“And I’m here if you need me,” I said. I meant it, too. I owed her one. And I figured that an American in Moscow, under the protection of one of the most powerful families in Russia, was probably quite a useful thing to be.
She nodded gratefully and was about to say something else when Vasiliy interrupted her. “And what about you, Roberta?” he asked. His voice still had that smooth tone. “I can call you Roberta, can’t I? Can I tempt you away from the CIA? I’m sure I could find something for a woman like you.”
He locked eyes with her.
She flushed.
Oh.
That was what was going on. I stood up quickly and made let’s go motions at Luka. Luka being Luka, he took his sweet time to get up, nod a goodbye to Roberta and allow me to lead him away from the table. We left Roberta looking panicked, as if she couldn’t decide whether being left alone with Vasiliy was the worst thing in the world or the best.
“Your dad better not sleep with my boss,” I told Luka.
“Ex-boss,” he rumbled. “It’s out of my hands. You think this is first time he’s done this?” He grinned, just a little cruelly. Goddamnit, he’s enjoying this! He seemed so much less troubled now, and it was more than just the Ralavichs no longer being a problem. It was finally having someone to open up to and trust, after all those years alone. I understood that, because I was feeling it, too.
Being together, though, hadn’t cooled off the sex one bit. I’d taken the precaution of adding a safeword to our games, because that seemed sensible. But Luka’s big hands were still shredding plenty of pairs of panties, and sometimes whole dresses, and that was just the way I liked it.
I glanced back at the table. Vasiliy was leaning forward a little; Roberta was leaning forward a lot. Oh, good grief.
“She’ll be fine unless he shows her his gunshot wound,” said Luka knowledgeably. “Then, all is lost.”
I glanced back again. Roberta was nodding. Vasiliy started to unbutton his shirt.
Oh shit.
“We Malakov men know how to handle American women,” said Luka proudly.
He’d find out, soon. Nancy had promised to visit in a few weeks. And once Vasiliy had fully healed up and could spare him, I was planning to take Luka on a trip to the US and show him Wisconsin—cows, rain and all. And there’d need to be business trips, too—to New York, first, and then all over the US, to finalize the gun deals. With Ralavich gone, we could take over his US gun business cleanly and without violence. Soon, we’d be the main pipeline into the country.
The idea didn’t scare me as much as it once had. Russian guns were coming into America one way or another—better we controlled it than someone like Ralavich. We could at least do it with the minimum of bloodshed. Once we controlled the whole supply, there’d be less need for in-fighting. And I’d persuaded Vasiliy to introduce my no guns to gangs who employ kids rule—it was a small victory, but at least it let me know we were heading in the right direction.
“Oh, you know how to handle us, do you?” I asked.
In answer, he pushed me up against a wall. Dammit, we were still just about within sight of Roberta...although, she was looking quite distracted. I looked back at Luka, feeling myself rapidly getting lost in those fiery, ice blue eyes. I could feel my breasts pillowing against his muscled chest, the hard bulge of his cock pressing against my thigh….
“Oh, the hell with it,” I muttered. And kissed him.
<<<<>>>>
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Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Epilogue