Chapter 17 - Konstantin
I came out charging like an angry bull, with Tati as the red flag I had to chase down. The sight of her swaddled in a baggy sweatshirt and baggier pants, blithely cooking breakfast as if she had lived there her whole life, only made me go harder.
Because I liked seeing her cook an omelet that was big enough for two. I liked that she was still thinking about me with kindness and care. And I didn’t like that I liked those things. So I hit her where it would hurt the most.
Didn’t she want to find her father?
And immediately caved at the sight of the first tear rolling down her cheek.
She was worn out, broken from anxiety. If not about me, then about her father and what might have befallen him from siding with the enemy.
Still stubbornly refusing to believe Grigor could ever do anything wrong and hating me for suggesting it was possible.
And I hated myself a little bit for that. I just couldn’t push her anymore.
After all, had I gone my entire life without telling a single lie? That was hysterical.
She was sweating under those Moscow-in-winter clothes, and I had a feeling there’d be a nice breeze outside.
“You need to relax,” I told her as she tugged at her thick collar. “But first you need to get out of those clothes.”
I was angry at myself for bringing her to tears, so my tone was harsher than it needed to be. She blanched and took a step back, her eyes darting all around my face. Interesting. What was going through her mind at the mention of getting out of her heavy clothes?
What was going through my mind had me tugging her toward the door. Outside, we went up the elevator instead of down, and her confusion only grew. This was going to be a very nice surprise. At least, I hoped so.
Why the hell did I hope so? This was something I wanted to do so she could simmer down and get back on track. A hysterical woman was useless. There was no other reason.
My elevator stopped a moment later and opened out onto the private rooftop pool. I watched as Tati visibly relaxed and her mouth fell open.
“Wow,” she said, as if against her will.
It really was a stunning view, and the sky was remarkably clear and actually blue, with only a few clouds floating in the breeze. The pool was small, but the crystal clear water sparkled in the sunshine, and the burble of the whirlpool added to the faint hum of city noises far below.
Two lounge chairs were already set up under a potted palm tree, and in front of the tiny changing room, there was a stereo system and a miniature fridge. “Hopefully that’s stocked,” I said, then waved at the inviting water. “Go on, you deserve to cool off.”
The very suggestion had her tugging unconsciously at the edge of her top, and her eyes were yearning as she stared hungrily at the water. “I don’t have a swimsuit,” she said.
“I’m sure that’s never stopped a single person who’s ever been up here,” I told her, smiling at her burgeoning outrage.
“Well, it’s stopping me. Do you actually expect me to jump in…”
I was already peeling off my tank top, hardly paying any attention to the tight wrappings around the top of my arm. Her eyes were the size of saucers as I dropped my pants, and I was feeling like a god under her hypnotized gaze.
“Naked,” I said, letting her have her eyeful.
Her flustered yelp was cut off by the welcome sound of nothing as I dove under the water.
The dressing on my gunshot wound was overkill for such a small scratch, and the doc probably did the most damage digging the bullet out.
It was more stiff than sore after a full night of sleep, something I hadn’t had since Grigor went missing.
So, perhaps I owed the gunman my thanks.
I probably wouldn’t remember that, though, if I ever found him.
I swam the length of the pool and back again before coming up for air, and was immediately greeted with shouts.
“Are you stupid?” Tati asked, walking quickly along the edge as I did another lap. “Or are you crazy? What would the doctor say about all this activity so soon after you almost died?”
I stopped and planted my feet on the bottom, staring up at her from waist-deep water. Her eyes dropped to my chest before angrily rising.
“He’d probably tell me I was stupid and crazy,” I said, tentatively rolling my shoulder now that it wasn’t supported by the buoyant water.
Stiff, a bit tender, but it felt good to get some of that pent-up anger and energy out.
Now hopefully, I could get Tati to do the same thing. “I’ve been shot worse before.”
“That doesn’t—” she shrieked and ducked when I cut her off by splashing a massive wave of water over her. “Oh my God, you’re such a child.”
I kept splashing her as she hurried to get out of range, but too late; she was soaked. The heavy clothes clung to her, and I caught a glimpse of her smooth belly when she began to wring out the edge of her shirt.
