Chapter 16 Liev #2
Sera’s eyes go hazy, and her chest is rising and falling rapidly now, a rosy flush spreading down her neck.
My breath catches. I underestimated how badly this game would burn me, too. My cock is painfully hard, pressing against its confines, desperate to get free. To get to her.
“I just need to… um… wash my face.” With a small bag in her hands, she goes to the wet bar where she takes, what seems to me, an extraordinarily long time washing her face and brushing her teeth.
I pull on my T-shirt and force myself not to smile as I prowl up behind her with my bag. When she turns, she doesn’t realize I’m so close. Her breasts brush my chest, and she lets out a squeak of surprise before scowling and shoving me backward.
“Don’t be a creeper. It’s a bad look for a man your age.”
I grin and take my time at the sink, listening to her move around in the room behind me, only zipping my bag shut when I hear the unmistakable sound of her settling on the sofa. Moving to turn off the brighter lights, I leave one corner lamp on.
She’s placed her pillow at the corner on the L-shaped couch. Picking up my pillow, I move it so our heads will be next to each other and set my gun on the small coffee table next to hers.
She watches me for a moment, expression unreadable.
Finally, she breaks the silence. “Somehow, I never thought I’d see a gangster in pajamas.”
I glance down at my T-shirt and pants. “I can take them off it they’re bothering you.”
She gives me a look but doesn’t answer. “You'd better not snore.”
I chuckle as she closes her eyes, a disgruntled look on her face. Through the closed suite doors is the almost inaudible sound of voices and music cutting in and out, a sure sign that the group is in bed and currently scrolling their phones.
I eye the sofa dubiously and then lower myself down.
“This couch is terrible.” I shift trying to get comfortable and rub my lower back absentmindedly.
I hear a tiny giggle. “Please tell me you’re about to complain about your back. That would literally make my day, old man.”
“You’re going to feel bad when I can’t move tomorrow.”
She laughs again, the sound so sweet and pure it feels like a laser to my heart, and I can’t be upset that it’s at my expense.
“I should have recorded the sighs you made as you sat down,” she chortles.
“Probably similar to the ones you made while you were objectifying me. Not very professional, Ms. Worthington.”
She taps a finger to her lip, pretending to be deep in thought. “Do they have old folks’ homes for gangsters? You could sit around comparing scars.”
“I’m happy to show you my scars, malyshka.” I pretend to be annoyed.
“Maybe tomorrow. I want to be sure I get a look before the wrinkles cover them up.”
I pick up my pillow and smack her in her face, which sends her into peals of laughter. She covers her mouth to smother the sound, but the sight of her eyes sparkling up at me does something funny to my chest.
Snatching my pillow back from her, I stretch out, my feet hanging off the end.
Minutes pass in silence. Sera rolls a few times, and every time she does, I can smell her shampoo. It sends trickles of pleasure through me, fueling the desire to bury my nose in the silken strands. She’s only inches from me…
I shift again, earning me a sharp exhale.
“Go to sleep,” she whispers.
“You aren’t asleep either,” I point out.
Sera blows out a breath and rolls onto her back. “I can’t.”
A few moments pass before she speaks again. “Tonight went well.”
There’s something in her tone I can’t pinpoint.
“Boring, but yeah, it went smoothly.” I roll onto my back and fold my hands on my stomach, staring up at the dim ceiling.
“That’s good though, right? It means we did our job.”
Realization hits me. I feel like an idiot for not having picked up on her worry before this.
“Absolutely. You did a great job tonight, Seraphina. You not only kept the principal safe, but you did it so that I don’t think most people even realized how you were maneuvering them. I was impressed.”
“Thanks.” She adjusts her position, and the movement causes the hair arranged on top of her head to brush mine.
I don’t know if she can even feel the connection through the giant mass of hair, but I do. Moving carefully, I shift just a little so that the top of my head is more firmly touching hers. I hold my breath, waiting to see if she moves away.
She doesn’t.
“You did really well, too.”
“I literally stood still.” I chuckle quietly. “No offense but I’m used to a tiny bit more excitement.”
She shrugs, and a few strands of hair slip free and rub against my temple. It’s delicious torture, resisting the urge to lift my hand and run my fingers through them.
“But everyone knew you were there. That’s why they didn’t make any issue with me.” I hear her take a small breath and hold it for a second. “We make a good team.”
Warmth floods through me, and I will my body to stay still—to not join her on her section of the sofa and pull her into my arms. I have the oddest desire to cuddle this woman—all the time.
“Does that mean you aren’t still mad at me?”
