Chapter 2
Olek
"You."
The word hung between us like smoke. Dense. Dangerous.
Katrina didn't flinch. Didn't gasp. Didn't do any of the things I'd seen other women do when I made an offer they should refuse.
Instead, she yanked her wrist from my grip and crossed her arms. "You want to buy me."
"I want to help you."
"Bullshit." She stepped to the side, forcing me to shift or let her pass. I didn't move. "You've been watching me for months like I'm something on a menu. Don't pretend this is charity."
Smart girl. Too smart.
"I'm not pretending anything." I leaned against the shelving, blocking the only exit. "You need money. Protection. I need…"
"What? A new toy?" Her laugh was sharp enough to draw blood. "I've dealt with men like you before, Mr. Sidorov. Men who think money gives them the right to take whatever they want."
"Is that what he did? Your ex?"
Her expression went cold. "You don't know anything about him."
"Then tell me."
"Why? So you can add it to whatever file you probably already have on me?" She moved closer instead of away, getting in my space the way most people wouldn't dare. "Background checks. Security clearance. You probably know my shoe size and my mother's maiden name."
I did. Seven and a half. Morrison.
"If I wanted to hurt you," I said quietly, "I would have done it already."
"That's supposed to reassure me? Or scare me?" She challenged.
"It's supposed to be the truth."
We stood there, close enough that I could count her heartbeats in the pulse at her throat. She smelled like the lemon polish she used on the banisters and underneath that, something uniquely her—warm skin and that maddening vanilla.
"Here's what I know," Katrina said, her voice low and steady. "You run the Sidorov Bratva. You've killed people. You traffic in things I probably don't want to know about. And for six months, you've been undressing me with your eyes every time I walk past your office."
"Yes."
She blinked. "Yes?"
"Yes, to all of it." I straightened, giving her nowhere to look but at me. "I'm not going to lie to you, Katrina. I'm not a good man. I do bad things to worse people. I've wanted you since the moment you told me my coffee was wrong and made it better."
"That's ridiculous…"
"But I'm also the only person in this city who can give you what you need." I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened it to a banking app. "Fifteen thousand. Tonight. And new identities by the end of the week."
Her eyes flicked to the screen, then back to my face. "For what? Be specific."
Christ, she was magnificent.
"A contract." I pocketed the phone. "You. Me. Ninety days since that's apparently your timeline."
"A contract for what exactly?"
"Sex." The word came out rougher than I intended. "However, I want it. Whenever I want it. No restrictions."
"No."
"You haven't heard my terms."
"I don't need to." She tried to push past me again. This time I caught her waist, holding her in place. Her skin was warm through the thin fabric of her uniform. "Let go."
"Hear me out first."
"I said–"
"Ninety days," I continued, not releasing her. "You belong to me. In my bed. In this house. Anywhere I decide. You don't say no. You don't refuse me. You give me complete access."
"You're insane."
"I'm honest." My thumbs pressed into the curve of her hips, feeling her tremble. "In exchange, you get the money you need. The identities. And my protection. No one touches you. No one comes near you. Not your ex. Not anyone."
"Protection I don't need."
"You're hiding in my pantry making desperate phone calls. You need protection." I leaned down until my mouth was close to her ear. "You need me."
She shoved at my chest again, harder this time. "What I need is for you to move."
"Tell me I'm wrong." I didn't budge. "Tell me you're not terrified. Tell me you have another way to get what you need in ninety days."
Silence.
"That's what I thought."
"You're an asshole."
"Yes." I finally released her, but didn't step back. "I'm also your best option. Your only option if that conversation was any indication."
Katrina smoothed down her uniform, that mask sliding back into place. But I'd seen behind it now. I'd seen the fear and the calculation and the desperate hunger for a way out.
"Even if I was insane enough to consider this," she said carefully, "what makes you think I'd agree to 'no restrictions'? You could mean anything by that."
"I do mean anything."
"Hard pass."
"Then tell me your restrictions."
She stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "You're serious."
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"You look like you're three seconds away from bending me over this shelf."
"Five seconds," I corrected. "But I'm waiting for an answer first."
A flush crept up her neck, dark and beautiful against her brown skin. "This is insane."
"This is business." I picked up my vodka glass and finished it. "You have something I want. I have something you need. We negotiate terms."
"Terms." She laughed, but it sounded brittle. "You mean how you get to use my body for three months while I what—lie back and think of England?"
"If you're lying back, I'm doing it wrong."
"Jesus Christ."
"Wrong religion, but you can call me that if it helps.
" I set the glass down. "Here's what I'm offering, Katrina.
Full terms. Fifteen thousand dollars transferred to your account tonight.
New identities—real ones, the kind that will actually keep you hidden—within one week.
And a guarantee that whoever you're running from won't get within a mile of you or your sister. "
Her eyes widened. "How did you—"
"Zara. Age seven. Lives with Shanice Thompson in Homewood while you work." I watched her face go pale. "See? I do my research."
"You bastard."
"Probably." I moved closer again, unable to help myself. "But I'm a bastard who can keep them safe. Can you say the same?"
She was breathing hard now, her chest rising and falling beneath that prim uniform. I wanted to tear it off with my teeth.
"What exactly do you want?" Her voice shook, just slightly. "Spell it out."
"You in my bed every night. You available whenever I want you. No condoms after I get tested." I ticked off each point on my fingers. "You let me touch you however I want. You let me fuck you however I want. You come when I tell you to. And you don't fight me on any of it."
"Oh…" I swallowed, taken back.
"I'm not finished." I caught her chin, tilting her face up. "You also keep working as head maid. You keep your routines. To everyone else, nothing changes. This stays between us."
"Why?"
"Because I don't share."
Her pupils were blown wide now, her lips parted. I could feel her pulse racing under my fingers.
"And what do I get besides the money?"
"Me." I stroked my thumb across her lower lip. "My protection. My resources. And—" I leaned in closer, my mouth almost touching hers, "I'll make you come so hard you forget your own name."
She jerked back. "You're delusional."
"Am I?" I let her go, giving her space. "You're attracted to me. You have been since day one. You just hide it better than most."
"Confident."
"Observant." I straightened my cuffs. "You blush when I walk into a room. You find excuses to clean my study when I'm working. Last week, you dropped a tray when I took off my jacket."
"That was an accident."
"Attraction." I smiled. "It's fine. I'm attracted to you too. The difference is I'm willing to do something about it."
Katrina wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking smaller. Vulnerable. "This is too much."
"This is survival." I gentled my voice. "You said you'd do anything. I'm giving you a way to do it that. It also gets you a little pleasure out of the deal."
"Sex isn't something."
"Good sex is everything."
"And you think you're good?"
"I think I'm going to ruin you for anyone else." I pulled out my phone again. "Think about it. You have until midnight tonight. After that, the offer expires."
"That's four hours."
"Then you'd better think fast." I headed for the door, then paused. "One more thing."
"What?"
"If you say yes, there's no backing out. No changing your mind halfway through. You're mine for ninety days, Katrina, completely. Understand?"
She lifted her chin, that fire back in her eyes. "And if I say no?"
"Then you figure out another way to get what you need." I opened the door. "But we both know you won't find one in time."
I left her standing there in the pantry, wrapped in shadows and desperate choices.
I went back to my study to wait.
Because I already knew what her answer would be.
She'd say yes, and I couldn’t fucking wait for her to.