Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
GEORGIA
Days pass by in a blur of training and sleep—the sleep I need mostly because I’m so damn worn-out from training.
Guns, fighting, acting, computer hacking.
I’m learning skills I would never have dreamed I’d possess, or even need, but it’s oddly rewarding when I become a sure-shot or when I flip one of Andrei’s big burly guards on his back as he attempts to overpower me.
Natalia joins me for dinner most nights, which is strangely comforting.
I sense that she’s actually joining me to make sure that I am following along with the plan, but we fall into an easy routine together, discussing my day, and barely discussing hers.
I wonder where Andrei and his brothers are and what they are doing, but I don’t bother asking, knowing she won’t share anything with me.
Like everyone else in the Kozlov employ, she’s tight-lipped. Well, everyone except for Piper. Though she lives off-site, she often pops by my room in the evening and offers to do my hair. It’s pointless. I have nowhere to go, but I don’t mind the company and the feeling of being spoiled.
Piper and I talk about everything, and nothing—the weather, music, our favorite movies and TV shows.
What we don’t talk about is our personal life.
Occasionally she’ll reveal a snippet of her world beyond the Kozlov estate, but she’s guarded about her upbringing.
That’s fine. We all have our secrets and I’m happy to avoid difficult subjects.
There’s much about my own life I’d prefer not to talk about.
Tonight, she’s helping me do my hair and make-up before dinner with Andrei. After three long days away, he’s back tonight, and has requested I join him for dinner. Alone.
I’m more nervous than I’ve been in a long time.
We’ve already shared so much, but something about tonight feels more real.
Like a date. Which is absolutely insane.
I need to get a grip and remember why I’m doing this—for my freedom.
I cannot catch feelings for Andrei, no matter how easy it feels sometimes.
“All right, open your eyes,” Piper says with a flourish of a brush against my cheekbones. The face staring back at me in the mirror is one I barely recognize. I somehow look both seductive and understated with smokey eyes, glossy lips and my hair pulled back into a low bun at the nape of my neck.
“Wow, Piper. You certainly have a gift.”
“Please, it’s all you.” She waves her hand at me. “Andrei is going to freak.”
“No, it’s not like that. It's just dinner. Like a business dinner.”
Her eyes narrow, and she purses her lips. “Uh-huh. Sure it is. I see the way he looks at you.”
My face becomes hot and I fight the urge to fidget. “And how does he look at me?”
“Definitely not like you’re a business associate.”
Jesus, is it hot in here?
“You have a great imagination,” I say, but there’s not much force behind my words. Whatever is going on between us, and as far as I can tell, it’s just sex, we have probably done a lousy job of hiding it from those around us.
I can’t muster up the energy to care, though. I’ve already agreed to his terms, and I might as well go all in. No holds barred.
Dinner is romantic. There’s no mistaking that this is a date, not a business dinner, as I attempted—but failed—to convince Piper. Mikhail escorts me by car to a secret location. After a ten-minute drive on winding, private roads, we emerge onto a section of pristine beach bordered by jagged rocks.
Andrei meets me as I step out of the car. He’s dressed as casually as I’ve ever seen him, in perfectly worn-in jeans, and a black t-shirt, looking every bit as devastating in casual clothes as he does in his form-fitting suits.
His dark gold hair is brushed back and hangs just past his ears.
High, slanted cheekbones give way to a hint of a five-o’clock shadow.
As he steers me to a picnic on the beach, his deeply masculine scent surrounds me and my nipples pebble in response.
I’m like Pavlov’s dog when he’s near, salivating for a taste of him.
Maybe he feels the same way because his lips meet my own for a gentle kiss.
“It’s nice to see you, krasotka.”
I smile up at him, a cool breeze blowing over my skin. “The ocean,” I say. “I knew we were on Long Island.”
We both take a seat on the blanket that he’s laid out, laden with delectable looking sushi. Handing me a glass of wine, he shrugs. “It was never a secret.”
“I’d beg to differ.” I raise my eyebrows at him. “Remember the library.”
“All the time,” he smirks. “I remember you coming on my face. That was fucking hot.”
He loads up a plate with food, and hands it to me, before preparing his own plate.
“If we’re past being secretive, why don’t you tell me where we are?”
“You already figured it out, smart girl. This spot is called Barcelona Point. It’s at the very northern end of East Hampton. We’re surrounded by seven hundred acres of nature preserves.”
“Shit,” I smile, looking out over the calm water. “I had no chance of escaping.”
“None whatsoever.”
“Then why did you chase me? You could have just let me wander the woods for a while and freak out.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He holds out a piece of sashimi with chopsticks for me. Raw fish is not usually my thing, but I choose to be open-minded. Opening my mouth, I’m not disappointed when I taste the most buttery piece of fish imaginable.
“Mmm,” I moan, washing it down with a crisp white wine. “So, why is it called Barcelona Point?”
“It’s thought to have been named by sailors in the eighteen hundreds for its likeness to the bluffs of the Spanish city.”
“My parents went to Barcelona when they were pregnant with me. There are pictures of my mother out to here,” I say, gesturing as if I had an enormous belly, “and looking so happy. Eating, and walking and enjoying everything that the city had to offer.” I swallow back a suspicious lump in my throat.
“I wish I could see her like that,” I tell him, because somehow I think Andrei would understand.
“I know.” He leans in and kisses my neck. “I get it.”
We’re both still for a moment, chasing our own thoughts. Finally, I turn to him and ask the one question I’ve been dying to know. “What does krasotka mean?”
He barks out a laugh. “You’re telling me in all your time snooping in my home you didn’t figure it out.”
