Emily’s POV

Rayon hugged me tight when he picked me up from my home. We drove to the airport, listening to music on the radio. The trip was quick and we soon stood in front of the airport entrance. I looked over to him and took his hand in mine.

"Rayon, I'll be back soon." He nodded and took something out of his pocket. A breath stuck in my throat at the red square box. He opened it and inside was a gorgeous diamond ring. The ring was silver and there was 3 diamond on it. One big in the middle and 2 smaller once on each side of the big one.

"I know you said we'll speak about it when you come back. But please just do one thing for me. Wear the ring." He took the ring out and placed it on the correct finger. It was a perfect fit and looked beautiful on my golden skin.

I looked up at him and nodded. I pulled him closer slowly and placed a small delicate kiss on his lips. He sucked in a breath and moved to make the kiss deeper but I pulled away. "We'll talk and I'll let you know what is going on."

Before Rayon could say anything else, I got out of his car and a valet helped me take my bags out of his trunk. I rolled the bag away and didn't turn to look at him. I stared down at the ring on my finger and walked to the luggage check-in.

« • x • x • x • »

I rubbed my arms, so grateful that I remember to put a jacket in my hand luggage. The -5° winds were blowing me away. While Brazil was hot and London cold, the -5° was something I’ve never experienced before. My shaking hands slipped into my white gloves.

I waited outside for the Valet to get a taxi. The snow-covered roads were beautiful but it took the taxi a bit longer to get closer. The Valet rolled my bags up to the now awaiting taxi. I tipped him ₽100 (100 Russian Ruble = ₤1.02)

The taxi was warm and I thanked the driver, "Uhm, Holiday Inn Moscow Sokolniki." I hoped I pronounced it correctly as the driver nodded and drove out of the airport. I looked through the tiny book I hand in my hand. It had the major important Russian words in it. For example: hello, Russian, yes, thank you, goodbye, no, help, direction, lost, question, and a few more.

After driving for almost an hour because of the slippery roads we arrived at my hotel. The valet took my bags and dragged them to the receptionist. The receptionist spoke in English, but her accent was almost too thick for me to understand.

"Name, ID, and reservation please." I handed her all the paper out of my file. She nodded and started typing into the computer. "Ms. Kloss, you are in room 610, Mr. Odo will take you to your room."

I nodded and took the key from her hands. I slowly followed Odo. We entered an elevator with a man dress in a suit in one corner and a drunk woman in the other. You could see she had one too many.

The man in the back rumbled something under his breath and I glanced back. What I intended to be a quick innocent glance turned into a full minute of staring. From a distance, he looked clean, cold and clinical with a stark expression. His lips were thick and made a tantalizing promise to give you trembling knees. Shaking my head a turned back looking at the door.

Damn, his gorgeous grey-bluish eyes and soft wavy black hair was now embedded into my mind. I tried to stop myself from getting another peak. My heart stopped and I quickly glance forward when I caught him looking at me with a penetrating gaze and slight grin on his lips.

I could feel the blush rush to my cheeks. The elevator stopped on the 4th floor and the drunk woman passed me slightly bumping me into the mystery man's direction. I took a deep breath and almost drowned in his sandalwood and musk scent. For a second I wondered if it was his body wash or just his natural scent.

I turned, quickly uttering a "My apologies," before realizing he probably only spoke Russian. "Moi Izveneniya." I frowned when it didn't sound right. He chuckled, "No problem." I totally felt like an idiot. The elevator dinged and I thank the heavens.

Practically running out of the confined space I reached my doors and glanced at the closed doors. Releasing the breath that was burning my lungs, I opened the door to my room. The Valet followed me in and placed my bags at the door.

I tipped him ₽500. He looked down at the note in surprise, "Za Vashi... Nepriyatnosti. (For your troubles.)" I read out of the book and hoped it was correct and that I didn't just insult their monarchs or something. He nodded and left the room.

I sighed and plopped down on my bed hoping that I could get a full night's sleep to avoid the jetlag. The pillows were soft and I snuggled into the pillow. After an hour of struggling to fall asleep, I gave up and chose to pack out my bags. I would be living in this hotel for a month before moving to Saint Petersburg and then to Kaliningrad.

It took me another hour and still I wasn't tired. I gave up on the idea of sleep and decided to order room service. I looked at the watch and say that it was 10:20, then glanced at the room service pamphlet. Great the kitchen closed 20min ago.

Rummaging through the cubits in hope that there was something to snack on. I guess today wasn't my day. Against my will, I took a shower, got dressed in casual clothes, and walked down to the bar downstairs.

If I didn't get anything I'll just have to starve. The halls were quiet so I tried not to make too much noise. The elevator was already coming down from the 10th floor so I pressed the button hoping it would stop at my floor.

When the doors opened, I wished I didn't wish for it to stop on my floor. Because inside was the mystery man from earlier, now in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. I’m saying it again. Today just isn't my day.

**Copyright © 2020 by Grace Write**