Black Kat (19 page)

Chapter Twenty Six

Alexander ended the call with Luke and placed his phone on the nightstand.  Walking to the window of his hotel room, Alexander looked out over the New York City skyline.  The sun was setting and dusk was just beginning to settle over the city.  With his hands on his hips, Alexander struggled to come to terms with the anxiousness he felt down to his bones.

In all his
years of operating a world class casino as well as running an underground money laundering network that spanned from coast to coast and beyond the borders of the country, Alexander had never felt the worry he did then.  He could walk into a business meeting with a high ranking politician or a dangerous drug lord and never break a sweat.  Yet, barely twelve hours away from Kat and he was on the verge of a breakdown.  The rational part of his brain knew that Luke would take good care of her.  But the other part of him - the as of yet untapped emotional and protective side of him - screamed and rebelled against being so far away from her.

Checking his watch, Alexander saw he had only a few minutes before a limo arrived to take him to his dinner meeting.  He grabbed his phone and brought up the Las Vegas news.  Scanning through the headlines, he tried to
convince himself that Kat was going to be okay.  He would be back by the following afternoon, and they could move forward - together.

Except that feeling - that anxious feeling - slammed his heart against his ribcage when he saw the third story on the page.
  THIRD WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLINGS

Alexander ignored the ring of the hotel phone, probably alerting him that the limo was there, and read quickly through the article.  Another young woman had been found in the desert. 
Same appearance as the other two before her.  Alexander clicked on the photo of the woman - a mug shot taken a few months earlier.  Despite the fact that her hair had clearly been dyed blonde, the woman bore a striking and unsettling resemblance to Kat.

“Fuck,” Alexander swore.  Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, he shrugged it on as he left his room and headed for the elevator.  Alexander impatiently punched the button as he pulled up Gil’s number and waited for the other man to answer.

“Westin.”

“Gil.  It’s Alexander.”

“Mr. Petrovsky, I was just about to call you.”

Alexander stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.  Frowning he said, “You were?  Why?”

“I’ve got some reliable intel on the man you’re looking for.”

“How reliable?”

“Very.  I’m putting the report together now.  Name, photo, last known address, everything.”  Gil paused.  “This is your guy, sir.”

Alexander released a breath as he stepped off the elevator into the crowded lobby. 
“I want everything you’ve got.  ASAP,” he demanded.

“Of course, sir.
  I will have it over to you within the hour.”

“Good work, Gil.  There is something else I want you to work on.  And it very well may be connected.”

“What’s that?”

“Have you been following the murders of young women in Las Vegas - prostitutes, drug
addicts.  The authorities are considering the possibility of a serial killer.”

“Yes, I’ve seen the coverage,” Gil answered.  “You think this is related to Miss Rossi?”

“I hope to God not,” Alexander replied.  “But I can’t shake the feeling that it is.  The women all bear a resemblance to her and their injuries are consistent with what she endured.”

“I will look into
it.  See what the authorities have that hasn’t been released to the press.”

“Thank you, Gil.”

Alexander paused to get into the limo and waited until the door was shut before he spoke again.

“In your investigation of Miss Rossi, did you come across any report of threatening notes?  There wasn’t anything in your report.”

“No, sir.  There wasn’t anything in the police reports.”

Alexander rubbed his temple where he felt the beginning of a migraine coming on.  “The notes were processed by the FBI.”

“Ah.  Well, I don’t have the sources in the bureau that I’ve got in the LVPD.”

“Right,” Alexander said thoughtfully.  “That’s something I will
have to work on.”

“If there’s anything else, Mr.
Petrovsky, just let me know.  I will get the report to you and have my guys start working on locating this asshole.”

“Thank you, Gil.”

On the way back to the hotel from Dane’s, Kat sat in the front with Luke again.  It was an uncomfortably silent ride that had her wondering what had happened when Luke and Natasha were outside for those few minutes.  Luke never took his eyes off the road, and his hands were gripping the steering wheel at 10 and 2 like he was taking his first driving test.  Natasha sat directly behind Luke and never took her eyes off the back of his head.

When they arrived at The Onyx, Luke pulled up to the front entrance but waved off the valet.

“Go on inside.
  I’ll park the car and be up in a few,” he said.

Natasha was reluctant to get out, but she eventually followed Kat and Larissa into the lobby.

“I can’t believe you do that voluntarily,” Larissa said to Kat.  “I’m already sore.  I can’t imagine that I’ll be able to get out of bed tomorrow.”

