by Bella Rose
“You lied,” Gordon moaned. “I was going to get my company back!”
“I never said that.” Vasily made a tsking noise. His men were already slowly moving into position behind Gordon. “I told you that there would be a place for you at my company once you had helped me to secure my claim to Pierson Security.”
“What?” Gordon screeched. “A job? That’s what you were going to give me!”
“The company isn’t even yours,” Vasily pointed out. “You were forced to sell in order to pay off your outstanding debts.” Vasily gestured impatiently to Kemper. “Unfortunately you and young Creighton are in the same boat here. He never had any money to compensate you either, which is why he promised your company to me in payment of his debts.”
The gun drooped a little as Gordon processed this. “Creighton is broke?”
“Penniless,” Vasily said cheerfully.
“But his family!” Gordon was aghast. “They have billions!”
“They disinherited him when he tried to put up his shares as collateral for the debts he owed to us,” Vasily said, looking as though his patience was wearing very thin. “His family has a lot of power. It did not go well for us. So while my intention was to acquire a controlling interest in the Kemper business, Creighton came to me with this solution instead.”
“You.” Gordon swung around. He was staring at Creighton with a look of absolute hatred on his face. “My daughter warned me about you. She told me you weren’t to be trusted. I—I ignored her! I—” He seemed to realize right then that Courtney was not in the room. “Where is Courtney? Where is my daughter?”
“She’s safe,” Mikhail told him flatly. “Though in no part thanks to any of you.”
“Or you,” Vasily pointed out cryptically, still speaking in Russian. “I knew you had snatched her right from under my nose. Those damn resources of yours are formidable indeed.”
“Care to challenge me?”
Vasily sighed. “No. I have another proposition for you instead.”
“I’m listening.” Mikhail already had a feeling he knew what it involved.
“I intend to find out the truth about Uday from Dimitri,” Vasily said tersely. “You will go with me. We will close the book on that night for good.”
Mikhail nodded. “I will go with you. And then you will disappear from my life for good.”
Vasily said nothing else, but the small smile he gave Mikhail suggested that “for good” might not be as long as Mikhail might like.
* * *
Courtney had expected to be taken to Mikhail’s office building. Apparently Frank—who was Mikhail’s head of security—had really been referring to Mikhail’s residential building. The place was like a fortress. It was a tall downtown high-rise with upscale apartments and security so tight she imagined the residents felt as though they were living inside Fort Knox.
As Frank walked her to a private elevator that went to the thirtieth floor, she wondered if any of the other residents ever wondered why their landlord thought he needed such tight security. Toby and Bella’s penthouse was in a safe, secure building. But even though Toby was worth billions, he didn’t seem to believe he needed the level of safety Mikhail obviously felt was necessary. Of course, she was also certain that Mikhail managed the building under the name of a property management firm in order to distance himself and his main company from any potential financial risks. It was all so complicated at times.
The bell in the elevator rang, and the doors opened directly into an opulent apartment. There was no front door or other barrier. Apparently the key-code-activated, heavily monitored private elevator was the front door. From there Courtney could see into the wide living room. The view was incredible. Two entire walls were made up of windows. The entire city was laid out below like a fairyland.
Courtney approached the windows slowly. It was cold inside this place. She wrapped her arms around her body and held on. It was no wonder she felt chilled. The penthouse apartment had a distinctly frigid atmosphere. In fact it was almost tomblike. The furnishings were deco modern. The couch was white. The chairs were hard. The television was the only thing that looked used. Did Mikhail never sit down?
The kitchen was visible to her left. Each gleaming surface looked as if it had been prepped for a magazine layout. There was not a speck of food to be seen. A bottle of wine sat half-empty on the counter. An opener sat beside it, and there was a half-full glass there too.
She glanced in the other direction and caught just a glimpse of an open doorway that likely led into a bedroom. There were black-and-white photographs hanging in the hallway and no other art or personal items anywhere to be found. It did not look like a human being lived here. Courtney tried and failed to imagine what this place would look like with baby toys strewn across the floor. Perhaps a juice stain on the virginal white rug, or baby handprints on the glass-top coffee table would humanize things a bit.
There is no place for us in his life.
She gently touched her belly. Somehow the option of “getting rid of it” was no longer viable. She would not do that to her unborn child. It wasn’t the baby’s fault she’d picked an emotional cripple to get her pregnant.
Courtney moved back toward the windows once again. Somehow the view was the only thing she cared to look at. She thought quietly about Mikhail’s coldness. His life was one big puzzle. She felt as though all of the pieces were lying on the table; she simply had no idea how they all fit together. She couldn’t believe that he had murdered Vasily’s son. Yet she could not deny that there were things he had said and actions he had taken that absolutely supported the notion he had a very deep regret buried in his past.
“Think logically,” she whispered to herself.
If her father had truly thrown Mikhail to the wolves and caused legal trouble, perhaps he had been forced to reopen contact with the criminal element of his past. She vaguely remembered some long-ago stories he had told her about his father’s involvement in the Russian mafia. Would it not make sense that Mikhail would ask those connections for help if he found himself broke, unemployed, and without anyone else to help him?
