The Deception (9 page)

“I’m here to finally meet your lover.”

“You’ve already met her.”

“A passing glance is hardly conversation. Even by your standards.”

“An assassin is quiet in all things, Nikolai. He allows his prey to spill his secrets before you drain him.” My grandfather looks upon me with pride, and then at the body on the floor, blood forming a grotesque halo around the head. “Brilliant work, Kolya.”

Viktor mutters a curse. “Those who desire your services sent me to check on you. To make sure that Ms. Andrews is with you, and you are agreeable to our terms.”

Cold dread digs deeper inside of me. “First, I’m taking her to meet Grandfather.”

“You can’t get out of this. Not even the great Dmitri Romanov can save your half brother,” Victor reminds me.

Perhaps he can’t. Or he will refuse to do so. But it’s worth a shot to find out if he knows a hit has been placed on his grandson. It’s worth risking everything to get his help, if it means that Everly remains alive.

I slash a hand through the air. “
Blyad
. It was the only way I could get her to come.”

Viktor laughs. “An old-fashioned abduction too good for you?”

“After we’d been seen by half the city, walking around her neighborhood, and then eating in a popular restaurant—yes.” God, he annoys me more than ever. How could I have ever considered him my mentor?

Because he was a god to you. He took you under his wing, taught you what you needed to know in order to survive—that’s why.

Viktor runs a hand along the wood grain on the interior walls of the cabin, his gaze on me. His mouth twists a little. “How is Ms. Andrews feeling?”

Feeling? Oh, fuck me. The attendant had produced what she’d needed a little too quickly, but I had allowed my concern to override my natural distrust.

“What did you do?” I start for the bedroom, but Viktor catches me by the arm, twisting it behind my back. Sharp pain radiates from the shoulder, as if I’ve been shot once again.

“I did my job.” There’s a pinch in my neck, and I go lax. The room spins. I close my eyes to stop it. “Now do yours.”

My body becomes light, insubstantial, like I’m made of air. My cheek connects with the carpet, a jarring surprise. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I force them to focus on Viktor. He’s bent over me, an evil smile splitting his face.

“You have two weeks,” he says, straightening. As if in slow motion, he raises his foot above my head. I try to brace for what’s coming next, but my useless body won’t cooperate.

His boot smashes down, and agony explodes behind my temple an instant before my world goes dark.

***  ***  ***

I
wake up with a start and a sharp intake of air. The room is cold and warm at the same time. Rubbing my eyes, I force them open, startled to find myself in a bedroom.
In bed.

My clothes are missing, my head hurts like a bitch, but my face feels fine. Perhaps I should be grateful Viktor kicked me in the head, because hiding a bruised face isn’t easy.

However, none of that matters.

“Everly,” I whisper, grabbing the covers. I have to find her. I have to—

“What time is it?” a groggy voice asks.

I freeze, then turn my head. I blink and then blink again. “Everly,” I choke out, and then pounce on her, turning her face this way and that. I search her beautiful face, her pretty eyes, and glowing skin to make sure she’s real.

You’re not dead.
“You can’t be real.” Relief fills me, and I want to kiss her. I want to press her down into the mattress and have my way with her. But I can’t. Instead, I sit back on my legs, scrubbing my face with the heel of my hand.

A smile curves her lips. “I’m real.” Her gaze flicks down my body, to where I’m straddling her legs, and then back up again. “Nice pajamas.”

Reaching out, I touch the lace of her bra, and then trail my fingers down her body to the panties that match. She sucks in a breath, her stomach contracting. She’s a vision in pink and white lace. I swallow. Hard. “Very real,” I murmur.

“Where are we?” she asks, leaning up on her elbows. Her round breasts bounce with the movement. “I don’t really remember that much about last night, once I passed out. I mean, I vaguely remember riding in the car to the hotel and changing into this, but that’s about it.”

Cursing myself for a fool, I can only send up a prayer of thanks that she’s unharmed. I was useless to her last night. Viktor is right. I have become weak, and that needs to stop. Immediately.

“Not that I care right now, because you’re naked,” Everly says, pulling me out of my head. The tips of her fingers touch my bare thigh.

She is nearly nude, only the thin barrier of her lingerie separates us. “Does my state of undress bother you?”