Kat smiled.  “It does take some getting used to.  But it’s worth it.”

Larissa nodded, a faraway look in her eyes.  “Yeah, it is.”

Kat hadn’t had a chance to talk much with Larissa.  To see how she was doing.  But now wasn’t the time with Natasha tagging along.  Though she probably wouldn’t have heard a word they said.  She had her own distant look as she glanced over her shoulder to watch Luke pull his SUV toward the parking garage.

As they rode the elevator together toward the top floors, Larissa said, “I’m meeting one of the other cocktail waitresses that I met at orientation for dinner and drinks.  Either of you ladies want to come?”

Girls’ night out.
  Just the thought made Kat cringe.  “Thanks, but I’m just going to stay in tonight.“

“Yeah, me too,” said Natasha.  Then she looked over at Kat. 
“If that’s okay with you.”

Kat raised an eyebrow.  “It’s more your place then mine.  I should be asking if you mind me staying in the penthouse.”

Natasha rolled her eyes.  “Oh, please.  If my brother wants you there, I have no say in the matter.”  She bumped shoulders with Kat.  “Besides, it’s nice to have another girl around.”

Kat stepped to the side to avoid any more casual shoulder bumping.  The elevator stopped on Larissa’s floor and she step
ped into the hallway.

“Okay, but you’re missing out,” she teased with a wave.

“I doubt that,” Kat mumbled while plastering a fake smile on her face.

Natasha eyed her as Kat punched in the code to the penthouse floor.  “You’re really not my brother’s usual type.”

Kat snorted.  “No shit.”

“How did you meet?” Natasha asked as they exited the elevator into the penthouse.

Kat unclipped Blade’s leash and went to the kitchen to refill his water bowl.  “We met…at the gym.” That was the truth - sort of.

“Hmmm,” Natasha murmured, boosting herself onto a stool at the large island in the middle of the kitchen.  “Do you love him?”

Kat almost dropped the water bowl but managed to recover so that only a small bit splashed over the side as she lowered it to the floor.  “Um, our…relationship is kind of complicated.  It’s not really like that…”

Natasha was watching Kat as she stuttered and struggled to find the words.  A small dreamy smile graced her face.

“What about you?  Do you have a boyfriend?” Kat asked, not because she was particularly interested, but as a way to divert Natasha’s attention away from her.

The smile fell from Natasha’s face and she frowned.  “No.  No boyfriend.”

“What about Luke?” Kat asked casually.  The dynamic between those two was something she was interested in.  Mainly because she considered Luke to be somewhat of a friend.

Natasha’s cheek
s flushed before she dropped her head down onto her arms folded on the counter.  “What about Luke?  He’s so confusing,” she mumbled.

Kat pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and unscrewed the top.  She picked up the remote and flipped on the TV in the kitchen, scrolling through the channels.  The sound of the TV covered the low ding of the elevator.  Kat glanced over as Luke walked into the foyer.

Natasha, totally oblivious to his presence, propped her chin up on her arms and said, “I mean…I’ve had the biggest crush on him forever.  Forever.  I’ve never even had sex, because I’ve been stupidly saving myself for someone special.  For Luke I guess.  Now he’s giving me all kind of mixed signals.  And I don’t know what to do.”

From the corner of her eye, Kat saw Luke standing
on the edge of the living room, completely dumbstruck.  His eyes wide, his mouth hanging open.

Kat cleared her throat and looked back to Natasha.  “Do you love him?” she echoed Natasha’s earlier question, not because she wanted to hear the answer, but because
she suspected Luke did.

Natasha closed her eyes.  “Yes.”

Without a sound, Luke turned on his heel and disappeared down the hallway that led to Alexander’s office.

“I just can’t imagine being with anyone else,” Natasha said.  Looking curiously at Kat, she asked, “Was your first time special?”

This conversation was getting exponentially more uncomfortable by the second.  Kat squirmed in her own skin at the question.  “I’ve never had sex.”  At the widening of Natasha’s surprised eyes, Kat added on, “Consensually.”

Natasha’s mouth silently formed the word, “Oh.”  Then she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.  I just assumed you and Alexander were…”

Kat waved it off.  “It’s okay.  I don’t really like to talk about it.  I’m going to go take a shower, and then maybe we can order some food and watch a movie…or something.”  She was very new at the friend thing.

Natasha brightened at the suggestion.  “That sounds great.  And I promise not to ask any more questions.”

