Midnight Alpha (18 page)

“I just found out a few minutes ago that he dismissed your driver this evening and insists on driving you himself.”

Gregori gave a rueful smile. “I’m sure John loved that.”

“He was furious. Gregori, Smith is a maverick,” Nikolai persisted impatiently. “A totally off-the-charts renegade. He certainly can’t go inside Utopia dressed the way he is.”

“Did you try telling him that?” He knew he shouldn’t be amused by Nikolai’s discomfort with the other man, but he couldn’t deny it was amusing to see Nikolai so disconcerted.

“I did, yes.”

“And?”

“And he told me how he dresses is none of my fucking business—
Holy fucking hell
!” Nikolai’s gaze was riveted on the doorway and his mouth gaped open.

Gregori knew exactly whom the other man was staring at with such male appreciation.

He had intended on phoning an exclusive dress shop and having a suitable evening gown delivered to Gaia today, but in the end he had decided that he couldn’t leave that choice to a shop assistant. Gaia had an amazing figure, but she wasn’t particularly tall—that is, when she wasn’t wearing those high-heeled shoes she had complained of several times—and the wrong gown would detract from her assets rather than enhance them. Consequently, Gregori had gone to the dress shop himself and chosen what he hoped was the right gown.

Nikolai’s reaction told him that it was.

The fact that Nikolai was almost panting with his tongue hanging out of his mouth meant he appreciated Gaia’s appearance just a little
too
much for Gregori’s liking.

“If that remark was meant to be a compliment, Mr. Volkov, then thank you,” Gaia now drawled dryly from behind him, confirming Gregori’s suspicions.

He swallowed the last of his brandy to delay turning and looking at her for a little longer.

“Jesus, Gregori!” Nikolai seemed unable to drag his gaze away from Gaia.

Further irritating Gregori as he shot the other man a frowning glance before finally turning—only to then bite down painfully on his bottom lip to stop himself from making an equally irreverent outburst. But there was nothing he could do about his cock’s reaction as it surged up in full and instant arousal, and that was despite the fact that he had come twice just a short time ago.

Gaia had suggested black, but Gregori had known as soon as he saw this shimmering, knee-length, midnight-blue gown that it was perfect for her.

God,
had he been right…

The material gathered at her shoulders before fitting lovingly over the fullness of Gaia’s breasts, and it was snug at her waist before flaring slightly at her hips. It didn’t leave a single dip or curve to the imagination concerning her body beneath.

What made it even more revealing was the fact that Gaia’s nipples, obviously over-stimulated from their lovemaking earlier, were for the moment permanently swollen.

It took every effort of will on Gregori’s part to raise his gaze from those swollen nipples to instead look at her face. The small strip of gauze was barely noticeable on her cheek, and her hair was soft and silky about her semi-naked shoulders, a pair of pearl earrings completing the outfit.

His jaw tightened slightly when he saw the look of challenge in her gleaming golden eyes.

His gaze hardened. “It would seem we are ready to leave, Nikolai. Nikolai!” he rasped his impatience as the other man still seemed mesmerized by Gaia’s appearance.

Nikolai dragged his gaze away with obvious effort. “The car is waiting outside,” he murmured distractedly, his earlier irritation with Lijah Smith’s arrogance and appearance obviously forgotten.

Gregori gave an impatient sigh: if Nikolai’s reaction to Gaia’s appearance was any indication, then this promised to be a very long night.

“Nothing to say for yourself, Gregori?” Gaia taunted as the two of them walked out into the hallway.

He didn’t so much as glance at her, but a telltale nerve pulsed in the tightness of his jaw. “There will be plenty of men to tell you how beautiful you look this evening.”

She laughed softly at the stiffness of his tone. The same stiffness she had seen swell in his trousers the moment he turned to look at her a few minutes ago, and which a brief glance downwards told her was still there.

The laughter died in her throat when she stepped outside and saw the man who had just moved to open the back door of the car. A man she knew for a fact she had never seen before. His body was tense, his gaze watchful, and he kept looking about him as he waited for the two of them to get inside the car.

She turned to Gregori. “What—”

“Just get in the car, Miss Miller,” he rasped as he nodded briefly to the other man.

Gaia moved into the back of the car, and Gregori followed soon after, but she hardly noticed. Her attention was still on the other man as he climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine.

She turned to give Gregori a questioning glance.

“Don’t ask,” he dismissed wearily.

“But…” She gave a shake of her head. “What’s with the…” she whispered as she indicated the Stetson on the driver’s head. “And the—”

“Best not to judge a book by its cover, Miss Miller,” the man in the Stetson advised mockingly, his deep indigo eyes glancing at her briefly in the mirror. “Isn’t that right, Nikolai?” he taunted the man seated beside him.

Gaia was even more confused after hearing the man speak. He was very tall, with overlong dark hair, a hard rather than handsome face, and a body that appeared to be mainly muscle. He also wore the Stetson and cowboy boots, along with a short-sleeved black shirt and faded blue jeans, and yet he spoke with an English accent that would have put some of the royal family to shame.

“Close the privacy window, if you please, Mr. Smith,” Gregori bit out impatiently.

He shrugged. “You’re the boss.”
For now
seemed to linger silently in the air at the end of that statement. The smoky black glass rose between the back and front of the vehicle.

“Mr. Smith is an employee of my brother-in-law, sent to assist with security,” Gregori told her in a voice that warned against voicing any further questions regarding Mr. Smith.

That was fine with Gaia. Mr. Smith was definitely a curiosity, but there was too much else going on in her life for her to want to pursue the subject.

Instead she turned to look at Gregori beneath lowered lashes.

