Love Thy Enemy (Red Stone Security Series) (Volume 13) (8 page)

Something about the way he was almost awkward was…sexy. Something she shouldn’t be thinking about. “Even with…you? Was he not a good father?”

He let out a harsh laugh, the sound full of bitterness. “When I was fifteen he threw me into a ring with one of his fighters to ‘toughen me up,’ as he put it—he ran an illegal fighting ring for about a decade. The guy went as easy as he could on me without making it too obvious. He didn’t want to kill me, but I ended up with a broken nose, three broken ribs and…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “At least you have good memories with your family.”

She was too shocked to respond. How awful to have such a brutal man for a father.

“Take the house, Dominique. It’s the best ‘fuck you’ to my father you can make. Take it and do what you want with it.”

Forget the house.
She wanted to reach out and comfort him somehow.

As if he sensed her thoughts he abruptly stood and headed for the door.

“Have dinner with me tomorrow night?” she blurted. When he turned to look at her with raised eyebrows she continued. “To talk about the contract.” Which, okay, was a complete lie. She wanted to spend more time with him. That knowledge disturbed her but she couldn’t fight the pull toward him. The house was something she didn’t even want to think about right now.

He nodded, his eyes flaring with heat, and she wondered if he felt that same pull. She knew he wanted her, had seen moments of awareness from him, but it could be nothing more than just lust. “I can meet you somewhere.”

“Or you can just pick me up. I’m guessing you know where I live by now?” It should annoy her, but he was trying to fix what his father had done. Considering that he’d sent her that contract, it wasn’t hard to figure out that when he’d done research on her, he would have found out more about her. Her address and phone number were probably at the top of the list.

His face flushed, the action…almost adorable. The man really was ridiculously sexy. “I’d have to look it up, but it’s in the file I had put together on you.”

“I feel like I should be mad about that.”

His mouth curved up ever so slightly. “You should be. Though…you found me at my hotel so you’ve done some research too.” There was a hint of a question at the end. As if he’d been wondering how she’d done that.

Her face heated at his words. She wasn’t going to admit that she’d asked a friend to locate him.

“Is seven o’clock good?” he continued when she didn’t respond.

“It is.” The tingle of excitement in her belly was ridiculous, she told herself. But that didn’t matter. She was already thinking about what she’d wear tomorrow night.

Because she wanted to get to know sexy and dangerous Viktor way more than she should.

Abram wasn’t sure what he’d done to piss Lucy off, but in the last hour she’d been giving him the cold shoulder—and he had no idea why. Last night he’d been annoyed with his brother for taking Lucy with him and she’d no doubt sensed the tension between him and Viktor. But things had been normal between Lucy and him today. They’d even had lunch together. Sure, Viktor had been with them, but things had seemed like they always did.

And now he felt like a fucking fifteen-year-old girl, obsessing over her. He scrubbed a hand over his face as she stepped into his office, her expression perfectly neutral. It annoyed the hell out of him.

“I’m about to head out. Do you need anything else, Mr. Ivanov?”

He gritted his teeth at the formal title. There was no doubt she was pissed at him now. “What did I say about using my first name?’

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll take that as a no. Have a good night.”

He was out of his chair and around his desk before she’d taken one step back to the doorway. “What’s going on with you? What did I do to piss you off?” Because he was racking his brain and he couldn’t think of anything that made any kind of sense.

“Nothing, sir. I’m just—”

“Cut the shit, Lucy.”

Anger flared in her dark eyes but she seemed to rein it in. “I’m sorry if I have an inappropriate attitude. I’ll make sure to—”

“No, you’re not sorry. What the fuck is going on?” he demanded, practically shouting. He was close to kissing her senseless. Anything to get a reaction out of her.

She didn’t flinch at his show of temper, something he adored about her. Just put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. “Am I going to get fired for being honest with you?”

“No. And when are you
not
honest?” One of the reasons why she was such a good fit for Viktor and him was that while she was almost always in a good mood, she also didn’t put up with their shit. And she wasn’t afraid of them. They’d had assistants in the past who jumped anytime they gave an order. It was ridiculous.

