Submit (The Underground Book 4) (2 page)

He stood, sending relief down her spine, though it was mixed with a twinge of sorrow. Part of her would like him to stay forever just so she could continue to ogle his sexy frame.

But he surprised her again by ignoring her statement and sending the conversation in a totally different direction. “Is your brush in the bathroom?”

“What?” She lifted her gaze to meet his. Dark. Brooding. With his slight frown and pale skin, he reminded her of a vampire. “Yes?” She stated that word as if it was a question.

Nikolav stepped around her and left the room. He returned seconds later carrying her brush and resumed his spot on the couch, too close to her, his body angled toward hers. “Turn around.”

What the hell?

He nodded toward the end table, and she found herself once again obeying his strange command. With gentle hands, he unwrapped the towel from her head and set it on the coffee table. Seconds later he began to work the knots out of her tangled hair.

She let her eyes close and sighed, her hands clenched together in her lap. A gorgeous gigantic man/vampire was brushing her hair?

For a second, she assumed she must have died and this was heaven. But if that were the case, she wouldn’t be so weak and queasy.

Words escaped her. What should she say to a man who got out of bed before the sun, came over to a stranger’s apartment, held her hair while she puked, and brushed out her tangles after she bathed?
Yes, I’ll marry you?

When he was satisfied with his work, he set the brush aside but continued to run his fingers through her thick waves. “Your hair is amazing.”

“Thanks.” She awkwardly broke his touch by turning to face him.

He smiled. “To answer your question, no, I’m not leaving.”

“What? Why?” She tensed. This situation was strange. She trusted her friend Haley, and by default her boyfriend, but still…

“I have no idea what Mikhail was thinking when he thought it was a good idea for you to come over to Haley’s last night, but you’re not safe now.” His eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“Did Haley tell you what she’s been through?”

“Yes. What does that have to do with me?”

“Nothing, until you associated yourself with her. Now, I trust no one. Anyone could have seen you come and go from that apartment. And if there had been any doubt, it was eliminated when the FBI agent drove you home. That alone would raise eyebrows.”

“From whom? It was the middle of the night.”

“From anyone stationed outside Haley’s apartment watching for an opening. As far as I’m concerned, you became that opening. Haley isn’t safe. Which means you’re now a target.”

“Why would anyone care about me? I’m just a journalist for
Chicago Multimedia
.”

His eyes widened. “You’re a journalist?”

“Yes. So?”

“Shit.” He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Please tell me you aren’t working this story.”

“As a matter of fact, I am. And it’s my biggest break yet.” She sat up taller, holding her head high.

Nikolav must not have liked her stance, however, because he took her chin between his fingers and tipped her head lower. “Do you have a death wish?”

“Apparently, or I wouldn’t have eaten whatever got me so sick last night.” That made no sense, but she needed a comeback, and those were the first words to slip out.

Nikolav wasn’t amused. “Do you realize how many people have been killed lately?”

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but I do know homeless people are disappearing from the streets of Chicago and showing up dead in the dump. That’s why my boss assigned me this story.”

“Your boss told you to investigate this?”

“Of course.” She straightened her spine, jerking her chin out of his hand.

“Babe, this is not a job for a woman. And right now it’s not a job for anyone.”

“I’m not your
babe
. And I’ll have you know I’m very good at my job.”

He grinned at her defiance. “Never doubted how good you are at your job,
babe
. But this particular story has murder written all over it.

“You may think you’re investigating a simple case of missing people, but Haley herself was abducted and held against her will for two weeks. She was drugged. Trust me when I say you’re not immune to a similar fate. And you might not come out the other end as lucky as Haley.”

Belinda shuddered, but she still held her head high. “I’m not backing down from this. I’m going to start interviewing people tomorrow evening. Haley will help me.”

He emitted a sharp chuckle. “Haley? You think Mikhail’s going to permit Haley to wander the streets at night in search of homeless people and answers? You must be out of your mind.”

“We’ll see.”

