Sordid (33 page)

Ivan leaned back in his chair like he was getting comfortable, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been hearing things about you.”

Luka raised an eyebrow. “What things?”

“You’ve had several meetings with Goran. What’s going on?”

“Nothing you’d be interested in. Family stuff.”

Ivan’s scrutinizing gaze swung toward me. “Who’s this? You going to introduce your friend?”

“No.” Luka’s tone was clipped.

Ivan uncrossed his arms, and the change in posture was a signal to the man beside him, who shifted as if going on alert. Ivan’s expression screamed he’d been offended. “I thought we were friends. You won’t tell me her name? That’s rude.”

Luka didn’t hesitate. “You’re right. Her name is Avery.”

Chapter

Twenty-three

Ice crept along my spine
. Whoever this Ivan was, he wasn’t a friend. The entire restaurant had gone quiet at the two men’s appearance.

“Avery,” Ivan repeated. His eyes were beady and his face unattractive. “I’m sorry for interrupting your date.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Luka said. He refused to look at me, and his focus rested squarely on the silent man beside Ivan. “If anything, you’re saving me from it. She’s dumber than a box of rocks.”

I sat still, unsure of what type of reaction to display. The real Avery would lose her mind being called that. Even though it didn’t apply to me, it still kind of stung.

“Ouch!” Ivan chuckled and stared at me incredulously.

“See what I mean?” Luka said. “I just insulted her and she’s still just sitting here.”

He wants you to go.
I shot to my feet and channeled Avery as best I could. “You know what? Go fuck yourself.”

I hurried out of the restaurant and into the cold night, striding past the shops decorated for Christmas. What now? I didn’t have a phone. Should I use this opportunity to run?

No. There was no running. They’d come after Jonathon or perhaps all of my family, and I didn’t know the first thing about how to disappear. And . . . Johns Hopkins. I wasn’t ready to give up now that I was closer than ever.

What if Luka’s in danger?

I wrapped my coat tighter around myself as the winter wind lashed at my bare legs, and I made my way toward the BMW in the parking garage. Not that I had a key. When I reached the car, I leaned on the front end and huddled for warmth. At least here I was out of the wind.

How long should I wait for him beside the car carrying the terrifying
stuff
in the trunk? Ten minutes? I considered my options. I could go back to the restaurant and act like I’d forgotten my purse. Or maybe I could return and say I wanted to give Luka another piece of my mind. I hated the worry that balled in my stomach and weighed me down like a stone.

What happened if Luka was gone? Would Dimitrije send someone to kill me?

I was torn with what to do, until I heard fast approaching footsteps. Someone was running. I sank down, trying to hide between the wall and the front bumper of the car, making myself as small as possible.

“Oh, Christ,” Luka said, relief coating his voice. “You’re here.”

I put my hands on the hood and pulled myself to stand, feeling the same relief he had on his face. “I wasn’t sure where to go.”

He sprinted forward and swept me up into an embrace. His kiss burned across my lips, and warmth crawled through my body, heating me all the way to the tips of my toes.

“Who is he?” I asked.

“It’s complicated.” Luka released me and pulled open the passenger door. Once we were both seated inside and the heater was going, he gave me his full attention. “Ivan used to work with my uncle. Now I think he works for the Russians. Even if he doesn’t, he had some big ol’ balls to walk in there."

We didn’t talk much on the ride back to the freeway. Once we were heading for the suburbs under the orange-yellow lights of the highway, Luka spoke again.

“I’m sorry our dinner ended like that.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about how the evening played out, and forced a joke. “Hey, I did get to tell you to go fuck yourself.”

He grinned widely, and I wished I could see all of it rather than just his profile.

“You should do that more often,” I said.

“What?”

“Smile. It’s so rare, but you look amazing when you do it.”

He took his eyes off the road for a moment, glancing at me. “Maybe I will.”

My pulse flared. What was happening to me? Everything was hopelessly twisted.

We were still twenty minutes from the house when Luka suddenly exited the freeway. I sat up in my seat, confused, and saw how on edge Luka appeared. “What’s wrong?”

“The same car has behind us for a long time.”

Anxiety tightened my voice. “You think someone’s following us?”

“No.” His gaze locked on the rearview mirror. “Fuck, maybe. He’s exiting, too.”

There wasn’t enough air in the car to breathe. I clenched my hands around the seatbelt strap and hung on as Luka drove the car down the dark and rural road. A single pair of headlights followed behind. We crested a hill and he turned off into a new subdivision that was in the beginning stages of being built. Only the model home was up, the rest had probably been cornfields three months ago.

The car didn’t follow us.

Luka snaked the BMW through the maze of roads, circling in a cul-de-sac, and parked. We waited for someone to appear, but after a stressful minute, it seemed unlikely. He undid his seatbelt and massaged away the crease in his forehead.

“I’m all wound up,” he said. His hand came down, and he adjusted as if an idea had just occurred to him. “Get in the back seat.”

“What?”

“I’m not waiting until we get home. I’m gonna fuck you with my fingers right now.” His voice grew with intensity on each word. “Work you until your pussy’s dripping wet.”

It sent a rush of heat straight between my legs, and my mouth fell open. Would I ever get used to his vulgar mouth?

