“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He hooked his hand around her knee and tugged her toward him, spreading her legs. “I do plenty of marauding when the urge strikes me.” He reached a hand under her skirt and cupped her heated sex. “I believe the urge may be striking right now.”
Her laugh was low in her throat, and the sound of it went straight to his already-hard cock. “We’re not finished talking about Ivan.”
“Later.”
“Do you ever doubt yourself?”
“No.” Oleg looked up from the paperwork he’d been skimming to see his brother watching him with narrowed eyes. “And neither do you. Doubt is a luxury of the young.”
His brother huffed out a slight laugh. “You don’t have to sit in on this meeting. I’m older than you.”
“But I’ve been working in the grey to light markets for longer,” Oleg said. “Trust me, this human will react better to seeing two of us.”
“He’ll be pissing his pants. That is what his reaction will be.”
“These rich humans all pretend that they are monsters.” Oleg set the file down and glanced out the dark window where snowflakes were sticking to the warm glass. “They really think they are something. But all they are is spoiled children who don’t want to share their toys. That is all. They have no concept of the power of generosity.”
“They don’t understand brotherhood as we do.” Ivan lifted his chin. “You are right.”
Brotherhood.
The word slapped Oleg in the face.
“Speaking of brotherhood, do you want to have some fun later tonight?” Ivan lifted his eyebrows. “Flex that fire you have to contain too often?”
Oleg raised one eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”
“There’s a gang of vampires from Kazakhstan who set up shop in a warehouse northeast of town. They told me they were distributing industrial chemicals, and they were paying me a good percentage.”
“What’s the problem?” The structure was exactly how vampires were supposed to operate. Permission to set up in a foreign region with tribute to the vampire in charge of that region. It was how things had worked for millennia.
“They’re hiding profits, cutting down my share.” Ivan reached up and flicked his thumb against his chin. “Disrespecting both of us, and they think I don’t know.”
“I see.” Ivan was lying, but Oleg could play along. “I’d be happy to join you. And yes, it would be delightful to burn down their facility, but I’ll have to double-check the chemicals they’re shipping unless we want a natural disaster on our hands.”
“Excellent.” Ivan nodded. “When do you leave for Saint Petersburg?”
“Tomorrow at dusk,” he said. “There are numerous preparations for the wedding that I wish to oversee myself.”And I hate your city.
He didn’t love Saint Petersburg much either—the winters were damp, windy, and frigid—but as it was the traditional seat for the Kievan Rus and the grand palace was there, that was where the state wedding must take place.
“It was a good idea to align with the Poshani like that.” Ivan’s eyes flashed. “Once Tatyana Vorona is my sister-in-law, she’ll have no excuse not to do business with me.”
“Hmm.” Oleg let Ivan console himself with the thought.
There was a tap on the door, and then Ivan’s sultry, green-eyed secretary cracked it open. “Victor Borchin is here, Mr. Sokholov.”
“See him in.” Ivan seemed to puff up in front of Oleg’s sight.
A moment later, a human wearing a dark blue suit and a purple tie entered Ivan’s office.
Oleg liked the purple.
“Victor, how are you?” Ivan didn’t rise, and Oleg decided to let his brother set the tone of the meeting, so he stayed silent in the corner.
Borchin glanced at Oleg but clearly had no idea who he was and looked back at Ivan. “Ivan Sokholov, you must know why I wanted this meeting.”
“Of course.”