Infuriating woman.

Nik fisted his hands at his sides, but what he wanted to do was shake some sense into the Italian beauty. No way was he or anyone else going to permit her to interview homeless people on the streets tomorrow night or any night.

It wasn’t safe. Not by a long shot. Even if there was a slim chance Anton Yenin, the head of the Russian Mafia in the area, didn’t have eyes on her in the middle of the night outside Haley’s apartment… Even if none of Yenin’s men were able to make a connection between her and Haley… Even if not one person on Yenin’s payroll ever realized she was a reporter, they still wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap a sexy woman like Belinda right off the street as soon as she made herself available.

Nikolav knew Yenin. The man’s taste ran toward brunettes in Belinda’s age range. Thirtyish. With her thick dark hair, full breasts, and olive skin, she was hot. He realized the grayish tint to her skin was from illness. Hell, even when he arrived early that morning and followed her into her apartment as she rushed back to her bathroom to vomit again, he’d been struck by her beauty.

And Yenin would think so too.

This was a sophisticated woman with a college degree and a nice apartment. The pictures on her walls and shelves told him she had loving parents and one brother.

After tucking her thick hair in a hairband and wiping her face for the third time with a damp cloth when he’d first arrived before the sun came up, he’d rummaged through her drawers and handed her a clean T-shirt and loose pants to change into.

At first he didn’t think she could do it alone. She’d stared up at him with glassy, questioning eyes. But in a moment of clarity, she’d glanced at the clothes in his hand and nodded.

He had released a long breath and left her alone in the bathroom for about five minutes. The entire time he debated whether or not his decision had been wise. Belinda had needed clean clothes. She was a mess. On the one hand, he hadn’t wanted her to fall and hurt herself trying to change. But on the other hand, he didn’t think his cock could take it if he changed her himself.

Besides, the woman hadn’t been lucid enough to consent to his help, and he had never in his life stripped a woman’s clothes off without full consent. Helping Belinda change would have been similar to putting a drunk woman to bed.

Not a chance in hell.

Maybe if she hadn’t been so fucking sexy…

But, no. Not even then.

“I’m exhausted anyway,” she declared, shaking him back to the present. “I think I’ll just see you out and go to bed. I have to work tomorrow. If I sleep this off, I should be okay.”

Nikolav chuckled as he shook his head. “Are you listening to me at all?” If this woman was his, he’d take her over his knee and spank her sweet ass.

But she’s not yours
.

“I heard you. And this building has cameras. And I have a lock on the door. There’s an alarm. I’ll be fine.”

At least they could agree on that much. He nodded. “You’re right. You’ll be perfectly safe. Now, let me help you back to the bedroom. I don’t know about work tomorrow, but you’ll feel much better after you sleep. Did you sleep at all last night before you got sick?”

“A few hours.” She scowled. “You can’t stay here,” she insisted. “I appreciate your help, but you can’t stay.”

“Why the hell not?” He stood and pulled her to standing next to him. When he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, aiming for the hallway, she easily followed his lead. Thank God. “If you’re worried about your chastity or something, don’t be. I would never push myself on a woman against her will. And certainly not a woman as incoherent as you are.

“I prefer my women awake and engaging when I sleep with them. Necrophilia isn’t my thing.”

She spun around to face him, inches separating them. “I’m not exactly dead.” She set her hands on her hips and cocked one out to the side. “And for your information, I’m much more worried about what I might do to your sexy ass in my half-lucid state than what you might do to me. So don’t tempt me. Leave.” She pointed at the door.

A slow smile spread across his face. “My sexy ass?”

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes went wide.

He fought hard but lost the battle not to grin wider. “You’re afraid you won’t be able to control yourself around me?” He inched closer until there was about a centimeter between them.

Her breasts drew his attention as they rose and fell under the thin material of her purple, nylon shirt. He tried hard to focus and take his gaze off them, but it was a struggle. Belinda was a tiny woman. Maybe five four. She didn’t weigh much more than one ten. But her boobs were amazing. She hadn’t had a bra on since he’d met her.

