Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ryker
I hang up with my brother Triston, rubbing my eyes as I stand in the kitchen of the penthouse.
I know that Sver coming to Vegas is a bad fucking sign. Is he here to take my bride? Kill my family? Attack Dimitri?
The fact that he showed himself to us was a clear threat. He wasn’t even attempting to hide that part, standing in front of the car like he owned me. Fuck that.
He was sending a message to me. I’m sure about that. I am the man who runs the casino that my family purchased from Dimitri. And as of yesterday, I’m also the man who made the first move in taking a second and third casino from the head of the Bratva. A move no one knows about.
And for now, I’m not telling them.
Triston took advantage of the call to ask me a lot of questions about my change of bride. He’s already suspicious, as well he should be.
Which means, more than ever, I need to keep Sasha calm and happy as I decide how to deal with Sver and keep my family and Dimitri as allies.
It’s a delicate game and I’m walking a razor’s edge. But I can make my life easier by playing by the rules and keeping Sasha out of harm’s way.
Which means, Sasha and I are sticking close to home.
Sasha’s question was the right one to ask. This building is as safe as it gets. Cameras, reinforced stairwells and elevators, a full-time security team.
It’s built to survive earthquakes, bombs, holocausts.
Which is why I’ve invited the family here tonight, rather than going to Triston’s house, where we’d normally meet.
Triston suggested that Dimitri join us. And I agree. While I didn’t tell my brother about the extra casinos, I did tell him about the Russian hitman. And I’ll tell Dimitri too.
I’ll likely need his help as I figure out how to clear out the Beast, Sver, so that I can face Ivan Ivanov. I’ve got a promise to keep to my wife.
The problem is that Sasha has gone into full freakout mode and with Dimitri coming, I need her to relax. I can’t have Dimitri change his mind about the marriage now, because then all of this will be for naught.
Pocketing my phone, I leave the kitchen and head for the bedroom. Last I saw Sasha, she’d made her way in here with the bags and I haven’t seen her since.
I find her, not in the bedroom, or the bathroom, but in the windowless walk-in closet.
She’s not put a single thing away.
Instead, the bags are spread around her as she sits on the floor. Her jacket is tossed on the bench, her hair cascading down her back, her knees drawn up to her chest, as her chin rests on them. “Sasha.”
She jumps, her surprised eyes swinging to mine, looking haunted. I squat down next to her, reaching for her hands. “You’re all right.”
She shakes her head, nipping at her lip. “Maybe.”
“What are you afraid of?” I ask, leaning forward to brush my lips across her forehead. Sasha needs to get used to casual intimacy from me. It’s how we’ll appear legitimate to her family and the world.
Also, and I know I’m fucking losing it, but I just like touching her.
“That Sver is here to finish the job my father started,” she answers, pushing up to standing. “That he’s here to end my life.”
I follow, reaching for one of the bags on the floor. We might as well do something productive while we talk. So, grabbing out the contents, I start hanging the clothes.
One of the items is a casual floral dress. The green tones bring out the color of her eyes and the pinks in her skin.
Holding it in my hand, I shake my head. “I’m not going to let that happen.”
She looks away, also grabbing a bag, and begins to hang the clothes, crossing to the built-in bureau to put several items away.
“I appreciate how your family protected me that night that my father tried to kill me and Dimitri,” she answers, balling the T-shirt she’s holding tight in her fists.
“But my father paved his way to the top of the largest Bratva family in Russia with the bodies of his enemies. And Sver? He was the man who did all the dirty work.”
“You think I can’t keep you safe from him?” I ask, turning to face her. She needs to feel safe, so I’m going to say what she needs to hear. To myself, I acknowledge that she’s got a point. Killian knows how to operate in the shadows. I might need some lessons.
She looks at me then, her eyes uncertain. “I’ve never met a more dangerous man.”
“The building—” I start, trying to calm her fears.
“I got out, and I’m not even trained,” she answers with a small shrug of her shoulder. “He can get in whenever he wants.”
Shit. Another fucking good point. “Want to tell me how you did it?”
“Not really,” she whispers as she starts hanging clothes again.
“How can I fix the hole in the security if you don’t tell me what it is?” I set the dress on the bench, pulling out more clothes from another bag.
“Because he’ll find another way, but that’s my only one.”
Is she keeping a line of escape open? I can’t have that. She’s got to stay for a year, where we appear to be a happily married couple. It’s the only way to take ownership of the casino other than an outright sale.
I wince to myself, wondering if now is the time to ask. To change the plan and see if she’ll just sell.
Which means, I’ve got a reason much bigger than Dimitri to make Sasha happy in this marriage.
But with Sver wandering the streets of Vegas, it’s in her best interest to stay. She’s safest here. Which means I need to keep her calm and content.
She bends over to grab more of the clothes, her perfect ass on full display.
I reach out, running my hand over her hip. “You should trust me, Princess.”
