Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (32 page)

He
watched the liquid spill through my lips before tossing back his shot. His eyes
fell on my lips before his finger did. He swiped his finger across my bottom
lip, then lifted it to his mouth as he sat beside me. “Heavenly,” he murmured. “Do
you like the taste?”

The
creamy liquid tasted vaguely familiar. I tried to pinpoint why. Hints of
vanilla and coffee still lingered on my tongue. “It tastes like a White Russian,”
I exclaimed softly. I gasped as my brain fled the room.

His
eyes darkened with desire. A wicked smile spread slowly across his face. Alarms
sounded at the dangerous combination, then completely disappeared as he lowered
his lips to mine. His tongue danced across my lips, then swept deep inside my
mouth as he pulled me into a provocative kiss.

I
blinked when he finally released me. My eyebrows furrowed as my fingers rose to
my lips. I stared at Maxim, thoroughly confused. “What just happened?”

A
deep throaty laugh rose from Maxim’s chest. “You tasted a white Russian.”

I
tried to steady myself in the chair as the room spun. I knew I was in serious
trouble. I just couldn’t figure out how to flee the room without causing a
scene. I tried to make eye contact with Shae, but Maxim held me in place as he
refilled our shot glasses. Fear slid through me before the sixth shot did.

I
sat stiffly as Konstantin made a toast. I didn’t understand a single word he said
although it seemed he was speaking English. I got the distinct impression the
toast was an attempt at one-upmanship.

Cory’s
eyes locked worriedly on mine.

“Help,”
I breathed.

“Kristine,”
Maxim purred. He nodded toward my drink.

I
looked dazedly at the shot glass in my hand. “
Za vas
,” I responded as his
hooded eyes met mine. My heart took a serious blow when I briefly mistook him for
Michael.

Maxim
smiled as I threw back the shot. He removed the shot glass from my hand and set
it on the table before grasping my thigh. He tangled his other hand in my hair
as he pulled me in for another scorching kiss. His tongue was warm and
seductive as it slid through my lips.

I
whimpered softly as fear collided with desire.

Maxim
tightened his hold on my hair as he deepened the kiss. His hand slid under the
soft silk lining of my dress.

I
clenched my legs together, then groaned when it heightened my desire.

“Delicious,”
he breathed as he continued ravishing me with his lips.

I
tried to pull away as my body registered the alarms echoing through my brain,
but Maxim tightened his hold on me.

He
looked mildly amused by my attempt to get away. His voice was low and seductive
when he spoke. “Do you have a boyfriend, Kristine?”

“Yes,”
I breathed, grateful for the reprieve. “I have a boyfriend.”

He
looked around the room, then raised a single eyebrow mockingly. “Where is he?”

I
glanced around the room, confused. My eyes skimmed over Cory, Igor, Oni, and Nonna.
They appeared to be arguing about something. My eyes locked on them as I
responded absently. “He’s in DC.”

Maxim
hooked his finger under my chin. He forced me to look at him as his other hand
slid a little further up my leg. “What kind of man would allow his woman to
travel to Ukraine alone?”

My
eyes dilated, then sparked with fire. “
Allow?
”

Maxim
roared with laughter as he tucked me back under his arm. He turned toward
Konstantin. “I do so love American women.”

Maxim
frowned as Cory and Sammi approached the table. Nonna, Oni, and Igor stood
nervously behind them. Cory’s eyes hardened. “Please remove your hands from my
girlfriend.”

Maxim
started toying with my hair again. “Kristine is not your girlfriend.” He nodded
toward Sammi. “She is.”

Cory’s
jaw clenched. “Her boyfriend is a very good friend of mine. Please take your
hands off of her.”

Maxim
laughed as he nodded at the waitress. She was approaching the table with
another bottle of alcohol. “Then call him,” he suggested flatly.

Cory’s
jaw fell open. He quickly snapped it closed. “My cell phone doesn’t work here.”