She had taken a bath earlier, in the hopes of soaking some of the aches from her body. It had worked. Until she starting getting dressed. The black thong—damn Nikolai Volkov—continually rubbed against the soreness between her thighs and reminded her all too forcibly of having Gregori inside her. Just as the gown, as she had guessed that it would, chaffed against her swollen nipples and resulted in them remaining in a constant state of semi arousal.

The only reason she forgave Nikolai for the abundance of thongs he had packed for her was because he had also brought along the small jewelry box from her dressing table, allowing her to wear the pearl earrings tonight that were all she had left of Angela.

The coldly aloof Gregori now seated beside her didn’t look capable of that raw, uncontrolled passion the two of them had shared earlier. Let alone the connection she had felt between them when they made love a second time.

He may not
look
capable of it now, but it was enough that Gaia knew he was. “Speaking of which…is Nikolai any closer to confirming who shot at us last night?”

Gregori’s jaw tightened in reaction but he didn’t turn to look at her as he answered. “I told you I already know who shot at us, Miss Miller.”

She raised her brows when he added nothing further. “I guess from your silence you don’t intend on sharing any more information with me?”

He drew in a sharp breath. “Do I need to?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” he sighed his irritation.

“Oh it’s definitely something,” Gaia said quietly as she looked at him searchingly but the shutter was firmly down, preventing her from having any idea what he was thinking. “Why don’t you… You don’t seriously think I had anything to do with the two of us being shot at last night?” she gasped as understanding dawned.

“Nikolai is the one with the suspicious nature.” He shrugged.

“Like hell he is!” She turned fully in the seat to glare at him. “God, what sort of world do you live in that you would even think I could have— And then afterwards the two of us— And again this evening…” She broke off as she gave a disgusted shake of her head.

“I live in a dangerous world, Miss Miller,” he bit out coldly. “One in which people really do end up dead.”

She knew that. He had told her that. She had witnessed that violence for herself last night. She just—“To hell with what Nikolai thinks, do
you
believe I’m somehow involved with this man who wants to hurt you? Never mind,” she dismissed tightly as he took too long answer her.

Gaia had no idea why she felt the sharp sting of tears in her eyes as she turned away. She had
guessed
earlier how it was going to be between them when they met up again. Had
known
Gregori would retreat back behind that cold façade. And she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a façade. A mask to hide the true depth of his emotions.

His distrust hurt anyway.

Entering and walking through the nightclub, not as an employee, but as Gregori Markovic’s guest, was an experience in itself.

Everyone, from the muscled guards on the door and the glamorous guests entering and leaving, to the hostess who greeted them at the door, treated Gregori with a deference that Gaia knew had been lacking in her own dealings with him since that night in his office. Gregori may be able to turn off his emotions at will, but she found it a little difficult to behave coolly towards the man who’d had his tongue inside her!

“Do you find something amusing, Miss Miller?” He prompted as she gave a self-derisive snort.

“Not in the least,” she assured him with feeling as she pulled her arm out of his hold to step away from him. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you to do your meet and greet and go and talk to Rick and Claude—”

“That was not our arrangement.” Dark eyes glittered down at her as he turned his back on the beautiful woman who had been about to greet him, blocking the rest of the room from Gaia’s view.

The woman gave Gaia a fierce glare before turning her charm on Nikolai.

“Our agreement was that I wouldn’t work this evening. I think I owe it to Rick and Claude to personally explain why that is— Oh not the real reason,” she snapped her impatience with his frown. “I’m not stupid, Gregori, but I was brought up to have manners.”

“Meaning I was not?”

She gave a shrug of her bare shoulders. “Take my comment in whatever way you choose, Gregori. You usually do anyway!”

His mouth thinned. “I have already spoken to both Rick and Claude, explained that you had a small accident.”

“And I’m going to speak to them both again. Personally,” she added, knowing how much the idea of her talking to the other two men seemed to annoy him.
She
was so angry with him at the moment she just wanted to get away from him.

“They need no further explanation than that you walked into Utopia at my side,” Gregori announced arrogantly.

Gaia was already well aware of the speculation about them because she was ‘at his side’. According to the gossip she had heard before meeting Gregori, he never brought women to Utopia with him. Not only had he brought a woman with him tonight, but she also happened to be one of his employees, and wearing a gown that probably cost more than she earned in a month.

She gave a stubborn shake of her head. “You just carry on doing…whatever it is you do, and I’ll catch up with you later.” She didn’t give him time to object as she turned on her heel and walked off in the direction of the bar.

“Follow her,” Gregori instructed Nikolai tersely. “Mr. Smith can accompany me upstairs,” he added with a rueful glance at the ever-watchful Lijah Smith who had insisted on accompanying them into the club. “He can hardly remain down here, Nikolai,” he added at the other man’s look of displeasure.

Nikolai showed his disapproval of the arrangement by walking off without saying a word.

“Miss Miller seems a…headstrong young lady,” Lijah commented as the two men traveled up to the third floor in Gregori’s private lift.

“Yes.”

“Remind you of anyone?” he added mockingly as they entered Gregori’s office.

Gregori knew exactly whom Lijah was referring to. “Katya was never this rebellious,” he dismissed hardly as he turned on all the security screens.

“No?” Lijah made himself comfortable in the chair where Gaia had been sitting three nights ago before swinging his booted feet up to rest on the front of the desk.

“Perhaps since meeting Dair,” Gregori conceded distractedly as his attention homed in on one security screen in particular where he could see Gaia in conversation with both Rick Turner and Claude le Coeur.

The two men were being far too attentive in his opinion. Rick was obviously ogling Gaia’s cleavage, while Claude appeared to be using the excuse of the graze on her cheek as a way of touching her.