Let’s hope not, Kat thought.  Natasha was only a few years younger than Kat, but she was naïve and innocent in a way Kat hadn’t been for a very long time.  She doubted Natasha could handle the truth about anything that went on in Kat’s world.

While Kat was letting the water warm up, she heard her phone beep with an incoming text.  Wrapping a towel around herself, she retrieved her phone from Alexander’s bedroom.

Alexander:  How are you?

Kat:  Good. 
And you?

Alexander:  Anxious to get home.  I miss you.

Kat:  Me too.

Those two simple words said it all.  She did miss him.  As she showered, Kat wondered how it was that this man had gotten under her skin so completely in the short time she had known him.  He had opened up things inside of her that she thought were dead.  On the surface, Alexander Petrovsky should have been the last person on earth that she trusted.  He was powerful, dangerous and always got what he wanted.  Yet, somehow he was exactly what she never knew she needed.

Thinking back to what Natasha said about not being able to imagine being with anyone other than Luke.  Before yesterday, Kat couldn’t imagine being intimate with anyone - ever.  But last night, Alexander had shown her what was possible.  He had allowed her to explore the connection between them on her terms.  And now she understood how Natasha felt.  She couldn’t imagine being intimate with anyone other than Alexander.

Later that night, after Chinese food, wine and reality TV with Natasha, Kat put on Alexander’s pajama shirt and slipped into his bed.  It was slightly disconcerting to be there without him, but his scent surrounded her - in the sheets, on his pillow.  She drifted off to sleep feeling safe in his bed, in his life.

Chapter Twenty Seven

A mix of snow and ice kept Alexander’s plane on the ground in New York until well after midnight.  Saying he was anxious to get back to Las Vegas and to Kat was an understatement.  If he wasn’t paid so well, the pilot probably would have told Alexander just where he could put his repeated inquiries on the estimated takeoff time.

Now that they were finally descending into Las Vegas, Alexander was no less restless.  He had expected to
be home twelve hours earlier, but the weather had other plans for him.  His phone call with Luke the previous afternoon was uneventful, though he was pleased to hear that Kat and Natasha had been spending some time together.

As the wheels of the plane touched down, Alexander swallowed the remaining vodka in his glass.  The file that sat on the table in front of him was not as thick as the one on Kat had been, but Alexander knew this one would have as much of an effect on his life as the other had.  Gil had come through, calling in favors and diving into the seedy Las Vegas underworld, to provide Kat with the name of the man who had kidnapped her.

Alexander drummed his fingers on the folder.  It had been only a matter of weeks since Kat had come into his life.  For her sake, he was glad she was getting what she needed.  Proud to be the one who had helped her find her enemy.  Honored to be the one she trusted to help her get her revenge.  And she would have it.  As soon as Gil’s men located the whereabouts of the man, he would be delivered to Kat to do with as she pleased.

The pilot emerged from the cockpit to shake Alexander’s hand and see him off the plane.  George was waiting with the limo to drive him to the hotel.

“Good evening, sir,” George said with a tip of his hat.

“George,” Alexander nodded at the older man.  He slid in the backseat with his briefcase.  Stuffing the folder in the side pocket, he leaned back against the leather seat.

Other than a few quick text messages, he hadn’t spoken with Kat since the previous morning.  Not even forty eight hours had passed since he had lay with her in his bed, but it seemed like an eternity.  As George navigated the limo through the city and onto the Strip, Alexander found himself praying he would find Kat in his bed.  When the limo pulled into the underground garage and stopped at the private elevator, Alexander didn’t wait for the driver to open his door.

“Goodnight, George,” he called as he put his code into the elevator panel.  George’s reply was cut off by the elevator doors closing.

When they opened again on the top floor, the penthouse was quiet and dark save for the lights from outside.  Alexander walked directly towards his room.  As he pushed open the door, the first thing he noticed was that the bed was empty.  A suffocating feeling of disappointment gathered in his throat - until he saw Kat standing in front of the window.

Silhouetted against the backdrop of the black sky and bright lights of the Strip, she was a striking picture of long lean limbs and long thick hair.  Alexander drew in a deep shaky breath and was surprised at the enormous sense of relief that flooded him.  She was here - in his private space.  And she was wearing his pajama shirt that she had slept in the night they spent together.

Kat knew the moment that Alexander walked into the room.  And it wasn’t because he made any noise at all.  It was because every nerve ending in her body suddenly went on full alert - but it was not from fear. 
Not at all.  She didn’t turn around right away, and from the absence of sound she guessed that he was just watching her.

