Make You Mine

by Jackie Ashenden

  “Oh … fuck … Katya…” he whispered, his knuckles white on her hip, the feel of her around him making his head spin. Holy hell. How was he going to survive this?

  Alex tried to temper his own breathing, but he couldn’t. He’d waited too long. Heat moved through him as she shifted her hips, and he sank deeper into her, a wildfire burning out of control.

  She gasped, arching her body, the tips of her breasts brushing his chest.

  His thoughts burned away in the heat, evaporating entirely. There was nothing but this. Nothing but fire and flame. Nothing but ecstasy.

  Her fingers pushed into his hair, tilting his head so he was looking into her eyes. “Let it go,” she whispered. “Let it go, Alexei.”

  And he was too far gone to understand what she meant or know whether she’d said it in English or Russian. At that moment he didn’t even understand language at all.

  Or at least only one kind. The feel of her pussy around his cock. Her skin against his. And the movement of her hips, driving him on, driving him deep.

  In that moment it was all the language he needed.

  Alex gripped her hips, thrusting hard, burying himself inside her, drowning himself, drowning them both, in pleasure.

  He tried to hold on. He really did. But it was too much for him. And in the end, he moved his hand between them, stroking her clit as he pushed deeper. She screamed in his ear, her fingers curling tight in his hair, her body convulsing.

  Then he lost himself. But before the end he found one word had come back to him, and as the climax annihilated him he said it.

  “Katya.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Katya woke up the next morning feeling strange. First, when she looked at the clock on the nightstand it was 10:00 A.M., and she never slept later than seven. Second, she ached in odd places. Places that generally didn’t ache even after a very strenuous workout. And third, it felt like something was missing.

  She rolled over and sat up, frowning. And then realized what was missing.

  Alex.

  He wasn’t lying beside her and he wasn’t anywhere else in the room.

  For a long moment she just sat there, a vague kind of disappointment settling in her gut. She’d expected … Well, she didn’t quite know what she’d expected, but waking up alone wasn’t quite it.

  She cocked her head, catching a sound coming from the bathroom. Faintly she could hear the sound of running water. Oh, so he hadn’t gone. He was only showering.

  Relief filled her and she slipped off the bed, heading toward the bathroom.

  Why are you going to him? What do you want? What do you think is going to happen?

  She slowed to a stop in the middle of the room. Because those were all very good questions.

  They hadn’t discussed what would happen in the morning. Whether the previous night had been a one-off occurrence or they would continue as lovers. She hadn’t even thought about it. But … they had to think about it, didn’t they? Especially considering they were in the middle of an important mission.

  You really can only think of the mission?

  But what else was there? Sex didn’t make all those other things go away. Alex still had a game tonight and his life was still at risk. Even more so now that they knew what they were getting into. Which made it doubly important that she remain focused on the end goal: protecting him.

  What about what you want? He told you that you laid him open …

  Katya ignored the stray thought. What she wanted was to do a good job, protect her client any way she could. And as for what she did to him, well, that was irrelevant, wasn’t it?

  She moved over to the bathroom door and pushed it open just as Alex stepped from the massive shower. Water sheened his body, highlighting all the intriguing dips and hollows of his muscular torso and running down his long, powerful legs. His hair was inky black and wet, dripping down his back as he reached for one of the thick, soft white towels that hung on the rail nearby. “You’re up.” He didn’t smile. “I’m sorry, were you hoping to join me?”

  “I’m too late anyway, I see.”

  “Yeah, sadly. I should have woken you, I know, but I thought you needed the sleep.”

  Katya watched him towel himself off, her mouth going dry. He hadn’t let her touch him the way she’d wanted the night before, distracting attention away from himself with more pleasure. She’d spotted it easily enough but hadn’t pushed him for the reasons as to why. She knew anyway, and besides, it had been a night of too many truths to keep pushing for more.

  But now her fingers itched to run over his skin, trace the graceful interplay of muscles that flexed and hollowed as he moved.

