Prime Target (5 page)

“Bye, Everly.”

She ends our call first and I stand there, head in my hand and phone pressed against my ear. There’s a scratching sound at the front door. I straighten and slip the phone into my pocket, right beside the envelope Everly gave me.

Peering out the display window, I find the little cat waiting and move to open the door. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”

I kneel, scratching the cat under the chin. The bugger flops to its side, demanding more attention. I shake my head. “Come inside. I’ll feed you.”

Whoever rented the shop before me installed a cat door in the front, but I had it blocked off. Perhaps this cat is used to coming here. In any case, I re-open the tiny door. “Not because I like you. I just don’t want to be bothered with letting you out,” I say as I stand and step back.

The cat races inside, and I lock the door before following it to the empty storage room. “If you’re to stay, then I expect you to pull your weight around here.” Pausing as it eats, the cat looks up at me. “Kill the vermin, yes?”

Of course the bloody thing doesn’t respond, so I leave the room and head to my office, grabbing
The Secret Lives of King
s along the way. After a few hours of research on a prince that would make Joffrey from
Game of Thrones
look like an angel who dispenses love taps, I lean back in my chair, rubbing my eyes and stretching.

The cat jumps onto my desk and then into my lap. Absently, I pet the creature and it starts to purr. The sound calms me.

“In less than two months, I will end a man’s life,” I murmur in Russian to the cat. “Will you let me pet you then?”

If Everly were to know the truth, and I knew with absolute certainty she would be safe, would she want to be in my presence again? Or would she look at me differently, seeing only the monster and not the man?

Then again, maybe the man never existed in the first place.

*

After two days
of unbearable waiting, it’s finally Friday afternoon and I’m getting ready for my date with Everly. Unsure of what to wear for an evening of dinner and kicking bad guys’ arses, I dress in my usual suit and pack a gym bag with a second set of clothes. I tuck my trainers in last and zip it closed.

Koshechki,
or little she-cat, as I call her—it was easier than referring to her as an it, or so I tell myself—jumps up on the dresser, staring at herself in the mirror.

“You are a vain animal.” She turns up her nose at me, and I grunt. “
Very
. Vain.”

I adjust my tie and then forego it entirely, leaving my top two buttons undone. One last look in the mirror, and I run a hand through the front of my dark hair, then smooth it a little.

“
Blyad,”
I mutter. It doesn’t matter. None of this does. Once I’ve satisfied the powers that be by dating, I’ll move to another city, so Everly will remain safe and can’t be used as a pawn.

Sharp claws scrape at my insides at the thought of never seeing her again, but I ignore the pain. It’s more important that she remain safe. That she remain alive.

*

Everly is standing
outside when I park beside the curb. With her hair in a loose bun, she’s wearing a pair of ankle boots, black trousers, and a light blue sweater. The sweater and trousers cling to her curves, highlighting everything I lust after.

Her eyes widen a little when she realizes I’m the one in the Porsche. I do find it amusing that she barely noticed the car when I pulled alongside her.

Cutting the engine, I get out and walk to her. “You should have allowed me to colle—pick you up properly at your home.”

She swings her purse from side to side. “It’s too nice of a day to wait inside.”

I glance up at the heavy clouds. It’s been raining all day and only stopped twenty minutes ago. “Really?” I ask dryly.

“Truly.” A drop of rain lands on her cheek, reminding me of a tear.

Stepping closer, I gently wipe it away with the pad of my thumb. “Did you think I wouldn’t come?”

She looks away, her beautiful profile all she’ll allow me to view. “I didn’t know what to think.”

“Look at me.” I cup her chin and turn her to face me. “I gave you my word.”

Her black lashes fall, hiding her pretty eyes from me. “So I’m an obligation to fulfill.”

She doesn’t know how close to the truth she actually is, but for me, she will never be just an obligation. “Don’t take it that way. What I meant is that I’m a man of my word.”

“Sometimes, your words hurt.” Her gaze meets mine, and I clench my teeth at the pain I see in hers. I caused it. Again.

“I promise to be more careful with my words.” I can’t apologize, not for protecting her, not for wanting to keep her alive. Protecting Everly is like second nature. It’s like breathing, blinking…or my heart beating.

“Thank you.” She smiles at me, tipping up her face.

Automatically, I dip my head. Our mouths are inches apart, oxygen becoming shared. The scent of her fills my nose, my mouth, my lungs…my body. I let my hand curve around her head to the back of her neck, and draw her closer.

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” I say roughly.

“Okay,” she whispers. She grabs my free hand, twining her fingers in mine and tugging.

“Tell me,” I say, one last time before I give in to the nearly uncontrollable need to taste her.

Her dark gaze searches my face, lips plump and parting. Mine part in response. My body vibrates in anticipation. Every muscle is straining, even as I hold myself back. The only thing between us is millimeters and clothes.

Bloody damn clothes.

“Kiss me, Roman,” she orders, and I meet her the rest of the way.

I capture her mouth with mine and she willingly surrenders, her grip tightening. Our fingers are bound together by more than just the physical. I can’t explain it, don’t want to question it, but I do know I will not let anything come between us.

Taking my time, I explore her lush lips, kissing the corners and nibbling on the bottom one. It’s firm and plump. I lightly bite down, and she gives a little moan, enough to inflame my senses more than she already has over the past few months.