It was both unnerving and thrilling to know that his eyes were on her. 
From the moment he left her the morning before, Kat knew what she wanted from him.  And she had learned that she alone was in charge of getting what she wanted.

“Welcome back,” she said, keeping her eyes out the window.

“Thank you,” Alexander replied, his voice low and husky.  He moved to the side to set his briefcase on the floor and lay his jacket over the back of the chair.  Kat caught sight of him in the reflection of the windows.  And her eyes tracked him as he strode slowly across the room, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt and loosening his tie.

When he stopped a foot behind her, Kat turned around.  His dark eyes were intense, and his mouth was turned down in a slight frown.  He looked tired, Kat thought as she took in his rumpled white shirt and mussed black hair.  Reaching up, she brushed the lock of hair off his forehead.

Alexander’s eyes closed and he leaned his head into her touch.  No amount of tiredness could take away the strength in his body.  Kat put both hands on his broad shoulders and moved them down over his upper arms, feeling the restrained power in his muscles.

Alexander opened his eyes halfway and regarded her from under his heavy eyelids.  “I’ve missed you,” he purred, low and deep.

Kat didn’t respond, though she too had missed him.  Instead she took his hand in hers and placed it on her throat.  Alexander’s eyes locked on the pulse beating under the skin as his fingers caressed the long column of her throat.

“Touch me, Alexander,” Kat whispered.  His eyes shot to hers as if he didn’t quite believe what she was saying.  Just so there was no doubt as to what she wanted, Kat said, “I’m begging you.”

Alexander’s eyes searched her face for just a moment before he threaded his fingers into her hair on either side of her head.  Tilting her head back, he murmured, “I promise, Katya, to stop if you so much as utter the word no.”

“I won’t,” Kat said, breathless from the intensity in his eyes.

With a growl, Alexander crushed his mouth to hers.  Kat’s lips parted on a gasp, and he licked deep inside her mouth.  His cock, hard since the moment he laid eyes on her, now strained relentlessly against the fabric of his slacks.
  Kat’s arms wound around his neck, and he gathered her close with his strong hands pressing into her lower back.

The softness of
her breasts pressing against his chest, and the moan that escaped her mouth when he pushed his erection against her lower belly evaporated all rational thought from Alexander’s mind.  He was single minded in his desire for Kat, every single inch of her.

Plunging his tongue into her mouth once again
, Alexander ran his hands over her ass and under the shirt to the smooth skin of her upper thighs, lifting her.  Kat immediately wrapped her legs around his waist as he turned toward the bed.

Dizzy from the taste of her and the smell of
her surrounding him, Alexander vaguely realized that he had to slow down and make this pleasurable for her.  And, Lord knows, it wouldn’t be a hardship for him to worship her body.

Kneeling on the bed, Alexander braced himself with one hand, the other still firmly on Kat’s ass. Gently he lowered her onto the soft duvet and broke contact with her mouth.  Kat’s arms tightened around his neck, causing him to chuckle.

Dropping his head to the side, Alexander ran his tongue around the shell of her ear, stopping to tease the sensitive skin just behind the lobe.  He was rewarded with a throaty moan from Kat as she turned her head to give him better access.  With her dark blonde hair splayed out across the black duvet and her eyes fluttering between open and shut, she was simply the most beautiful thing Alexander had ever seen.

Moving to lavish hot kisses down her slender neck, he muttered against her skin, “You are a vision of beauty.”

Slipping the collar of her shirt aside, Alexander dipped his tongue into the hollow at her collarbone and moved it in slow circles down to the top of her breasts.  Sitting back on his heels with his knees between Kat’s spread legs, Alexander slowly released one button and then another until the pajama shirt was completely undone.  Kat watched him through heavy eyes as he slowly parted the sides of the shirt to reveal her small round breasts and the flat expanse of her stomach.  Her hipbones jutted out slightly above the top of her blue lace panties.

“Beautiful,” he breathed as he ran his hand from her throat down between her breasts and across her stomach. 
“Simply breathtaking.”

Some people might have said Alexander wasn’t a man for commitment, considering he had never
been in a monogamous relationship before.  But what could also be said for Alexander Petrovsky was that he went after what he wanted with an unrivaled focus.  And he had never wanted anything more than he wanted Katya Rossi.  Not just right now.  Not just in his bed.  But completely and forever.

