by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne
“Do you want company?” she asked, unable to stop herself. She was never like this with men, especially not since she’d gone on the run.
His eyebrows raised, those pale blue eyes glinting with something she couldn’t define, but he nodded.
“I’m Angel,” she said as she slid onto one of the bar stools next to him.
“Vadim.” He still watched her curiously.
“That’s an interesting name.” When he didn’t respond, she nervously shifted in her seat before catching the bartender’s eye. The woman smiled and poured her a glass of wine without Angel having to tell her. It was impressive how the bartender seemed to remember everyone’s preferred drink.
“It’s Russian.” Vadim’s response was a little delayed, taking her off guard, but she smiled.
“I like it. Vadim.” When she said his name, his eyes seemed to almost darken, but then he looked away and motioned to the bartender. The woman knew his preferred drink too, which was top shelf Scotch.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you in here with the other security guys.” But she had seen him around the hotel, usually with Hayden or Jay Wentworth. And sometimes with Iris Christiansen.
He gave what might have been a half-shrug, it was hard to tell. He just pinned her with those blue eyes, as if he was trying to see inside her head. It was a little disconcerting. Not creepy, just like he was trying to figure her out.
“So are you from Russia?”
He shook his head. “No. Chicago. My mother was an immigrant though and didn’t know any English. It’s why I still have a slight accent.” He seemed almost surprised at himself for a moment as he spoke.
She couldn’t imagine why. Snagging one of the napkins, she started folding it into origami without looking at it. She needed to keep her hands busy. Vadim was so sexy, so absolutely male, he made her knees weak. She was glad she was sitting. “So what do you need Hayden for?”
“Security issue.” His answer was blunt, his expression shuttered. Maybe he thought she was fishing for security information. She’d noticed that most of the security people here kept a tight lid on what they did, which was understandable. “Where are you from?”
His question took her off guard, though it shouldn’t have since she’d asked him first. She hated lying, but had gotten used to it. “Small town in Georgia.” She stuck to her Southern roots, knowing she couldn’t hide her slight accent and that most people wouldn’t know the difference between a Georgia and Louisiana accent.
When he didn’t respond, she started to feel weird, like she’d cornered him into this conversation he didn’t want to have. God, what was wrong with her? She was so fucking lonely, that’s what. And he probably thought she was weird. Feeling embarrassed, she handed him the owl then laid a bill on the bar to cover her drink. She took another big sip, not wanting to leave the full glass sitting there. “Well, I’ve gotta go if I don’t want to miss my bus. It was nice to meet you.”
When she stood, he slid off his stool. “Do you need a ride?” He seemed to startle himself as he asked the question, which made him adorable.
Okay, now she was really shocked, but oddly enough not uncomfortable. After she’d gone on the run she’d gotten really good at reading people and Vadim was just being nice. “Uh, no, I’m okay. The bus goes right by my apartment complex. Hopefully I’ll see you around though?”
He nodded, half-smiling in that cute way of his before he sat back down.
“Angel,” Vadim murmured against her ear, his light stubble tickling her face. He hadn’t shaved last night and she liked the feel of it against her skin. “What are you dreaming about? You’re smiling.”
“Mm, you,” she mumbled drowsily, not fully awake, but when his big hand cupped her mound, she moaned. “Are you on drugs or something? You’re truly a machine.”
He nipped her bottom lip, but she still hadn’t opened her eyes. “No drugs, just you. Now that you’re letting me touch you, I’m not going to stop.”
She looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “I was dreaming about the first time we met. I was so nervous talking to you.”
He snorted and nipped her lip again as he dipped a finger inside her sheath. She was tender, but he felt so good. “You were adorable. And confusing.”
She arched into his hold, already growing wet from his light stroking. “Confusing?” she managed to gasp out when he added another finger.
“I didn’t understand why you were talking to me.” He nipped lower, raking his teeth over her jaw as he withdrew his fingers.
“Uh, because you have that whole mysterious, sexy thing going on. I couldn’t help myself.” She stroked her hands over his shoulders, her fingers tightening on the flex of his muscles as he moved.
He didn’t comment, just started to lift the hem of her T-shirt. He paused when his cell phone started buzzing across his nightstand, but after a moment he ignored it and tugged the shirt off.
Her nipples instantly hardened under his gaze and when he dipped his head to one of them, she slid her fingers through his hair, clutching him to her. Not that she was afraid he’d go anywhere. He’d made it clear he wanted her in a way no one ever had.
It was a little intimidating to be on the receiving end of so much hunger, but she loved it, especially since she felt the same way. When his phone buzzed again, she pushed at his shoulder.
“Vadim, it could be important.”
He lifted his head, glanced at the clock, then grabbed his phone. She thought he’d answer it but after he looked at the caller ID he turned it off.
She started to protest, but he went right back to what he was doing, covering her body with his as he lightly pressed his teeth against her nipple. She spread her legs, letting him settle over her. “Are you sure…you can ignore that?” She didn’t want him to get in trouble at work, but it was hard to care much about anything when he’d started teasing her.
