Guard (The Underground Book 3) (25 page)

“In the future, you’ll listen to me.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I’m not an ass. I just want you to come home at night alive. I won’t keep you from making rational decisions. But don’t ask me to let you put your life in danger.”

“Okay, Sir.”

“You need to come, baby?”

“So badly, Sir.”

“Okay.” His mouth descended, his lips sucking her clit into his warmth instantly. He thrust two fingers inside her at the same time and pumped them in and out.

She screamed, her orgasm so powerful she didn’t care if the neighbors heard. The waves of release went on and on. When they finally subsided, she heard the rip of a condom wrapper, and then he was at her entrance. “Gonna fuck you, baby. Hard.”

“Yes.”

“Pardon?”

“Yes, Sir. Pease. Fuck me hard.”

“That’s what I thought.” He thrust into her farther than seemed possible. And she wanted more. His hands landed on either side of her head, his torso covering hers as he fucked her. Hard fast strokes that took her breath away. Another orgasm built on the tail end of the first. Like a freight train it barreled forward, unstoppable.

She came on a gasp, her pussy clenching his cock with more strength than she would have thought possible.

And then he grunted out his own release, continuing to stroke in and out of her, but slower. When he finally collapsed across her body, she welcomed the pressure.

She was shaking. All her blood had raced to her pussy, leaving the rest of her body cold and exposed.

Mikhail lifted the blindfold off her face first. “Close your eyes, baby. It’s bright in here.”

She did as he told her, easing them open slowly as he reached for first one hand and then the other to release the ropes.

When her arms were free, she drew them around his neck and held him tight. She craved the pressure.

He started to move, but she squeezed around his neck. “Please. Stay. Don’t move yet.”

“Okay, baby.” He cupped her face with both hands and lowered his mouth to take her lips in a slow, delicious, sensual kiss.

She calmed gradually.

“Let me undo your ankles. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her nose and then scrambled down her body to release her legs. After grabbing the comforter from the foot of the bed, he drew it up over them and hauled her body against his.

She was shaking, unable to stop. He spooned her, wrapping his top leg over both of hers and using his top arm to surround her body. He gripped her hands in one of his. “Shh. You’re okay.”

She hadn’t realized she was softly crying until he spoke.

He rained kissed on her cheek. “So beautiful. You take my breath away and steal my soul when you surrender to me like that.”

She shivered, still cold. The silent tears that fell were caused by something she couldn’t identify. A sudden shift in her life’s direction maybe? The knowledge that she would never be the same person she had been a month ago?

Mikhail had crawled into her heart and ruined her. Now that she’d had a taste of his world, she would never be the same.

She blinked into the light of the room as her heart rate slowed and she could finally breathe without gasping.

“Shh.” He brushed her hair from her face. “Don’t try to speak. Just relax. I need to turn off some lights. Don’t move.”

How could she possibly move? There was no way her brain could communicate even the simplest of tasks to the rest of her body. It was on overload. She’d just given her soul to this giant hunk of man.

Was she destroyed? Or made better for it?

It wasn’t a question she could fully contemplate at the moment. She stared at the wall of her apartment, grateful she was on the third floor, or the agents lingering around outside would have been at her door in an instant when she screamed out her release.

She smiled. Wouldn’t that have been a sight?

The room went almost dark as the last of the lights was turned off, bathing her in the dim light from outside as it peeked through the curtains.

Mikhail crawled back into his spot. When he pulled her back against his front again, she realized she was shivering once more.

He smoothed his fingers over her temple. “You’re okay, baby. I’ve got you. Always.”

»»•««

The faint sound of a phone ringing tore Haley from a deep sleep.

She moaned as she tried to roll onto her back, but she couldn’t move.

Mikhail was still wrapped around her, pinning her, making her way too hot.

“Mikhail.” Her voice was gravelly. It sounded nothing like her.

“Mmm.” He nuzzled her neck but didn’t move.

“My cell phone. It’s ringing. It must be in the kitchen.” She blinked, realizing the sun was up. It wasn’t the middle of the night. It was early, though.

“Mmm.” He made no other sound, obviously either ignoring her or not remotely roused from sleep.

