His Ward (5 page)

With her other hand, Tionne cupped one of her breasts. She pinched the nipple firmly, enjoying the sensation the hint of pain brought her. This time her moan of pleasure couldn’t be held back. She was trying, but it felt so good, especially when she thought back to the erotic dream she’d had of Misha.

In her dreams, not only did he comfort her on the couch, he’d also fucked her good and hard. He’d used his hands, his mouth, his fingers, and God, yes, his cock to bring her to ecstasy over and over.

Her pussy clenched as she thought back to the way he’d had her. Although she knew it wasn’t real, and probably never would be, it didn’t stop her from enjoying every second of her dream lover’s touch. And just knowing he was only a room away was enough to send her soaring. As her orgasm began to wash over her, Tionne pushed two fingers into her pussy and began to pump them in and out of her as she rode out her release.

Even though she was no stranger to the many ways of pleasuring herself, Tionne had never penetrated her body with anything other than her own fingers, and never more than two. If and when Misha took her, she wanted to experience the fulfillment of being stretched full by her one and only.

Satisfied and more relaxed, she tossed back her covers and got out of bed. Her back gave a quick twinge, but then nothing more. Her words from last night had proven to be accurate. She was fine. It was only a scratch. Stretching her hands high above her head, she gave a little moan as she worked out the lingering kinks from lying in one spot for too long, before making her way over to her bathroom to clean up and take care of her morning rituals.

When her bladder was emptied and her face and teeth were clean, Tionne made her way to the kitchen. As she’d guessed, there was a pot of coffee waiting on the counter and Misha, dressed immaculately in a gray suit, at her table, reading a newspaper. He was outfitted as if he should be at a board meeting instead of in her kitchen chilling, yet it wasn’t weird. He looked completely at home, a feat that only he could pull off no matter where he was.

As if sensing her presence, Misha spoke without looking up. “Good morning.”

“If you keep breaking in, I’m going to report you to the police.”

Misha folded down one side of the paper and looked over at her with a haughty, entertained expression on his handsome face. “You do realize I have a key, don’t you?”

“So, I’ll just change the locks.” As far as threats went, Tionne was aware it wasn’t all that scary, a thought that was reinforced by the amused grin Misha wore.

“Do you really think that something as simple as a new lock would keep me out if I wanted to come in?”

Not for a second, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him have the last word. “Stalker.”

Misha snorted in lieu of a reply and righted his paper.

Grinning, Tionne made her way over to the pot and poured them both what she knew from experience would be a very strong cup of Turkish coffee—Misha’s preferred blend. “Is it just the two of us this morning, or did you bring the entire SEAL Team Six with you?”

He lowered the paper a bit and peered over the top. “Just you and I in the condo. Darby is outside the door, but if you feel the need for backup, I can always invite him in.”

“No, just you is fine.” Even though she was sure her neighbors thought she was the kept woman of some unsavory type, Tionne was well aware of the need for Misha to have guards with him. Not only had Misha inherited his late father’s vast holdings and oil fields as far as the eye could see, he’d also acquired all the enemies that came with such a fortune. If she had to choose between his safety or her neighbors’ nosy looks, she’d pick him every time. Besides, she loved moments like these, lived for them, when it was just the two of them. Misha was such a busy man that even when they did have dinner, a good portion of the time it was with clients, with her playing the role of hostess as he wined and dined them, or if it wasn’t business, then Nicholi and his flavor of the month was with them. And although Tionne loved Nicholi and tolerated the different women he had come in and out of his life, Tionne preferred when she had Misha to herself. “I think I can handle you myself.”

“If anyone can, it’s you.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” She doctored her coffee to her liking, then did the same to his before joining him at the table.

As soon as she sat, he closed the newspaper and set it aside, then accepted the mug she handed him with a nod of his head. “How’s your back?”

“Fine.”

“Really? Maybe I should take a look at it.”

“Don’t start,” Tionne warned. It hadn’t even been five minutes yet. “Don’t you have a job you should be at?”

