“Tiernan’s never happy. Any other objections?”
My smile widened. “No.”
Achilles chose this moment to reappear. He looked drunk as hell, eyes red-rimmed and hair in disarray. He looked beyond pissed, but as soon as he spotted us, he smoothed his expression over to something blank and businesslike.
“Had a nice chat?” Achilles kissed the side of my neck.
“An interesting one for sure.” I slithered under his arm and burrowed into him.
Achilles leveled his glare on Alex. “Hale’s not here yet.”
“All the better. You cannot face him in your state.”
Achilles’s nostrils flared. “You better watch your mou?—”
“Who wants to skinny-dip in the indoor pool?” I asked, smiling brightly. “I’ve heard all about it. It’s supposed to be pitch-black, right? With benches overlooking the skyline?”
“Oh, I want to see the pool too!” Katya said excitedly, inserting herself into our conversation.
“Absolutely not.” Alex turned a slight shade of green.
“Maybe Enzo can show it to you some other time.” I patted her shoulder, stifling a laugh. “We have a business meeting to conduct.”
Katya skulked to the far end of the bar with her tail tucked between her legs. I made a mental note to extend an olive branch to her. She hadn’t actually wronged me in any way or capacity, and she was young. We women needed to stick together.
“Are you sure about this?” Achilles turned to me. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”
I grabbed his face and kissed him hard in front of the entire bar. When we disconnected, I whispered, “We’re doing this together, and we’re smashing that invisible wall that’s stopping us. Now, lead the way.”
He snatched my hand, and we slinked out of the bar, Alex matching our pace. We poured into a dim hallway and toward a second set of doors leading to the recreational center.
“Areyousure about this?” I whispered to Achilles.
“You wanted to be sure I’m a choice,” he said. “This is how you’ll know.”
We reached the gym first—it was decorated with dark tiles and blond wood accents—then passed the spas and sauna. Elevator music and eucalyptus scents entwined around my body. The temperature kept rising the farther we ventured away from the club.
“The heated pool’s closed to the public from ten at night until ten in the morning. We’ll have privacy there.” Achillesstopped by a frosted-glass door, punched in a code, and it swung back automatically, revealing a dark-palette pool with a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the entire city.
Vapor rose from the glasslike body of water, curling up like cigarette smoke. A soft click sounded from behind me as Achilles fastened the lock on the door. “You touch her wrong, you bruise her, you make her feel unsafe, and?—”
“You and I both know that’ll never happen.” Lyosha shrugged off his navy jacket, folding it neatly over a black concrete bench which sat flat against the wall. “This is why you turned to me with thisparticularrequest.” He undid his cuff links meticulously. His eyes never wavered from me as he undressed. A hunger lived in them—some malice, too. Lyosha wasn’t the worst of the mobsters I’d met, but he was still Igor’s son. And he still had an unsatiable appetite for whatever didn’t belong to him.
That included me.
Achilles lowered himself to the bench, a safe spot for him to watch, while I unzipped the back of my dress.
“Don’t bother. You’ll be joining us.” I let the dress pool around my feet, stepping out of it and kicking it against the door.
“Tierney,” Achilles warned.
“I want to feel you too when I feel him inside me.” I unclipped my bra, then shimmied down my panties. “Besides, he is game as long as you two don’t touch.”
Achilles and Alex exchanged looks. When I turned to watch the pakhan, he was already fully undressed, his magnificent, bronze six-pack on full display. He was hard, pumping his long shaft lazily, eyes licking me from head to toe. “Come and join the fun, Ferrante. I’m in a charitable mood.”
To my surprise, Achilles sprawled against the wall, spreading his muscular thighs, one hand resting on his knee, and smirked.“Why don’t you two start and I’ll join in on the fun if I see you can’t please my woman,Lyosha?”
He’d never called him that before.