She squirmed in his embrace, fighting to free herself.

He held her tighter. “Baby, no.”

“Phone. Mikhail, it could be important.” She twisted in his arms to see his face as he opened his eyes.

“Phone? I didn’t hear it.”

“Yeah. That’s ’cause you’re dead. But I heard it. Let me get up.”

He moaned as he released her.

She wiggled her way off the side of the bed, immediately sorry because although it had been too warm plastered to the huge man in her bed, it was too cold out from under the covers.

“Grab it. Come right back,” he ordered.

“Yes, Sir.” She giggled as she padded from the room and found her phone on the kitchen table.

One missed call.

Belinda
.

It was easy to obey his latest request because she was freezing. She nearly ran back to the bed and dove back under the covers, grasping the phone in her hand.

“Who was it, baby?”

“Belinda.”

“What did she want?”

“Now, how would I know that? I need to call her back.” She tucked her back up against him and tapped the phone screen to return the call.

“You sassing me already this morning? We aren’t even totally awake yet.”

“Mmm. Maybe.”

Belinda picked up. “Haley.” She sounded awful.

Haley bolted to a sitting position, no longer caring about the cold air. “Belinda? What’s the matter?”

“Food poisoning. Must have been something we ate.” She groaned.

“What?” Haley glanced at Mikhail who was wide awake now.

He set a hand on her back, his eyes drawn together.

She glanced up and down his body as if she might find him to be sick if she looked hard enough. “That can’t be. Neither of us is sick.”

“Seriously?” Belinda groaned again. “How is that possible? We ate the same things.”

“Definitely. I don’t think there was anything I avoided.”

Mikhail took the phone from her hand. “Belinda. You okay?”

Haley frowned at him and leaned in closer to hear her friend.

“Not sure yet. Can’t get off the bathroom floor for more than a few seconds at a time.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes. Can’t move. Too sick. So weak.”

“Okay. Listen, I’m going to send someone over there to check on you.”

“No need. I’ll be fine. I just wanted to make sure you were both okay. This is the first moment I could even get to my phone.”

“Belinda, listen to me. When you hear a knock, go to the front door. It will be a man. He’ll know your name. Don’t open it for anyone else.”

“Yes, sir. Bossy much?” She giggled for about half a second before moaning again.

Haley cringed. She’d never heard this side of Belinda. Was she as submissive as Mikhail suggested?

“Twenty minutes, Belinda. Got it?” Mikhail asked.

“Yes. Fine. Okay.”

He hung up and glanced at Haley. “You choose.”

“Choose what?” Haley had no idea what he was talking about.

“Sergei or Nikolav?”

»»•««

Anton grabbed his phone off his desk and answered it on the first ring. “What do you have for me?” He hoped since Millings was calling him so early on a Sunday, he had something worthwhile to report.

“Haley had a visitor last night.”

“Who?”

“Woman by the name of Belinda Gallo. At first I just assumed she was a friend. But get this, the woman works for
Chicago Multimedia
.”

“Shit. You think Haley’s yapping with the press?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s a coincidence.”

“How do you know this?”

“Because I had the good fortune of being assigned to drive the woman home last night.” Anton could hear the smile in Milling’s voice. “She was a little drunk and chatted my ear off on the drive.”

“Really?” Anton sat up straighter. “Anything good?”

“Oh, the jackpot. She yammered on and on about how she knew why I was guarding Haley and she’d been assigned the plum task of reporting on the disappearance of homeless people in the area. She’s beyond excited to hit the streets Monday night with Haley to get the inside tour of what’s happening.”

“No shit?” Anton beamed now. Not because he wanted people snooping in that issue, but because he was fortunate enough to find out about it ahead of time. It was bound to happen eventually. What were the chances he would happen to have the reporter’s name before the fact?

“Of course, this is disconcerting.”

“Why?”

“Because this woman needs to zip her lips from an FBI standpoint. She shouldn’t have even been babbling to me. You don’t want the media releasing anything of this sort, and the FBI doesn’t want the woman to do anything that would stand out as overly suspicious to you.”

Anton chuckled. “That’s rich.”