Courtney’s heart broke for him. “My poor Mikhail.”
“You can stand here in my apartment and say that?”
His masculine voice drifted in from the direction of the elevator. Courtney didn’t move. How could she explain to him that monetary wealth and the success he had achieved had nothing to do with her words? He was her poor Mikhail because even though he had achieved all of those wonderful things and could boast that he either had everything or could afford to buy it ten times over, these surroundings suggested to her that he was still the same little boy she had met working on one of her father’s maintenance crews. He was ambitious and driven and talented, and now he was successful, but that did not change the yawning chasm of unrequited need inside him.
“I was thinking of you as a boy,” she said. It was true although it was certainly the glossed-over version.
“I was certainly poor,” he told her wryly. “But that doesn’t matter now. I couldn’t give you anything back then.” He gestured around him to the trappings of his wealth. “Now I can give you everything.”
“Yes,” she said, because there didn’t seem to be anything else to say. “It certainly seems that way.”
Twenty-One
Perhaps it had something to do with Courtney’s comment about “poor Mikhail,” but whatever the reason, Mikhail had a driving desire to make love to this woman in his bed. He wanted to see her surrounded by the wealth and luxury that he could provide for her. He wanted to possess her while knowing that he was truly the best man for her.
With that in mind, he strode toward the windows and swept her off her feet. He settled her against his chest. She gently touched his cheek with her fingertips. The tender touch undid him slowly from the inside out. By the time he had made it down the hall to his bedroom, he was in a fury to have her.
Mikhail set Courtney on her feet beside his
bed. Her clothes were a tattered mess. Putting his hand in the neck of her blouse, he ripped the front open. The fabric tore easily. Her eyes widened, her pupils dilating as her arousal grew to match his. He loved that he could make her so hot just by wanting her. This woman had been made for him and him alone.
“Take off your skirt,” he commanded.
She hastened to obey. Shoving the fabric down over her hips, she pushed it to the floor and stepped out of her heels. There were spatters of mud on her legs from being out in the woods. He could see a bevy of tiny scratches from the brush and twigs she had encountered. The sight only made him more determined to wipe all of that away. There would be nothing for Courtney but him. Mikhail would become her world.
He waved his hand, motioning her back. “Get on the bed.”
“Yes.”
Her lack of argument was an unnecessary boost to his ego. Mikhail took in the picture of her on his dark-wood four-poster bed. She reclined back on her elbows, gazing at him as though she was awaiting his pleasure. Her creamy skin was perfection, and the position of her thighs showed him just a hint of her pink pussy lips.
He swallowed and tried to contain his erratic breathing. “Spread yourself for me.”
She did as he asked. Spreading her thighs, she reached down with two fingers and carefully pushed her full fleshy pussy open for him to see. When her middle finger began slowly stroking her slick folds, Mikhail groaned with need. His cock was so hard he could barely hold back. Her breasts were bobbing with each breath she took. Her tongue slid over her lower lip before she bit down on the fullness of it with her top teeth. She was panting now, and he realized that she was getting very close to orgasm just from having him watch.
COURTNEY HAD NEVER done anything like this before in her life. She rubbed her middle finger against her clit and shuddered as the climax building at her core finally exploded throughout her limbs. Her pussy clenched tightly, longing for penetration as she felt the undulating contractions of orgasm leave her breathless with the need for more.
She gazed at Mikhail. The hunger on his face was gratifying. It was such an amazing feeling to know that this incredible man wanted her so very badly. He was ripping at his clothes, tearing off his jacket, his shirt, his pants, and kicking off his shoes as he bared his spectacular body just for her.
“I must have you,” he murmured huskily.
“Then take me,” she whispered. “I’m yours.”
Mikhail put his knees up on the bed and settled himself between her legs. Courtney lay back on the bed. She watched Mikhail cover her with his body. She felt the warmth of his skin beside hers and felt its firm, silky texture that was still so different from her own. The hair on his legs tickled, and she felt the coarse hair at the base of his erection brush the sensitive skin on the insides of her thighs.
He nudged her entrance with the tip of his cock. She gave a tiny moan and shivered with anticipation. Then he slipped through her wet folds and sank deep inside her body with one long thrust. The instant gratification was almost more than she could bear. Her eyes slid closed as she gasped in delight. It felt so good! She was full to bursting with Mikhail. The friction of his cock sliding through her inner muscles pushed her perilously close to a second orgasm.
“Mikhail!” she cried, her voice breaking on his name as she came hard and fast.
“Yes!” He thrust hard. Each time he pushed his cock inside her, she felt him bottom out deep as though he were impaling her with the very essence of himself. “Come for me, Courtney!”
She could not have disobeyed if she wanted. Her body shuddered as a third orgasm sent her flying to the stars. It was profound. She felt as though her eyes were rolling back into her head, and her body was clenching and unclenching with the sexual tension he poured inside her.
