toes. In four-inch heels, I stood eye level with his mouth, which put him at a solid six foot five. “You’re kind of tall for a girl,” he mused, looking down on me. I released a shallow breath. “Thanks.” When he laughed softly, I sighed in my mind. My crush couldn’t be any clearer if I waved an “I LOVE YOU!” sign like a fangirl at a boy band concert. As we walked down the hall, I told him, “You didn’t have to pay for my room.” “T wanted to.” He said it as if when he wanted to do something, he did it, and I shouldn’t even be questioning him. It was a little intimidating, so I didn’t press the matter further. “Well, thank you . . . for everything.” He turned his head toward me, and the look in his eyes was thoughtful but also tinged with something so profound my heartbeat tripped over itself. He didn’t say anything until we stepped outside and I shivered as the cold rushed through my sheer cardigan. “Where is your coat?” I should have bought one while I was out today, but Ivan’s phone call and the impending maybe-date had pushed the need to the back of my mind. “I lost it... last night.” His eyes flickered with recollection and then darkness. He slipped off his wool suit jacket and put it on my shoulders. It was heavy, and it smelled so good my blood warmed, descending to a spot between my legs. He wore a dress shirt and vest underneath it, but still, it was a bitter cold that singed my lungs with each breath. “What about you?” I asked. A hint of amusement touched his voice. “As you said, kotyonok, I am very Russian.”