  An unfamiliar awkwardness gripped her. This whole situation was completely new and she was unsure of how to act. He was a client she’d just slept with and—

  Alex casually slung the towel over the rail and stepped toward her, sliding one hand behind her head and drawing her in for a searing, possessive kiss. She responded automatically, reaching for him, her hands moving hungrily over the warm, damp skin of his chest. God, she could feel taut muscle beneath, the suggestion of leashed strength …

  He released her, moving past her and through the door back into the bedroom.

  Katya caught her breath. Her fingers tingled from the touch of his skin and there was a hollow feeling in her stomach. As if she’d been given a taste of something she hadn’t realized she’d been starving for until now.

  She turned, following him into the bedroom. He was standing by the closet, pulling out some clothes. A dark blue suit and white shirt, black boxers, all of which were laid on the bed.

  “What now, sir?” she asked.

  Alex raised a brow as he pulled on his boxers. “What did I tell you about the ‘sir’?”

  “Oh, I assumed that since—”

  “Since I didn’t pull you into the shower and fuck you up against the wall, we’re back to being employer and bodyguard?”

  She let out a breath, feeling exposed all of a sudden. “I … yes. I suppose I didn’t think that.”

  “Well, we’re not.” The certainty in his tone was absolute.

  “We didn’t discuss this—”

  “So, we’re discussing it now. I expect to remain your lover for the remaining time here in Monte Carlo, understood?” He stepped into his pants, pulled them up, and fastened them, his impressive abs flexing as he did so. “Unless of course you don’t want that, in which case we’ll—”

  “I want that.” The words came out before she could stop them, and even though she was afraid of what they might mean, she didn’t take them back.

  What about the mission, Katya?

  They could be lovers without it affecting the mission, surely? It wasn’t the sex she needed to be careful about, after all, but letting her emotions cloud her judgment. If she was careful, it would be fine.

  Alex reached for his white shirt and pulled it on. Then, ignoring the buttons, he came across the room to her and gently took her face between his hands. “I’m sorry, Katya,” he said quietly. “I know this is new for you. I wanted to stay and talk to you about this, but it’s late and I have a lot to do before the game tonight, okay?”

  Yes, of course. The game.

  She pulled herself together. “Of course. What can I do?”

  He didn’t linger, stepping away and doing up his shirt as he moved back over to the bed, reaching for his jacket. “I need you to follow up on the e-mail Zac sent me last night. About the rest of the Apocalypse players.” He didn’t look at her as he pulled on the jacket. “They’re not primarily poker players, as I thought. In fact, apart from August, I don’t think any of them are.”

  “So … what are they doing in that game then?”

  “Good question.” He ran a hand through his damp black hair. “I keep coming back to what Conrad said to Lau last night about ‘a good businessman or -woman should know their stock.’ Did you hear that?”

  Katya thought back. It had been during the stri
p poker part of the evening. Mrs. Lau had been ambivalent about choosing a piece of clothing to take off the girl standing behind the sheikh. “Yes, I heard. Do you think it’s related to what he’s doing with those women?”

  “I don’t ‘think,’” Alex said. “I’m pretty damn certain it’s related. Because if he’s referring to them as ‘stock’ then there’s something pretty fucking dubious going on.” He gave her a look. “They were businesspeople, Katya. All of them. Very rich businesspeople. And I’m thinking they weren’t actually playing poker for the fun it. They were there for something else.”

  A cold feeling settled in her gut. “Those women?”

  “It’s looking like it. Perhaps the players are potential buyers or something.”

  She muttered a curse in Russian under her breath. “That’s disgusting.”

  “It is.” His voice was absolutely cold. “Which is why we’re going to stop it.”

  Katya stared at him. He wasn’t wearing a tie and his white shirt was unbuttoned at the throat, his hair damp and untidy, but that in no way detracted from his allure. He looked disheveled, but the glitter in his eyes was sharp, hard. Dangerous.

