From Russia With Claws (6 page)

Fire flared in her pelvis, skimming up her spine in an electric arc. Galina made a sound that was half-sigh, half-moan as the heat of Andrey’s mouth sent her senses spiraling. She couldn’t explain why he affected her this way. She was a creature of logic, of rational thought. But one touch from Andrey made her panties combust and made her want to throw all of her careful plans out the window.

Not that she would, of course. But she wanted to, and that was bad enough.

“This is a storage room,” she gasped, gamely continuing the “tour.” He laughed against her throat, the deep rumble of his chuckle against her flesh making her knees nearly buckle. She braced a hand against the door. “You’ll note the packing materials…and…” She trailed off as teeth lightly bit along the skin over her pulse point.

“Galya?” He kissed along the edge of her jaw, nipping lightly at the spot just below her ear.

“Yes?” Her voice came out huskier than she meant it to.

His free hand, the one not wrapped in her hair, skated down the front of her black pencil skirt. It slipped beneath the hem of it, dragging the fabric upward as his hand moved back up, his fingers fluttering over the tops of her thighs. “I don’t care about art.”

His finger breached her suddenly, making her cry out. She felt his lips curve into a smile against her neck. He removed his finger, only to return with two. When he pushed inside her, Galina put her other hand against the door, gritting her teeth. She was so close to orgasm that it was going to be embarrassing. Her hips began to move, circling and rubbing against his palm.

She wasn’t going to last long at this rate. Her breasts felt heavy and full and they ached for his mouth and tongue’s attention. But she didn’t want him to stop what he was doing.

“What was Federov doing here?” he asked, his lips moving against her throat.

Galina went still. “How did you know he was here?” She yanked his hand away from her. “Were you following me?” Because that wasn’t creepy at all.

He stepped back, giving her room to move past him. “No,” he began, slowly licking the taste of her from his finger. His gaze scorched her. “My offices are near here and I was out for a walk. I saw you and Federov at Pike Place.”

“And then you decided to follow me.” She adjusted her clothing until she was set to rights. It took all of her willpower not to yank him back, especially when he smelled so delicious to her.

Andrey shrugged. “It amused me to see you with him.” His expression darkened. “And I would never have let you walk back to your building unprotected like that young idiot.”

A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead, and Galina itched to brush it aside. Instead, she stepped over to an empty stack of pallets and leaned against it. “You wouldn’t have had anything to do with the flying tuna to the back of Maksim’s head, would you?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

He grinned. “I got the idea after watching you with the salmon.”

They stared at each other for a moment, then both laughed. “I didn’t even see you there!”

Andrey’s laugh tapered to a chuckle. “I’m good at not being seen when I don’t want to be.” He waved it away like it was no big deal.

Galina frowned. That was a Rom trick, a way to get the eyes to slide right off them. It made it easier for them to steal, to con, to escape.

He paced, his presence filling the small space nearly to the bursting point. It would be impossible for anyone to ignore him; he drew eyes to him as easily as breathing. How had she missed him at Pike Place, Rom or not? Galina allowed herself a short moment to appreciate the sight of him before getting back to the business at hand. “Why?”

“What do you want me to say, Galina?” He stopped his pacing and looked at her, his generous mouth quirked upward at one corner in a wry smile. “That I’ve thought about you while waking and sleeping since that night at the club? That I wanted to see you again?”

“Pretty words,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “But that doesn’t explain what you thought to gain by coming here.”

“Do I have to have something to gain?” He frowned, turning serious.

She smiled bitterly. Everyone had something to gain. It was the way their world worked. Galina had gotten that lesson through her mother’s milk. “Most people usually do,” she noted absently, tucking stray hairs behind her ear. “At least that’s how it is in my family.” She shrugged.

“So should I be asking what you hope to gain in all of this?” There was darkness in his eyes now. She’d put it there.

“You’d be a fool not to.” She tapped her fingernails against the wood of the pallet.

Andrey crossed his arms across his chest. “Well then. What do I have to offer?”

Galina pushed off from the pallets and walked over to him. “You want to know what you offer—besides the obvious?” She waited for her compliment to sink in, smiling at him when he raised his brows in surprise.

“Nothing. I just want to be Galina. Not my father’s daughter or my brother’s sister. Just me.” She’d said it. And meant every word. When he’d approached her in the kitchen they’d just been a man and a woman. Two wolves. Names and families and plots hadn’t mattered.

She wanted that. Even if just for a little while.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew what she’d been born for: an alliance, power, a marriage contract. The fact that she was a rare female werewolf only made her more valuable to her family. They’d tried to run her life from the moment she emerged from her mother’s womb. She knew her choice of mate would not be left up to her. They didn’t see her as a person, just a piece to be moved around the board as they wished. And her father was already brokering a deal for her marriage with Maksim. She felt it in her bones.

So she would choose to be Galina now. While she could.

Andrey was looking at her like he didn’t know what to do with her. He was doing an admirable impression of someone who’d been hit upside the head with a flying tuna. Walking past him, she whispered, “And now you know.”

She unlocked the door and disappeared through it. It had been fun while it lasted.

Galina walked to her car, eyes scanning the garage for signs of trouble. Sergei’s shooting had rattled her. She didn’t want to believe it was the first salvo in a turf war, but she wasn’t going to stick her head in the sand. If someone was gunning for her family, she’d be a target. It was why she was carrying a loaded gun, its hollow point bullets packed with silver.

As she unlocked her car, she had the strange feeling that other eyes were on her. Unfriendly eyes. Galina had lived in large cities all her life and she knew to listen to the voice in the back of her head that warned of danger. Something was most definitely not right.