“And you’re a little old lady trapped in a smoking hot body.”
She was halfway to whipping off her sweatshirt, and hastily finished the job and tugged down the thin tank top she had underneath. Still dry. I’d have to remedy that. Her face turned purple as she processed the combination of insult and compliment I just hurled at her.
Hurrying back to the side of the pool, she stuck her foot in and splashed me back, but in this case, the high ground didn’t do her any favors. I had another tidal wave covering her with both hands, and now she was really soaked through.
Finally, she had to admit defeat and couldn’t help laughing a little as she held up her hands in surrender.
“You’re wet anyway, come on in.”
After a brief mental war with herself, she stomped over to the steps and daintily started her descent.
I was at her side in an instant, grabbing her around the legs and sending her toward the deep end.
She came up sputtering and leaped like a dolphin through the churning water.
Flying at my head, she used all her strength to shove me under, and I was so pleased she was having some semblance of fun, I pretended to lose my footing so she could dunk me.
“Oh no, I’m sorry,” she said, looking horrified when I came back up, ready to retaliate. “I’m the stupid one now. I wasn’t paying attention to your shoulder.”
I patted the bandage, still firmly wrapped and in place, and put my good hand over my heart. “I swear it’s fine. That doctor must have stock in the bandage company because he certainly used plenty.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, and clapped her hands hard into the water, sending an explosion of drops into my face.
God, she was pretty when she laughed. “I give up,” I said, backing off so she could get the relaxation she needed. And so I could enjoy watching her in peace.
“How come I don’t trust you?” she asked, her hands poised for another surface slap.
“Because somewhere along the line you must have developed a suspicious nature.”
She snickered but didn’t take offense. “And you didn’t?”
“It’s how I’m still alive.”
“Barely.”
I splashed her once more for that crack and then leaned against the side of the pool to let one of the jets beat against my good shoulder blade. “Go ahead and swim. You used to be a fish. You won every race that year at the end of secondary school, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes shuttering a little as if her victories brought her no joy.
She began a lazy backstroke, her sweatpants hindering her and flapping around her legs, but she would have opened a vein before admitting I had the right idea. As she passed, she flipped underwater, showing off a little despite not wanting to recall how good she’d been.
“You used to swim every morning, didn’t you?” she asked.
I raised my brows, surprised. “I still do when I can,” I told her. “How did you know that?” I couldn’t imagine Grigor had shared my morning rituals with her.
She shrugged, starting her backstroke again. “I used to have sleepovers at your house, whenever Sofiya had a party that she had to invite everyone to. I always woke up before everyone else, and every time I snuck downstairs for a swim, you were already in the pool.”
“A young voyeur, then?” I asked, just to see the blush rise up from her chest. She stopped her slow backstroke and half-heartedly splashed me again, but didn’t dispute my claim. “At any rate, I’m sorry I spoiled your morning swims back then.”
I wanted to stop this trip down memory lane because I didn’t want her to think I still saw her as a child.
I didn’t, not at all. Not even close. I’d only been aware of her peripherally, one in a sea of faces at Sofiya’s parties, which I always left her nanny in charge of and kept well out of the way.
“If you didn’t pack a swimsuit, I’ll order one for you,” I told her on her next pass.
Her arms were long and graceful as they glided through the water, and her legs seemed hardly hampered by the soaked sweats.
She was a different person in the water, strong and sure.
I wanted to make sure she could keep coming up here to swim if she wanted to.
I groaned inwardly, realizing I was planning for a future together.
As if we weren’t on opposing sides of a fight I meant to win.
“That would be nice,” she said, not too begrudgingly. “I probably should have brought one, but I didn’t think I’d have time to swim.”
“Well, you’ve got it now.” That earned me a scowl, but it was already gone after she did another flip underwater and came up looking relaxed.
No more lines between her brows, and the reflection of the sun on the water masked any dark circles under her eyes. Even the set of her slender shoulders was looser. I crossed my arms, feeling pretty good about myself.
“What?” she asked, noticing.
“This was a good idea.”