  Desire twisted inside her and she was helpless to stop it.

  You want to be more than just his lover.

  No, she didn’t. She couldn’t. Being his bodyguard and his lover was one thing, but wanting more … Sex might not be a weakness, but getting emotional definitely was. And if that happened, she would have to leave him. For both their sakes.

  “You look sad, Katya mine.” He took a step toward her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she said, ignoring the thought and the weird sense of desolation that came with it. “I’m fine. So, will you forward me Mr. Rutherford’s e-mail?”

  “You’re already CCed on it.” He studied her a moment longer.

  She was still naked, but his gaze didn’t take in the rest of her body as hers had done with his. His gaze remained squarely on her face. And for some reason that made her feel even more exposed.

  Katya glanced away, beginning to turn back toward the bathroom. “Good. I’ll have a look over it this morning.”

  “Katya.”

  She paused but kept her back to him. “Yes?”

  There was a long silence. Then he said, “I need a clear head for the game tonight. It’s nothing personal.”

  Oh, wonderful. So he’d spotted her disappointment, which really shouldn’t come as any great surprise, but still. She didn’t want to appear desperate. She didn’t want to be one of those lovers of his who clutched and hung on. Who didn’t want to leave when it was time to go. Who always wanted more. Her mother had been like that and look how that had turned out.

  But no, she wasn’t her mother. She was stronger than that.

  “I understand,” she said levelly. “I’ll see you later then.”

  He moved fast, so fast she wasn’t prepared for his warm hand on her shoulder, pulling her around. Or for his arms sliding around her, pulling her up against him. Shocked, she could only stare as he pushed her back against the wall, pinning her there with his body. And then the shock slid away as he kissed her, another deep, hard kiss. She pushed her hands into his hair, the wet silk of it soft against her fingers, opening her mouth and kissing him back, desperate after all.

  And when he pulled away, she couldn’t help the words that came spilling out. “Do you have to go now?”

  One corner of his mouth curved into a smile that took her breath away. Both rueful and wicked all at once. “You have no idea how much I want to stay. But I meant it about the game. I need my focus and touching you screws with it. I need to keep my distance until it’s over, okay?”

  Despite that smile, she could see the intensity in his eyes, a blue flame that made her want to tremble. He wasn’t lying; he wasn’t playing games again.

  The small, hard knot of disappointment she’d been pretending wasn’t there since she’d woken up that morning abruptly disappeared. She kissed him lightly, just once, to take the taste of him to last her through the day. And smiled back. “Then you’d better let me go, hadn’t you?”

  * * *

  “I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.” Zac’s expression was grim.

  Alex kicked his feet up on the desk and stared at the computer screen in front of him. It showed the interior of the Nine’s usual meeting room at the Second Circle, the fire burning in the grate, a food platter that was–as usual–untouched on the coffee table in front of it. Zac must have put his laptop on one of the side tables so Alex could see the couch in front of the fire and the armchair that was Eva’s special seat. She wasn’t sitting in it now, though, but standing in front of the fire with her hands out, obviously trying to get warm. The expression on her face was absolutely unreadable.

  Zac stood opposite her, his arms folded, facing the camera, looking like an expensive and well-dressed undertaker in his perfect suit. If undertakers were usually built like a brick shithouse, that is.

  “Okay, so we now know this isn’t about poker,” Alex said. “And the people playing aren’t there for the game.”

  “So why the bloody hell were they invited in the first place?” Zac’s voice was terse. “Are they potential buyers? Business partners?”

  Alex crushed the instinct that had him wanting to reach for a pen from the desk and toy with it. He couldn’t afford to give in to any kind of revealing behavior, not even with his friends.

  Yet he felt antsy and restless, like he couldn’t keep still. Jesus, he had to concentrate. But the problem was all he could think of was Katya’s green eyes staring into his. The feel of her bare skin against him. The taste of her in his mouth—

  “Alex?” Zac was staring at him. “What the fuck are you doing? I need you to concentrate.”