“If I had access to a computer, and could google it, it would be much easier.” I feign irritation, swatting Andrei on the arm.
“Is that a subtle hint, krasotka,” he says, dragging out the syllables.
“Nah, I don't even care about that anymore. But I am curious.”
“It means beautiful woman. Quite fitting for you I think.”
After we’re both stuffed full of sushi and buzzed on fine wine, we take a walk on the beach, enjoying a sunset for the ages.
We come together like no time has passed.
Conversation flowing easily between us. We talk about the progress I’ve made training, and I am grateful for this halter dress which lets me show off my increasingly toned arms. Andrei laughs as I flex my muscles, impressed at the results of my Krav Maga training.
I know better than to ask Andrei why he was away on business—he’s made it clear the less I know about bratva the better—but we talk in generalities about his work, and he seems more relaxed and at ease than he’s been in a long-time.
When we’re back in the car, he turns to me. “I have something for you back at the house. Also, have I told you how fucking sexy you look tonight?” His eyes leave the road to rake over my body with unrestrained heat.
“You may have mentioned it once or thrice.”
“Because it’s true.” He takes my hand in his and presses a kiss to my open palm as he parks in the circular driveway. Before he leaves the car, I stop him with a hand on his arm. If Piper has picked up on our relationship, that means Andrei’s brothers have as well.
“What do your brothers think?” When Andrei raises his eyebrows, I add, “About us. They seem wary of me.”
He shakes his head. “My brothers know better than to stick their nose in my business.”
“But isn’t this their business too? I mean, I’m here to help you find Kira. It concerns them as well.”
“I don’t care what they think. What anyone thinks,” he says more forcefully, before gentling his tone.
“I just want to enjoy this, being with you. I trust you. I know who you are and what you are capable of. I may not see eye to eye with my brothers all the time, but they have my back and they trust my judgment.”
God, this man. He always knows the right things to say. Maybe it’s a mob boss thing.
Andrei reaches for my hand, and we go into the house, heading towards a back staircase that takes us straight to the third floor.
With my hand tucked firmly into his, Andrei leads me down a long hallway to a far wing of the house I’ve never been to.
Finally, he pauses before a door. The naughty smile he flashes me is enough to make butterflies erupt in my stomach.
“What is this about?” I blurt, but he puts a finger to my lips and draws me inside the room.
It takes me a moment to register what I am seeing. It’s a cozy room, small by the standards of this mansion, but it has an enormous bay window facing the faraway beach. The light is fading fast outside, but I can imagine how spectacular the view is during the day.
My heart drums in my chest as I look around. Two separate easels are set up in front of a window, different sized canvases stacked up along one wall, while a table on the far side of the room is loaded with all the paints, brushes and painting supplies one could ever want for.
Andrei comes up behind me, his lips graze my neck as he murmurs against my skin, “It’s for you. A painting studio.”
Emotion clogs in my throat, and to my horror, I have to stifle a sob.
I swallow hard before I can speak. “Why?” I ask him.
Why would he give me this when my time here is so limited?
The moment Oleg comes out of hiding, I’ll be packing my bags, so this just feels like a tease. A taste of a life I can never have.
Andrei spins me around to face him. “So you can finally learn how to paint. I want to give you that—a gift—before you move on.”
Sadness unfurls inside me even though I try to school my features. “Of course,” I say, wiggling out of Andrei’s hold. I need to put space between us before I mistake this gesture for something it’s not.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, krasotka.” Andrei runs an agitated hand through his hair.
I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I’ve let him under my skin. Inside of me. Allowed the excitement of the last few days to make me forget what this really is. Business. And it will end soon.
Sitting down at the stool in front of the easel, I allow myself the pleasure of picking up a brush and running it over the blank canvas in front of me. “Thank you,” I say, composing myself. “This is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me.”
He sits on the stool opposite me—legs spread wide, elbows resting on his knees. Regret tinges his expression. “I should have thought it through, I didn’t think—”
I shake my head. “I’ll enjoy it while I’m here, for however long that is.” My arms loop around his neck as I pull myself onto his lap.
“Georgia…” his eyes plead with me for something, but I'm not sure what.
“No.” I capture his mouth with mine. “I want this. All of it.” My hands run up and down his powerful arms to his shoulders. “For however long we have.”
I stand and let my dress drop to the ground. I’m sick of talking. I want to lose myself in his touch.
I strip down to nothing but a black strapless bra with delicate lace fabric, and a thong. His eyes rake over me with blatant appreciation. Feeling brazen, I lower myself onto his lap so my back is to him and my ass lands directly over his straining erection.
It’s an incredible turn-on to feel how hard he is for me, and I take great pleasure in grinding on him, teasing him with my body, until he’s had enough and grabs me firmly by my hips, pulling me down on him as he rocks his pelvis upwards.
“You think you are in charge here?” His voice is a gentle touch in my ear, deceptively soothing, but lined with steel. “You’re not.”
He reaches up and squeezes my breasts hard through the lace at the same time he bites my neck. I yelp, but he’s quick to soothe the hurt with little licks and kisses. His mouth is pure magic and I squirm on his erection, digging into my ass.
“You know better than that, don’t you, baby?” His tongue flicks out to lick along the rim of my ear. “I own this body. I allow you to feel good. I allow you to come. Just me. Because you’re mine.”
His words absolutely shatter me. I’d give anything to him right now.
Andrei stands, taking me with him. Then he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, slapping my ass as I’m exposed to him.
“Now let me show just how much I am in charge.” With that, he walks out of the room, and I am truly his little captive, vulnerable to whatever ministrations he has in store for me.
And I can’t fucking wait.