Chapter 22
Dubai, one week ago…
Mikhail
Katya was a mess.
A beautiful, trembling, thoroughly fucked mess.
Her skin was flushed a deep rose, her lips swollen, her eyes hazy and unfocused.
She clutched the glass of water I’d given her like a lifeline, her hands shaking a little as she handed it back, lifting her eyes to mine.
We gazed at each other silently while my brothers teased her.
She was leaning against Viktor, who was still holding her up, his arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
She looked like she might shatter into a million pieces if we so much as breathed on her too hard.
She was magnificent.
I watched her, a strange, unfamiliar feeling settling in my chest. It was more than satisfaction.
More than the simple, animal pleasure of a good fuck.
It was something… more. A fierce, protective instinct that went against everything I’d trained myself to be.
I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t deny it.
I was falling for her.
Viktor nuzzled her neck, murmuring something in Russian that made her shiver. Andrei stood in front of her, a look of satisfaction written all over his face.
“Time to get you cleaned up, kotenok,” Viktor said, his hands stroking her sides.
I moved toward them and scooped her up into my arms.
She gasped, her arms instinctively going around my neck. “Mikhail! I can walk.”
“Yes, but I’m going to carry you. You’re still shaking, malyshka,” I replied in a firm tone. It wasn’t a question. It was a fact.
“She’s been properly fucked, that’s all,” Andrei said with a smirk. “It’s a natural reaction.”
Ignoring him, I carried her through the sprawling living area, down a long hallway, and into the master suite.
The room was done in shades of gray and white, the massive king-sized bed was a pristine island of white linen against the dark wood furniture.
I carried her past the bed into the en-suite bathroom and set her down on the seat in the enormous steam shower.
She yelped as her heated flesh met the cold tiles and we smiled at each other.
Turning the handheld showerhead on, I let it heat up while I fetched a clean, soft cloth.
Stripping the rest of my own clothes, I stepped into the shower with her.
Setting the dial to a gentle rain, I knelt in front of her and used my free hand to gently spread her legs and brought the warm water between them.
She sighed in what I could only guess was relief.
She watched me as I tended to her. For the first time since her last orgasm her gaze was clear and direct.
She didn’t flinch from my touch. She didn’t look away. She let me take care of her.
“You don’t have to do that,” she whispered.
“I want to,” I said. I moved the cloth over her skin, following the spray of warm water from her beautiful face, down her neck, to her shoulders, arms, back, and chest. I took my time gliding the cloth over her full, perfect breasts to her soft tummy.
I traced the curve of her hip, the soft skin of her inner thigh as I cleaned her off.
Finally, she nudged her bottom forward off the bench a bit, spread her legs wider, and let me wash her no-longer private places.
Her long, toned legs were last before I directed the spray from her face to her toes one more time.
Her long exhale and sweet smile reassured me that she really was okay.
Viktor and Andrei had appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame, watching us. They were silent, their presence a palpable weight in the room.
When I was done tending to Katerina, I quickly rinsed myself before turning back to my girl.
I took her hands in mine and helped her stand before leading her out of the shower.
Taking a plush white towel from the adjacent glass shelf, I gently patted her dry from head to toe, front and back before wrapping another towel around my own waist.
Purely for my own pleasure, I again lifted her into my arms and carried her past my brothers to the bed.
Laying her down on the big, soft bed, I pulled the fluffy duvet over her, tucking it around her body.
“Sleep,” I said, brushing her damp hair from her face.
“You need to rest.” I let myself press one kiss to her forehead.
She didn’t argue, just met my eyes and smiled. Her eyelids were already fluttering, her body sinking deeper into the mattress. Within moments, her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.
I stood there for a long time, just watching her. The rise and fall of her chest, the soft fan of her lashes against her cheeks. The unfamiliar feeling in my chest intensified, a strange, heavy warmth that was both comforting and unsettling.
Viktor and Andrei walked into the room, their movements quiet. They came to stand on either side of me, looking down at the sleeping woman in my bed.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Viktor whispered.
Andrei grunted in agreement. “She’s strong and smart. And stubborn. And beautiful. And she has no idea what she’s gotten herself into with us.”
“No,” I said, my gaze still on Katya. “She doesn’t.”