“You are such a dick sometimes! I get why you act that way in business, because you and Viktor have built something amazing. But I overheard your conversation with Viktor an hour ago.” She was fuming and he didn’t understand why.

“So?” He hadn’t shut the door to Viktor’s office when he’d gone in there. The conversation hadn’t been confidential. Viktor was going out with Dominique tonight and Abram was worried about him getting hurt. That woman might have an ulterior motive, for all he knew. It didn’t matter that Viktor was his older brother—Abram wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. Viktor had gone through enough over the years.

“Oh my God, I want to smack you. ‘Do not go out with her, Viktor,’ ‘She is not the type of woman for you,’ ‘She just wants to hurt you.’” She repeated some of the things he’d said to his brother, her impression of him mocking.

He blinked. “Is that supposed to be me?”

“It’s what you sound like. Why don’t you want your brother to be happy? I’ve heard you say the same kinds of things to him before!” She stomped a heel, as if she was going to advance on him. Which he found insanely hot. “What kind of woman do you think is right for him? Because I did a little research and before you get on your high horse, just
don’t
. I know you have files on tons of people,” she continued before he could respond, and there was nothing to say anyway because it was true. “I
knew
she looked familiar so I made a call to a friend at Red Stone.”

He blinked again. “You did?”

“Of course I did. You’re my guys. I look out for both of you.” Before he could fully digest what she’d said, she continued, her rage against him clearly building. “She’s a freaking exemplary employee over there and a model citizen. They wouldn’t have hired her if she wasn’t. So what’s wrong with her? And why do you always tell your brother that a certain type of woman isn’t right for him? Do you mean women who
aren’t
escorts? Because that’s pretty shitty, Abram! He deserves more than an escort.”

His gaze narrowed. “You know about that?”

She rolled her eyes again, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Of course I know. I did my own research on both of you before I even applied here for a job. I’m not an idiot.” She poked him in the chest with a fingertip. “And I like him. He’s such a sweet man. Do you just not want your brother to be happy? Because I simply can’t believe you’d be that mean.”

He wrapped his hand around the finger she’d shoved in his chest and invaded her personal space. The urge to kiss her, to touch her, was overwhelming. The woman was an addiction and he’d never even tasted her. He backed her up until she was against the door. All he wanted to do was take her right up against it, to shove her skirt up and sink deep inside her. “Of course I want him to be happy. I just worry he’ll get his heart broken. He’s… It doesn’t fucking matter. He’s my brother. I get to worry about him! And it’s none of your business.” And he could
not
make himself let go of her hand.

“Fine. If it’s not my business, then this conversation is over!”

“It’s not over!” It could never be over with her. He was pretty sure she literally just meant the conversation, but something about her tone made him panic, as if she meant they were over. Even if there was no ‘they.’

She gave a half push against his chest. “It is over. And I’m not coming into work tomorrow. I’m taking a day off because if I have—”

Hell no.
He wasn’t letting her leave, wasn’t letting her
not
come in tomorrow. Seeing her was the best part of his day. Even arguing with her was better than anything else. Feeling absolutely possessed, he crushed his mouth over hers. To his utter fucking surprise she leaned into him immediately, moaning into his mouth as her fingers dug into his shoulders. He plunged a hand into her short hair, cupping the back of her head in a tight grip. He’d wanted to taste her for so long and now he didn’t want to let Lucy go.

Ever.

This woman owned him, had from practically the moment they’d hired her. It didn’t matter that this was wrong on multiple levels. He couldn’t get enough of her and now that he knew she wanted him back…

No, no, no.
She should be shoving him back, telling him that he was an asshole and that she was going to file a sexual harassment charge against him. That was what she
should
do, he told himself. She was too good for him, far too sweet.

And his
assistant
. They shouldn’t be doing this.

But when she moaned again and kissed him harder, completely melting against him, he lost his mind. How many times had he fantasized about doing this, about doing so much
more
than this?

Blindly reaching out, he locked his office door with his free hand and pulled back to look down at her, still cupping the back of her head.

