NIKOLAI (Her Russian Protector #4) (15 page)

Vivian's face danced before his eyes. Though
he'd been dreading the revelation of the ugly, sordid secret
between them, he'd never felt freer than in the tense moments after
the truth had been spilled. Her forgiveness still stunned him. He
didn't deserve it and he didn't fully accept it. Maybe he never
would—but he cherished her kindness.

As he dried off and pulled on his jeans,
Nikolai accepted that things could never go back to the way they
had been between them. The old days of dancing around their
feelings and pretending it wasn't real were gone. He had to make a
decision about their future and he had to make it soon.

When he left the guest room, he found Sergei
standing guard outside the master suite. "David is here but not the
other detectives."

"We'll be down in a few minutes." Nikolai
knocked on the door and waited. Though he'd love nothing more than
to catch a peek of her dressing, he doubted he could hold back if
he did. His emotions were too close to the surface today. Sergei's
interruption earlier had kept him from kissing her. Right now, he
didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

"Come in."

Nikolai pushed the door open and found her
standing by the window overlooking the backyard. The faint early
sunshine of an early December morning painted her with a soft gray
light. She'd pulled her hair into a low bun with wisps framing her
face.

He noticed the layers of clothing she'd
chosen—jeans, a t-shirt, a cardigan. It wasn’t because his home was
chilly. No, he sensed that after the traumatic ordeal she'd
survived she wanted to feel wrapped up and covered. The reminder of
his failure stabbed his heart.

"I had no idea your backyard was so
beautiful."

He crossed the room to stand next to her. "It's
prettier in the spring and summer, when all of the trees and bushes
are flowering."

"I didn't know you were such an avid gardener."
Her gaze remained on the oversized and extremely private backyard.
"Are those cabbages?"

"I keep ornamental cabbages and kale in the
borders." He pointed out the dense rows of flowering bulbs along
the back wall. "I've had good luck with the paper whites and crocus
this year."

She turned a dazzling smile on him. "I can't
believe I never realized what a green thumb you have."

"I didn't know I had one until I bought this
place." He gestured to the now beautifully landscaped yard. "When I
first started, it was an overgrown, rotten, rundown mess. The
house, too," he added.

"So why did you buy this place if it was in
such bad shape?"

"I don't know. Something about it attracted me.
Maybe it was the challenge it presented. There's a lot of privacy
in these older historic neighborhoods." He thought of his neighbors
who came from old money and kept mostly to themselves—unless they
needed a favor, of course. "It's quiet here. I like
quiet."

"Then you'd better send me packing because I
have a feeling all of this crap with my dad is about to blow up and
get very noisy."

"You're not leaving my sight." The words came
out in a rush. Her startled expression urged him to be gentler. "I
need you to stay here where I can keep a close eye on you. After
what happened to us, we have to be more careful."

"I'm the reason you got hurt. My father is the
reason I was taken."

"We don't know that. Maybe this is my old sins
coming home to roost."

"Or maybe it's us," she said softly. "What
if—what if that hit on you wasn't called off, Nikolai? What if the
person who ordered it has simply been waiting all these years? What
if he's ready to finish what he started?"

Stroking her cheek, he asked, "What happened in
that warehouse?"

"The men who took me handed me over to two
guards, John and Robbie, but they were the only ones who spoke.
There was another man, a silent man, who called the shots. He would
come into my room and stare at my cage…and I got the feeling he
didn’t know what to do with me. When he killed Robbie and John last
night, he came up to my cage and pushed the muzzle of his gun right
up against my head—but he didn't pull the trigger."

Nikolai's fingertips ghosted over the circular
bruise on her temple. His heart skipped a few beats at the
realization of how very close he'd come to losing her.

"I think he wanted to hurt
us
. To hurt you and me,"
she said softly. "What if my father is threatening to tell who
hired him to kill you? What if that's what this is all about? What
if the man who had me kidnapped thinks I know? When he set that
fire, he expected me to die in it—and he expected to hurt you with
the knowledge that I'd suffered until the very end." She gripped
his hand. "But I'm still alive and he's still out
there."

"I failed you once." He tightened his clasp. "I
won't fail you again."

"It's not me I'm worried about, Nikolai. It's
you. I can't protect you the way you can protect me. I don't have
an army of street-smart soldiers to back me up and keep you
safe."

Her concern touched him so deeply. "I can take
care of myself."

"You don’t always have to do everything
alone."

"I'm not doing it alone. I have Kostya and
Sergei and the others."

She gulped nervously. "And me? Where do I fit
in to your life?"

Grasping the chance to show Vivian exactly what
he wanted with her, he slid his arms around her waist and tugged
her close. "You fit right here."

Like a teenager with his first girl, Nikolai's
fingers trembled slightly as excitement and anxiety rippled through
his core. He caressed her cheek and slid his hand along the nape of
her neck. Cupping the back of her head, he lowered his mouth to
hers.

He took his time, teasingly dipping his head
until their lips were mere centimeters apart. Their excited breaths
mingled as the moment they'd both desired for so long finally
arrived. Heart racing and stomach pitching, he pressed his lips to
hers in a chaste, innocent kiss.

Her hands flew to his arms as if she needed to
steady herself. His hand drifted along the side of her neck,
sliding across that spot where her pulse beat so quickly. Desperate
for more of her, he flicked his tongue against the seam of her
mouth and silently asked for permission to enter.