“One of the many luxuries about being me is work starts when I want it to and not a second before.”

“It’s good to be the king.”

“It is.” Misha took a sip of his coffee before speaking again. “Did you sleep well?”

“What are you doing here?” She countered his question with one of her own. It wasn’t like she wasn’t happy to see him. She was always happy to see him, but if he was just here to talk about her back, she was going to be upset.

“I wanted to see you,” he said simply.

“Didn’t you get your fill last night?”

“Of you. Never.” He held her gaze as he answered, leaving no room for doubt in his words.

“Well…fine…” She told herself she wouldn’t be moved by his words, but a part of her was just the same, and it caused her to stumble and lose her way for a moment. “But did you come to see me, or did you come to see about my back?”

Misha seemed amused by her question. “Will you always question my motives?”

“Out loud, no,” she teased. “But if you recall, it was you who told me to trust no one.”

“I’m sure I said trust no one
but
me.”

Smiling, Tionne shook her head. “Actually, I don’t recall that particular clause at all.”

“Your memory is faulty.”

“Right. Keep telling yourself that.” Tionne set her cup down and gestured to the paper. “Hand me the entertainment section, please. I heard whispers of a food festival this weekend.”

Misha riffled through the paper until he came to the section she’d requested. “Find out where it is, and we’ll go.”

If she hadn’t already planned on going with him, she might have given him a hard time about assuming, but since he was right, she let it slide. They sat in silence for the next few minutes, she engrossed in her section of the newspaper and he in his. It was a comfortable silence, the type that was present only after years clocked with one another. There was a feeling of rightness about it, a feeling this was the way it was supposed to be that went right to her core, and it wasn’t until Tionne heard her alarm going off in her bedroom that she realized how much time had passed.

“Good Lord,” she said as she set the entertainment pages down. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

Misha laid his section on the table, then glanced down at his watch. “It’s not that late.”

Tionne looked over at the clock on her microwave. “It’s after eight.”

“You don’t have to be to work until nine.”

“I still have to get ready.”

“I don’t have to be in until this afternoon. Why don’t we take a mental health break and go out for breakfast?”

“You, take half a day off?” Tionne couldn’t hide her surprise. “Who are you, and what have you done with Misha?”

“So funny.”

“I’m serious. You’d work on your deathbed.”

“I’m not skipping the entire day. Just the morning, and after your night, you might want to think about taking it easy too.”

“I’m fine, and as much as I would love to live like a
Real Housewife
, I have a job.”

“I know your boss,” Misha said drily. “I think he’ll let it slide.”

“I don’t know. The company might fall apart if I’m not there to stare into space and play with my stapler for seven point five hours. I mean, really, if I’m not there to push my pencil, who will?”

A small smile played at his lips. “I’m sure your pencil could manage just fine…this once.”

“I’m sure it could manage just fine all the time.” Tionne sat back in her chair a bit and stretched. “I’m not exactly saving the world down there.”

“Is there another department you’d rather be in?”

“No, I’m just saying that even though a trained monkey could do my job, and I’m sure my supervisor doesn’t see me as anything other than a soulless automaton, it still feels wrong to just take the morning off because I have connections. Nepotism is illegal, right?”

“No, just immoral, but I don’t let that sort of thing stop me from getting what I want.”

Tionne snorted. “Don’t I know it.”

“Besides, your supervisor can think anything he wants, as long as he doesn’t say it.” There was a hint of warning in his voice that spoke volumes. Tionne was willing to bet that if her supervisor did have any problems with her, he would rather take it to his grave than take it to Misha.

“I’m surprised you’re allowing him to have his own thoughts.”

“It’s a temporary thing. I have my lawyers trying to figure out a way around that as we speak.” His tone was deathly serious, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.

“You’re so silly.”

“So is that a yes?”

“About?” She was confused now.

“Breakfast?”

“Umm.” She glanced back at the clock, then over at Misha. Boring job or time with the man she was crazy about? Job. Man. Job. Man. It wasn’t even a close vote. “Yes, but only because you’re twisting my arm.”

