by Roxie Rivera
* * *
There weren't many waiting rooms Dimitri enjoyed but the one outside Yuri's downtown Houston office was one of them. His old friend had recently moved his headquarters to Texas and now owned the city's most beautiful skyscraper. His international holdings only occupied the top ten floors. The rest he rented out as office space to law firms, accounting firms and the like.
As he waited for his old friend, Dimitri chatted briefly with Jake, one of the bodyguards he'd trained for Yuri. The former Marine had been a bouncer on his roster when he'd plucked him out of that line of work and groomed him to protect Yuri. Jake seemed to like the work, especially the traveling, and the money was damn good.
Alone with his thoughts after Jake stepped away, Dimitri glanced around the waiting room. Like everything Yuri touched, he'd made sure to have the place redone with such opulence. Everything was sleek and modern with walls of glass and water features. Most of the art hanging on the grey walls confused Dimitri but the two pieces he recognized as Vivian's work drew his gaze. He stood in front of them as he waited for Yuri, just looking at the bold strokes of color and the faint human shapes in them.
"Thought provoking, yes?" Yuri strode over to join him. He tilted his head and stared at the canvases. "I'm still not sure what they are but I can't stop looking at them. Has she asked you to sit for that new project of hers?"
Dimitri nodded. "I went to her studio three weeks ago. Are you going to let her take a look at your tattoos?"
"Sure." He shrugged. "It's a fascinating concept. I'm interested to see the final collection. Everything she creates is so hauntingly beautiful."
"She's talented." Slipping into his mother tongue felt so easy and nice. It lent an air of privacy to their conversation.
Yuri hummed with agreement. "And completely oblivious to how much Nikolai cares for her."
Dimitri shot him a warning look. "You and I both know there's a reason he wants it that way."
Yuri shrugged. "It was a long time ago, Dimitri. I think it's time he forgave himself for that little accident."
"I don’t think it's his forgiveness that's the issue." Dimitri grew uncomfortable talking about their friend's private business and changed the subject. "Do you have time to speak with me?"
Yuri whacked his back and grinned. "Always. Come."
He followed Yuri into his spacious office. One of Yuri's many assistants tailed them into the room. Ever solicitous, she offered him a drink that he turned down. Yuri asked for water and she hurried to bring it to him, tottering on her heels and barely able to move in the skintight pencil skirt.
There was a time Yuri would have watched her every move, his hungry gaze glued to her wiggling backside or the soft jiggle of her breasts. Today, he seemed to be completely unaware of her. Dimitri studied his friend for a long moment after the assistant exited and shut the door behind him.
"What?" Yuri sipped his water.
Dimitri leaned back in his seat and got comfortable. "You didn't flirt with her."
He looked unhappy. "I don't flirt with every woman who works for me, Dimitri."
"No? Because you have a certain reputation—"
Yuri made an irritated growling sound. "People change."
"Some do, but you?"
Yuri glared at him. "Yes. I can change."
Dimitri considered how defensive his friend was acting. "Are you changing to better yourself or to make someone else happy?" He laughed as it all started to make sense. "Who is she?"
Yuri got a far off look in his eye. "Someone who despises me."
"I find that hard to believe."
Yuri gave a little self-deprecating laugh. "Well believe it, Dimitri, because it's happened."
"Does she work for you?"
He shook his head. "I tried to headhunt her but she shot me down. She's brilliant and everyone talks about her keen eye for PR. Then she walked through that door," he gestured to entrance, "and I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I just gawked at her like some stupid little boy…" His voice trailed off and he frowned. "Apparently my reputation makes me the kind of man she won't work for or date."
Dimitri sensed Yuri had been hurt by the rejection. He wasn't a man used to hearing no from anyone. "I'm sorry, Yuri."
He waved his hand. "And the worst part of the whole sad affair? She's Erin and Vivi's best friend so I have to see her anytime I'm around Ivan or Nikolai."
Dimitri blinked as the pieces fell into place. "Wait. Lena? Lena Cruz?"
Yuri nodded. "You know her?"
"Sure, she's close with Benny. They're working together on a project at the bakery."
Yuri got a mischievous glint in his pale eyes. "Ah, yes. How is your sweet little landlady?"
Dimitri shot him a warning look. "She's fine."
"Still chasing after her like a puppy dog?"
Dimitri shifted uncomfortably. "Not exactly."
Yuri laughed. "Oh, I see. Did we finally work up the courage to make our move?" He waggled his eyebrows. "How was she? It's always those petite quiet ones who turn out to be the real firecrackers between the sheets."
Dimitri's jaw tightened. He would let Yuri bust his balls about a lot of things but Benny was off-limits. "Don't, Yuri."
His friend's eyes widened. "I see. That serious, huh?"
"It's complicated," he said finally. "I'm not sure we're on the same page yet."
"Well I'm sure you didn’t come here for relationship advice. You'd better look to Ivan for those answers."
Dimitri snorted at the thought of seeking advice on long-term relationships from a billionaire oligarch playboy, but the suggestion to bounce ideas off Ivan was a good one. "No, I'm not here for that kind of help. What do you know about UpStreet Properties?"
