Read Red Alpha: A BWWM Russian Alpha Billionaire Romance for Free Online Page B

place. Director Cresseda wouldn’t be happy to hear that she wasn’t staying in the presidential manor – that was for certain. But perhaps being close to Boykov would offer an alternative opportunity?
    The man was quiet during the drive into Moscow, which provided Cadence with the time to assess both him and the metropolis around her. This was Alessia’s city- the place she had been so enamored of. Cadence had to admit that it had a certain type of frigid, foreign charm – all the buildings frozen and everything covered over by a thick layer of snow. The juxtaposition of old and new architecture – cathedrals next to rising skyscrapers – was certainly impressive – as were the crowds of people willing to be out and about, braving the cold. Atop that, they were about half as covered as she was, leaving her to wonder how half the population of the city avoided frostbite.
    Near the center of the city, they passed a vast, red brick building with whirling, multicolored spires atop one – one that everyone who had taken a single geography class would have recognized. “The Kremlin.” Boykov spoke before she could as he glanced at it in passing. “Where you’ll be spending most of your time, I gather. Once I speak to Prime Minister Danshov, he will no doubt be anxious to get you a schedule of his upcoming events.”
    “When will I be meeting the Prime Minister?” She asked, even as she wondered if this was what Alessia’s first view of the Kremlin had been like – if she had been filled with the same wonder.
    “If you’re not too tired, he invites you to dine with him tonight in the city. You’ll be joined by myself and a number of others who wish to make your acquaintance.”
    Somehow, Cadence highly doubted that there were many in Danshov’s inner circle that wanted to meet her. To size her up, perhaps, but not to actually get to know her. They’d be too busy watching her for that.
    “Sounds wonderful.” She’d had so much practice perfecting her smile with Cresseda that it came almost effortlessly by this point. It was no trial to paint a picture of herself as happy-go-lucky to Boykov –anything to lessen the tension inside the car. It wasn’t as if she’d expected the man to be overly friendly, but she’d met more outgoing inanimate objects.
    They continued the rest of the trip to his manor in silence, and Cadence was proud that she only snuck a few glances at Boykov. She tried to tell herself that she was sizing up potential obstacles, but the fact of the matter was that Demyan Boykov was far too attractive for his own good. He was like no other Russian she’d ever seen; in any case, she’d never found herself with any difficulty breathing while in the presence of a Russian man before.
    Luckily, she was spared much more discomfort by their arrival at an immense, glimmering apartment building at the edge of the city. Boykov pulled into an underground parking garage and into a secured space before getting out of the car. Before Cadence could open her own door, he did it for her – and she realized that the man moved with startling agility for one so large. Boykov helped her from the car – his touch once again sending a jolt of awareness through her system – and then he was gone, gathering her bags to carry inside.
    The Boykov apartment took up the entire top two floors of the building, and though Cadence had seen some particularly well-decorated locations in her short time working for intelligence, the Boykov penthouse topped them all. Every surface, from the rich carpet to the marble countertops adorning the kitchen, spoke of luxe wealth. The entire affair had to be well over nine or ten thousand square feet – and even in simply following Boykov into the immense space, she felt as if it would be easy to get lost.
    At the same time, the mind that had served her well for the duration of her physical exercises was busy making a mental map of all she encountered. From the entryway to the two