Guard (The Underground Book 3) (12 page)

“How do you know that? Were you listening in?” If Dayton managed to get a bug in Mikhail’s apartment, he would kiss the guy.

“Didn’t need to. Mikhail dropped his schedule in the garage next to his Jeep before he took off. He had that woman with him too.”

“Haley Sullivan?”

“Yes.”

“Figures.” Dammit. It was going to be tough to recover that bitch.

Anton was a smart guy. He was clear on the fact that the six fighters he’d brought over from Russia a dozen years ago to train were probably dead to him. Any lasting alliances the boys had were ruined when those two idiots that worked for him, Boris and Erik, broke into Dr. Kathryn Schwan’s office to steal blood samples taken from the fighters.

Never mind he hadn’t asked them to do it. They still put him in a tenuous situation. And then they got what they deserved when the feds killed them.

Too bad he also lost his epidemiologist in the same shootout.

And the worst part of all was losing Haley. It made him grit his teeth every time he thought about it.

According to his new man, Jorge, he might not need Haley anymore. If another patient had lived through the experimental drug, she was expendable.

But he wasn’t ready to accept defeat on that issue, either. He was expecting Jorge to bring him a viable solution any moment. Just because Anton didn’t have Haley inside his lab didn’t mean he couldn’t continue to experiment on her.

It was his own fault she wasn’t in his clutches anymore. After all, if he hadn’t been so greedy and had Dr. Christianson remove her from the premises, she wouldn’t have been in a position to get rescued in the first place.

But dammit, that bitch was smoking hot. He’d wanted a piece of her. His cock had been hard since the first time he saw her. All that wild red hair, fair skin, and long legs.

He moaned again just thinking of her.

“Boss?”

Shit. Anton straightened to his full height and returned his attention to Dayton on the phone. “I need one of you to come by here and pick something up. I have a job for you.”

“You got it.” Dayton ended the call, leaving Anton holding his cell phone as he slowly stuffed it back into his pocket.

Dammit. Anton was getting antsy. He wanted to speed things along. His father was sick. He’d been deteriorating rapidly lately. What if he was too sick to see this project through to the end?

After stopping at a grocery store to grab more supplies for the apartment, Haley hooked several bags from the trunk of the Jeep over her hands and led Mikhail back into her apartment.

She didn’t breathe steadily until they were inside with the door locked.

Mikhail set his armload of groceries on the table and turned toward her. “Babe, people are watching us. We’re safe.”

“Yeah. You say that out of one side of your mouth. But people from both sides are watching us. It’s the bad guys I’m worried about.”

“And you’re safe in here. There’s an alarm on the door and three locks.”

“And kicking it down and shooting us both in our sleep would take like half a second,” she argued.

“Except I have a gun too. And Yenin isn’t stupid. He’s not going to grab you blatantly in front of so many agents. He knows you have a detail.” He approached her slowly.

She should have backed up, but she stood her ground, rooted to her spot.

“Besides, no one can shoot you in your sleep because you never lie down long enough to sleep.” He smiled as he stepped completely into her space, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her against his body.

Her resolve melted. He was so damn comforting. In his arms, or even when he simply touched her, she breathed in relief.

Her body relaxed as she molded to his, but her libido kicked up a notch, which was saying something since she’d been a nervous wreck of arousal since he first touched his lips to hers hours ago.

She wouldn’t tell him, but then again, he probably already knew.

Flattening her cheek against his chest, she inhaled his scent. Masculine. A hint of the bar soap she’d put in her shower so he wouldn’t have to use her floral gel. Underlying both was a faint trace of the gym. It wasn’t bad. It was sexy. And she shivered in his embrace.

He threaded his fingers into her hair and held her head against his pecs.

She found she loved when he did that. A hint of force, of danger, of domination? She shuddered again. Why was her mind trailing toward that subject?

The man was bossy. He took charge of everything. Was that what made her feel safe?