She was killing him with her tits.

Hell, she didn’t need a bra. Those damn globes were pert and high on her chest. He itched to wrap his hands around them and lower his mouth to their tips. What color were her nipples?

“My face is up here,” she said, flicking the underside of his chin with her fingers.

Nikolav grabbed her hand out of the air and kissed her knuckles before he could stop himself. “Trust me. You’re safe with me. I’ll beat you off with a stick to keep you from attacking me if you can’t control yourself.”

She gasped again, her mouth falling open before she swallowed and brought her lips back together. “Are you always this cocky?”

“Are you always this argumentative?”

“I’m
not
argumentative. I’m trying to save face here. You’ve seen me at my worst. I’m embarrassed. I want you to leave now so I can lick my wounds alone.”

“I get that. And I can’t fix the fact that you’re embarrassed, but let it go. It happened. You can’t help you were sick. I’m here. I’m staying. Get used to it.” He pointed at the entrance to the hallway behind her. “Go to bed before I say something I shouldn’t to a woman who isn’t quite in her right mind.”

Belinda pursed her lips and spun on her heels. Seconds later, she was gone. Seconds after that, her door shut with a resounding snick. She didn’t lock it.

Nikolav checked the deadbolt on her front door, armed her alarm, grabbed the remote, and dropped onto her beige sofa. For ten minutes he flipped through the channels, keeping the volume on low, until he found ESPN and settled down to watch whatever they were going to show for the afternoon and evening.

Hopefully, Belinda would wake at some point and eat something else. If she didn’t, she would have a harder time getting up tomorrow. But on the flip side, he hated the idea of her going to work, so maybe he should keep her weak and unable to lift out of bed.

As if he had that level of control. Belinda Gallo was feisty and insistent. Controlling. Used to getting her way.

He groaned as he visualized her on her knees in front of him, letting him dominate her. Was the woman capable of shutting her mouth long enough to let someone else take control?

He adjusted his cock and let his eyes close. Damn she was sexy. All those curves on such a tiny frame. And those tits. He came back to them in his mind, unable to shake the image of them jiggling under her T-shirt—first that sorority shirt he’d grabbed from her drawer and then the purple one she’d put on after her bath.

Her nipples had poked out, leaving nothing to the imagination under the cotton of either shirt—except for their color. He was still dying to know what shade of pink they were. Would they be rosy or dark brown to match her olive skin?

He needed to get his head out of his ass and shake free of the image. Belinda’s tits were off limits. At least for now.

∙
•
∙

Belinda leaned against the inside of her bedroom door for long minutes, unable to move another inch and glad she’d at least made it down the hall and into her bedroom of her own accord with her head held high before losing the energy needed for the last few steps.

She was tempted to lower herself to the floor right where she was and curl up in a ball. That’s how much energy she had—not enough to make the final few steps to her bed.

She stared at the fitted sheet covering her mattress and pictured Nikolav Andropov being all domestic and changing her bedding. The thought didn’t make her less horny. In fact, her arousal irrationally shot higher at the image of him stretching the cotton over her bed and tucking in the corners.

Swallowing, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the door.

It took several deep breaths, but finally she managed to use her brain to tell her feet to inch forward. Half a minute later, she reached the mattress and climbed onto the top.

She was exhausted, physically and emotionally. After tugging her comforter and top sheet over her body, she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. It was afternoon. The room was dim with the blinds closed, but still too bright for sleeping.

Her breathing was ragged and frequent, also not conducive to sleeping.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Nikolav inside her eyelids. His serious expression combined with his dark hair and pale skin to make him seem more ominous than he probably was.

Or maybe she was wrong and the man
was
ominous.

He hadn’t done a single thing to make her feel unsafe in his presence. In fact, what she’d told him inadvertently was correct—she was far more worried about her feelings toward him than any inappropriate action from him.