by Lietha Wards
***
The next morning, Peter was at breakfast and so were several of his men, including Ivan. He could feel an icy chill from Katya who sat beside him. Well, he couldn’t really blame her. Rejection wasn’t easy for a woman, and she was as stubborn and proud as a mule. It would hit her a little harder.
“I want you on this case with Ivan,” Peter said out of the blue staring pointedly at Ryan.
“What case?” Katya asked.
She was ignored by her father. “I want these people caught. The ones that killed Porsha.”
“That wasn’t the condition of my hire,” Ryan reminded him evenly.
“What case? Who killed Porsha?” Katya repeated. Her eyes went around the table, trying to make sense of this. When she looked at Ryan, she could see the muscle in his jaw bulge. He was angry, but his expression remained neutral. She knew he didn’t like being told what to do either, but unlike him, she wasn’t going to hold back.
“I’m changing that condition,” Peter said abruptly setting his eyes on his daughter finally acknowledging her, but not her question. “You are now homebound.”
Her expression altered to rage. “You hired Mr. Casey for me because he’s the best.”
“That’s why I need him with my men. These dum-dums have uncovered nothing.” The men shifted uncomfortably in their seats and exchanged guilty glances.
“Do I mean that little to you?” she further argued. “He saved my life, and now you want to take him to play tag team with murderers? Do you honestly think that’s the best use of his skills?”
“Katya, you will do as you’re told. If you don’t leave this house, we don’t have a problem.”
“That’s where you are wrong! You are a problem, and it’s because of you Anna is dead! You also forget that you actually can’t tell me anything. I’m an adult and do not need your permission,” she protested vehemently. “The only reason I’m here and nowhere else is because of Anna, what they did to Anna!” She hated to admit that she needed the protection that her father could provide.
Ryan saw that Peter’s face swelled up in anger, then turn blotchy red. It might have been amusing to him in any other setting, but he was unsure of how he was going to deal with his daughter’s defiance. He watched the older man’s body language carefully for some sort of indication he was going to explode. He was certain that if it was anyone else, their heart wouldn’t still be beating. If the man made one move toward her, he’d get between them. He was also a little surprised at Katya’s rebelliousness, but couldn’t have been more impressed that she stuck up for herself. It wasn’t easy to stand up to a murderous tyrant. It probably had something to do with a carryover from the night before. He knew that any woman wouldn’t take rejection well, and Kat had a lot of pride and he’d hurt her.
“You will not speak to me like this in my house Katya!” Peter jutted his fork in her direction “Do you want to end up like Porsha, like Anna?”
“It’s a hell of a lot better than being trapped here like a chained dog!” she shouted at him.
He half rose out of his chair, his face turning scarlet. “I’ll have you whipped and tied to your fucking bed, you ungrateful bitch! You will listen.” He nodded to one of his men. “Take her to her room until she calms down. Carry her if you have to.”
The man immediately got to his feet and came around the table.
“If you touch her, I’ll break your arm.” Ryan said calmly while turning his head slowly and looking up at the man now standing behind her. He shot Peter an unsure look, his hand hovering over Katya’s shoulder.
Kat was too busy shouting at her father to hear anything Ryan said. “You can shoot me for all I care,” she spat at him.
Peter did hear Ryan but Kat was the focus of his wrath at the moment. “You’ll listen young lady—”
“Go to hell!” She stood up, shoved by Peter’s man, and briskly walked away with him following close behind her. He tried to touch her arm but she turned and slapped him, hard, across the face, and swore at him.
Ryan started to get up to follow her, and Peter stopped him. “I’m not done Mr. Casey. Sit down.” He gestured with his fork again.
Ryan resisted watching Katya leave and did as he was told. He couldn’t let them see his concern. It took every ounce of his self-control not to seize that fork from the older man and stab him in the neck with it.
“She will stay here. She doesn’t have a choice.” He tossed the utensil on his plate with a resounding clang. Then he picked his napkin off his lap and dabbed at his mouth furiously before tossing it on the plate with the fork. “Fucking women, nothing but fucking trouble. That cheating whore should have given me sons.” He waved his arms in frustration. His men mumbled their agreements. Then he turned his hot stare to Ryan. “And as for you, you do not threaten my men.”
“My job is to protect your daughter. No one touches her,” Ryan answered calmly. “She’s had too many men abusing her lately. Having someone touch her forcefully will not only set her therapy back, but have her out of this house and your life. I don’t think you want another daughter to go missing. Then the feds would really have a good look at you.” If Ryan knew Peter like he thought he did, it wouldn’t look good if a powerful man such as himself couldn’t even control his own family. Maybe there was a slight worry there about Katya actually talking to the feds too. Good. He was going to use that.
Peter actually looked a little surprised. “Do you think she’d run?”
“Yes.”
“Has she said anything?”
“No, but she’s scared and despises everything here. You are giving her an excuse to leave.”
Peter cursed in Russian, then nodded. “All right, all right. I’ll leave her be. You make sure she stays.”
