by Lia Lee
Toni continued flipping through the extensive agreement. She could easily see why someone like Katya would have jumped at this. Hell. Toni would have had difficulty turning her back on an opportunity to be independent. It was just renting out a uterus, right? Surrogates did it all the time. So why had her father changed his mind?
“Holy cow.” Toni stared at the page. She was sure she had to be reading it wrong.
The very last item on the agreement had been circled by her father, although she had no way of knowing if he’d done it before Katya had signed, or when he’d invoked the right. The caveat stated that if Boris’s circumstances changed, and he could no longer be assured that the child would be his heir, he could terminate the agreement and he would owe Katya nothing.
Toni tossed the agreement to the floor and rested her head back against the wall. She snuggled a little deeper into her nest of blankets and tried to imagine what could have happened to make her father change his mind. After all, Katya’s baby could have never been heir to the Kabalevsky fortune. Even if it had been a boy, the baby wasn’t a Kabalevsky.
“Adoption,” Toni said hoarsely. “He was going to make my mother adopt that kid.”
The flash of insight nearly took her breath away. It was so simple! She’d wondered about that before, when she’d found the adoption papers in her father’s safe. Now the proof was right here on the floor. Boris Rustikov had every intention of bullying Maria into adopting the bastard child he had sired off his mistress. Then he intended to raise that child to be his heir and therefore get control of Maria’s money and investments.
“Damn.”
Toni had to admit that the scheme was absolutely despicable, and yet truly brilliant in its own way. She still didn’t understand why her father wanted her mother’s money so desperately though. If you’d asked him, he was a wealthy businessman in his own right. Why was Maria’s money so important to him?
“Antonina?”
“In here, Pyotr,” she called back.
Her father’s second in command walked into the closet and took a seat on the floor without bothering to ask if he was welcome or not. She didn’t berate him for the presumption. The guy had been up all night just like she had been. They were both exhausted, and it didn’t promise to get better.
Toni sucked in a quick breath. There was really no good time to spring this on him. “Did you know that my father was going to try and force my mother to adopt Katya Alkaev’s baby?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Pyotr shrugged. “To get control of your mother’s—your—fortune.”
“Why?” Toni picked up the contract and waved it in his face. “He obviously didn’t need it if he just changed his mind at the last second.”
“He changed his mind once Maria was dead,” Pyotr said flatly. “She killed herself and the whole plan went to hell.” He cursed in Russian, looking haggard. “I told him he should have just given you the note and spared us all the trouble.”
“What note?” The bottom dropped out of Toni’s stomach. “My mother wouldn’t have killed herself, Pyotr. Even her brothers didn’t believe it.”
He sighed. Getting to his feet, he walked to the closet safe and opened it. He reached inside and yanked at the lining on the right side of the safe. The velvet came away in his hand, revealing a little side pocket of sorts. Pyotr extracted a letter and tossed it to Toni.
“Like I said. I told him that this would have explained everything and given you peace of mind. He was more concerned with protecting his reputation.” Pyotr grimaced. “I was loyal to Boris. He was my boss. But he was not a very good man.” Pyotr turned and walked out of the closet. He paused at the doorway, half turning to lookat her over his shoulder. “And if you want to know why, look at the financial records for this last year.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Toni couldn’t decide if foolish or desperate better described her situation. When she had sent Dimitri the text, there had been a tiny part of her that worried he wouldn’t even respond. She’d pictured herself standing here in the park—alone—waiting for a man that would never come.
But now as she walked closer to their rendezvous point, she could see that he’d beaten her there. In fact he was watching her approach. He was still pale, but his broad shouldered, athletic build gave her comfort. There was something about him that made her feel safe and secure in ways that she’d ever experienced before.
“Toni,” he said softly.
The sound of her name on his lips actually made her tear up. Her eyes stung as she tried to swallow back the tide of emotion she felt in that moment. Then he held out his arms and she walked into his embrace. He folded her close, just holding her without expectation or demand. It felt so good. She squeezed her eyes shut and just soaked up the acceptance.
He was warm, his muscles firm and resilient against her, and the scent of him was intoxicating. She felt her body softening toward his in spite of the circumstances. She hadn’t come here to initiate sex, and yet she felt as if that was what she wanted most of all. She wanted to experience that intimate connection with him and feel him as closely as possible.
“How are you?” he whispered. “I’ve been so worried.”
Funny, but she didn’t feel defensive with him. There was no desire to assert her ability to handle her circumstances, or a suspicion that he somehow thought her incapable of dealing with what was on her plate. He was genuinely worried about her, and that was it. The whole thing was—refreshing.
“I’m okay.” She sniffed, trying not to cry. She hated crying. Yet it seemed to be all she could manage these days. “My father left such a mess, Dimitri!” God it felt good to say that out loud. “I’ve been trying to unravel it, but I don’t think there’s any way to do that without the whole thing coming down around my ears.”
“All right,” he said with obvious caution. “What do you want to do?”
It was so odd. Nobody else had asked her that. Ever. She thought about her uncles’ love of The Samovar. That was too big for her. Even the notion of converting what was left of her father’s holdings into some kind of business like that was daunting. It was just such a mess!