“Why can’t you give in to me this easily all the time?”

“Where would be the fun in that?”

“I assure you, I would find it fun.”

She didn’t believe that for a moment. They’d both been playing this game for way too long to think otherwise. “What can I say, I like to keep you on your toes.”

“So I’ve noticed. Before you get dressed, though…”

“Yes.”

“I want to see your back.”

Tionne should have known it was too good to be true. “If I show you…”

“If?”

“Don’t get cocky,” she growled. He softened his expression and blinked at her innocently. “Thank you. If I show it to you, we’re not going to mention it for the rest of the day.”

“Sounds more than fair.”

“Uh-huh.” She stood, then turned around so she was facing away from him. Wanting to get this over with as quick as possible, she lifted her shirt in the back and held it up there for just a few seconds. “Okay, we’re done.”

“Wait a minute.”

“We had a deal.” She dropped her shirt and turned back to face him. “As you can see, gangrene hasn’t set in. It’s barely tender.”

“Barely doesn’t mean it’s not.”

“You’re talking about it.”

“Fine.” He sighed. “But know that I’m not happy about it.”

It wasn’t often she won a battle with him so she wasn’t going to let the opportunity go to waste. “You don’t have to be. You just have to deal. I’ll be ready in a bit.”

“Enjoy this victory; you might not get another one for a long time.”

“Don’t worry. I know.” But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to enjoy it for as long as she could.

Chapter Four

“If your goal was to get away from work for a morning, then you probably shouldn’t have brought work with you.”

“True.” Misha nodded as he slipped his cell phone into his jacket pocket. This Troy fellow was being far more bothersome than Misha had allotted for. In the good old days when you roughed up a guy, they took their beating like a man. But in these “sue nation” days, everyone was lawyering up. That, of course, didn’t bother Misha. He had ten lawyers for every one Troy could hire. Winning this was not the problem; keeping it away from Tionne was becoming one, though.

Which meant instead of spending the day taking her mind off what had happened to her the night before, he was busy on the phone dealing with the ramifications of what he had allowed to occur hours after he’d left her. Even though things weren’t signed, sealed, and delivered in a perfect little manila folder with a bow on top, as he wanted them to be, they were getting there. Everyone had a price. It was just a matter of finding the magic number. “I would apologize and say it won’t happen again, but we both know that would be a lie.”

“Lie,” she said at the same time he did.

He nodded. “Sorry, little one, I’m trying.”

“I appreciate the fact that you are. Although it’s good to be king, it doesn’t mean the job doesn’t come with its share of responsibilities. I get that.”

“You always have.” Of all the women in his life, she was the only one who never demanded anything from him, which, of course, made him hunger even more to give her the world.

“And if you have to get back, I would understand.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head up so the sun shone down directly on her face. “This has been a perfect interlude in what would have been an otherwise dull day.”

He watched as she basked in the warmth with a small smile on her face. She looked utterly at peace. He loved seeing her happy like this. There was no way in hell he was leaving this café any sooner than he had too. “I do in a little bit, but you have time to order a sweet or two if you like.”

“God, no.” Tionne looked over at him as she sat back in her chair and placed her hand over her stomach. “I’m stuffed. I don’t normally eat this much for breakfast in a week, let alone one meal.”

Misha frowned. “That doesn’t please me. You should take better care of yourself.”

“I swear if you say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I will punch you in the throat.”

Misha smiled. He didn’t doubt her for a second. “Although I’m sure I’m adept enough to defend myself against a mere slip of a girl, I still choose not to take you up on this challenge.”

“I could do it too. Don’t think I can’t. I’ve been watching
The Last Dragon
. I think I’ve finally gotten that glow down.”

“You’re a strange little girl.”

“There’s nothing little about me.” She pulled her taupe shirt flat against her body. “I’m getting a pooch.”

“Ridiculous.” Tionne had a body women paid good money for—curvy, womanly, and far too sexy for his peace of mind. “You’d be beautiful no matter how much you weighed. A breakfast pastry will not change that.”