Alexei (Her Russian Protector #8) (18 page)

“I know,” he murmured. “I know.” He seemed to truly understand my wariness. “Just give me a chance to show you that I can be trusted to come through for you.” He leaned in and brushed a tender kiss to my cheek. “Always.”

My skin was still alight with the tingling pressure of his lips when he put my fork back in my hands and urged me to eat. While we had breakfast, he talked to me about the building’s amenities and the nearby shops.

“But I don’t want you going out by yourself,” he warned before finishing his coffee. “Stas will be following you like a shadow. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Until?” I pushed grapes around my plate with the fork.

“Until I say it’s safe,” he replied matter-of-factly and polished off his orange segments. Pushing away his plate, he said, “We need to talk about your sister.”

I really didn’t want to talk about Shannon. I feared what Alexei would say, but there was no way around it. “All right.”

“If your sister is smart, she’s already crossed two or three state lines. If she’s not, if she’s still in Texas, she’s in a lot of trouble. That means you’re in trouble, and I can’t have that.” He tapped his fingers against the granite. “Your sister is not welcome in this building. Frankly, I would prefer you have zero contact with her, but I know that’s impossible for you.”

“I’m not cutting my sister out of my life, Alexei.”

“I won’t force you to rat your sister out to Nikolai or Mueller or Lalo, but I have to put my foot down when it comes to seeing her again.”

“Alexei, she’s my sister. She’s all the family I have. You’re asking to turn my back on my blood.”

“I’m asking you to be smart and to help me keep you alive,” he countered. “I know what I’m asking is difficult and it hurts—but you have to do it. Shannon made her decision when she chose to help Ruben with this scam. Don’t let her put all that guilt on you when she’s the reason this is happening. You’re just reacting to a bad situation in the best way you can.”

“She’s my sister,” I reiterated. “She’s all I have left.”

Alexei started to say something but then he clamped his mouth shut. A second later, he finally said, “Whatever happens with Shannon, you are not alone. I’m here for you.”

“Until you get tired of me like you did your other mistresses,” I replied in a quiet but firm voice. It was a petulant thing to say, and I instantly regretted it. Alexei’s head snapped back as if I had smacked him. In a way, I had, only I had used words instead of my hand.

Before I could apologize, he was pushing out of his chair and gathering up our dishes. “Stas will be here any minute. I need to finish up some last minute arrangements for him.”

“Alexei…”

“We’re fine, Shay.” He had his back to me as he dropped our plates and silverware in the dishwasher. “You should unpack and get settled.”

Not at all used to being dismissed like a naughty child, I nevertheless slid off my chair and returned to the master suite. It didn’t take me long to unpack my one suitcase or the two boxes of tools and materials. I was examining the handbag I had been working on yesterday when Alexei appeared in the doorway of the bedroom.

“Stas is here.” He leaned against the frame. “I need to leave.”

Not wanting him to leave with all this tension existing between us, I set aside the handbag and crossed the bedroom. “Alexei, I’m sorry about what I said.”

“Why should you be sorry? You didn’t say anything untrue. I did get tired of the other women before you. Six months? Seven months? The flame burned out, and I sent them on their way.”

His description of his earlier relationships caused a painful clenching sensation in my stomach. Was he trying to tell me that I shouldn’t get too comfortable with him? That we were already running the clock on the expiration date for our new relationship?

He shoved off the frame and closed the short distance between us. “Do you know the friendship I’ve had with you is the longest I’ve ever shared with any woman? We’re closing in on twelve months, Shay.” He eyed me curiously. “All this time, you’ve had me right in the palm of your hand, and I’ve never even kissed you properly.”

That big, warm hand of his cradled my nape, and he slowly lowered his face, all the while searching my eyes as if looking for a sign that he needed to stop. Just before his lips touched mine, he whispered, “Is this all right?”

I clutched at the lapels of his suit jacket and lifted on tiptoes to meet his descending mouth. “Yes.”

Our lips met cautiously, but Alexei quickly took command. Eyes closed, I clung to his powerful frame and reveled in the wicked, wicked way he kissed me. When his tongue flicked against the seam of my lips, I answered his silent plea for entrance by shyly touching my tongue to his. He groaned, the low, rumbling noise reverberating through me, and tugged me tighter to his body.

With a little pressure, he guided me toward the closest wall. Trapped against his hard chest, I surrendered to his sensual onslaught. I slid one hand to his shoulders and combed the fingers of the other through his short hair while he plundered my mouth, taking and taking until I was shaking and breathless. The ache between my thighs left me quivering with need.

I shuddered as Alexei kissed the fingertip bruises on my throat and then skimmed his lips along my jaw. He claimed my mouth one last time and traced my swollen pout with his thumb. “I’ll see you this evening. Stay inside with Stas, and you’ll be safe.”

“I will.” Still a bit dazed from his kisses, I sagged against the wall. He backed away slowly and left the bedroom. Trying to get my racing heartbeat under control, I shook my head and touched my tingling mouth.

What have I gotten myself into now?

Chapter Nine

“Boss, you have a visitor waiting in your office.” Audrey, one of the weekend receptionists, greeted him with a cup of coffee and a stack of messages. “It’s An Trinh.”

An, the eldest daughter of Mr. Lu, the well-known importer and not so well-known underworld don, ran the legal side of her father’s business empire. She was very highly respected around the city and ran in some of his social circles. In a few short weeks, they would begin serving on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, and both had entertained the idea of putting together an organization to support small businesses owned by minorities and immigrants.

But why would An be in his office this early on a Saturday morning? “Did you offer her coffee or tea?”

“Yes, sir. I made sure she was comfortable.”