Maxim’s
voice held a warning. “The SIM card you purchased this afternoon doesn’t work?”

Cory’s
face fell as Nonna gasped.

Maxim
narrowed his eyes at Cory. “Lie to me again and you will spend the rest of your
life regretting it. Apparently, Kristine’s boyfriend is too busy to join her in
Ukraine. Clearly, he has entrusted her to my care.” He turned toward Konstantin.
“
Odny noch'yu so mnoy, i ona zabudet shto etot chelovek sushestvoval.
”

Every
man at the table laughed.

Cory’s
eyes met mine. “Do you understand what he just said?”

I
shook my head.

Cory
sighed. “He said, ‘One night with me and she will forget that man ever existed.’”

A
sudden wave of nausea hit me. My hand flew to my mouth as I stood. “Um, I need
to find a bathroom. Now.”

Oni
reached for me. “I’ll take her.”

Maxim
rose to his feet. He pulled me into his chest and kissed me roughly before releasing
me.

My
legs threatened to collapse. My breathing grew erratic as I stumbled toward the
bathroom. I leaned against the wall in the hallway and tried to catch my
breath.

“Not
here,” Oni hissed. “Keep walking.” She pushed me toward the bathroom, then
followed me inside.

I
fell back against the cold wall. I slid down the wall until I was crouching
with my chin resting on my knees. “What the hell is going on out there?”

Oni
crouched beside me. “Mr. Markov has a thing for blonds… and American women. Nonna
knew he would be here tonight. He attends all of our government functions. She
was worried he might hit on you after she saw your picture. That’s why I’m
dressed like this.”

I
shook my head. I was trying to dispel the alcohol numbing my brain. “What
picture? Why does everyone seem to know who we are?”

Oni
smiled encouragingly. “Your picture is on the Seeds for Peace website. Besides,
no one enters this country without being thoroughly investigated.”

I
looked at her in surprise. “My picture is posted on our website?”

She
laughed softly. “You didn’t know that?”

I
shook my head. “No. They took my picture for my work ID. I didn’t know they
were going to post it to the website.” I shook my head at my stupidity. I
should have known my picture would be on the website. I had seen everyone
else’s photograph when I researched the organization before my job interview.
“Wait. What does that have to do with the way you’re dressed?”

Oni
blushed as she helped me to my feet. “Nonna thought I could divert attention
from you if I wore this dress.”

A
small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “That is a pretty compelling
dress.”

Oni
laughed but quickly grew serious. “Look, I wasn’t kidding. No one tells the
Russian mafia no… especially where Mr. Markov is involved. He ranks pretty high
in our region. If Mr. Markov insisted you go home with him, you would be forced
to go. You can’t go back in there. We need to get you out of here.”

My
heart beat furiously against my chest. “I think I’m going to be sick.” I lunged
for one of the stalls, then froze. “Where’s the toilet?”

Oni’s
head tilted curiously as she poked her head through the door. She pointed to a
porcelain framed hole in the floor. “Right there.”

“That’s
a toilet?” I gasped. “You can’t be serious.”

Oni
nodded. “Aren’t they like this at your hotel?”

I
shook my head. “No.”

She
shrugged. “They are the same at the university.”

I
stepped back and looked at her shoes. “How in the world do you manage that…” I
pointed to the hole in the floor, “with those?” I pointed to her five inch
heels.

She
burst out laughing. “Why do you think we wear these? The further we are from
the hole, the better!”

I
shook my head, and the room spun. “I can’t throw up in there. I’ll try to hold
it down until I get outside. Maybe I’ll make it to the hotel.”

Oni
glanced at her cell phone. “Nonna has the car waiting out back for you. I have
to go distract Mr. Markov. He’s going to be mad when he discovers you’re gone.”

I
reached for her arm. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Why don’t you come with
me? Nonna can give him my apologies and tell him I was sick so I had to return
to the hotel.”

