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“I apologize if I hurt you.”

She started to tell him it was okay, she was fine. Because that was the polite thing to say and Mimi always told her to be polite—but fuck that. Not this time. She’d been attacked, kidnapped, and now she was on her way somewhere she hadn’t agreed to go. She’d also lost her work computer, her camera, her purse and passport—everything that belonged to her—and this man with the glacial eyes sat there and said he was sorry?

No.

“Not accepted, Andrei. If that’s really your name. Which I don’t believe it is. And believe me, when you verify the truth about who I am, I’m going to sue your ass—and that of your employer—into the next century.”

His eyes widened for a moment. And then he laughed. She didn’t know whether to scream or slap him. She settled for glaring.

“You’ll find that a bit impossible, Dr. Cole. But if you are who you say you are, you’ll be compensated for your time.”

“Compensated?” Her voice rose at least two octaves. She sounded like she’d inhaled helium.

But, really? He’d upended her life, physically assaulted her, and all he could do was laugh and say she’d be compensated? She unbuckled her seatbelt before she realized she was doing it. And then she was on her feet, standing over him, glaring down at him while he gazed up at her with mild interest. He didn’t look intimidated at all. Just… smug.

Maddy snapped. She hauled off and slapped his face. That handsome, irritating, lying face. He didn’t move, but his gaze hardened to razor sharpness. A hot feeling flared in her breast, threatened to bubble over and erupt in flame if she didn’t find an outlet for it.

So she slapped him again. He still didn’t move, but those eyes—God, those eyes. Like twin flames of purest blue. She lifted her hand to slap him again, only this time he shot up from the seat and caught her wrist, holding it firmly in his hand. They were inches apart. The heat of him enveloped her. His scent, like steel and spice, stole over her.

Desire flared in the pit of her belly, sent a throbbing tingle into her pussy. It shocked her.

Arousal? Now? Over him? She hadn’t gotten any action in so long that she was pretty sure her libido had lost its mind. Because she wasn’t the kind of woman who liked autocratic men. At all.

And yet her body betrayed her with heat and melting and the desire for more. So much more.

“That’s enough,” he said. “I think maybe we’re even on the part where we physically assault each other.”

She curled her hand into a fist but she didn’t try to break free of his grip. “You deserve a lot more than that. But I think I can refrain for now.”

His gaze dropped to her mouth. She felt those eyes on her lips as if they were a caress. It melted through her like hot wax. She didn’t want to melt. Not for him.

“I like nice men. You’re not nice.”

His gaze lifted. That was the moment she realized she’d said the words aloud. Oh hell.

She didn’t expect him to grin. His face was beautiful when he smiled. Breathtaking, really.

“I’m nice,” he told her. “You keep looking at me like that, and I’ll be happy to show you how nice I can be. It’s really, really nice, by the way.”