She snorts. “Because you blackmailed me into marrying you, I should trust you?”
The question hits me in the chest, because it’s the complete truth, and because it means I’ve got to do more than take Sasha shopping if I want to win her over. “Everyone is coming here for dinner, so we don’t have to leave the apartment.”
“All right,” she answers, straightening up. But I don’t let go of her hip. Instead, I grab the other, pulling her closer.
“My brother is known as the shadow. He’s in this building for your protection and I will need you to tell him everything you know about Sver.”
My hand slides to her belly, my fingers splaying out as I brush away the hem of her tank top so that I can touch her bare midriff.
Goose pimples break out on her skin and I bend low, smiling into her neck, her silky hair catching on the stubble on my jaw.
“I’ve heard that your brother is a man of great talent.”
Jealousy, hot and white, streaks through me. I am the man who will keep her safe. Not Killian. She’s mine to protect.
I run my hand down the front of her tight jeans, cupping her sex in my hand and pressing my finger right along her covered seam.
She gasps, her hand coming to cover the one I’m holding her hip with. “I’ve got my talents too,” I murmur close to her ear as I slide my finger over her clit.
Her hips buck into my hand and satisfaction replaces my irritation as I slide my hand back up to her waist band, popping the button and pulling the zipper down so that I can bury my fingers between her legs.
Her smooth skin glides under my rougher hand, and I realize her pussy is shaved bare. Fuck me. Her soft mound feels so good, I leak a bit of cum as I go deeper, her already-soaking lips sliding under my middle finger.
She whimpers, her back collapsing against my chest as her hips thrust out to give me more access.
She isn’t trying to look pretty, though she does look absolutely fucking gorgeous. In fact, she looks so hot, I’m in danger of creaming my pants. But I know she’s not trying, she’s just that into it. And it’s the most erotic thing I’ve seen for a long time.
I swirl the pad of my finger over her clit, her entire body responding to the touch as her head presses back into my neck, opening even more of her body to my view.
Her nipples are stiff, her hips chasing my hand.
Instead of going deeper, I make my touch lighter, teasing, my reward is her little cry of protest as she pushes her hips out even further.
“That feel good, Princess?”
“Yes,” she hisses, her eyes hooded, her lips parted on a gasp. “More. Please.”
“Fuck yeah, baby, I’ll give you more.” And then I press hard, right on her needy clit.
She explodes under my finger, her scream filling the closet.
I’m good, but this is impressive even for me.
Her body shakes with her orgasm, her nails digging into the back of my hand. I love the touch of pain, and I hope she leaves marks on my skin.
I nip at the skin of her neck with my teeth, not wanting to take my hand out of her pants. She feels so good and my own cock is still aching.
But that’s when my phone chimes.
I don’t move, nibbling up her neck toward her ear. “That was gorgeous.”
She doesn’t respond, just flexes her hips so that my fingers slide against her once again. “I didn’t know,” she whispers on a sigh.
What didn’t she know? That I’d make her cum like that? “We’re just getting started, Princess. That was only a taste.”
“Oh,” she says on a rush of air even as my phone dings again. And then again.
“Fuck,” I mutter, not wanting to let her go. Truth be told, I’d like to feel her cum again right now and then—
The ringing of my phone pulls several curses from my mouth before I finally pull my hand from her pants and yank the phone out of my pocket.
Killian’s name is on the screen.
I answer the phone, barking into the speaker. “What the fuck do you want?”
He only laughs. “I need to talk to you.”
“Talk.” I do not appreciate the interruption.
“Not on the phone. In your apartment. Unlock the elevator for me, I’m coming up.” And then he hangs up. Bossy fuck. But I hit the button that will allow him to choose the penthouse on the elevator keypad.
Access to this floor is limited to me and Sasha. Period.
“Who was that?” Sasha asks, pushing off my chest, wobbling as she tries to stand. I automatically reach for her again, steadying her as I pull her back into my arms.
“Killian. He’s coming up to talk. Why don’t you change? I like the dress,” I say, before I wrap my lips around her ear lobe, sucking at the soft skin. I can’t get enough of her taste. Her feel.
She gives a breathless giggle that makes me rock-hard all over again. “You want me to talk to him now? About Sver?”
“In a few minutes. Why don’t you collect yourself first,” I answer honestly. She looks, and smells, like a woman who just had an orgasm. It’s hot as hell, which is why my brother isn’t going anywhere near her. “I’ll have you talk to him when you’ve had a minute to yourself.”
“That’s a good idea,” she nods, looking up at me with large, grateful eyes.
Reaching for her cheek, I turn her face back to mine, kissing her mouth with a long, slow kiss that’s meant to be a promise. “We’ll finish what we started tonight.” And then I give her ass a squeeze, pressing my raging cock against the softness of her belly.
I hear her gasp even as the distant chime of the elevator sounds from the other side of the apartment.