Yuri's playful demeanor fled. "Nothing you'll like to hear. Why?"
"They want to buy Benny's bakery so they can put in a retail center. She said no and they sent around one of their men to scare her this morning."
Yuri's eyes narrowed and a flash of anger darkened them. Like Dimitri, he had a real problem with that particular scare tactic. Going after women was weak and cowardly.
"Jonah Krause owns the real estate development company. He has deep pockets. Not as deep as mine, obviously, but deeper than yours. It's not the money that makes him dangerous, Dimitri. It's his connections."
"To?"
"Anyone and everyone important in Houston," Yuri continued. "Make no mistake. If he wants that property, he's going to get it. He owns a lot of people in the city government. He'll put pressure on them to use imminent domain. If she beats that, he'll find a way to stop the permits she needs to do repairs or improvements. If that doesn’t stop her, he'll blacklist her with contractors and make it impossible for her to get any work done. Push back hard enough and he might use some of the knee-breakers he keeps on his payroll to bring her into compliance."
Dimitri rubbed the back of his neck. His muscles tightened painfully as the picture of what Benny stood against became clear. "What do I do? How do I help her?"
"You tell her to raise the fucking price and sell out while the money is still good."
"She won't. That business and that building are her family's history."
"The business can be moved. A building is simply a building. It's bricks and drywall and wires. It's nothing." Yuri jabbed the air with his finger. "You'd better change her mind or she's going to get totally fucked on this. These are not the kind of people she wants to take on, Dimitri. This will be a nasty fight—and it's one you will not win."
Yuri's ominous warning made his stomach pitch. While he respected Benny's feelings on the matter, he worried that she was letting her emotions cloud her judgment. With enough money from a sale of the building and a sale of her home, she could start over in a better location. He'd help her with funds, if needed, to make sure she stayed solidly in the black.
Getting her to agree to that proposal wouldn't be easy. He never wanted her to feel like he didn't have her back. He feared she'd see it a
s a betrayal if he urged her to sell but what else could he do? Yuri never exaggerated. If he said this Jonah Krause was trouble, it was true.
"Shit." Dimitri wiped a hand down his face. "We haven't even had a full twenty-four hours together as a couple and we're going to have our first huge fight."
"Now this is something I can help you with, Dimitri! I may not be a relationship expert like Ivan but I know exactly what to do in this situation."
Dimitri eyed him warily. "And what's that?"
"You stop at the jewelry store on the way home and you buy something obscenely expensive. Diamonds are always a good choice. It softens them up and makes it less likely you're going to need a trip to the emergency room."
Dimitri scowled at Yuri. "I can't imagine why Lena thinks you're such a womanizer."
"That hurts, Dimitri." Yuri put a hand to his chest and feigned injury.
His pocket vibrated and he grabbed his phone. A text message from Benny made his chest flutter. He felt like a damn teenager as he opened the message. A grown man shouldn't feel this much excitement from something so simple—but he did.
Having dinner with the girls tonight. Hope that's okay.
Before he could type an answer, Yuri asked, "Is that from Benny?"
"She's just letting me know that she's having dinner with friends." He didn't mention Lena because he didn't want to touch that sore spot.
"Is that all she says?"
"Well…"
"Because it's probably a test, Dimitri."
He laughed. "It's a message, Yuri. That's all."
"Except when it isn't," Yuri replied. He held out his hand. "Let me see."
Dimitri pulled the phone closer to his chest but Yuri was able to bat it out of his hands. He glanced at the screen and hummed knowingly. "See? A test!"
Dimitri narrowed his eyes. "Give me the damn phone."
Yuri slapped it back onto his palm. "She's feeling uncertain, Dimitri. I know I joked about the shy, quiet types earlier but I'm being serious now. Women like Benny need to be reassured. She's funny and sweet but she's not the most confident woman. This message?" He pointed at the phone. "That's her way of establishing boundaries."
"Boundaries?" Dimitri rarely felt out of his depth but Yuri's knowledge in the field of women trumped his.
"You have a dominating personality. Like me, like Ivan, like Nikolai," he said. "Some women love that, yeah? Some women are put off by it. Some women aren't quite sure. Benny's somewhere in the middle right now. She loves it and fears it. She's telling you that she's going to have a night with her friends to remind you who makes decisions for her. But," he emphasized, "a small part of her wants to know if you'll be bothered that she made a decision without you. She's feeling you out. She's trying to figure out how this relationship is going to work."
Dimitri stared at the screen and considered Yuri's advice. Last night, he'd been a bit forceful in getting her to stay the night with him. He'd also put her in restraints. She'd loved them, obviously, but maybe it was a bit too much for one night. Was she feeling skittish now?
He ran his thumb over the touchscreen and thought about what to type. After erasing his message twice, he settled on one that worked.
Have fun. I'd like to see you later?
With his message sent, he looked up to find Yuri eyeing him. He tucked his phone into his pocket and let loose an irritated sigh. "What?"