Taking the coffee and messages, he gave Audrey a few quick orders for the morning. “Send one of our tow trucks to CleanRite to pick up a car from the lot. They’ll know which one it is when they see it. Have them take it to Merkurie Motors. Give the crew at Merkurie a call so they’ll know to expect it. Make sure they know I’m handling all the estimates and bills.”

“Yes, sir.”

He handed her his key fob. “Will you please grab the handbag and wallet on the front seat of my SUV? And bring me a new hire packet, too.”

“For a salesman?”

“No, for one of the hourly positions.” He needed to get Stas on the payroll by the end of the day. “After you’ve brought me the box and the packet, hold my calls until I’m finished with my meeting.”

“Yes, sir.”

Upstairs, he entered his office and found An sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk. Lithe and willowy, she eyed him with what could only be described as cool disdain. He didn’t let her expression intimidate or concern him. In all the years he had known her, she had never once smiled.

“Good morning, An.” He shut the door and shifted the items he held so he could shake her hand as she rose from her chair. “Did we have a meeting on the schedule?”

“No.” Her bony, fragile hand was cold in his, but she had a strong grip. He had a feeling men underestimated her all the time—and suffered for it. “But I thought this needed to be dealt with face to face.”

“All right.” He moved behind his desk and took a seat. Before he could ask her what they needed to discuss, she retrieved an envelope from her purse and tossed it onto his desk. He opened it and found an invoice for a new security system. Confused, he asked, “What is this?”

“The next time you want to take a bat to a bunch of thugs I suggest you check for security cameras.” An shook her head and played with the elegant gold band encircling her wrist. “You’re damned lucky that young kid with you knew the dishwasher boys who were working last night. They disabled the system before the police could get their hands on it. Unfortunately, their method of disabling was permanent.”

His stomach pitched at the mention of police. “I forgot the restaurant was under your family’s control. I didn’t mean to make trouble for you or your father, especially not now when he’s so ill.” Alexei hadn’t heard any news about the old man’s fight with cancer. “How is he?”

“He’s stubborn.” She clearly didn’t want to talk about it. “Look, I despise John Mueller and his ilk so I’m going to turn a blind eye to the mess you made in our parking lot. What really concerns me is the way you put yourself at risk.” She tut-tutted at him. “You’re smarter than that.”

“The circumstances were extreme.”

An actually smirked at him, her primly set mouth quirking up just a bit. “They usually are when a woman is involved.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Not wanting any bad blood with An or her father, he offered, “I am truly sorry for last night. I know how hard we all try to keep our illicit connections clear of our legitimate businesses. I should have contacted you, in person, to apologize.”

“We’re fine,” An assured him. “For what it’s worth, my father and I are willing to back you in whatever way that you might find useful in this matter. There is no love lost between my father and Mueller, not after that horrifying bit of business his people tangled us up in last year.”

Though he didn’t know all of the details, Alexei had heard the tale of Mr. Lu discovering too late that cargo shipments he had been hired to shepherd through customs contained cargo of a human variety. It had been a very public black eye for the old man, especially when he had been suspected of possible involvement in Vivian’s kidnapping.

Audrey knocked at the door, and he gave her permission to enter. She carried the box holding Shay’s handbags and the new hire packet to his desk. After whisking away An’s empty coffee cup, she left the office.

Setting aside the box and the packet, Alexei said, “Listen, I know some of our contracts are up for renegotiation in early January. For the trucking services my company provides for your restaurants and for the food and supplies the company I own with Nikolai ships out to your locations,” he clarified. “I’m sure we can take this favor,” he waved the envelope, “into account when we settle on new terms.”

“I’m counting on it.” She gestured to the box on his desk. “Is that a handbag I see?”

“It is.” Smiling, he rose from his seat and started unpacking the box. “I actually planned to visit your office so we could talk about these handbags and wallets.”

“It’s a few weeks too early for Christmas so I’m assuming these aren’t gifts for me.” The faint smile on her face hinted at a mischief streak he never would have guessed she possessed. “This is lovely.” She picked up the larger handbag and ran her fingers along the blush pink Saffiano leather. “Who made these?”

“My girlfriend,” he answered proudly. Only a moment later did he realize what word he had used, not mistress or lover but girlfriend. It was a word that had always struck him as so very juvenile, but it suddenly seemed clean and new and entirely more suitable for Shay. Because no matter how hard he tried to shove her into that role, she was never, ever, ever going to the perfect little mistress. After all, this morning, his
ptichka
had shown him her claws with that six month remark.

“She’s very talented.” An examined the wallet. “Oh, look at how slim this is! The design is wonderful. Is she self-taught or did she go to college for this?”

“Both,” he said, running his fingers over the elaborate stitching on the clutch. “She currently sells her leather goods in an online boutique, but she’s planning to open a proper store front soon. I’d like to help her find a way to increase her productivity.”

“Well, she needs a team who understands leather goods and attention to detail,” An murmured. “Let me work my contacts. I’m sure I can get you some names by the end of the week.”

Alexei had suspected An would be able to help him. There were a number of small factories under her family’s control and protection that employed seamstresses and cobblers. Surely, a few of them had experience with leather goods. “I would appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to go. My daughter has figure skating practice in half an hour, and I never miss it. I’ll have my assistant call you with those names. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble getting a production line set up.”

“I hope not.”

After An left, Alexei settled into his chair and went through the usual Saturday morning routine, holding a sales meeting and talking one-on-one with his salesmen and managers before returning calls and answering internal emails. When he had a chance, he dialed Fox, Kostya’s hacker who had set up the computer systems across his dealerships.

“Henhouse Security Services,” a sunny female voice answered. “Fox here. How can I help you?”