Turning the key in the ignition, Galina put the car in reverse and backed out of her space. In the rearview mirror, she thought she saw someone walk between the two buildings behind her, but then a car rounded the corner, its lights momentarily blinding her. She blinked away the glare, and when she could see again whoever had been there was gone.

She pulled out of the parking lot, the black sedan of her security detail pulling behind her as she drove up First. Her mind worked on the problem of Sergei’s shooter, whatever he’d stolen from Andrey Lupesco, and how Alexei was involved in any of it. She was missing pieces. Maybe Irina would find a clue when she was going through Sergei’s things. She made a mental note to ask her sister to keep an eye out.

Galina pulled into her garage, feeling the weight of the past two days crash into her. Her work at the museum had kept her busy all morning, she’d visited with Irina in the afternoon, and she’d stayed late to finish up some research in the SAM library. All she wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep for the next ten hours. Her eyes felt gritty and she stifled another yawn. She wasn’t even sure if she could make it to her apartment. The backseat of her car looked awfully tempting.

With a tired sigh, she slammed the door and circled behind the car to open the passenger side. Galina pulled her leather satchel from the floor of the front seat and slung it over her shoulder. She caught the barest whiff of a strange scent before someone grabbed the back of her head and slammed it into the roof of the car.

Galina cried out, stunned. Her bag thudded to the concrete. There was a hand at the back of her neck and she stiffened her muscles, fighting with all of her strength against the force that wanted to smash her face against the metal once again. Fire rushed through her limbs, energizing her, giving her access to her were-strength. She lashed out with an elbow, feeling something give as she connected. She scented blood.

The hand holding her neck dropped and Galina whirled, her arm snapping out. The back of her fist connected with nothing. She saw a figure running away, heading toward the garage’s exit, his gait uneven. Kicking off her shoes, Galina took off after him, feeling the change rising inside her. But the garage swam in her vision and she stopped to try to clear her sight.

She wasn’t in any shape to chase her attacker. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her sight was darkening around the edges. She needed to get somewhere safe.

Unsteadily, she made her way back to the car, staggering a little when she scooped up her shoes and bag. There was no sign of her security detail, but Galina would worry about that once she was behind the door of her apartment with the alarm set. She made her way to the elevator, hitting the up button on her second try. She fell inside gratefully when the doors slid open.

Bracing herself against the wall with one hand, she pressed the button for her floor. The lurch as the elevator began its slow climb caused her stomach to churn. She fumbled her phone from her bag, intending to call Nikolai to find out where her damn detail had got to, but it rang before she could do so.

“What?” she answered. She was clearly not at her best; usually she waited to find out who was on the other end before being so rude.

“Galina?” Andrey’s voice echoed strangely over the line.

She swallowed, feeling bile rise in the back of her throat. She should have finished her change; now her body was in revolt from the shock of it. “Yes?” she asked, trying to pull it together. She breathed deeply in through her nose, hoping she wouldn’t hurl all over the elevator.

“What’s wrong? You sound strange.”

Galina laughed, and then had to stop when it made her head ache. She could imagine the angry flare of his nostrils, his dark brows drawing down in a scowl. It was ridiculous how much she wished she could see him right now. “I’m fine.” She staggered as the elevator lurched to a stop.

The doors opened to let in a few people. Taking one look at her, a young woman said, “Oh my God, are you okay?”

“I’m on my way,” Andrey said, hanging up before she could stop him.

Closing the phone, Galina put a hand to her head. A lump was already rising on her forehead where it had connected with the top of her car. “Just a little accident,” she assured them, trying to look like she wasn’t dead on her feet. “I’m fine.”

“Do you need us to call the police?” the woman’s date asked. “Or the hospital?” He looked into her eyes. “No offense, but you don’t look fine.”

Which was a very diplomatic way of saying she looked like hot buttered crap on toast. Galina groped for a smart ass response, but then decided to save her energy. “It’s okay. I just want to get home.” The next floor was hers and it felt like the elevator was taking a decade to traverse the distance. The walls of the compartment were moving in and out, like the breathing of a great beast.

This was not good at all. She should probably look into lying down.

The doors opened, allowing Galina to stumble out into the hallway. Putting her key in the lock was nearly beyond her, but eventually she managed to get the key into the correct one. The door swung inward, taking her with it. She managed to get it closed before dropping onto the couch in a graceless heap.

She drifted—she didn’t know for how long. Her head ached and all she wanted to do was sleep, but she knew it was better if she didn’t. Her were-healing would kick in soon, but until she felt better, she needed to stay awake.

The muscles in her neck screamed when Galina tried to turn her head. Instead, she stared at the ceiling and tried not to whimper. Once again, she wondered where her security detail had gone. And who it was who’d attacked her.

The insistent ringing of her doorbell brought her back to her surroundings. When she didn’t move fast enough, whoever was on the other side began to pound a fist against the door. Galina pushed herself up with a groan just as Andrey began to shout, “If you don’t open this door right now, I’m kicking it in!”

Galina managed to lurch over to the door, opening it just as Andrey was prepared to bang on it again. “Not so loud,” she admonished, wincing.

“Galya,” he whispered, and then swept into her apartment, closing the door behind him and locking it. Then he picked her up as if she weighed no more than a pup.

“I’ll be fine,” she protested sourly.

He cut her off. “No. Not another word out of your mouth.”

Galina closed her eyes, feeling exhaustion pull at her. The scent of him washed over her and her tense muscles began to relax against the warmth of his chest. He was a wall of muscle beneath an Armani suit. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It should be illegal for anyone to look and smell this good.