NIKOLAI (Her Russian Protector #4) (17 page)

"I'm not asking you to compromise your business
model. I'm just asking for a sit-down."

Liam grunted on the other end of the line.
"This favor wouldn't have anything to do with that pretty little
waitress would it?"

He'd always suspected Liam knew the full score
when it came to Vivian and her father. "It might."

Liam went silent. Eventually, he exhaled
roughly and said, "New Year's Eve. You pick the place but it better
be your turf."

"Done."

"See you then."

"
Da
."

The arrangement made, Nikolai slipped his phone
in his pocket and returned to the car. Kostya didn't say a word as
they headed home. He likely sensed that Nikolai wasn't in the mood
to chat. It was one of the things that Nikolai liked most about his
right-hand man. He always knew when he was needed and when he
wasn't.

Right now, he wasn't.

Running his thumb back and forth across his
lighter, Nikolai replayed the conversation with Lorenzo Guzman.
Even if Nikolai managed to secure a deal between Liam and Lorenzo,
the cartel boss was going to hold the threat of releasing that
contract on Vivian over his head. Lorenzo obviously thought he
needed leverage—and that was troubling.

Lorenzo clearly suspected that he was going to
come up against one of Nikolai's allies. The Mexican wanted to be
assured of Nikolai's support. What kind of trouble was Lorenzo
expecting? It had to be big to make him nervous enough to switch
arms dealers rather than waiting out the supply problems with his
current guy.

Unless he wasn't telling the truth about the
Syria connection. Had he been dropped by his old supplier? Was he
getting squeezed? Liam would know—and he'd charge an exorbitant tax
for resupplying Lorenzo. If the cartel boss was between a rock and
a hard place, he'd have no choice but to pay it. For Nikolai, it
meant a huge payday in referral fees.

As he tossed his lighter back and forth between
his hands, Nikolai let his thoughts turn to Romero and the
Calaveras. That situation had to be dealt with and very soon.
Nikolai wasn't about to let Lorenzo dictate the terms when it came
to eliminating that problem. It suited his overall goals to let
Lorenzo think he had the upper hand but Nikolai had another way to
reach Romero and the Calaveras and he meant to use it.

When they pulled into the garage hidden along
the side of his house, Nikolai reached forward to tap Kostya's
shoulder. "You should go home and get some rest."

"Tomorrow," he said and killed the
engine.

Left frowning in the backseat, Nikolai reached
for his door but Kostya was already opening it. Standing side by
side, he clapped Kostya on the arm. "You're a good
friend."

Kostya laughed. "What do you need?"

Nikolai smiled. "It's not a big favor. Get a
message to Besian. Tell him I want to sit down with him and Diego
tomorrow. Let's get this shit between their crews ironed out.
Someone is trying to kick-off a gang war and it's the very last
thing this city needs."

"I'll get it done. Anything else?"

"Get me a meeting with Mr. Lu."

Kostya made a nervous sound. "That's going to
be expensive."

"I'll make it worth his while. I have a feeling
we're going to need his import expertise very soon."

His orders given, Nikolai patted Kostya's back
and left the garage. He traversed the flagstone pavers to the side
entrance of the house. In the mudroom, he carefully peeled out of
his coat and placed it on its hook.

When Nikolai stepped into the kitchen, Sergei
glanced up from his foot-high plate of sandwiches. The enforcer
took one look at him and shoved one of his beer bottles down the
long granite island. "You'd better drink that before you go see
her."

Nikolai pushed the beer back toward Sergei.
"She's mad?"

"Furious," Sergei corrected. With a lopsided
smile, he added, "But she's barefoot and doesn't have her purse so
there's little chance of her coming after you like she did me and
Kostya's car."

Nikolai grunted at the memory of chasing after
her down that sidewalk. At the time, their fight had seemed so
monumental. Now, after everything they'd survived, it seemed like a
simple tiff. "Kostya will be in soon. If anything comes up, let him
handle it. I don't want to be disturbed."

Sergei nodded. "We'll keep it down."

Bracing for an argument, he left the kitchen.
It took him a few minutes to find her in the media room watching
one of those awful reality shows. He didn't know how anyone so
smart could stand to watch such trash, but he wasn't about to chide
her for her choice of evening entertainment.

He didn't step into her view immediately.
Instead, he stood in the shadowy spot there to observe her better.
He liked the way she looked in his home. Seeing her barefoot and in
pajamas drove home the point he'd been considering all day. There
was nowhere else she belonged but right here with him. In his life,
in his home, in his arms. She was his—and it was time to stake his
claim.

Stepping fully into the doorway, he drew her
attention. The moment she caught sight of him, she sat up and
flicked off the television. She tossed the remote on the cushion
next to her. "We need to talk."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not in here,
Vee. Let's go to the library. It's private."

"Fine." With an angry scowl, she shoved off the
couch and stormed toward him. She tried to brush by him but he
captured her with a hand curved against her hip. With one step, he
backed her up against the arched doorway and slid his other hand to
her nape. Eyes wide, she put her hands against his chest but not to
push him away. "Nikolai—"

"I missed you today." He'd never been a very
emotional man. It wasn't easy for him to make himself vulnerable,
but after the way he'd broken down in front of her, he understood
that she wouldn't ridicule him for showing a softer
side.

But he'd only do it for her.

Her angry expression melted. "I missed you."
She inhaled and narrowed her eyes. "You've been
smoking."

He let a grunt of annoyance escape his throat.
"It's been a stressful day."

"Don't fall back into the habit." She ran her
hand up and down his arm in an encouraging way. "You've been doing
so well."