“I will.”
“Back to business.”
“I’ve given you my answer on that.”
Peter waved a hand dismissing that subject. “Did you get a lead on the sedan?”
“No.” Ryan said stiffly. It went undetected. He just couldn’t get past the abrupt change of subjects. Katya was his blood, his daughter, yet he was more concerned with his business. It was a good thing she was related to Peter, though, especially after speaking to him like that. He was certain that any other wouldn’t still be breathing.
“Really? I have a feeling that you have resources that I don’t have. Can you get any information from them?”
“I’ve already tapped into them. There’s nothing Mr. Nickolov. There are over six hundred BMWs of that year, that model, in the system, cruising around Miami as we speak. The plates, well, they were stolen.”
He swore again. He was irate. He was hemorrhaging money and he had to stop it. Two of his cocaine shipments were hit last week and the damage was catastrophic. He lost six good men. He knew Ryan was good and he could send him in to supervise the shipments, but he didn’t want to put his most elite employee in the middle of a war when he could use his intelligence elsewhere. “No forensic evidence, no leads. That leads me to believe that someone is leaking inside information on my business.”
“It would seem that way,” Ryan agreed. In fact, it was possibly the only answer.
Peter eyed Ryan carefully. It wasn’t him. He knew nothing of Peter’s business outside of protecting his daughter because he purposely kept him in the dark. It certainly wasn’t Ivan. He was too loyal. He turned and looked around the table. These were his most trusted men. “Those we hired in the last month. How many?”
“Three, sir.” Ivan answered. “But they all checked out.”
“Maybe you missed something, Ivan. Of the three, find out who’s talking. If one turns out to be a fucking cop again, put a bullet in his brain.”
No one noticed Ryan’s expression. It was deadly.
“Yes sir.” Ivan waved at the other men to follow him as he got up and left.
“Well, it looks as though I don’t need you after all. My daughter will be satisfied.”
Ryan felt his entire bo
dy burn. At the moment he was turning the knife from his place setting over and over between his fingers under the table. He was struggling internally whether to kill this man now or later. He knew the logical choice would be later. He wanted to take the empire down around Peter first, but now he knew, he was right about the organization involved in his brother’s death. He just needed to know who pulled the trigger. Although he had a suspicion of who it was, he still needed to be sure. “Excuse me then.” He wrapped the knife in his napkin and placed it on the table and left.
This hasn’t been going as he planned. Despite what had happened to Katya Nickolov, he expected to babysit a spoiled princess, but instead ended up with one of the most incredible women he’d ever met. She acted the part well in society though. He knew because he’d seen footage of her at social events and did his research, but the side of her that she let him see was different. She was treated no better than Peter treated his wife and other women in his life. Yet, she was proud and intelligent. She was also not a door mat and was brave enough to stand up to her tyrant father. The only thing that saved her from not ending up in a shallow grave, was the fact she was related to him. He had no use for women, except to use them. He also didn’t discriminate on gender when it came to murder. Secondly, he was no closer to who killed his brother. He needed to know. He needed to kill the man responsible for pulling the trigger.
“Get lost,” he told the man stationed outside her bedroom door. He went in and found her pacing, vibrating with anger. She turned and saw him and looked relieved, rushed over and threw her arms around him. “I hate that man so much.”
Obviously she’d forgiven him. Well, between her father and his comfort, she obviously preferred his despite his rejection of her affections the night before. He held her tight. “I know.”
“Is he taking you away from me?”
“I think he’s decided on a different direction.”
“Have you?”
“Have I what?”
She tilted her head up to look at him. “Decided on a direction with us?”
“I can’t do this. You’re fooled by the way I protect you. It’s natural for a woman to confuse emotion with safety when she’s been through a trauma.”
“First off, despite the way I’ve been, I’m not an emotional parasite. I don’t need anyone because I’ve always been on my own. I’ve dealt with trauma, and I don’t need you telling me it’s because of that. I think you’re looking for an excuse to discourage me and I know you’re lying.”
He suppressed a smile. “Do you?”
“I’m not stupid. I may be naïve, but I’m going to trust my instincts since it seems to be the only thing I can trust now.”
“You can trust me.”
“You care about me.”
He didn’t deny it.
“We have a lot in common.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Be honest please. Are you in a relationship with someone?”
“I’ve answered that.”
Her hand splayed across his chest, moving over the muscular contours. He had an exceptional body. “No, you really didn’t.”
His hand gripped her wrist and he gave her a warning look.
She smiled this time. “Chicken.”
“I can’t. Honestly, I don’t do well in relationships Kat. I never have.”
“Maybe you just haven’t found the right girl.” She lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. She heard his breath hitch.
“Katya, stop.” Christ, he didn’t sound convincing at all and she knew it because she didn’t stop. In fact he was sure he heard a small triumphant chuckle leave her lips. That little sexy sound conquered his resistance.
She moved her arms around his neck and pulled his head down, closer to her. He didn’t resist. Her mouth moved across his jaw and kissed the corner of his lips. The faint scent of his cologne was in her nostrils and fueled her desire.