Her phone rang where she’d set it on the kitchen table, the accompanying vibrations jarring against the surface. How long had she stood in his embrace? She jerked away from him without making eye contact and lunged for her phone.

Belinda.

“Hey,” she almost whispered when she made the connection. She turned her back toward Mikhail, not because her conversation needed to be private but because she couldn’t think straight when she looked directly at him.

“Girl, where have you been? I called you a few weeks ago, and you never called me back.”

“You have no idea…” Haley said. “And it would take more than one bottle of wine and several hours to tell you about it.”

“I like wine. What time should I come over?” Belinda giggled.

“I have a fight tonight, babe,” Mikhail whispered in her other ear, his hands landing on her shoulders. Of course he could hear Belinda through the phone. The apartment was completely silent, and Belinda wasn’t known for her soft tones.

Haley shuddered under his touch, as usual. She wiggled away from him, taking several steps closer to the table.

Something about the way he spoke, the tone of his voice… He made that one simple sentence sound slightly more than informational. It held a hint of ownership in the way he said “babe” and the way he held her shoulders at the same time. It also came out like a demand.
You can’t hang with your girl tonight because I’m fighting and you’re coming with me.

Mikhail started emptying bags and putting groceries away. The man might exude an incredibly controlling nature most of the time, but he never acted like any domestic chore was meant to be hers. In fact, he did more than his share every day, including running to the store without her when they needed something.

Was he just being nice? She didn’t think so.

She sighed. “I can’t tonight. I have plans. How about tomorrow night?” She stared straight at Mikhail, daring him to put up an excuse for that plan.

He didn’t even flinch or glance her way.

“You? Plans? There must be a story behind that. I can’t wait. I’ll be there at seven.”

“Perfect.”

Belinda ended the call, and Haley set the phone back on the table, still eyeing Mikhail for his reaction. Did he care if she had her best friend over? It wasn’t as if she had thousands of friends. She didn’t even have many acquaintances. But she’d gone to college with Belinda, and sometimes when their schedules permitted, they got together to catch up.

The question remained—how much could she tell her friend? She needed to at least tell her she’d been kidnaped and held against her will, but where did she draw the line?

She had no doubt Mikhail would draw it for her.

She watched him as he put the last items in the fridge.

“You okay?” he asked when he finished. “Girlfriend, I assume?”

“Yeah. I’m not very social, but I went to college with her. Belinda Gallo. She’s a reporter.”

“Gathered you weren’t very social.” He smiled as he leaned his ass against the counter, keeping his distance. “You have spoken to no one in three weeks.”

She chewed on her lower lip, pondering what she would say tomorrow night.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Chew that lip. Drives me to distraction. You do it when you’re thinking hard. What are you worried about now?”

Her face heated. Good distraction or bad distraction? Was he complaining because her habit irritated him?

As if he read her mind, he spoke again. “Look, I don’t care if you want to chew your lip all day long, but it won’t help if you’re hell-bent on keeping me from kissing you senseless. Every time you do it, I want to bite that lip myself.”

She released her lip, sucking in a breath. Her heart pounded. His tone was so seductive, she had to press her legs together to pinch off the mounting arousal. It didn’t work.

Just being in the same room with him was becoming a challenge.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?” She couldn’t think.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Oh. Right. Belinda. Not sure how much I can tell her.”

“We’ll figure it out before tomorrow night.”

“Okay.”

“Come here.” He didn’t move a muscle as he spoke.

She stared at him, knowing it would be a horrible idea to approach him.

“Haley…” he warned. His voice had the exact effect of making her nipples stiffen and her spine tingle. So demanding.

On the one hand, she should be appalled and tell him to go fuck himself.

On the other hand, he used just the perfect tone that let her know she needed to follow his instructions, but only because she wanted to. Not because he intended to enforce his bossiness if she chose to turn and walk away.

The decision was pivotal. It felt monumental. A defining moment that would set the stage for their newly redefined relationship.

Two words.

Come here
.