Her dark hair was tousled and her lips slightly swollen, her dark eyes dilated with desire. When she touched her tongue to her bottom lip, tasting him on her own mouth, he didn’t fight the groan that escaped. He could imagine her tongue stroking him everywhere, wished she had her mouth wrapped around his cock right now.

They both stared at each other, breathing hard, and even though he knew this was a mistake, he couldn’t seem to make himself stop.

And not touching her wasn’t an option. This woman pushed him to the very edge of his control. He wanted to protect her in a way he’d never imagined. He wanted to give her anything she wanted, to give her so much pleasure she never walked away from him.

Slowly, he went down onto his knees in front of her. He was going to taste all of her, feel her wetness on his tongue. He’d fantasized too many times what she’d taste like, how she’d sound as he gave her pleasure. She watched him, wide-eyed, her breathing growing more erratic.

“Tell me to stop,” he growled, barely hanging onto his control. Once he put his mouth to her, once he got a taste of her, he wasn’t stopping until she came against his tongue.

She shook her head, her expression slightly dazed.

He knew he should demand that she vocalize it, but fuck it. He was a selfish bastard. He wanted to taste her, wanted to show her how good things could be between them. He wasn’t above tying her to him with sex, at least at first. He would just get her addicted to him.

Keeping his gaze pinned to hers he shoved her pencil skirt up to her hips to reveal bright red… He slid his hands up the back of her thighs and didn’t stop until he cupped her smooth, bare ass.
Yep, thong.

He groaned. His cock shoved insistently against his zipper but that would just have to wait.

“I’ve wondered what you wear underneath your clothes,” he rasped out.

She still watched him, a mix of nerves and lust clear on her pretty face. “Really?” she whispered.

“All the fucking time,” he growled. “I stroke myself off thinking about it, about
you
.”

Her shiny lips parted, her chest rising and falling, but she didn’t say anything. Just watched him. He wanted to see her completely naked, to have her stretched out underneath him as he worshiped her entire body.

He wanted to see her lose every bit of her control and to stake his claim, to ruin her for any other man. Hell yeah, he wanted her so damn addicted to him that he was all she could think about. Because the truth was,
she
was all he could think about. He’d forced himself to keep his distance whenever he could, but there were times when he hadn’t been able to stay away. He’d search her out, ask for stupid menial tasks just so he could talk to her, see her face to face.

Even though he wanted to thrust into her over and over and lose himself inside her, for now he’d settle for making her come against his tongue.

“You wet, baby?” he rasped out, his heart thundering against his ribs. She was so fucking gorgeous, all aroused and waiting to see what he did next.

Her eyes were a little glazed over, as if she couldn’t believe they were doing this. Well, he couldn’t either.

She nodded, her cheeks flushing pink as she licked her lips.

Still keeping his gaze on hers, he slowly pulled the front of her thong to the side before sliding his finger between her soft folds. Just a tease, a bare touch that made him shudder.

She was soaked.

He swallowed a rough groan. “Does arguing with me get you hot?”

“You get me hot,” she breathed out, her words unsteady. Her fingers slid through his hair, her touch tentative.

It was exactly what he’d wanted to hear. Inhaling her sweet scent he leaned forward and swiped his tongue along her folds. Moaning, she jerked against his face and he lost it.

Grasping one of her ankles, he lifted her leg over his shoulder, spreading her open wider for him.

“Abram…” Her voice was nervous, unsteady.

“You want to stop, baby?” He hated to even ask, but he wanted her comfortable, for there to be no room for regret.

“No.” But she still seemed nervous.

He sucked with words, had no idea how to reassure her. He just wanted to make her feel good. That, he knew he could do. Leaning forward again, he flicked his tongue over her clit and she let out the sweetest moan of pleasure.

He teased the sensitive nub again, adding more pressure even as he slid a finger inside her. “You’re so tight,” he moaned against her.

He imagined what she’d feel like wrapped around his cock, milking him until he was completely sated. Though for how he felt he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of Lucy. Thoughts of her had been consuming him for months. She was his secret addiction. He hadn’t been lying; he jerked off to thoughts of her more than he would admit.