“Yeah, well. They think you might pull up stakes and move your operation elsewhere if anyone gets too nosy and gives you cold feet. I had to give Belinda Gallo a little advice about keeping her trap shut.”

Anton’s smile spread wider. Having Millings and Dayton informing him of every FBI move was the best thing that ever happened. He slept better at night knowing if anyone got too close, he would be the first to know. Besides, hopefully Millings and Dayton would have the ability to manipulate any evidence picked up by the FBI to throw them off course. “So, Haley plans to go back out to the streets already?”

“Seems that way. Oh, not with Mikhail’s blessing. Belinda giggled incessantly about how huge he was and overbearing, but she knew he was soft inside and wouldn’t keep Haley from doing what she was passionate about.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks. Have you seen either Haley or Mikhail since you left that little present for them?”

“Mikhail brought Belinda downstairs to me at the end of the night.”

“Did he look okay to you?”

“Yep. Perfectly fine. Besides, if either of them had been sick, Belinda would have mentioned it. Just because we put that additive in Haley’s hummus, doesn’t mean they ate it yet.” Millings hesitated. “On the flip side, Belinda didn’t look so hot by the time I dropped her off at home.”

“No shit?”

“Could have been a coincidence. She had a lot to drink. But she was white as a sheet and a little green when I last saw her.”

Anton grinned even though no one could see him. “Perfect. Good work. Can you stay on her?”

“On my way back to her place now.”

“This is what you call ‘getting out of the house’?” Haley cocked a hip as she stared at the front of Katie’s clinic while Mikhail reached into the backseat of his Jeep and grabbed the boxes of pizza they’d picked up on the way.

“Hey, it’s the safest place we can go. The clinic’s closed. It’s larger than any of our apartments, and there are several FBI agents watching us.” He kicked the door shut and smiled.

She shuddered, fighting the urge to scan the entire area to see if she could spot the team assigned to them. “It’s unnerving,” she muttered as she stepped toward the door.

“It’s safe. Besides, I’m sure the FBI is glad to have so many of us congregating in one spot today. Gives some of the men time off. It’s Sunday, after all. I’m sure they have family they’d like to see instead of working all day covering our asses all over the city.” Mikhail paused, his gaze roaming to the car parked behind his.

As far as she could tell, it was nothing more than a beat up old Trans Am.

The door opened. Leo stood in the frame. “’Bout time you guys got here.”

Mikhail pointed at the sports car. “New ride?”

Leo beamed. “Yep. Katie got it for me. It arrived yesterday. Needs some work, but she’s drivable.”

Haley smiled, remembering that his car had blown up in an explosion two weeks ago. Katie was amazing.

Mikhail handed the pizzas to Leo as they stepped inside. “Sorry we’re late. Busy morning.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Please, spare the details.” He set the pizzas on the counter at the reception desk and then yelled toward the back door that led to the patient rooms. “Katie. Mikhail and Haley are here.”

He turned back toward Haley and continued, “She’s giving a quick tour to Sergei.”

Haley nodded. She’d been to the clinic a few times but hadn’t looked around much. “You and Katie live above the clinic?”

“Yes. She’s been in that tiny apartment for several years. And there’s no talking her into moving, either. She won’t budge on the issue. Thinks the commute to work is too good to pass up.” He grinned. “I would agree with her on that issue, but the place is so small I can hardly turn around in it. When we’re both inside, we can’t escape each other.”

“Like you would leave her alone in a room anyway,” Mikhail teased.

Haley ignored him and addressed Leo. “My place is small too. Rent is cheap. I don’t require much.”

Leo nodded. “I get that. You and Katie will fall in love with each other.”

“Hey now.” Mikhail set a possessive hand on Haley’s neck, squeezing it, his fingers wrapping around to her chin. He tipped her head back and met her gaze. “Maybe it would be better to keep you and Katie away from each other.”

What the hell was he talking about?

A slow grin spread across his face, and he winked. “Competition.”

Leo laughed hard. “Don’t think so. Katie’s mine. Not sharing her. Not even with another woman.”

Several of Mikhail’s friends picked that moment to step into the waiting room area from the back hall.