Her Russian Mafia Protector (6 page)

God. He knew. No, he didn’t know. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m not feeling well. And I can’t afford to get sick. So I’m tucking in early. Take the night off, Kaz. Have a drink. Relax a little,” she muttered.

He moved back to the couch, and she closed the door and turned off her light. Charley bounded down the stairs and said goodnight to him. While she distracted him, Veronika slipped off her pajamas, revealing her outfit beneath. Black skirt. A red tank-top. Definitely something she wouldn’t normally wear. Her face was painted, her hair was done, and her heart was racing.

She felt more energized than she had in weeks. While she heard Charley and Kaz talking, she opened the window, closed her eyes, and jumped.

Just as she planned, she hit the ground quietly and rolled. Brushing herself off, she looked toward the building to see if there was any movement. Kaz didn’t sound the alarm. Keeping low, she snuck toward the car and waited.

Charley came out with a cheeky smile and a wink. And soon they were off. Safely down the road, Veronika let out a huge whoop and laughed. “My God. I did it. I escaped Kazimir. You know, I’m not sure that anyone has ever done this. I’m going to lord this over him for all of time.”

“Easy now.” Charley smiled. “The idea is that he never finds out. Get that ego in check and let out your wild side. Tonight, we’re going to have some fun!”

The club was hopping when they got there. Ten o’clock on a Friday night, and the line circled around the block. But Charley blew the bouncer a kiss, and he let them in with a smile. “Girl. How do you get the men wrapped around your fingers?”

“Oh that’s easy. Men here, men like this, they prowl for a woman like me. Someone who doesn’t want strings. But getting one man with strings? That’s eluding me,” Charley said with a sigh.

“Do you want strings?”

“I want a man to look at me like Kaz looks at you. Drink?”

Veronika snorted. “Yes. And don’t use that as an example. Kaz looks right through me. Like I’m invisible.”

“So brilliant, and yet so stupid. I’m getting us drinks. And don’t look so sad. Tonight, every man is going to look at you the way you want Kaz to look at you.” She moved through the crowd and shook her head.

Veronika blew out her breath and waited. She felt a little jittery as she looked around. Jittery and exposed.

When she was a child, there was an incident. She was in the park with her dog, playing and laughing. She had a nanny, and her brother was close by, but her father was away on a business trip. There were five men guarding them. Five. And still someone wrapped their hands around her wrists and tried to tug her away. They had nearly succeeded.

And here she was, exposed. No men guarding her.

As the memory came more into focus, she briefly wondered what had happened to those men. She doubted they were still alive. It made her nauseas to think about.

“Cosmos!”

Veronika jumped at the sound of Charley’s voice and whirled around. Charley gave her a puzzled look. “What? Russians love vodka. Right?”

“The cosmos are wonderful. You just scared me, that’s all.”

“Scared?” Charley put the drinks down on the table and bit her lip. “Veronika, I don’t really know what’s going on with your life. If you think this is a bad idea, we can go back. I don’t want to put your life in danger because I wanted you to have some fun.”

“It’s fine,” Veronika said with a smile as she downed her drink. “I’m fine. Kaz would tell me if he really thought I was in danger. So cheer up. We’re here. And we are going to dance and have some fun.” She scanned the crowd until she found what she was looking for. Tall. Dark. Sculpted. Piercing blue eyes.

Not Kaz, but close enough to fulfill a fantasy or two. “And I’m dancing with him.” She downed the rest of her drink, straightened her shoulders, and moved determinedly across the dance floor. Her target locked eyes with her and smiled like a predator as she neared. But he wasn’t the predator.

She was.

“You look like just my type,” she murmured as she got near him.

“And what’s your type?” he asked with a smile.

“Sexy. And unavailable.” She ran her hands up his arm and smiled at him. “Care to dance?”

“Who says I’m unavailable?” he asked as he let her tug him across the dance floor.

It didn’t matter. He was unavailable to her. He wasn’t Kaz. “All I need is tonight.” She turned to face away from him, and he put his arms around her. As they circled her, she let the music move through her. He pressed up against her and nuzzled her ear.