Kat leaned up to shrug the shirt off without the slightest trace of feeling uncomfortable at being naked in front of him.  Alexander felt a fierce protectiveness over her.  She was giving herself to him without reservation, and he knew what a gift that was coming from her.

“You’re wearing way too many clothes,” Kat said with a sexy little smile.

“Oh, really?”
Alexander drawled.

“
Mmmm hmmm,” Kat murmured and tried to sit up and reach for him.

“Oh, no,” Alexander said, gently pushing her back down on the bed.  “I like you right where you are.”

Pulling his loose tie over his head, Alexander dropped it on the floor.  Much faster than he had undressed her, Alexander undid the buttons of his shirt and shrugged it off his shoulders.  His socks were next, and Kat’s eyes followed his every movement as he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants.  He hooked his fingers in his waistband and pushed down his slacks and boxer briefs in one swift move.

Alexander watched Kat as she gazed at his erection, jutting out from his hips, and licked her lips.  Clenching his eyes shut, Alexander growled, “
Katya.
”

“What?” she asked innocently, batting her thick black lashes at
him.

With a wicked grin, he crawled back onto the bed, running his hands from her ankles, up her calves and over her knees to her inner thighs. 
Spreading her legs back apart, Alexander settled between them on his knees.  He moved his hands over her hips, his thumbs trailing up the sides of her panties.

Kat squirmed and he looked up.  Her expression was one of impatience, not fear, and he chuckled again.  Leaning forward, Alexander took her mouth again while his hands found her breasts.  Kat immediately arched up into his touch, pressing her small firm breasts against his hands.  When he dropped his head to suck one tight nipple into his mouth, Kat gripped the back of his head.  Alexander smiled against her breast.  She could keep her hands right where they were for what he had planned next.

As he suckled her, Kat’s hips were moving restlessly seeking his touch.  Reluctantly leaving her breasts, Alexander slid down her body, dragging his torso against her core as he went.  Settling between her thighs, his broad shoulders spreading her legs farther apart, Alexander again ran his thumbs just under the hem of her panties.

Kat pushed her hips up and whimpered.  Alexander moved away only long enough to drag her panties down her long legs.  Tossing them on the floor, he dragged his flat tongue up the center of her core in one long lick.

“Oh, God!” Kat gasped and gripped his hair tightly.

Alexander placed his hands on her inner thighs to keep her in place as he began to tease her sensitive flesh.  God, the taste of her was intoxicating.  And the tremors running along her legs spurred him on.  Movi
ng his mouth down, he plunged his tongue into her.  His cock was begging to do the same, but that would have to wait.

Kat’s chest was heaving with rapid breaths and her hips were straining against his hold as he ran his tongue over her.

“
Alex,”
Kat moaned, her voice begging him.

Focusing his attention on her sweet spot, Alexander circled the tip of his tongue around her clitoris, increasing the pressure until she was right on the edge.  When she was begging him for release, he slipped one finger inside her and sucked her clitoris into his mouth.

Kat’s back bowed off the bed and her hands left his head to grab the duvet in her fists.  Her scream was heaven to his ears as was her warm flesh clenching around his finger.  Alexander slowed his mouth until the spasms of her orgasm had faded.

Pressing his lips to her inner thigh, Alexander took a moment to reign in his own coursing desire.

“Mmmm.”  Kat’s soft sound of satisfaction drifted down, and his cock screamed for attention.

Alexander began to stretch out next to Kat with one of his legs between hers and his erection pressed against her hip.  He wanted to give her a chance to gather her thoughts in case she didn’t want to go
any farther.  But, God help him if she didn’t.  He would deal with it, of course.  But he hoped like hell she wasn’t done with him.

No sooner had he
lay his body down to her side then she gripped his biceps and pulled him on top of her.  Granted, he let himself be pulled.

Holding his hips up off of her, he rested his forearms on either side of her head.  Brushing a strand of hair off her face, Alexander searched her eyes, which were alight with desire.

Kat ran her hands down his back, her nails raking over his skin.  “I want to feel you inside me,” she said, staring straight into his eyes.

Without taking his eyes off her, Alexander reached to the nightstand and pulled out a condom.  Tearing open the package with his teeth, he reached down and rolled it on.  Dropping his forehead onto Kat’s he lowered his hips until the thick head of his erection pressed against her hot wet flesh.  With gentle thrusts, Alexander pushed inside her, slowly.  With each inch, his eyes rolled farther back in his head.  The pleasure was delicious, and Kat was so very tight, squeezing him like a fist.