“I wish I could just walk away,” she whispered. “I wish I could just drop the reins and say it’s not my problem anymore.”
“But?” He stroked her hair. The comforting touch nearly undid what was left of her self-control.
“I can’t just leave the remainder of those men with nothing. They’re not bad men. They’re hard workers. Half of my father’s staff already left us anyway. According to Pyotr, we’re running the laundromats and the casinos on a skeleton crew.”
She could actually see him thinking all of this over in his head. “If you didn’t have any of this to deal with, what would you want to do with your life? What would you want to do for a living?”
“You don’t understand!” She gripped the front of his shirt, feeling like a horrible person and wishing he could tell her that she wasn’t. “My father was trying to force my mother into adopting Katya’s baby and making it his heir so that he would gain control of my mother’s money. He needed it. He was broke. There is no money!” Toni choked on the words. The fears she’d been carrying around for days were eating at her. “And now I’m sitting on that same fortune. My father was going to sink it into his businesses and hope that they would become vital again. But I can’t do it!” she moaned. “I just can’t empty all of that money into my father’s company. I just don’t care about it that much. And all of these people are looking at me as if they believe that I should! They know I have that money and they think I should be saving things with it.”
“Slow down, my love,” Dimitri whispered. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and gently skated his thumbs over her lower lip. The touch distracted her for a moment, long enough to give her just a moment’s relief from her guilt. Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “There is nothing wrong with what you’re saying. You’ve got good instincts. If a bus
iness can’t sustain itself, there’s no reason to pour a bunch of capital into it unless you have a plan in place to make sure it’s going to be sustainable after the infusion of money.”
“So you don’t think I’m a bad person?” she asked slowly, gazing up into his handsome face.
“Of course not.” Dimitri lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles. “I think you’re smart.”
“Then what do I do?”
He cocked his head, looking curious. “What do your uncles think?”
“They think I should just walk away.”
“And you?”
“I wish I could just sell off the businesses and be done with them. Maybe I could even split the money with all of the remaining staff as a sort of severance pay.”
Dimitri pressed his lips together. “And how is that a bad idea?”
“I guess its not.”
“So trust in yourself and do what feels right.”
“I miss you,” she said suddenly. “A lot. More than I ever thought possible actually.”
“Come to me then,” he told her. “Tonight. I’ll leave the doors unlocked for you.”
***
“I’ll leave the doors unlocked for you.”
Dimitri knew exactly why he’d said something so irritatingly vague. He’d wanted her to know that she was welcome, but not required. He’d wanted to preserve her choices. He was also an idiot who knew deep down that it was going to drive him insane tonight, wondering if she would show up or not.
The twilight slipped into darkness, and still he paced the length of his room. He checked his watch every few seconds. The only light in his room came from a tiny lamp on the corner table. He cast periodic glances at the door and wondered if she would understand that he wasn’t actually talking about dismissing all of the guards and security personnel. They simply had orders to let her in and leave her alone. Dimitri didn’t care if—as it had been pointed out to him several times—it was a security risk to allow a “rival mafiya leader” free access to his home. This was Toni. She was different. What they had was different.
A noise in the hallway alerted him. Then he saw the knob on his door handle turn. The door swung open, and Dimitri held his breath. Toni looked haggard and worn, but she was still beautiful to him.
“Come here,” he said softly.
There was no hesitation in her movements. She went straight into his embrace and he exhaled a deep sigh of relief to feel her there. This was what had been missing in his life. This was what he wanted. He needed Toni to make things complete. Nothing mattered without her.
Dimitri lowered his mouth to hers and took her lips in a deep kiss. He moved against her, the softness of her flesh intoxicating. He wrapped his arms around her body and held her close as he plundered her mouth until he thought he could not breathe.
Gently pulling back, he saw her smile. Then she gave a little laugh. “Usually I have to be angry with you to want you this badly.”
“I’ll call that improvement,” he told her. “Or are you angry.”
“Not at all.”
Dimitri pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Toni placed her palms flat against his bare chest and he hummed his approval. It felt incredible to have her touch him. Just knowing that she wanted to was enough to make his cock hard and ready. Then she gently scraped her nails across his pectorals and he groaned. She found his nipples, plucking at them and making him squirm. Never had any other woman turned him on like this.
She knelt in front of him. Dimitri looked down, surprised. Then she unfastened his pants and tugged them down over the tilt of his hips. His belly knotted with anticipation. His cock was already throbbing. And when she put her hands inside his fly and drew the length of him out, he hissed at the intense sensation of her skin against his aroused flesh.
He touched her hair, tucking a few strands behind her ears and watching the way she looked at his cock. Toni licked her lips. She lifted her gaze to meet his and took his shaft in her hands. When she put her lips to the tip of him, Dimitri was afraid he was going to come undone right then and there.
“God, Toni!” he groaned. “Your mouth is incredible!”
He might have said more, but his brain fogged over as she swallowed every inch of his dick from plum shaped head to the base. She closed her mouth over him and gave a long, low suck. He clenched his ass cheeks and felt every nerve in his body catch fire. She began sucking him in short, satisfying pulls. She reached between his legs with her free hand and cupped his balls. The way she rolled them between her fingers pushed him dangerously close to the edge of reason.