As their bodies moved against each other, she leaned back and felt the warmth of him. And for a moment, she let her imagination run wild. For a moment, she was dancing with Kaz.

“What’s your name, beauty?” he whispered in her ear.

She closed her eyes and turned to put her arms around him. “Just dance with me,” she replied. The music went on, and her fantasies ran more and more wild. Kaz would bend her down, press his lips to hers. He’d take her some place private, and he’d press his hands to her. Slide them down to the hem of her skirt. Under. Up. Until he was making her melt.

“Having fun?”

Her fantasy was getting good. Her dance partner almost sounded like him. Almost too much like him.

“Kaz!” Her eyes flew open, and she whirled around. He stood in the middle of the floor, glaring at her dance partner.

“Mine,” he growled. His eyes were nothing but violence and fury, and Veronika put herself between the two men.

“Kaz, stop. It’s just a dance. It’s not an assassination attempt. Back off.” She turned to look at the stranger, but he had his hands up and was already backing off. “Great. Look at that. You scared off my date.”

“You had a date?” Kaz asked as he crossed his arms. “What’s his name?”

“Okay, it’s not much of a date. But he was my dance partner. And I was having fun.” She rolled her eyes. “Look, I know you’re pissed. But you would have never let me go out and have fun.”

He reached out and grabbed her and pulled her closer. Before she could even take a breath, she was in his arms. “If you wanted to come out and dance, all you had to do was ask.” And just like that, they were swaying back and forth.

They were barely touching, but they were still dancing. Dancing. “You would have let me come out here if I had asked?”

“Absolutely not,” he said mildly. “Why did you choose him?”

Confused, she shook her head. “You wouldn’t have let me come but I could have asked? That makes no sense.”

He pulled her closer and pressed her to him. It took everything within her not to gasp. “Why did you choose him?” he asked softly in her ear.

Swallowing hard, she put her arms around him. If he could play games, so could she. “Why wouldn’t I choose him? He’s sexy as hell. And he wanted me.”

The muscles in his neck tensed, and she felt a thrill. She was getting to him. “So you’re looking for someone to want you?” he muttered. “You would risk your life for someone to worship you?”

“Worship me?” she chuckled and raised her chin to face him. “I want someone to touch me, Kaz. I am human. And I have needs.”

“So you’re risking your life for a quick fuck. Do you realize how hard that makes my job?” His hands inched down her back, and she shivered.

“Does it make anything else hard?” she whispered.

His eyes darkened. “Last year alone there were two attempts on your life. That’s just one year. You were lucky. Your detail may have been terrible at hiding, but they were very good at killing. But you don’t care about that. You’d rather know if you affect me.”

Two attempts on her life? She wanted to pull away, but that was the reaction that he wanted. He might have even been lying. Just to shock her. But she was better than that. She would be better than that. “Only two? I guess I need to work a little harder at being noticed.”

He laughed hoarsely. “Do you have any idea how absolutely furious I am with you right now?”

“There is nothing you can do. We’re in public in the middle of a crowded dance floor. It’s certainly not the time for you to yell at me.”

“But there are other ways to punish you,” he said darkly. And just like that, his hands were at the hem of her tank top. They inched under her shirt and were slowly creeping up.

His touch on her naked skin made her moan. The electric thrill raced through her, and she pressed herself against him. Against his body.

Against his erection.

He hissed, and she knew that she had him. Even if they never touched again, here, on this dance floor, he was hers. “What’s wrong, Kaz?” she moaned. “You seem uncomfortable.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the dance floor. At the nearest cleared spot, he pressed her against the wall. Shielding her from anyone else who might be watching, he reached under her shirt again and caressed her skin. “You’re playing a dangerous game,” he muttered.

Veronika smiled and reached under his shirt. There was nothing but rippling muscles and warm skin underneath. He shivered under her touch and stepped closer. Without another word, he reached down and captured her lips.

A kiss. A second kiss. And this time, she was prepared. She wasn’t an inexperienced teenager. She was a woman who knew what she wanted. And God, she wanted Kazimir. Opening for him, she wrapped her hands around his head. Her fingers tangled in his hair and pulled him closer. Hot. Urgent. Desperate. She needed him like she’d needed no other.