Her cheeks turn pink. “Nope.”

This is insane. I should get out of bed and check our surroundings, find out where the hell we are, and get Everly to safety. Her hand wraps around my cock and I jolt, as if she’d struck me with lightning. A groan slips past my lips.

“Stay in bed with me, Roman,” she says, beginning a leisurely stroke down my shaft. “I feel much better today.”

Get out of bed, you bloody arsehole.

Instead of leaving, I thrust my hips forward, wanting more. Wanting her to fist me harder. “Love, I—” She runs her tongue over her lips, and I grab her by the shoulders, pulling her to me. “You are playing a dangerous game.”

Her emerald gaze darkens. “Show me.”

I push her back down and slowly tug her panties off, placing my hand over her mound of dark curls. Dipping two fingers inside, I stroke her until her eyes close.

“Open,” I order.

Her lashes flutter open, and I smile. “You are beautiful.”
And alive.

She runs her gaze over my body. “And you are sexy,” she says. “Who knew you were hiding all this under those suits?”

I stretch out beside her without interrupting the rhythm of my fingers. “So perfect.” I kiss the swell of the breast closest to me. “Soft.” I run my tongue down the side. Gripping the lace with my teeth, I give it a light tug. Her breast pops free, nipple hardening as it is exposed to the cold air. I cover it with my mouth, sucking and licking while she moans and writhes on the bed.

“Not like last time,” she says, suddenly sitting up and dislodging my fingers.

I’m completely taken by surprise by her actions. So taken, that she’s straddling my lap and reaching behind her, before I can react. Her bra falls to her elbows. She pulls it off the rest of the way, then throws it behind her.

Leaning down, her hair creates an intimate curtain. “You are beautiful.” She kisses my lips. “Hard.” She grinds against me, and I reach up to grab her hips. “So perfect.”

She bites one of my nipples, and I growl. “Careful.”

Peering through her black lashes at me, her eyes sparkle with mischief. “You like it rough.”

“Not this time.”

She frowns and sits up. I scoot back to the headboard and do the same, but instead of a frown, I try to give her a tender look. It’s not an easy thing to do, because, for me, tenderness is an alien emotion.

Cupping the back of her neck, I bring her to me. “Kiss me, Everly.”

Obviously confused, she hesitates, but for a man trained in patience, her hesitation doesn’t bother me.

“Don’t be shy,” I say, trying to coax her closer. “I won’t bite... this time.”

Lush lips curving into a smile, she lowers her mouth to mine. Her fingers delve into my hair, flexing as she finds purchase there. “Do you have protection?”

I lean back slightly. I know what I packed, but the whereabouts of said bag—no clue. “Yes, but I have no idea where my bag is at the moment.”

“It’s okay, my purse is right beside us.” She leans to one side and produces a condom. “I bought this in the airport when you were talking with the pilot.”

I arch a brow. “Only one?”

Her cheeks pinken. “Two boxes.”

Such a sexy combination of boldness and timidity. “Hopefully, it will be enough.”

Her eyes widen. “You have the most wicked look on your face right now.”

“Scared?” I ask as she hands me the condom. I take it out of the package and roll it down over my hard length.

“Excited.” She rises up on her knees. “I’ve been waiting for months to do this with you.”

I grab my cock and guide it inside of her, grasping it firmly while she sinks down. She wriggles her hips, making a little, helpless noise before I take pity on her and grab her hips, while simultaneously thrusting upwards. She’s slick, taking me to the hilt.

Now I’m the one who’s helpless.  I’m inside of her, joined in the most intimate of ways. For a moment, all I can do is sit there, my cock throbbing with every pump of my heart.

“Oh God.” She falls against me, her neck arching as I kiss it. “You’re so deep.”

“You’re tight. So fucking tight and hot.” Her inner muscles squeeze around me and suddenly, I’m on the verge of coming. “Move, love. Move, baby. I can’t... I haven’t. Months,
Solnyshko
.”

“Only me?” she asks. “No one else?”

She’s not asking if I’m a virgin. “Only you. No one else could come close. I wouldn’t let them. It’s like wanting a fire to light the sky after you’ve witness the sunrise.”

“
My
Roman,” she breathes.

“I am yours.” Until my last breath, I am hers.