Not wanting to lie to her by swearing to stop,
he said, "I'll try harder."

A sweet smile curved her mouth. "I know you
will."

Curling her fingers into the fabric, she
gripped the front of his shirt as he lowered his mouth to tease it
across hers. He held the simple kiss for a few seconds before
delving his tongue between her lips. The sugary sweetness of cake
frosting clung to her mouth. She whimpered softly as he flicked his
tongue against hers.

Spurred on by her reaction, he moved his hand
from her hip to cradle her face. As her fingers tightened around
the fistfuls of fabric, he deepened their kiss. She rose up on
tiptoes to meet the ravenous descent of his mouth. When her soft
breasts pressed against his chest, he felt his control slipping.
The urge to run his hands along her feminine curves was almost too
much to squelch.

Pulling back, he kissed her tenderly. She
relaxed against the doorway and let her hands slowly fall from his
chest. Pouting up at him, she playfully accused, "You did that on
purpose."

He grinned. "Did it work?"

"A little," she said and toyed with a button on
his shirt. "I'm still really annoyed with you."

He grasped her hand and gave it a tug. Still a
bit dazed by his kiss, she followed him without a fight. Once they
were safely enclosed in his library, he released her hand and
leaned back against the door. She put some distance between them
and moved to the seating area. "You stay there. I don't want you
kissing me again and making me forget why I'm angry with
you."

"Whatever you say,
solnyshko moyo
."

She rolled her eyes. "You better keep laying it
on thick." She fixed him with her frustrated glare. "You told
Sergei and his guys to clear out my apartment."

It wasn't a question but he answered it anyway.
"Yes, I did."

"They went through my private things, Nikolai.
How do you think that makes me feel?"

The truth was he hadn't even considered that.
He swore under his breath. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about it
that way. I just wanted to get you out of that apartment as quickly
as possible."

"Why?"

Staring at her, he wondered if she wasn't
suffering from some kind of amnesia. "Vee, you were kidnapped. You
were nearly killed. You can't be alone. I have to keep an eye on
you. No." He slashed his hand through the air. "You're not going
back."

Her shoulders tilted back. "Says
who?"

"Says me." His matter-of-fact statement seemed
to draw her ire. "It's silly to drag this out. You need your things
here. You can't live out of a suitcase forever."

She crossed her arms. "Look,
Nikolai, you can't just tell me I'm not going back to my apartment.
That's not the way this works. I'm
not
moving in here."

"Yes, you are."

"Like hell," she replied snippily. "I agreed to
stay with you until this crap storm with my dad blows over. We
never discussed something like this."

She was right, of course, but he wasn't about
to back down. "The situation has drastically changed, Vee. You
can't live alone. It's not safe."

"So tell me that and then ask me what I think
we should do, Kolya!"

He winced as the full weight of his one-sided
decision was finally presented to him. He'd gotten so used to
giving orders without asking for opinions that he'd run roughshod
over Vivian. "I didn't mean to come across so…controlling. I only
wanted what's best for you."

"And that's why I'm not throwing
books at your head," she replied with a little smile. "I know why
you did it. I just need you to understand
why
I'm upset."

"I do." He hesitated. "I can't promise this
won't happen again. In fact, I'm certain it will happen again. I've
been this way for a long time, Vee. I'm not going to change
overnight."

"I don't expect that, but I'm not
taking orders from you like one of your men." She swallowed
nervously. "I mean…I don't really know what we're doing or what
this thing between us is…but I can't—I
won't
—be ordered around like an
employee. I watched my parents treat one another so badly and I'm
not interested in that kind of thing. Either we're equals and
partners…or we're nothing."

Aghast at how badly he'd overstepped her
boundaries, he crossed the distance between them in quick strides.
He could imagine how much courage it had taken her to say that to
him.

He brushed his bruised and battered knuckles
along her cheek. "There aren't many people in this world brave
enough to put me in line." Smiling, he dipped his head and kissed
her sweetly. "I'm glad you're one of them."

She exhaled with relief. "It wasn't
easy."

"Don't be afraid of me, Vee. There's nothing
you can't say to me. I want us to be on the level with each
other."

She hesitated and bit her lip. He
ran his thumb across her plump flesh to stop her. Glancing up at
him, she held him in place with her vulnerable blue eyes. "I don't
think staying here is such a good idea." Before he could ask why
not, she hurriedly explained, "A couple of kisses and you've got me
wavering on the edge. You're too tempting, Nikolai. I can't
cross
that
line.
Not even for you," she added on a whisper.

That line?

Sex.

He'd be a lying bastard if he told her that he
wasn't interested in a physical relationship. Even with his dull
headache and throbbing side, he wanted to take her down in front of
the fireplace and ravish her. He wanted to feel her thighs wrapped
around his waist and her shaky breaths against his throat as she
came. He wanted to thrust into her slick cunt again and again and
fill her with his seed, to mark and bind her to him
forever.

"Then we're at a crossroads, Vee."

Confusion marred her pretty face. "What do you
mean?"

"Well, I'm not letting you leave this house,
and you can't stay here if your virtue is constantly under
attack."

She eyed him warily. "What's your
solution?"

What was she thinking? Did she imagine he was
going to farm her out to Sergei or Kostya for safekeeping? Or was
she beginning to understand that he was about to propose a much
more permanent solution.

"There are two choices here. One—I put you on a
plane tonight and send you to Yuri. He'll hide you away in some
secret place that even Lena won't know about until you're finally
safe again. Whenever that might be," he added.

Her tired sigh told him she didn't like that
option. "And the second choice?"