She sighed. “Yes, I guess I have to agree.”
The future was hazy, and the past was something I didn’t want to return to, so what else was there to talk about?
It shouldn’t have mattered when the sun warmed my shoulders, soothing away the tightness from my injury.
But it did matter somehow. I wasn’t satisfied enjoying the very pleasant view of Tati sluicing through the water, back and forth in front of me. I wanted more.
And the fact that I wanted more had my stress rushing back. A sudden chill breeze only reiterated how useless and foolish it was to spend time with Tati like she was an old friend and not my prisoner.
A prisoner I had to convince to talk, and hopefully she’d be more willing to do that if she didn’t view me as an enemy. There, instant justification for why I was still in the pool with her. Nothing at all to do with memories of my stolen kiss coming back to me the longer I kept my eyes on her.
Of course, I remembered the kiss. No amount of painkillers could have wiped it from my mind. But why did I do it? Why did I want to do it again?
“I’m getting out,” I said abruptly.
She stopped, looking disappointed, then held up her hands. “Yeah, I’m turning into a prune. But this was great.”
“It’s still great,” I said.
I made my way up the steps, and when I turned back to see if she was following me, she was frozen in place in the shallows, bright red and looking everywhere but at me, dripping wet and stark naked.
To save her adorably prudish sensibilities, I quickly headed to the small changing room and grabbed a towel to wrap around my hips.
By that time, she was out, and now that I was somewhat decent, her eyes couldn’t help but roam my body, which I didn’t mind at all. Not when I was having trouble keeping my own gaze off the way her tank top was plastered to her body, her nipples showing through the thin fabric.
A gush of water followed her, flooding from her sweatpants. “If you had on a bathing suit, you’d probably lie out in the sun, right?” I asked. “It’s pretty glorious, isn’t it?”
“I can see why your brother never returned to Moscow all those years ago,” she agreed, squinting up at the big golden orb in the sky.
“Hey, it wasn’t all those years ago,” I said, snapping a towel at her backside before handing it to her. “You’re making me feel old.”
“You are old,” she said, then bit her lip to hide the teasing smile that tried to break through.
“And you’re crazy if you don’t strip down and get some color on your pearly white skin. Underwear is no different from a bathing suit, which was the point I was trying to make before you got sassy with me.”
I stretched out on one of the lounge chairs and made a point to let out a long moan of satisfaction as I lifted my chin toward the sun. After making a point not to look at her, she stripped the sweatpants off and lay on the chair beside me, a soft moan of her own, making me smile.
I needed to hear that sound in another context.
No, I fucking didn’t.
“What have you been up to since college?” I asked, too bluntly, almost as if I was interrogating her again.
She snorted. “As if you haven’t already investigated everything there is to know about me.”
“I know you dropped out.” Grigor had been upset about it, but finally came to terms when he was convinced she was happy.
Or he’d convinced himself. I didn’t bring up her father’s opinion on the matter for obvious reasons.
“But I never understood why. It wasn’t money, and it certainly wasn’t poor grades. ”
“I enjoy my apprenticeship,” she said. Not an answer.
“Do you?” Once again, this didn’t come out sounding conversational, more accusatory. My ire was rising again. What was she hiding?
Wrong move. I had her for a while in the pool, but now she has completely shut down. When I turned to look at her, she was sitting up, wrapping her towel around her lower body.
“It’s getting chilly,” she said. “And I’m tired.”
Fine. I could continue to dig and get the answers I needed, find out if she had to quit school to help Grigor out with something he never cared to share with me.
Or if there really was something shady going on with the textile mill she worked at, being partly owned by a rival Bratva family.
I could probably have that information in a few days if I asked CJ to delve into her past.
But I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to hear it from her. I wanted her to open up to me. Maybe even trust me.
No, I actually didn’t. That wasn’t why she was with me. I was not getting involved with someone who could be plotting against me, no matter how obsessed I was becoming with her.
I stood up, heading toward the elevator. “You’re right, it’s getting late. Time to go inside.”
Let her make of that what she would. She had a taste of freedom out here in the sunlight, but perhaps she preferred being locked in her room.