She
smiled tightly. “Mr. Markov wants you… bad. He isn’t going to risk losing your
affections by hurting me.”

I
shivered. “Do you think he’ll try to track me down?”

She
nodded. “I’d bet my life on it. Now, let’s get you out of here before he sends someone
into the bathroom.”

“My
purse,” I protested. My purse held my passport. I couldn’t leave it behind.

Oni
shoved me out of the bathroom and navigated me further down the hall. “Sammi
has your purse.”

Igor
popped his head through a door at the end of the hall. “Hurry!”

Oni
pulled me in for a quick hug. “Go with Igor. He will take you back to the hotel
and get you access to your room. Don’t answer the door for anyone. Pretend you
aren’t there. I have to go distract Mr. Markov.”

I
backed toward Igor as Oni ran the opposite way down the hall. Igor reached for
my hand and yanked me out the door. He gentled as he settled me into the front
passenger seat. He ran around the front of the car, then climbed into the
driver’s seat. “Nonna will have the rest of your team at the hotel within the
hour. She’s trying to get Shae away from Konstantin and smooth things over
between Cory and Maxim.”

I
sank down into the seat. “We’re supposed to help resolve conflict, not increase
it.” I sighed heavily. “This is all my fault.”

Igor
glanced at me questioningly. “Why is this your fault? You had no idea what you
were walking into, and it’s not like you can tell Maxim no. None of us can.”

I
shook my head. “I should have brought Rafael.”

Igor’s
eyebrows shot up. “Who is Rafael?”

I
looked out the window and groaned. The storefronts passed by at a dizzying
pace. “My boyfriend.”

Igor
shook his head. “If you
had
brought your boyfriend, there’s a good
chance he would have ended up dead. Maxim isn’t going to let some random guy stand
in the way of what he wants. My guess is he’s going to want you even more after
tonight because you ducked out of there. You might want to think about catching
the next flight out of the country.”

I
cradled my head in my hands. “God, it never ends.”

“What
never ends?” Igor asked curiously. He turned to face me as he pulled in front
of the hotel.

“The
endless stream of bad guys who want to rape, kidnap, and murder me,” I
responded dejectedly.

Igor
stepped out of the car. He walked around the front of the car and opened the
door for me. “Maybe you should cut your hair and try not to look so pretty.”

“Wow,”
I breathed as I refused his hand. “Way to blame the victim.”

Igor
shrugged as he waved in my general direction. “You can’t fault men for wanting
you when you look like that.”

“I’ve
flown straight into the Stone Age,” I grumbled irritably.

*
* * * * *

I
carefully opened one eye. I couldn’t bear to move any other muscles. Shae was sleeping
next to me in bed. I glanced over her shoulder while trying not to move my
head. Sammi and Cory were curled together on the other bed.
When did
everyone decide to sleep in our room?

Shae
stirred next to me. “You okay?” she inquired softly.

“I
feel like death,” I responded miserably.

She
nodded. “Me too.”

I
winced. As quietly as Shae had spoken, it was still too loud. “Is their alcohol
a hundred proof?”

“Yes,”
Cory moaned from the other side of the room.

I
glanced over at him. “Is that why it hit me so hard?”

Shae
pulled the pillow over her head, then promptly removed it. “You’re skinny to
begin with, and you didn’t eat lunch or dinner… not a good combination when you’re
drinking hundred proof vodka.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “How many shots did you
have anyway?” She pulled the pillow back over her face before I could respond.

“I
don’t know. Six, maybe seven shots. I kind of lost track there at the end.”

“I
was sitting next to the dean, so I couldn’t dump my shots into the water
glass,” Sammi moaned miserably.

“I
had to do four more shots with Maxim and Konstantin after you left,” Cory complained.
“It was the only way I could think to make the peace.”

I
lifted Shae’s pillow. “Did Konstantin kiss you?”