Reaching between their bodies, she wrapped her fingers around his cock and started slowly stroking him. He shuddered against her, but didn’t answer so she guessed that meant yes, he could do any damn thing he wanted. Which was good because the need building inside her was growing each second that ticked by.
When he moved to her other breast, she tightened her hold on him, stroking a little faster. He still needed to put a condom on and she liked feeling him without any barrier. As she squeezed harder, he pulled back, his breathing rough. Without a word, he leaned over and reached for the open box on the nightstand.
As he moved, she slid out from under him and pushed up on her knees. “I want to be on top.” The words came out in a rush. He was so damn dominating, which she loved, but she wasn’t sure he’d want her to take charge.
He gave her one of those sexy half-smiles as he slowly rolled the condom over his thick length. Stretching out on his back, he placed his hands behind his head, the action making the muscles in his arms flex, reminding her how powerful he was. Not that she’d forgotten. Staring at him laid out like that, with the dawn light just starting to stream through the window, she thought he looked like utter perfection. Faded white scars nicked his chest, stomach, biceps and even his hands, though she couldn’t see those at the moment. When her gaze landed on his cock, her inner walls tightened again as she thought of what it would feel like to have him pushing deep into her. Or maybe she’d take him in her mouth first.
“You gonna stare all morning?” he murmured wickedly.
“Maybe I will.” But she had no willpower. And she wasn’t sure if he’d change his mind about letting her be on top. She wanted to take advantage of it, wanted to ride him and be in control as they both came.
Sliding her leg over his hips, she straddled him and took his thick length in her hand. He was so hard she didn’t really need to guide him to her entrance, but she liked wrapping her fingers around him.
Meeting his gaze, she slowly slid down over him, sucking in a breath at the feel of his thickness filling her. His pale eyes seemed to glitter against the increasing sunligh
t from outside. He arched into her, grabbing onto her hips as she sank completely onto him.
She ran her palms over his chest as she lifted up then pushed back down, slowly starting to ride him. Her hair fell forward over her breasts and Vadim’s hungry gaze tracked the movements. Every inch of him felt incredible, just as intense as that first time.
His fingers tightened on her hips, his eyes going molten as he held her in place over him. Suddenly she realized that while she was on top, he was still the one in control. The thought made more heat rush between her legs, her inner walls flexing convulsively around him. When she tried to move, he held her firm.
“Touch your breasts.” A soft demand.
Even though they’d made love many times over the last few hours, with the sun now coming up, streaming over the big bed, she felt almost on display for him. The sensation was exhilarating but also made her nervous. She might be comfortable with her body, but this was new to her.
With her past boyfriends she’d never had sex more than once in a night or day and no one had ever made her feel so aware of her body. Not like Vadim.
When she reached up and cupped her breasts, he shuddered and jerked his hips upward, pushing even deeper into her. She arched her back at the sensation, rolling her thumbs over her nipples, lightly stimulating them. The pleasure was connected to the pulsing between her legs. Each time she did, she clenched around him and he groaned.
To test him, she tried to move again, but he held her still, watching her with that intensely raw gaze. Slowly, he started rocking into her, but he wasn’t letting her move much, just enough that his cock rubbed against that elusive spot inside she’d only found with vibrators in the past. She realized she could come just like this as he continued to rock into her.
And when he let go of one hip and started rubbing her clit with his free hand, the orgasm built faster than she’d expected. Her stomach muscles clenched as the need magnified and she increased her own stroking, pinching her nipples between her forefingers and thumbs.
Vadim’s eyes narrowed on her fingers and he gritted out what she guessed was a curse in Russian under his breath. His own caresses increased and when he tweaked her clit, her orgasm slammed into her, taking her off guard.
Pleasure rushed through her to all her nerve endings, her sheath tightening around him as she let go. As her climax continued, he mercifully let go of her hip, letting her ride him.
He met her stroke for stroke, groaning as she leaned forward, her hair spreading over his chest. When he grabbed her ass, helping her move even faster over him, he shouted out his release, pumping until he was sated and she collapsed on his chest.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but eventually he stirred beneath her, his breathing evened out. “I’m not going to get anything done with you here,” he murmured.
She laughed against his chest. “I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.” After a long moment, she asked, “Do you have to work today?”
“I’m working from home. And we still have more to talk about.” He ran a gentle hand down her back, the feel of his calluses making her shiver.
She loved his hands all over her body. Unfortunately, he was right. “Yeah, I know.” Sighing, she pushed up. “I’m going to shower—alone,” she added when his gaze darkened. “When I get out I’d love it if there was coffee waiting.”
He leaned up and brushed his lips over hers. “I think I can arrange that.”
She clenched around his half-hard length still inside her. Staring down into his eyes, she realized that she’d completely fallen for Vadim. Not halfway, she was full-on smitten with him. So much so that it should have scared her. There were so many layers to him, something she’d known from the moment they’d met, and she’d only seen some of them so far. She just hoped she wasn’t in over her head. And she really hoped that once she finished telling him everything about what she’d done to cover her tracks and her past that he wouldn’t judge her. The thought of seeing any sort of recrimination in Vadim’s eyes sliced at her insides with an intensity she couldn’t even think about.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Angel stepped out of Vadim’s bathroom to find her bag of clothes and laptop on the neatly made king-sized bed. She thought it was sweet that Vadim had brought her things over so she could change—until she saw a couple of her clothing boxes near the window. Had he brought all of her things into his room? Not sure how she felt about that, she dressed quickly in jeans, a sweater and left her damp hair down. She’d run a blow dryer through it for a few minutes to get most of the wetness out but she was craving coffee—because tea wouldn’t cut it right now—and she knew they needed to finish talking about what she planned to do moving forward.