I suck her lip inside my mouth, then let it pop out and fuse our mouths again. I can’t stop kissing her. I can’t stop reveling in the taste of the woman I’ve wanted for so long. She’s tart, sweet, and so damn desirable that I know I’ll explode if I don’t have her in my bed soon. I
need
to sink inside her sexy body and mark her as mine.

Her tongue tangles with mine, and I growl.
Growl.
Like some fucking beast instead of a man. But what she does to me… She makes me forget my past. I can only focus on the present, on her in my arms, her body pressed against mine as the rain softly falls on the two of us.

“Roman,” she murmurs, and I shush her, afraid she wants to stop, though she was the one who ordered me to kiss her. To be honest, I’m afraid that somehow she can taste my sins and violent deeds, and is disgusted.

So, I let go of her hand and cup her face with both of my hands, aligning my head in such a way that allows me to take control. I kiss her deeply, fiercely…as if I’ll never have this chance again.

Jesus.

Her kisses are making me drunk, high…
careless
. Any one of my enemies could see us, and shoot me before I could draw my own gun.

One last, lingering kiss and I break contact, step away, and try to get my body under control. It’s hard. I’m so fucking hard. I can barely walk, barely stand…barely function.

I rub my fingers across my lips, not to wipe her away, but to remember. I want to rub in the taste of her, so that I never forget. So that when I die, the last memory I’ll have is of kissing Everly Andrews in the rain.

Please God, don’t ever make it so I have to kill her.

E
verly stares at
me, eyes all-knowing, like she’s reading my mind. Only that can’t be true, because she’s not calling the cops or running away.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” she says, her cheeks turning pink.

“Have you?” I murmur, and then want to stab myself. Why in God’s name would I ask that?

“Um, yes.” She reaches behind her, grabs an umbrella by the stoop, and opens it. “I’m getting wet.”

I can’t help but cock an eyebrow at her. “Just how wet are you?”

Her sexy mouth forms a perfect O, before she glances away, obviously flustered. “Wet enough to need to change.”

This is not helping at all. How in the hell am I supposed to calm down when she gives as good as she gets? Stalling for time, I become very fascinated with my cuff links as I mull over continuing with this line of flirting, or bringing things back to the way they were before we kissed.

“But if we walk to dinner instead of riding in your very nice car, I should be dry by the time we get there. It’s mostly my sweater that’s wet,” she adds, and I jerk my head up.

Everly’s gaze remains on something in the distance. Which means she’s embarrassed or she regrets what she said. Possibly both. Either way, it’s my job to put her at ease. “Your wet clothes won’t hurt my seats—they’re leather.”

“Leather is too expensive to ruin.”

“I wouldn’t buy a car I couldn’t use.”

Her emerald gaze flashes to mine. “So, you regularly have women with wet clothes sitting on the passenger side?”

I grin, then laugh, and her tight expression relaxes. “You win. We’ll walk.” I hold out my elbow and she takes it, while thrusting the umbrella higher in the air. I’d take it from her, but I need at least one hand free at all times.

As we walk down the tree-lined sidewalk, I take in the neighborhood that Everly calls home. Bordering the downtown district, bungalow-style homes with postage-stamp-sized yards dominate the landscape. Perfect for young families and those of retirement age—in other words, completely foreign to me.

I live in a high-rise apartment where no one speaks unless spoken to, but here people out and about nod at us when they pass. Most of the nods are accompanied with hellos and how-are-yous.

Everly and I walk in silence, until I realize I have no idea where we’re going. I made reservations at the best restaurant in the city, but it’s in the opposite direction.

“Did you have a specific place in mind for tonight?” I ask.

She turns, her perfume washing over me once more. “I do. I hope that’s okay.”

“Whatever the lady wants.”

Her nose wrinkles. “Sometimes, Roman, you are so hard to figure out. Well, make that
all
the time.”

“How so?” I want to know what she’s figured out about me, or what she believes she knows.

She stops and looks at me, then gestures for us to sit under a covered bus stop bench. After she’s seated and has stowed the umbrella to one side, I join her, uneasy at the thought of my back being so vulnerable. Anyone can walk behind the structure, put two bullets in my head, and end me.

“Like right now,” she points out. “You’ve gone all stiff. Your face is all tight, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were searching for an exit.”

“Not being able to see who’s behind me is a bit disconcerting. It makes me nervous.” Not a lie.

Her face softens, her hand coming to rest on my thigh. “Oh, you poor thing.” She shakes her head, lightly smacking herself in the forehead. “God, I’m so thoughtless. Of course you want to be able to see everything. Let’s go.”

Immediately, she stands up, but I tug her back down. “I’m fine. Please continue.”

“Okay.” She blows out a nervous breath. “Our kiss. You and I—it’s pretty obvious we have chemistry, but something about me bothers you. Like every time we get closer to becoming
more
, you back away. I don’t get it. I also don’t get why I keep coming back, ordering books that I could get cheaper and faster somewhere else.”

“Everly,” I begin, but she continues.

“Don’t say it. This date was a bad idea. The entire universe has been trying to tell me all day, but I wouldn’t listen. Our class for tonight was cancelled, because only three people signed up and a minimum of ten is required. Then I couldn’t get a reservation at The Fountain because they’re booked for
months
in advance, and then I was
glad
because I didn’t want you to think that I expected you to pay for our dinner. Originally, I asked you out, not the other way around, so I was going to pay. And then—”