He gently took her head between both his palms and began fucking her mouth. She made a noise of approval. The vibrations from her throat traveled down his shaft and tickled him in a way that nearly made him spill his seed then and there. He forced himself back from the edge. He wanted just a little more. She reached around his hips with her hands and dug her fingers into his ass cheeks. Changing position, she angled her throat against him in order to get the deepest penetration possible.
The new angle shattered what was left of his control. Dimitri shouted and thrust hard into her throat. She moaned and sucked and licked as he came all over her tongue. He felt his cum spill into her mouth and he shuddered with the sensation of release. It was so damn good! He’d never felt anything like it. His knees were shaky and he had to hang onto a chest of drawers in order to avoid falling on his ass.
She gently pulled back, licking him as though she were trying to get every single drop. He exhaled a heaving, shuddering breath and then tugged her to her feet. “Let’s lie down before I fall.”
Her giggle of delight made him smile. That was the sound he wanted to hear from her always. Sweeping her off her feet, he cradled her body against his chest and walked the short distance to the bed. He wasn’t done. He was spent, but that was okay. He intended to see just how many times he could make Toni scream before he finally had the chance to bury his cock inside her warm, wet heat. Yes. He was going to enjoy every single second of what was coming.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Toni watched Dimitri strip out of his clothes as though he were in a race to do so. The soft glow of the lamp painted his body in shadows that lovingly touched every dip and groove of his body. He truly was magnificent. Her gaze lingered over the patch of dark hair on his chest and followed that straight down his belly toward his groin. There was a dark nest of short hair at the base of cock. He was hard, his shaft jutting up as though it were trying to get her attention.
She smiled. There was nothing that Dimitri had to do in order to gain her attention. He had it. He always had it. And when he came to the bed and gently began to remove her shoes and socks, she felt a tingle of excitement skate all throughout her body.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered in Russian.
She loved the way he spoke, no matter who language he was using. His baritone was pleasing to the ear. And somehow he could make the most mundane words sound sexy.
He caught and held her gaze. “I’m going to eat your pussy.”
Toni’s lips parted, but no words came out. She had nothing to say to the erotic promise he’d just given her. She wanted what he was offering. Eagerly lifting her hips to help him slide her jeans and underwear down her legs, she parted her knees to give him a glimpse of what he wanted.
“Are you wet for me, beautiful girl?” He placed his palms on the inside of her thighs. “I want to know, but I want you naked first.” He stilled and watched her expectantly.
Toni struggled out of her T-shirt, squirming a little to remove her bra. Finally both were gone. His gaze caressed her curves and her nipples hardened in response.
“Cup your breasts for me, Toni.” His low order made her even hotter.
She did as he asked. She held the heavy weight of her breasts in her palms and even letting her thumbs slide over her nipples. The sensation was different from when he touched her. There was something raw and heavy about doing it herself
. She felt naughty. She pinched her nipples a little, enjoying the pinpricks of sensation that neared pain.
“Yes. Oh yes!” he groaned. Dimitri was kneeling beside the bed. He grabbed her calves and tugged her to the edge of the bed. “I can smell how wet you are! I want so badly to taste your cream, Toni. Do you want me to? Do you want to feel my tongue inside you?”
She couldn’t have held the words back if she tried. “Oh yes! Please!”
He placed her feet on his shoulders and spread her wide. With her sex open like that she felt oddly vulnerable in a way that was almost exhilarating. Then the flat of his tongue slide from the bottom of her slit all the way to the tiny bud at the apex and she forgot anything but the desire to come.
He licked and rooted at her sex. Toni squirmed and begged, words slipping out of her mouth without her knowledge. She arched her back and twisted her fingers in the sheets as she shoved her bottom hard into the mattress to try and coax her lover into spending a little more time on her clit.
It felt so good! Heat built at her core and within seconds she’d exploded into her first orgasm. But Dimitri wasn’t done there. He slid two fingers deep into her opening and curled them into the pad of muscle just inside her entrance. The pressure was unbelievable. She moaned in approval and came again just to show him how much she wanted it. Or maybe she just came because she was overwhelmed with the sensation.
Every inch of her skin was on fire. Her breasts jiggled as she thrust them into the air. Her nipples beaded painfully, and she knew that she was so wet that she had soaked his face. She looked down the length of her tummy and saw his dark head buried between her legs. The sight was utterly decadent. His head moved as he buried his face against her. Then he sucked her nether lips into his mouth and she felt the tip of his tongue teasing her mercilessly. His fingers continued to rub her inner muscles, and soon she could feel another orgasm building.
“Dimitri!”
She screamed his name and curled her toes as the onslaught of sensation overtook her. Stars burst behind her closed eyelids and she felt every single muscle in her body clenching tight. She’d never been this turned on in her life! She needed Dimitri so badly that she couldn’t even get the words out. She might have been begging, saying please over and over again, but she couldn’t be sure. She wanted to feel the hot length of him sliding deep inside her. She wanted the friction and the pressure. Mostly she wanted that moment when he came inside her body and marked her as his own.