Then Mikhail began cursing in a language she didn’t understand. Russian perhaps? The sound was erotic. He grabbed her hips and held tight as he pounded her pussy so hard the only sound she could hear was that of their flesh slapping together. The sensational feeling only sent her flying higher until she finally felt something snap inside her.
Mikhail shouted and gave one last stroke before he strained against her with all of his strength. Courtney wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to get him as deep as possible. The feeling was incredible. Perhaps she was still enjoying little zings and leftover jolts of her own incredible orgasms as he poured his seed into her body and marked her once again as his own.
MIKHAIL WAS UTTERLY spent. He rolled to his side and yawned. Courtney was naked in his bed. The building was secure. His apartment was safe. He could finally relax and know that everything was exactly where he wanted it. Nothing else mattered. At least not right now.
He was nearly asleep when he heard her whisper in the dark. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m not thinking anything,” he said lazily. “I’m content. Aren’t you?”
She didn’t answer. The lack of an answer made him uneasy, though he wasn’t sure why. Was she unsatisfied somehow? The woman had come three times, and the last one had seemed to go on forever. Surely that was plenty for her?
Mikhail gave another lusty yawn. “What are you thinking?” There. That was probably a question that would get him some answers.
“I was thinking about the baby.”
The thought gave him an instant jolt. His eyes popped open. Somehow in all the confusion, or perhaps just because of his complete obsession with the need to be inside Courtney, he had forgotten the whole baby thing. He was certain that would not be news well received by her.
“What about the baby?” he said, deciding those words sounded neutral enough.
She seemed to be thinking very deeply about all of this. Mikhail wondered what that would mean for him and then decided it was probably nothing good.
Courtney rested her cheek on his chest. “I know you’re not really into this whole fatherhood thing.”
“What makes you say that?” he demanded. Even if it were true, he didn’t like being that transparent.
She shrugged. He felt her shoulders move in the darkness. “You’re not the paternal type. I get it. You even thought that you were unable to have children and you were apparently okay with that.”
“It doesn’t mean I don’t want our baby.” There. That sounded neutral enough. “I love you, Courtney. I truly do. I want you in my life.” He didn’t say the rest of what went through his head.
“Oh, you mean you want me in your life, even if it comes as a complete set with your kid. Is that what you’re thinking?” Her tone suggested that there was no way he could weasel out of this one.
“I wouldn’t have used those exact words, no,” he hedged. “It’s certainly a surprise and not exactly the way I planned to live my life, but I’m sure you know about that as much as I do.”
“I’m not getting rid of this baby.” Her tone was flat. She pulled away from him in the darkness, sitting up and crossing her legs. She pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts. She was pulling away from him right before his eyes.
Mikhail refused to let that happen. “Courtney, I would never ask you to do something like that. You are carrying my child too. It’s my baby. It’s a part of me. I might not know what to do with that sometimes, but my readiness doesn’t change facts.”
COURTNEY WAS JUST beginning to think that this might work when Mikhail decided to let her in on his plan for parenthood. “We’re not poor people, Courtney. Parenting when you have money is different from parenting when you don’t. We can hire an army of nannies and around-the-clock caregivers. Really our lives won’t have to change at all.”
She froze. Very carefully modulating her voice, she tried to pretend that everything was all right. “So you’re not intimidated by this parenting stuff because you can afford experts to sort of help you through it?”
“Or do it for me,” he said with a chuckle. “Not that I don’t or won’t love my kid. I just know that I can make sure the child has the best care available,
and that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m the one giving it. Neither of us was raised with little kids around, Courtney. And I didn’t have much in the way of parenting models anyway. I’m clueless about this stuff. Doesn’t it make sense to hire an expert to make sure we don’t screw it up?”
Courtney lay back down on the bed. He hauled her up close beside him, and she didn’t fight it. She took a deep breath and forced herself to respond to his asinine comment. “I suppose you have a point.”
“Of course I do.” He gave her a squeeze. “I love you. We’re going to have a family together. But that doesn’t mean our lives have to change, and that’s okay by me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to have empathy for this man who was obviously terrified of fatherhood. He was certainly right in one aspect. He hadn’t had anything in the way of parenting models in his life. He’d raised himself. She could remember that much from talking to him when he was only a teenager. But the fact that he didn’t even want to try was disturbing. That wasn’t what she wanted. When she had decided to do this—really do it—she had resolved to put everything into this parenting adventure and let the chips fall where they may.
Sure. Having money did change things. But Courtney was willing to try being a parent without money too. She had a little bit of inheritance from her mother. She had some savings. She’d been going to find a place here to start renting. Maybe it was time to go further away. Maybe it was time to start over in a place where nobody would know her or where she’d come from. She could just be Courtney Pierson. A woman who was struggling to make ends meet while raising her child all by herself.
She wasn’t romantic enough to believe that this was going to be easy, but she absolutely intended to give it a chance to work. After everything that had happened in her life, she wanted the chance to try it all over again.
Chapter Twenty-One