Viktor chuckled, the sound wickedly mischievous. “She will. And she’s going to love every minute of it.”
Andrei’s gaze shifted from Katya to me, a questioning look in his eyes. “You’re quiet, Mikhail. What are you thinking?”
I turned to face my brothers. I looked from Andrei’s intense, possessive stare to Viktor’s wicked, knowing grin. They were my brothers. My blood. My partners in crime and in war. We had shared everything except a woman.
Until now.
“I’m thinking,” I responded thoughtfully, “that she’s ours now. Forever.”
While Katya was still sleeping, my brothers and I started strategizing in the living room.
Andrei sat on the couch opposite me. He popped two more pain relievers and rested his head on his hand. He looked like hell, but he still had that stubborn spark burning in him. Always did.
Viktor lounged sideways in the armchair, one ankle hooked over his knee, a cigarette balanced between two fingers.
A thin haze of smoke curled above him, catching the lamplight as he watched me with that deceptively lazy stare, just oozing the satisfied, restless energy of a man who’d just gotten laid.
His shirt was half-unbuttoned, his hair a mess. He looked pleased. Annoyingly so.
The room still smelled faintly of her.
“Our plane systems were compromised,” I said, cutting straight to business. “There are only two organizations capable of remote override on a Dragunov-class aircraft.”
Both of them went still.
Viktor sat up straighter. “Revenant.”
“Or ARCHEON,” Andrei added.
A beat passed.
My phone rang.
The sound shattered the quiet.
I held up a hand to silence them and answered. “Mikhail Dragunov.”
“Mikhail. How good of you to pick up. We heard your brother had… a difficult flight.”
“You heard right,” I said.
The man on the other line cleared his throat. “ARCHEON has become aware of your operation. The off-book drone acquisition. The foreign buyer.” He paused as if letting it all sink in. “They were the ones who attempted to destroy your aircraft.”
My jaw tightened. “Why?”
“They are attempting to force our hand,” he said. “ARCHEON does not appreciate competing shadows in their theater.”
“And you?” I asked. “Do you appreciate it?”
“We appreciate results,” he replied.
The call ended.
I stared at the phone for a long moment before speaking. I didn’t trust Revenant as far as I could throw them, but I also didn’t know what to think of ARCHEON either. Either one of them could have tried to kill Andrei and Katya, and I needed to figure out which one was the guilty party.
“So, Revenant claims that ARCHEON was the one that tried to kill you, Andrei,” I said.
Viktor cracked his knuckles. “Perfect. We needed a new enemy this week.”
Andrei rubbed his temples. “I swear to God, Viktor…”
“If you two are finished,” I said, “we need to plan.”
Viktor smirked. “I’m listening, boss.”
“Andrei,” I said, turning to my youngest brother, “you’ll deal with the drone manufacturer. We need to ensure the upgraded units don’t reach Revenant under any circumstances. The deal is over. The shipment is ours now.”
“Give me a day or two,” Andrei said. “My head needs to stop feeling like someone installed a jackhammer behind my eye. Then I’ll fly out.”
Good. He’d fix it. He always did.
“I heard the Markovs are having trouble with ARCHEON too,” Viktor offered, tapping ash into the tray.
“Think the Markovs will work with us?” I asked.
“Probably not, but I want to take Katya and make sure that they do,” Viktor said. “She’s… effective.”
Effective was a polite way of saying she was terrifying when she wanted to be.
“Katya just survived a cult compound and a near plane crash,” Andrei said. “And you want to drag her into more danger?”
Viktor’s expression softened slightly. “I want to keep her close. That’s all.”
Andrei exhaled. “Yeah. Same.”
I didn’t say it out loud, but I felt it too.
We all did.
“So here’s the plan,” I continued. “Andrei investigates the drones. I go speak to ARCHEON. Directly. I want to know if they’re really the ones that attacked you and Katya, or if that was just Revenant trying to shift the blame off themselves.”
“And me?” Viktor asked, already knowing the answer.
“You handle the Markov situation,” I said. “With Katya.”
Viktor grinned like he’d won a prize, which considering things, maybe he did. “Gladly.”
“She may not appreciate being volunteered,” Andrei said dryly.
“She will,” Viktor replied with confidence.
I stood. “One way or another, this is going to end.”