“Then,” he added, his gaze on my parted lips, “when you’re good and ready, you’ll slide down on my cock and I’ll fuck you until you’re screaming.”

My chest rose and fell with each enormous breath I pulled in. The desire for him was overwhelming. Too powerful to resist.

“And I know how to make you scream, don’t I?” His voice was velvet. “Answer me.”

“Yes,” I breathed.

“Get in the back seat.”

I shrugged out of my coat, got out of the car, and darted into the spacious back. He moved just as quickly as I did, and we were both sliding over the leather bench of the back seat at the same time. I heard the snap of his fingers, and instantly my legs parted. I spread wide for him as he covered my mouth with his.

Being with Luka was insanity. I was crazy and perverted, but I
liked
the feeling.

He’d raped me. He controlled me. And I was beginning to wonder if he might love me.

“Oh,” I whimpered. He pushed my panties to the side and drove a finger deep inside while his tongue traced the edge of my ear. I clutched at his arm, holding on to his strong bicep while his finger pumped in and out.

“You need another,” he said. A second finger pushed inside. “Such a good girl. You love how my fingers fit inside you. You’re clenching so tight on them.” Because his mouth was close, it was like his words were inside my head. “Say it. Tell me how much you love it.”

I gasped. “I love it.”

“You love what?”

I undulated my hips to make him move faster. “Your fingers inside me.”

“Anywhere, too, you fucking slut. You go wild when I press my thumb against your tight asshole. You squirm, just begging me to slip it in.”

I closed my eyes against the rush his visual gave me. “Yes.”

“You’re so goddamn perfect.” He growled it. “There’s no one else like you. No one,” he took a breath, “except for me.”

I trembled right on the edge, but Luka didn’t keep me waiting long. His other hand got to work, stirring and teasing, hurling me into chaos. I came hard, bearing down on the fingers buried inside and moaning his name.

Bliss was still dissipating from my core when he grabbed my panties and yanked them down. “Off.”

I lifted my hips, slipped the underwear down my legs, and abandoned them on the floorboard. Outside it was freezing, but under Luka’s intense look I might as well have been standing in the Sahara. I was so hot, I wanted to rip my dress off. He had entirely too many clothes on, too.

But rather than remove anything, he fitted his hands on my waist and urged me to get on top, straddling his lap. He pushed the curtain of my hair out of his way and kissed me with his hot mouth. Beneath me, he was hard and ready, and I ground against his erection, but it didn’t satisfy. It only made the want in me stronger. His hands crushed against my breasts, pinching and twisting, stealing my breath. It made me swivel my hips and slide my tongue against his.

His tone was sinful. “You’re making a mess on my pants, rubbing on me like that. You want me to go to work tomorrow wearing your dirty cum on me? Are you marking your territory?”

I’d done it because it felt good, but his corrupt idea got my blood to boil. “Are you my territory?”

His teeth were sharp at my neck. “Like my cock wants anyone else. Undo my pants. I fucking need to be inside you. I’m about to run out of patience and I won’t be nice when it happens.”

“You’re not nice,” I said.

His mouth curled into an evil smile. He’d warned me of that our first night together, and now I believed it, but I also knew I didn’t want nice. I slipped a hand between the space of our bodies and fumbled with his belt buckle. He didn’t help me. Worse, he got in my way as he tried to undo the zipper at the back of my dress, making the space to work in smaller. I slid the end of his belt free, dropped his zipper, and shoved my hand inside, closing it around the hot and hard bar of flesh.

The windows had frosted over so we could no longer see out of them, but foreign white light grew from outside, lighting the car interior. Another car was coming.

Suddenly, bright light poured in, and not just white. It strobed red and blue as well.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

Luka dumped
me
out of his lap and hurried to do up his pants. “Fuck,
fuck
!”

I yanked up the zipper on my dress so quickly it jammed, and smoothed my hair down, tucking the sides behind my ears. Blood roared through me and my heart pounded. When my gaze went to the floorboard, I saw my discarded underwear. There wasn’t time to put it back on. The cop car had parked and a door thudded shut as the officer got out. I kicked the panties under the seat and pressed my hands into my lap.

Luka was all the way on the other side of the back seat, sitting still and calm, even though he was breathing rapidly. He looked emotionless, as if whatever was in the trunk wasn’t a terrifying concern.

The cop, a man in his forties, hadn’t reached the BMW when Luka rolled down the window as much as the safety feature would allow. The officer accessed the situation, peering into the back seat with his blinding flashlight.

“Evening, folks,” he said, his voice gruff. “Are you having car trouble?” His tone left no doubt he knew what we’d been up to when he’d arrived.

“No, sir,” Luka said. “We just stopped to have a conversation.”

“Hmm. You kids have IDs?”

Luka dug his wallet out, and handed over his driver’s license. “She left her purse at home.”

The cop stared at Luka’s ID, and then the flashlight focused in on my face. I squinted against it, unable to see anyone.
Don’t look guilty, Addison.

“Everything okay, miss?”

I swallowed thickly. All it would take was one word from me. I’d had an opportunity to run tonight, but this . . . This could end it all. Not just set me free, but put Luka away. His fate rested entirely in my hands, and as my vision adjusted and I saw his face, it was clear he knew this. His eyes were desperate chaos.