She begins to move, her hips undulating in ways that make my eyes water. “That’s it,” I say, encouraging her to go faster.

Her breasts bounce in my face, and I capture a hard nipple in my mouth, sucking hard. She moves faster upon me, slamming her hips down and making the bed creak.

But it’s not enough. I want more.

I roll her to her back, grab her hips and pull them against me. Slowing my thrusts down, I stroke her with infinite care and precision. This will last. I will last.

I cup her face, dusting my thumb over her jaw and then her lips. She looks up at me, eyes shining with... with—I close mine, not wanting to know the truth, because this—making love—means something to her. It’s not a means to an end, or merely a pleasurable physical act.

Everything this woman does is with her entire heart. But I can’t dwell on that. I can’t allow myself to accept that I’m special to her in any way.

Instead, I concentrate on how she feels beneath me, how she feels around me. She’s an exquisite torment to my soul. I have made her mine. She willingly surrenders to me. Yet, my future...
our
future is like writing in the sand, blown away by an unseen wind or by a crashing wave.

A possessive kiss drags me out my head. Everly slants her mouth over mine and flicks her tongue inside. I groan.

Her thighs tighten, as does the rest of her body. I slip my hand between us and rub her clit hard. She cries out, her body a perfectly erotic arc.

Scant seconds later, I join her, pouring everything into her, until my head drops to the pillow beside her.

We lay there, still joined, our hearts beating frantically, but as one. She presses kisses to the side of my neck, like she’d done after making me come before.

I feel her arms come around me, holding me tight, as if I’m about to leave. We lay there for minutes, perhaps hours, before I can speak again.

“I thought I’d lost you,” I murmur.

“Why is that?” she asks as I raise my head. She pushes back the hair that is plastered to my forehead.

“Bad dream.”

“You poor thing.” She kisses me softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Not yet, you’re not.
I shove the thought away. “How about a shower?”

“Only if you take one with me. I have got to get my hands on this body.” She sighs lustily. “Roman, you’re like a work of art. You have all the right equipment to make me forget my name.”

“My body is yours.” When I pull out of her, I notice her slight wince. I feel more than a little satisfied at her expression. I rake my gaze down her curvaceous figure. “But only if yours belong to me.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m sure you’ve been with much prettier—”

I cover her mouth with my hand. “Say yes, Roman.”

Mutiny enters her gaze, and she opens her mouth slightly. I think she intends to bite me. Something I’m not opposed to in the least, but right now ... “Can’t you see how bloody alluring you are? You’re my very own Aphrodite.” Her gaze softens, and I lift my hand away. “Did you not feel how hard you made me? I’m not some green lad with a constant hard-on because my pants rub me the right way, or because a pretty woman walks by. It takes more than that.
You
are more than that. Do you understand?”

She nods and finally says what I want to hear, “Yes, Roman.”

“Brilliant.” I swing my legs over the bed and stand up, fighting off a touch of vertigo. Jesus. What had Viktor given us?

“Let’s get in the shower.” I hold out my hand.

She eyes me for a second, and then she takes it.

THE DECEPTION

Q
uickly, I towel off and gather my clothes, checking my pockets and my black bag sitting in on a table by the window. Everything is as it should be. My weapons, my passports, and my money are all there.

“What kind of game are you playing, Viktor?” I mutter, pulling my shirt over my head.

“Hey there.” Everly’s arms come around my waist.

I tense, my body ready to fight the unknown.

“It’s just me,” she says as if reading my mind.

Although, she probably remembers what happened the last time she sneaked up on me. I had pinned her against the wall, one hand wrapped around her throat while the other reached for my Glock before she could say a word.

Turning in her embrace, I lift her chin and press a kiss to her mouth. “Ready to eat?”

“Starving,” she says against my lips. “You really know how to make a girl work up an appetite.”

“Consider it a perk.”

Smiling, she pulls away. “Thank you for asking me to come with you. I was really nervous at first, but this is turning out to be a lot of fun.”

I raise a brow. “Just fun?”

She blushes charmingly, as usual. “Erotic fun?”

“Much better.” Perhaps this is how I can distract her. Keep her mostly in bed for the next two weeks and she’ll never know what’s happening beyond these walls. It’s deceptive and perhaps more than a little underhanded, but I want her in my bed,
and
I want her safe.