She stiffens a fraction, but before I can decide if it was a misstep, she relaxes. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I don’t know why I let her get to me earlier. It won’t happen again.”
“I only caught some of it,” I say, keeping my voice low. “But you handled her. The only reason I didn’t interrupt was I thought it would give Keke exactly what she was looking for.”
“Not exactly what’s she’s looking for,” she says under her breath, and then a little louder, “You’re probably right.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me,” I add. “I liked that you were jealous.”
“I was not—” She shuts her mouth when the words come out loud and shrill. “Jealous,” she hisses.
“No? I was.”
“What? When?”
“When that French asshole was drooling all over you.”
She lets out a laughing sigh. “He wasn’t flirting, not for real. He was just trying to irritate you for some reason. What was that about—the guy who said he knew you?” I hesitate, and she whispers, “Dead body disposal, circle of trust, remember.”
“Is that our club name?”
“Liev.”
“I don’t know his name. He was part of the security detail for an oligarch Mikhail was making a deal with. I rarely travel with Mikhail for that kind of thing, but they were worried there might be trouble and wanted me there. It was…” I think of how to word it. Bloody? Violent? “Contentious.”
Sera rolls onto her side and angles her face up toward me. I roll as well and tip my chin so I can see her. “So, what are you? Like the scariest of all the bratva? No other gangster would do to keep him safe?” She’s got a little smirk on her face, and I know she’s teasing.
For a split second I think about lying. But if it’s going to be a problem for her, better I know now. Plus, if the other French guard decides to cause trouble over what happened to his colleagues in Cypress, I should probably give her a heads up.
The thought sobers me. I’m going to have to watch him. I don’t want my past to put her in danger.
“I have a reputation for a reason.” I finally say, maintaining eye contact.
I see the uncertainty cross her eyes as she tries to decide if I’m kidding.
“Having me there was a reminder about what would happen if they thought about double-crossing Mikhail—a reminder of what the Kovalyov Bratva is capable of. It wasn’t the smoothest of meetings, but it wasn’t the worst either. ”
Her lips part, and a puff of air escapes.
My ribs tighten painfully over my heart. This is what I’ve been worried about. What Alex and Declan hadn’t understood. Contrary to what they believe, most women who aren’t raised in our lifestyle are horrified by what we do.
Her next words take the air from my lungs. “Does it make me a total weirdo that I think that’s kind of hot?”
It takes several seconds before I can speak. “Yes,” I say through choked laughter, as relief floods my body.
She shimmies around so that her head isn’t at such a crazy angle to grin at me.
“You don’t know me that well, but the stories I could tell you about what I’ve seen and helped with at Elite would probably surprise you.
” She wrinkles her nose and imitates her brother’s deep voice.
“My brother putting on the Sera’s so inexperienced speech wasn’t entirely about the job. ”
I see the moment she lets her guard down.
“He’s worried about something happening between us. To him, I’ll always be the younger sister.”
“You are young.”
What the hell am I doing? Trying to talk her out of it?
“Not that young.” She looks at me through her lashes.
Heat blasts through me.
Fuck. This woman is going to be the death of me.
My eyes trace from her gorgeous eyes, down her nose to her lips, and then back again.
My voice is husky when I say, “Just so we’re clear… I’m not interested in sleeping with Keke.”
“Because it’s against the rules?”
The air is thick, the tension almost palpable between us. I take a risk. Lifting my hand, I brush the loose hairs back from her face. “Because the only person I’m interested in,” I say, emphasizing the word so she can’t possibly mistake my meaning, “experimenting with… is you.”
Her breath catches, and her pupils dilate before the vulnerability creeps back in. “I told you I haven’t been able to…”
My chest cracks. I can imagine what it costs her to admit this to me, to open herself up like this. “I know. That’s why it’s an experiment. No expectations.”
Her eyes glisten before she blinks the tears away, and I can’t help myself. Cupping her cheek, I stroke my thumb across her cheekbone.
“This may not end the way you think it will.” Her words are heavy with anxiety.
“How about we don’t worry about what’s supposed to happen, and just have some fun along the way?”
She stares at me, trying to judge my sincerity. Whatever she sees must satisfy her because she nods. “When we get back to Atlanta.”
I smile back at her, keeping my thoughts to myself.
We aren’t waiting.
“We need to get some sleep.”
“Yeah, god only knows what Her Highness will want tomorrow.” She tucks her hand under her cheek.
“Seraphina.”
She opens her eyes, and then she giggles when she sees my middle finger extended.
“Goodnight, malyshka.”
She pulls one hand from under her head and returns the gesture with a smile. “Night, Gangster.”