His eyes closed and he took a steady breath.
“I want you Ryan,” she whispered softly against his stubbly chin. “Don’t you dare turn me away again.”
Those four words broke his legendary self-control. “I won’t,” he groaned, shoved his fingers through her hair at the back of her head, turned his own and kissed her hard. His tongue invaded her mouth and she released a whimper of surrender.
He gripped her tightly lifting her up to him, and without separating their mouths, moved her backwards, across the room and down on his bed. Only then did he release her.
“No.”
His lips slanted in amusement and desire. “Shh,” he put a finger to his mouth, turned and walked over to the door and locked it. Then he walked through the adjoining door and did the same to hers before he returned. She never even thought about that. God, her father would kill them both.
He approached from the foot of the bed and stood there just looking at her.
She was wondering if he was having second thoughts, but instead his eyes went down the length of her. She felt herself smile and then, so did he. It was seductive and it made her skin heat up. God, he was just so incredibly handsome. Then it disappeared and his eyes turned carnal. He bent down and crawled up it like a predatory wildcat until he was directly above her. She felt his hands move up her thighs, unsnap her shorts grip the waistband and pulled them down her legs before tossing them over his shoulder. He did the same with her panties, but this time he raised the lacey material to his nose and inhaled. “Nice.”
Was that supposed to turn her on? It sure as hell did.
Then he moved forward between her knees, reached for her arms and made her sit upright. “Up.” He kissed her again while lifting her top over her head. Then he unsnapped her bra and flung it aside. Now she was naked. “Lay down.”
Again she obeyed. It was broad daylight and wow, she didn’t care. He sat back on his heels and took his time looking at her and she wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, she felt beautiful. Really beautiful. When he met her eyes, there was definite appreciation in them.
Her mouth parted as he moved his hands up her legs and separated them. “You still have clothes on.” Her voice was soft and breathy.
His answer was a roguish smile. He backed off the bed and stripped of his clothing. She propped herself up on her elbows to watch. Then he stood there confidently so she could gaze at him. She took her time because she’d never seen anyone like him. He was just so perfect—big, brawny and well put together.
Again he came up from the end of the bed on all fours making her lay down while he hovered over her. Without a word his body came down on hers as he captured her mouth again smothering her gasp. He was aggressive and honestly, it should have been expected, but she was inexperienced.
He moved down her body trailing kisses down her neck to her breasts.
“These are perfect,” he murmured huskily against her skin before he took one in his mouth.
She bit her lip to stifle a squeal and arched off the bed, and he moved his arms under her lifting her to him as he sat back on his heels. He adjusted her on his lap, took her mouth, moved his arm under her rear, lifted her, and thrust into her.
She was so hot with desire, that the barrier of her virginity broke almost unnoticed. He was so muscular and easily manipulated a rhythm that virtually blew her mind. She knew she was making noises, but she didn’t care. She could feel every inch of him stroking inside her, setting her on fire. “Oh-my-God!”
His mouth captured hers again.
Their bodies became slick with sweat, moving frictionless. He shifted, without pulling out of her, laid her on her back. There was barely a change in rhythm between them. God he was so strong! He thrust harder and soon a pounding tempo ensued. Then she felt it. That unexplored spiral of pleasure. More, she wanted more! She must’ve said it out loud, because he gave it to her. She tilted her head back gasped and pinched her eyes shut as her body exploded into a mind blowing orgasm. He followed with a sharp thrust and a deep groan as he spilled into her.
; His mouth was on hers again, hot, hard and aggressive.
She kissed him back whimpering in the aftermath.
He lifted his head and stared down at her. His finger traced down her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open.
“You liked that.” it wasn’t a question.
“I really did.” She took a deep breath, “I would like to do that again.” She blinked her eyes wide. “That was amazing!”
He smiled and shifted his weight to the side. His finger traced a path down her neck, between her breasts until he rested a hand on her flat abdomen. “We can, in a moment.”
“Is something wrong?” she shifted her head to look at him.
He had a bittersweet smile on his face when he met her worried gaze. “Not with you. I’ve crossed a line here.”
“I started it.”
His eyes searched hers. “It started before then.”
“Have you done this before?”
He shook his head slowly.
“It’s something else then, isn’t it?”
“You’re very perceptive.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No. Not yet.”
Her hand came up and brushed his stubbly jaw. “I’m here. I’m a good listener.” Again the bittersweet smile appeared on his handsome face.
“You were a virgin.” He changed the subject.
Ah, how could he know? “Was it obvious?”
“No, you seemed experienced until I felt the barrier. I would have taken it easier on you.” He paused and looked quite amused with his thoughts. “Well, I could have tried. We were on fire—rough and hot like that.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Her face flushed bright red. “And I don’t want you to take it easy on me.” She wanted him how he was, raw and aggressive, just like everything else about him.
He chuckled. “Definitely a compliment.” Then his expression became serious. “This changes things.”
“How so?”