Cupping his hands under her bottom, he lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around him. As her skirt rode up her thighs, there was nothing but a thin strip of lace between the ache between her legs and his jeans. She tried to get as close to him as possible. Closer. “More,” she whimpered. “Kaz.”

He paused and stared at her.

“Take me home, Kaz. Take me home.”

He stepped away, and if he hadn’t had his hands around her waist, she would have fallen. As it was, she managed to land on both feet, but her knees were weak, and she shook. “Kaz?” she whispered as she looked up.

His eyes were a fury of mixed emotions. Lust. Anger. Confusion. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd. Veronika stumbled against the other dancers as she tried to keep up, but she barely noticed. Her heart was racing.

When he flung open the doors, the cold air blasted against her, and she gasped. He didn’t slow. They moved across the parking lot until he flung open the door of his car and motioned for her to get in. Veronika couldn’t even begin to understand what was going on in his head as she slipped into the car. The spell had obviously been broken. Would he try again behind the privacy of closed doors?

“Talk to me,” she said softly.

“Shut up,” he muttered as he started the car. She watched him nervously as he drove, but his eyes never left the road. What was going on in that head of his?

“I’m not a child, Kaz. You can’t just give me the cold shoulder. What happened back there…” Her voice trailed off, and he finally glanced at her.

“What happened back there was what? A spoiled little girl trying to get out of trouble? A desperate cry for attention? A woman who knows how to use her sexuality as a weapon?” he asked bitterly.

“Is that what you think of me?” she snapped. “I didn’t ask for you to be here.”

“Good. Because I don’t want to be here.”

Veronika continued on as though she didn’t hear him. “And you being here really puts a damper on things. How can I be my own woman when I’m constantly watched? How can I break free from my father’s hold when he has someone reporting to him? How can I move on from you while you are sleeping on my couch?”

The last bit sort of tumbled out in anger, but once it was out there, she couldn’t take it back. The tension in the car thickened, and she saw no way out except to plow forward. “I chose him because he reminded me of you,” she said finally. “And for a moment, I could dance with you and not have to worry about what you were thinking.”

“Veronika,” he said softly as he cleared his throat.

“Don’t.” She turned her head as tears burned her eyes. “Just don’t say anything. Please.”

He quieted, and she stared out the window as the lights on the buildings blurred past. After all this time, she’d finally told him the truth about how she felt, and she knew he didn’t feel the same. She could see it in the way his whole body tensed. It would have been second nature to him to shatter her heart right then and there, but upsetting the boss’s daughter would be bad for business.

Her phone vibrated, and she looked down. Charley had seen her leave with Kaz and wanted to make sure she was okay.

Veronika sent her a text back to tell her to enjoy her night and not to worry. She had everything under control. It was far from the truth, but it would be too humiliating to tell the real story. She glanced up as they pulled up to the house. Before he could utter a word, she was opening the door and vaulting out. She wanted to be as far away from Kazimir as possible.

But he was faster than her. Before she even made it to the door, he grabbed her, spun her around, and pressed her up against the door. “I try to stay away for your own protection,” he hissed as his gaze fell to her mouth. “But you keep putting yourself out there, and it makes it that much harder to protect you.”

“You’re talented, Kaz. I’m sure you can protect me and satisfy me,” she said as she jutted her chin out.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. As she splayed her fingers across his chest, she could feel his erratic heartbeat. In the cold air, she should have been shivering, but he was enough to warm her.

“If we do this, we don’t go back,” he said heatedly as he opened his eyes. “You have to be sure.”

Sure of what? She knew that she wanted him. She’d always wanted him. But he seemed to be asking something else from her. Surely he didn’t want anything more than tonight. She’d give him forever, but this was Kaz. Kaz didn’t do long-term relationships.

Still, she rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. That was all she needed to do to break his resolve. With his lips locked to hers, he shoved the key in the door and opened it. She stumbled back, but he was already circling her waist with his arms, their hold on each other never broken.