Chapter 10 #2
My mouth is hanging open and I'm panting hard, staring at the spot where my cum covers her bottoms. She lets me go and then puts the swimsuit back into place, smearing my cum over her pussy. I let my head fall back on a groan.
She buckles my pants for me, patting my spent cock once it's secured inside.
With my dick spent, my brain finally takes back the controls, looking around to see if we've been caught. There's no sign of anyone which is a fucking relief. That was too close. It's always too fucking close.
Sage finally slumps out of my lap and sits on the lounger across from mine, resting her elbows on her knees and propping up her chin as she watches me with amusement.
"You gonna get all scared and run away now?"
I frown as I sit up. I scrub a hand down my face and stare at her, watching her gorgeous green eyes glint with amusement as she looks at me. I can't help myself. I reach out and tuck a wet, stray strand of hair behind her ear.
My hand lingers down across her cheek as we stare at each other like we're only seeing for the first time. A throat clears from afar and I drop my head like it burns, though neither of us moves. We tilt our heads towards the voice.
Alexei Rushkoff is standing at the door to the house with his tattooed arms folded and an amused smirk on his face.
Sage and I jolt apart like we've been shocked.
Which only seems to amuse the psychotic Rushkoff brother even more.
We're lucky that all he caught was her staring into my eyes and not me coming in her panties.
Not two seconds after Sage has bolted upright, Victor comes out of the house in his own swim trunks, holding towels.
"Now, I believe you were going to teach this letch how to dive off the roof," Victor smiles wide.
I glare in Sage's direction. "You absolutely were fucking not."
Sage gives me a sheepish smile. "It's not high."
"Don't even think about getting on that roof." I retrieve my sunglasses and fold back into my chair.
"I'll settle for a swimming lesson then," Victor smirks.
Alexei scowls, his nostrils flaring. "You know how to swim."
Victor elbows him and then follows Sage into the pool.
They float around for the remainder of the afternoon, tearing strips off my resolve as I watch. Funnily enough, knowing she's out there now covered in my cum, does actually help.
I knock on the door to Anton's study. When I don't get an answer, I make my way in, figuring I've given him enough time to object if he wants to. He's standing at the window with one hand resting against the sill and the other worrying his lip with a glass of whiskey.
"Anton?"
He jumps out of his trance as he hears my voice. "Nic, come in," he says, shaking his head before turning expectantly back to me again. "Sage?"
"At dinner with Freddie."
Anton nods and then slumps into a chair. Closing the door behind me, I join him.
"Another breech?" I ask.
He nods solemnly. He never wanted his brother's responsibility, but he got it all, and I can see it tearing at the edges of his sanity. Guilt gnaws at me. I've defiled his niece again, risked the prospect of peace with the Rushkoffs, and there's been another breech on the property.
"Where?"
"Not far," he says. "They got as far as the second gate this time. They're always heading in that direction. Never coming for the warehouses or the offices, but always to the east, to the residential wing."
I lean back in my chair as I mimic his pose, reclining and relaxed but looking tense as fuck.
"With the Rushkoff presence here?" I ask.
"It's changed nothing," he says. "I can't tell whether that's to distract us from the truth or whether it's genuine."
I nod. It was a risk bringing the Rushkoffs here. Better than Sage being forced to go to them. But a risk, nonetheless. An opportunity also, though, to see if it's them that's trying to get to us.
"I'm certain of it. They want her. They want Sage," he says on a deep exhale.
"Sage is the key here," I agree, though the admission squeezes my chest. "Her marriage to Victor joins two of the biggest criminal organizations in the state. Maybe someone doesn't want that to happen."
"It would be a good theory," Anton says, placing his glass down and resting his leg on his knee.
"If there were anyone else powerful enough to care.
The Big Five are the closest and they've always been content with the territory they hold south.
They've never wanted anything North of Darton.
Plus, this started well before that document showed up. Dimitri's death is proof of that."
I'm well aware of both of those things, but I've got nothing else. Well... I have one theory. But I think everyone is too afraid it might be true to voice it out loud. We just have to keep her close. Keep her safe.
"What do we do?" I ask.
"I don't know," he says, looking older and more confused than he did only months ago. "The Rushkoffs haven't been here long enough to force their hand."
We sit in silence for another moment while we continue to drink. Security has rarely been an issue in the mansion, other than the night that Dimitri died. But it's getting worse the longer it lingers.
"And no luck figuring how they breached the perimeter the first time?"
Anton knows what I'm asking. He blows out a breath. "How these attackers managed to breach security and waltz right through the gates to kill Dimitri? It's a mystery."
"You have a theory though," I say, watching his body language closely.
Anton shifts in his seat, watching me with caution. "I think someone let them in."
My eyebrows rise, incredulous that Anton would even suggest... The men here have been loyal for years. I can't think of one other person, staff, brother or naught, who would even consider such a thing.
Anton sees my expression. "I know," he says.
"You think-"
"That someone who knows all our secrets is feeding information to the outside," Anton says. "How else were they let in?"
A frown takes over my face while at the same time sweat starts to drip down my back. "You know this means-"
"You don't have to tell me," Anton says. "If it's true, if we can't keep our information in, we'll need to consider how far we're willing to go to stop any more of it from getting out."