“What does that mean? You two aren’t, like, together?—”
“No, no. We both know the consequences. It won’t go any further than last night.” I think about him, one of the last memories of him while we were in bed, my legs wrapped around his hips and him over me, his muscles glistening under the pink light of the room…
“That’s smart,” Ilya says. “So, okay. Let’s get down to the real question. How big is Anton Romanov?”
I snort a laugh. “Lee.”
“Oh, come on. We’ve been wondering this shit foryears. All those times you said it must be as big as a tree trunk, as long as a city block?—”
That makes me laugh. We did have a little dick measuring contest between us girls at one point in time. One would say ‘as big as a fence post’ or something like that and we’d spend the rest of the time trying to one up one another. Just stupid teenage girl nonsense.
“He’s not as big as a city block,” I say, then coyly, I add, “Maybe as big as a stretch of neighborhood blocks.”
“Oh, shutup!” She laughs with me. When the laughter dies down, she says, “I can’t believe you actually fucked your teenage crush. This is a big day, you know. I’m gonna treat you to lunch.”
“I’ll do you one better,” I tell her. “Come over and I’ll buy pizza. I need some help packing.”
She sucks air through her teeth. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.”
“I can still crash at your place, right?”
“Yes, of course!” she says. “How did coming home last night go, by the way? You didn’t run into your father, did you?”
“Unfortunately, I did,” I say with a little sigh. “He was less than thrilled about my late return.” She doesn’t say anything and I imagine it’s because she doesn’t know what to say. I guess I wouldn’t either. “It doesn’t matter. He wants me out, so I’m leaving. You were right, Lee. This whole thing was a sign that my independence is at hand. Next week is going to be the first week of the rest of my whole life.”
“That’s the spirit,” she says, and it feels good. No, it feelsright. It might not have happened the way I wanted, but it’s happening. Things can’t go anywhere but up from here.
10
ANTON
It’s been almost two months since the sex club and I can’t seem to shake her. Late at night when it’s quiet, I can still smell her perfume, sweet, fruity flowers like springtime, wrapping me up in its embrace. I swear it was on my skin for days after, or at least on my fingertips.
I know it’s all in my mind, but it’s like I’ve imprinted on her scent somehow. Randomly, I’ll catch a whiff of it, floating on the breeze when I’m outside or just under my nose as I lie in bed at night. It’s like the ghost of her essence is hovering over me.
Never would I have believed such a thing were possible. The little girl I met all those years ago at her sixteenth birthday party… back then skinny as a rail, just all long legs and red hair. She was just a child then and therefore, only on my radar as a member of my associate’s family. Nothing more.
Now, it’s all changed. I think about her rounded hips in my hands and the way she moaned in my ear as she came in my arms. Damn, what a difference a night can make. In the heat ofpassion, I told her I’d make it so she didn’t forget me. I didn’t know I was casting the same spell on myself.
It’s late right now. As per usual, I can’t sleep. That’s becoming a habit with all that’s on my mind these days. One of the rooms on the first floor was full of storage boxes and seemed to have no purpose, so I set Mikki to task on turning it into a home gym. He finished that about a week ago. Tonight, I think I’ll take advantage of it.
In minutes, I’m in my sweatpants, jogging on my treadmill. Working up a sweat is a good way to get my mind off sex. For a few nights after I was with Natalya, I tried going back to the club when I couldn’t sleep, but there was suddenly nothing of any worthwhile interest to me outside of the voyeur room. I saw no one I felt like playing with and no activity that appealed to me.
Shit. I think I accidentally found that drug I was trying to avoid in the first place. I hope I don’t spend my life looking for the same high.
The bottom line is that I’ve got to get her out of my system. Being with her is dangerous in every conceivable way. Especially right now with the tension between my Bratva and the Amur. I can’t afford to battle it out with two bands of Bratvas at once.
Speaking of the Amur, they haven’t ramped up things too much these past few weeks, but they have been quite active. Word is out that we are at war. A few of my brigadiers have reported attacks on their guys and a few properties being wrecked. We’ve returned the favor every time, but I’ve been looking for some way to cut off the head of the snake once and for all.
In the meantime, I’ve asked Mikki to find the one who actually carried out the act of killing Maksim. I still don’t know who heldthe knife. So far, he’s come up with a few theories, but nothing’s panned out just yet.
I need the head of the actual assassin. I need to see him bleed for his role in Maksim’s death. Maybe once I have it, I’ll mail it off to Nikolai. Let him know that death is coming for him next.
The doorbell sounds out, interrupting my workout. Who in God’s name would be visiting me at this hour? I grab a towel and wipe myself down. It’s nearly three in the morning. Someone had better be dead or dying.
The doorbell rings out again as I walk through the house. Shit. Somebody’s impatient. I hope it’s not another injury. The last thing I need is another of my men down. I open the door. Standing there, stinking of alcohol, her split gash red lips spread across her face in a smile, is Kat. She brushes her blonde bangs out of her eyes as she smiles blearily at me.
“Just the man I need to see,” she says. “Miss me?”