She was tired of living in fear but she’d also made a mess of things by using a different social security number. She wasn’t sure what to do about that so she hoped Vadim might have an idea.
She found him in the kitchen standing next to the island frowning at his laptop. Charlie was beside him, but perked up when she saw Angel. Immediately the dog went to the pantry door and nudged it.
“You’re going to spoil her,” Vadim murmured without glancing up from the screen, clearly reading something.
She ignored him and opened the door. “I have no shame buying her affection with treats. Besides, I can’t say no to her face,” she said as she handed Charlie two little bones. One for her to hide and one to eat.
When she shut the door she looked over to find Vadim watching her appreciatively. She was dressed casually but that hungry look in his eyes made her feel sexy. “What are you working on?” she asked as she headed for the half-full coffee pot on the other side of his computer.
“Nothing that can’t wait.” He half-closed the screen as he leaned against the counter. “You hungry? I can cook something.”
He cooked too? Oh yeah, she was done for when it came to him. “Coffee’s all I need, but thanks.”
He reached for her hips, tugging her close so she set her mug on the counter. “It’s no problem. And I hope that’s not all you need.” Lightly, he brushed his lips over hers and her entire body pulled taut in awareness again.
Grinning, she pushed at his chest and picked up her mug as she sat at one of the island chairs. “I’m really not hungry. By the way, why did you move all my boxes into your room?”
He shrugged, reaching for his own mug. After last night she’d thought she could read him pretty well but his expression was carefully blank. “Do you want to stay in the guestroom?”
“No, of course not, it’s just I won’t be here that long so…” She shrugged, trailing off.
He cleared his throat and, apparently deciding to ignore her comment, slid a small, wire-bound notebook with blank paper to her. “I need your real social security number, list of former addresses, parents’ names, school info, any info you have on Emile including his parents’ names. Also, whatever happened with your parents’ life insurance policy? Or didn’t they have one?”
She took the pad and pulled out the pen attached to the wire bound spine. Tapping it against the pad, she watched Vadim worriedly. “So you know that I didn’t use my social security number to gain employment at Cloud 9?”
His eyebrows furrowed together, as if that should be obvious. “Yes. The number you’re using is from an infant who died—it’s in the file I have. I thought you saw that.”
She shook her head, relief spilling through her like a waterfall that he didn’t seem to be angry. “I hadn’t seen it. I thought…” She broke off, not wanting to admit her fears. “Ah, in regards to the insurance policy we got the runaround with them. They said their death wasn’t covered even though accidental deaths were. My brother was the one who handled everything since I was in no state to do anything at the time. After he died, I didn’t really think about it.” She’d paid for his funeral, then using a college friend’s contact, she’d paid for a new ID.
His frown deepened. “Include the name of the insurance company with your o
ther notes. Do you have the policy number?”
“I’ve got the info on my laptop.”
He seemed to relax at that. “Good. I researched the history of the social security number you’ve been using. I assume you bought new credentials?” When she nodded, he continued. “You only just started using the number at Cloud 9, so did you have a different ID before?”
She shook her head. “No. The year and a half before I started working at the Cloud I was working mainly in dives that were willing to pay me under the table. Things got a little dicey at the last restaurant I worked at. It was this little place out in the middle of freaking nowhere New Mexico. Things were fine at first, but a couple months into my job the owner’s son started working there as a chef and started harassing me. He made it clear that he knew I was being paid under the table and basically threatened me with calling the police. He thought I was on the run from the cops, which is clearly wrong, but still, I realized that if I kept working in places like that I’d be opening myself up to harassment and worse. It was scary using my fake credentials, I wasn’t even sure they’d work, but…” She shrugged, not needing to finish. Clearly it had worked. Which was good because she’d paid enough money for the fake paperwork.
As another thought occurred to her, she bit her bottom lip. “Crap. What will happen at the restaurant and with the IRS? If I reclaim my life I need to start using my real information.” She was pretty sure her crime of using a fake social security number was at least considered fraud or something.
“I’ll take care of it.” Vadim’s voice was so full of authority, it threw her off balance.
“Just like that? How?”
“You haven’t worked at the Cloud long enough to file taxes. They’ll be sending out the 1099s in about three weeks, and they haven’t filed anything yet. I’ll talk to accounting—after Wyatt—and we’ll say that a wrong number was entered by mistake. Nothing that can’t be undone.”
Some of the tension resting on her shoulders eased, but the thought of using her real information again was frightening after living in hiding for so long. It seemed as if Emile had found her anyway, but still, her stomach twisted in knots, the coffee she’d already had seeming to turn to lead.