If she obeyed him, she was telling him he could control her, that she wanted him to.

If she walked away, she would be making the opposite statement, that she wouldn’t be his in that way. Not the way he wanted her to be.

No words had been spoken to confirm any of this. But she knew.

Deep inside, she knew.

And damn if she was capable of walking away.

She inched toward him.

He didn’t move, but she would have sworn he slowly exhaled, his chest deflating as she approached.

She couldn’t bring herself to give in to him completely, however. When she stepped into his space, facing him, she set her hands on her hips and tapped one foot at an angle from her body. “What?”

Slowly, he smiled. “Sassy girl.”

“Don’t you forget it,” she challenged. What was wrong with her?

“Do you have any idea how hard my cock is?”

She gasped, her gaze darting toward his crotch before she could stop herself. Did he really just say that?

He chuckled. “Look, not going to lie. I’m a demanding guy who likes to have my way. I’m sure you’ve picked up on that. I’d love nothing more than to take you over my knee and spank that sassiness right out of you.” He leaned forward.

Her flushed face switched to flaming, and her mouth fell open.

His lips inches from hers, he continued, “But I get the impression if I set my palm on your sweet ass, you’d come in an instant. And then what would I have accomplished?”

Holy shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit
.

She licked her lips, holding her breath. How the hell could he be so right about her? She was about to orgasm from the insinuation that he would spank her. That should not get her off. “I’m not a child,” she muttered.

“Oh, I’m so very aware of that, babe. And if I thought for one second you weren’t turned on by my dominance, I’d walk out of this room and never mention the idea again. But I can practically smell your arousal. Your pussy’s so hot and wet, it’s taking all your energy to keep from squirming or squeezing your legs together.”

Damn him.

The intensity was palpable. He was dead serious.

“I know you’re questioning your reactions to me. I get that. And you should. Obviously you’ve been through a lot, and you think that’s shaping your feelings toward me.

“But consider for a moment how you would react if you simply met me somewhere and none of the bad shit that’s gotten under your skin existed. Would you still be attracted? Would you still have that frustrating desire to give in and let me control you?”

She held her breath.
Control me
?

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. And before you go off into a headspace, no, you aren’t weird or strange. Tons of people enjoy a certain level of submission. It feels good to let someone else take the reins now and then. Keeps you from always having to be on top of every single detail. It’s relaxing.

“It doesn’t mean you’re weak. Just the opposite. It means you’re stronger than you think. It means you trust another person to make choices for you when you aren’t up to the task yourself.

“Once in a while, when the stars are aligned, two people meet whose needs collide perfectly. Sometimes, it’s so exactly right they can feel it in the air around them. They know. With little need for words or the passage of time, they know.

“I propose that’s what’s happening here. We’ve danced around it for over a week. Hell, I think I recognized it longer than that.” He shrugged, the first movement either of them had made during his little speech. “I’m a controlling guy. It’s in my nature. My friends are all dominant to a certain degree. Some people keep it in the bedroom. For some it extends in some fashion outward.

“I’ve never actually been with a woman who I thought so perfectly fit me. Someone who I sensed could submit to me in bed and to a certain extent in life.

“Not until you.” He held out a hand, palm facing her, before she could protest. “Don’t say anything. Just consider what I’ve said. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t push you. And I won’t disappear because you let me fuck you senseless.” He shook his head. “Not going to happen. I know you’re scared of ruining things, but what if we don’t? What if what we have is simply better? Like out-of-your-mind, rock-your-world better?”

She sucked in a breath, but it was shaky. Her head spun.

“Just think about it.” He righted himself, his body inching away from hers. He never touched her while he spoke.

Seconds ticked by. What should she say?

Finally, he grinned, a lopsided grin he often got when he was about to tease her. “Go change. We need to leave soon for the fight. It’s gonna be cool out tonight. Keep the jeans, but put on a sweater. Maybe those cute boots you have sitting in the corner of your closet you’ve probably never worn.” He lifted a brow.