YURI (Her Russian Protector #3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

me every night. "I'm bored with it. Or, maybe, I'm fed up with it." I crumpled up my paper napkin. "When I got started in this line of work, being a PR girl for a hot night club was, like, my dream. I went after it and I got it. I've proven that I have what it takes but now I feel so…so…"
    "Stagnant?"
    I nodded at his suggestion. "Yes. I'm not growing. I'm simply…existing."
    "You need a challenge." He held my gaze. "Come work for me."
    My tummy fluttered wildly at his offer but not for the reason it should have. It wasn't the prospect of the big salary and working for an international organization that made my pulse race. No, it was the prospect of working alongside Yuri every day. "No, thank you."
    His eyes narrowed for the briefest moment. What was he thinking? "I'll double the salary I offered the first time."
    "The answer is still no."
    He sat forward and assumed a negotiating position. "You can have any office in the building downtown that you want. There would be a car and the best travel accommodations money can buy. The opportunity for bonuses and advancement are unmatched by any other company."
    My lips twitched with amusement. I wondered when he'd last found himself in the losing position of a negotiation. "It's not about the money, Yuri."
    He studied me intently, those hazel eyes of his boring into me and making my skin prickle with heat. "What is it about, Lena?"
    I dropped my gaze to the picnic table and ran my finger around a knot in the wood. I couldn't think of a single reason to dance around my attraction to him anymore. "I like you."
    He grasped my hand and coaxed me to meet his piercing gaze. "And I like you."
    My belly quivered. Trying to get a grip on my wild emotions, I asked, "Yes but for how long? Your reputation—"
    He cut me off with a string of Russian that sounded suspiciously like cursing. Clearly remembering my earlier chiding, he hastily apologized in English. "Forgive me." With a heavy sigh, Yuri said, "Look, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I haven't played the field. Heavily," he added with a touch of regret in his voice. "That doesn't mean that I can't change."
    "Have you? Changed, I mean."
    "Yes—or, rather, I am changing. Seeing Ivan and Dimitri so happy? It's made me evaluate my own life. I have so much wealth, so many material things, but I don't have anything that matters ."
    The idea that I could be someone who mattered was incredibly seductive. I projected a confident persona but deep down inside I struggled with feelings of inadequacy. Watching my mother walk out on me and listening to her say the awful thing she'd said on her way out the door had crushed my self-esteem. I'd managed to cobble together the pieces but the cracks were still there.
    Sitting up straighter, Yuri embraced the role of successful magnate. He exuded such power and control. A bit imperiously, he informed me, "We're going out Monday night." Gesturing toward me, he said, "We're going to give this dating thing a try."
    His unilateral decision should have annoyed me much more than it did. For some reason I couldn't quite fathom, I found his declaration oddly enticing. There weren't many men brave enough to tell me what to do but he hadn't done it arrogantly or coldly. I sensed he understood that even though I wanted to see where things between us might go I was too afraid, too hesitant, to say yes. He'd just taken away my control—and left me vibrating with excitement.
    Clearing my throat, I said, "I need to look at my calendar."
    Amusement glinted in his eyes. He held out his hand. "Give me your phone."
    Wondering what he was playing at, I pulled my phone from my purse and slapped it into his hand after unlocking the front screen. He tapped away at it and then handed it back. "Now you have my private number."
    I heard his emphasis on private . I figured I'd made it onto a short list of people with access to those digits. "Would you like my number?"
    "I already have it."
    "Oh really?"
    His mouth