  Ah Christ, this was ridiculous. He’d never been this distracted over a woman before. Over anyone before. With an effort, he tried to curb the restless feeling. “Yeah, well, get off my back and I might be able to.”

  Eva turned from the fire to face the camera, something intense flickering over her face. “They’re potential buyers,” she said with certainty. “And they want to buy women.”

  There was a cold, heavy silence.

  He didn’t want to ask why she was so certain. He had a feeling he already knew. “I’m not sure about the sheikh and Christine. But the others—”

  “Are all businesspeople,” Zac finished, unusually impatient for him. “But I couldn’t find a single damn thing on any of them, which usually indicates something pretty dodgy. You don’t get to be as rich as that without climbing over the back of someone. Usually several someones.”

  Alex frowned. “I know August is shady as fuck. And Lau has Triad links, or at least her husband used to.”

  “Yeah, they want to buy.” Eva had turned fully to face the camera, her gaze sharp enough to cut. “Or maybe they want in on the action. Motherfuckers.”

  Alex wanted to say something else light and flippant, the way he normally did when he was uncomfortable, but he couldn’t think of a single damn thing.

  “Gabriel said you thought the invites came from the Seven Devils,” Zac said.

  “Yeah, it’s an idea.” And it was becoming less an idea and more of a certainty.

  The expression on Zac’s face sharpened. “Are there links between South’s casino and the Lucky Seven? I mean, we know South was one of your father’s seven and so was Tremain.”

  “Shit,” Eva said viciously. “Didn’t Gabe mention that the Lucky Seven had been a high-class escort joint as well?”

  Unease slid through Alex. There had been women back when his father had first taken him to the casino, beautiful women in pretty dresses. He’d been such a fucking innocent, he’d thought they were the wives of the players. Or the girlfriends. He hadn’t thought hookers.

  On the screen in front of him, Eva took a few steps toward the camera. Her eyes had gone silver, sharp as an unsheathed blade. “Leave this to me, Alex,” she sa
id, a hoarse sound in her voice. “I’ll deal with them.”

  It didn’t take a genius to work out what that meant. “No. Not yet.”

  Her expression twisted. “Don’t be a prick. This needs—”

  “No, Eva,” he cut her off coldly. “At least not yet.”

  “What the hell do you mean, not yet?” She’d taken another step toward the camera. “You have to—”

  “Angel,” Zac interrupted, his attention on her. “Let him speak.”

  Alex held Eva’s gaze. “I have my own plans for Conrad, okay? You even gave me the idea, remember? So I need you to wait before we move on this. Just for a night.”

  Eva’s mouth tightened. “Alex, I—” She stopped as the sound of the door opening came through and the two on the screen glanced over in the direction of the room’s entrance, off camera.

  “Hey,” someone said shortly, Gabriel from the sound of it.

  Then another voice, a woman’s. “Hi, guys, I hope you don’t mind me interrupting.” A figure appeared on the camera, small and slender, and very definitely female. Bobbed black hair. Beautifully dressed. “Oh,” the woman said, “Am I—.” She turned to face the camera.

  And Alex met a pair of eyes as blue as his own.

  Honor.

  Her hand in his had been so small as he’d walked her onto the school grounds, her eyes wide and scared. And she’d held on to him as if she never wanted to let him go. As if he could protect her from the world …

  Her mouth opened, but before she could speak Alex leaned forward and cut the connection leaving the image on the screen. His sister, with her mouth open, shock clear on her fine-boned face.

  His hands were shaking. Everything was shaking.

  He shoved the chair back and got to his feet, walking to the window and back again, struggling to get himself under control.

  What are you so afraid of?

  The truth. Everything.…

  But no, he could not think of that. Of the fact that he was a fucking coward, that he’d been running for so many years he had no idea how to stop.

  That wasn’t the most important thing right now. Only Conrad mattered. Only the game. Only taking that prick for everything he had.