As her lips parted, Vivian made a whimpering,
kittenish sound that—God help him—traveled straight to his cock.
Rock-hard and aching, he stabbed his tongue between her lips and
tasted the minty hint of her toothpaste. He warred with himself for
control as he devoured her sweet mouth, gliding his tongue against
hers in the same way he wanted to sink into her hot willing flesh.
The knowledge that his bed was only a few feet away tempted him
greatly.

But he mastered his desires and forced them
into submission. Vivian deserved so much better than a rough,
frantic fuck while his house teemed with police and lawyers and his
soldiers.

He eased off the intensity and drew their
wickedly sensual kisses to a slow stop. Shuddering in his arms, she
pressed her cheek to his chest. He lowered his lips to the crown of
her head and held her.

When she spoke, her voice was husky and filled
with determination. "We can't go back to the way it was, Kolya. You
can't push me away. If we're going to get through this, we need
each other."

"I'm done playing that game."

"Good." With a steady inhale, she straightened
and stepped out of his embrace. "We should go down and face the
police now. Better to get it over with, you know?"

"I want you to eat first. Your priest is here.
You should let him counsel you." Nikolai felt awkward discussing
matters of faith. "I’m sure he'll know the right things to say to
help you. You can speak with my lawyer and your cousin while you
have breakfast. The detectives can wait."

"They're busy people—"

"Who can reschedule if they're in that big of a
rush," he interjected. "You've been through hell and need to rest.
The doctor gave me strict instructions about your fluid and food
intake. If you don't take the time to recover, you'll end up in the
hospital."

"And you?" She gently rubbed his chest. "You
suffered more injuries than me. You need to rest. You need to
recuperate."

"I've survived worse."

"I don't find that comforting."

Certain she wasn't going to let it
go, he promised, "I'll try to take it easy tonight." When one of
her delicately shaped eyebrows arched, he quickly amended,
"I
will
take it
easy tonight."

Seeming satisfied with his promise, she let her
hand drop from his chest. He touched the small of her back and
guided her toward the door. As they drew close, she started to
resist. Suddenly anxious, she asked, "What am I supposed to
say?"

"The truth," he said simply. "You should tell
them absolutely everything that happened until the moment we
rescued you. We want them to find those other women who were taken
and trafficked. You have to give them all the help you can because
they're going to need it."

"I do want to help those girls." She looked so
sad. "I think you might be better equipped for that one. You and
Eric found me in that warehouse before the police did."

"We have better contacts."

"Funny," she said rather dryly. "What do I say
about the doctor?"

"You tell them that we had a family doctor
visit you here."

"A family doctor?"

"Do you know Dr. Moscowitz?" He named one of
Samovar's regular visitors.

"Nikolai, he's, like, ninety years old and
hasn't practiced medicine since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Does
he even have a medical license?"

He snorted at her description of the old man.
"Yes, he has a license, and yes, he still practices. He volunteers
at one of those free clinics."

"Well…okay."

He clasped her hand and gave it a reassuring
squeeze. "You'll be fine. Tell the truth and everything will be all
right. You're smart and strong and you have a wonderful gift at
reading people and strategizing." So glad to be free to touch her
as he wished, Nikolai kissed her forehead. "Don't underestimate
yourself."

His pep talk finished, he led her out of the
bedroom and down to the kitchen where breakfast and Detective
Santos awaited her. The moment Santos spotted them holding hands,
he scowled. He looked like he wanted to jerk them apart but he bit
his tongue.

As the cousins embraced and talked quietly,
Nikolai's private phone began to ring. He stepped into the butler's
pantry to answer. "Yes?"

"Nikolai!" Julio Jimenez greeted him. "I hear
you got your girl back safely. I'm happy for you."

"What do you want, Julio?"

The other man laughed. "That's you,
huh? Always cutting right to the chase. Look,
El Jefe
wants a sit-down.
Tonight."

"Why?"

"I'm just the messenger. I don't have the
details." Julio paused. "He said it was very important that you
meet tonight."

"Fine." He wasn't about to meet the slithery
bastard anywhere that he couldn't vet first. "Kostya will call you
with the details."

Ending the call, he stepped back out into the
kitchen to find David giving Vivian instructions for her interview
with the detectives. She glanced at him and he offered a supportive
smile. Her tense expression relaxed.

In that moment, he knew it was time. He had to
accelerate his plans to get out of this life. He had to find a way
to extricate himself—or else he risked losing Vivian
forever.

Chapter Ten

"Can you see us now?" Later that evening, I
shifted my laptop to a stack of books Erin had grabbed from
Nikolai's shelves. We were trying to Skype with Lena who was still
snowed in back in Moscow.

"Okay—now all I can see is a perfect shot of
Benny's rack," Lena said with a loud laugh. "And, seriously, Benny
when did your boobs get so huge? Is that, like, a pregnancy thing
or a married girl thing?"

Benny shot her the finger. "Can you see
this?"

"Oh, someone's touchy." Lena giggled gleefully
as Erin pushed another book onto the tower and I adjusted my laptop
again. "Okay. That's perfect. Now you two get on the couch with
Benny so I can see all of you at once."

Playfully, Erin said, "If Benny's growing rack
is a married girl thing, Ivan is going to be thrilled."

My gaze drifted to the engagement ring she
wore. She'd been a bit nervous about announcing her news when she'd
arrived at the house but I'd honestly been so thrilled for her. Her
Christmas Day proposal had seemed so magical and sweet as she'd
recounted all the details to us.

Right now, it was nice to be surrounded by
friends and their laughter. After what I'd gone through, I craved
normalcy. This impromptu girls evening in the library at Nikolai's
home was the perfect ending to an otherwise stressful
day.