Yuri's shoulders bounced and he stood. "I was thinking that soon you and Ivan will be having couples-only weekends."
Dimitri shot him the finger but didn't try to deny it. For all he knew, Yuri was right. Ivan had been with Erin only a few short months but he'd already witnessed a dramatic change in his friend. It was probable he'd soon be following in Ivan's footsteps.
Yuri made his way to his desk and plucked a business card from the tray there. "Have you given any thought to the proposal I made last week?"
Dimitri thought back to their dinner at the Samovar. Yuri had blindsided him with a new business venture he wanted Dimitri to head. "You were serious about that?"
Yuri looked amused. "Have you ever known me to joke when it comes to money and business?"
"No."
He scribbled something on the back of the card. "I think you're the perfect person to head a personal security firm. We can roll Front Door Security into a bigger company. I think you have something unique to offer, especially to the heavy international clientele that's pouring into Houston." He straightened and dropped the pen back into its holder. "You and I have always stayed clean so we wouldn't have any problems there."
When he said clean, he meant on the right side of the law. Unlike Ivan and Nikolai who had both done time and had rap sheets a mile long, Dimitri and Yuri had stayed out of the criminal fray. That wasn’t to say they hadn't crossed the line a time or two when it was absolute necessary but they'd been careful about it.
"Let me consider it." Dimitri rose from his chair. "When do you want an answer?"
"The end of next week?" Yuri extended the business card. "The sooner we make our move, the better."
Dimitri took the business card and flipped it over. "What's this?"
"It's the name of a jeweler here in Houston. The only one I'll use. He's one of us."
By one of us, he meant a Russian. Dimitri tried to hand back the card. "I don't need this. I'm not going to buy Benny jewelry just to avoid an argument."
Yuri pushed his hand back. "Keep it. You might need it sooner than you think."
Dimitri started to object but nodded instead. He slipped it into his pocket. With a smile, he asked, "Do I get a discount if I mention your name?"
"Hell," Yuri said with a laugh, "he'll probably mark up the price!" He slapped Dimitri's back. "Hey, come out to the club on Saturday. Ivan and Erin are coming. It will be nice to see you and Benny together."
Dimitri wasn't so sure Benny would enjoy the wild scene at Faze, Yuri's decadent Houston nightspot, but he accepted the offer. "Sure."
"Good." Yuri walked him to the door and glanced at his watch. "I'd ask you to join me at the Samovar for lunch but I've got a helicopter coming in ten minutes. Next time?"
"Yeah."
Yuri's fingers tightened on his shoulder. "Be careful, Dimitri. I know you love this woman but don't let that love make you stupid. Ivan walked into the middle of a damn gang war for Erin and barely survived it."
"Have you ever known me to be reckless?"
"No, but I've also never seen you protect someone you love as much as Benny. I see it in your face every time you mention her name. Don't let it blind you. Tunnel vision at a time like this?" He shook his head. "Bad business."
Dimitri took the warning to heart. Yuri had a way of cutting through the bullshit and this time was no different. They shook hands and Dimitri headed for the elevators. As he waited, his pocket vibrated again. He withdrew his phone to find Benny's reply.
Yes!
With a smile on his face, he stepped into the empty elevator. For the first time in years, he felt a quiver of hope tickling deep in his belly. Benny was finally his—and he was never letting go.
Chapter Six
Later that night, when I pulled into the small parking area beside the bakery, my sides still ached from laughing so hard. I couldn’t remember the last time I'd had that much fun with girlfriends. Even though I'd only known Vivian and Erin a short time, the two women had happily welcomed me into the group and made me feel a part of it. It was a really nice feeling to belong.
Dimitri's truck sat in its usual spot. I flipped down my visor and checked my reflection in the mirror. I touched up my lips and dug around in my purse for a mint that I quickly crunched between my teeth so it would dissolve faster. My tummy fluttered wildly as I slid out of my car and locked it.
I hadn't even made it to the bottom step of the metal stairs before Dimitri's door opened and he came out to greet me. "Hi."
I smiled up at him and tried to keep my knees from knocking together. "Hey."
His sex
y grin made my heart dance. Barefoot and in jeans, he looked so relaxed as he leaned back against his door and waited for me. I could tell he'd run his hands through his blond hair, leaving the ends a bit tousled. His pale blue shirt stretched across his chest and hugged his thick, muscled arms. The memory of what it felt like to have them wrapped around me made my belly clench.
The second I drew close, he slid an arm around my waist and tugged me against his chest. He cupped my face and claimed my lips in a kiss so perfectly sensuous it made it impossible for me to breathe. My heart stammered in my chest as his tongue swept mine and he sucked gently on my lower lip. God, the man could kiss!
He dragged his thumb across my mouth. "How was your night with the girls?"
"It was nice. I think Lena and Erin had the most fun, especially once they cracked open the second bottle of wine from Ivan's cellar."
A frown marred his handsome face. A bit tersely, he said, "You shouldn't drink and drive, Benny."
I bristled at his insinuation that I'd done something wrong. "I had one glass and that was right when I walked in the door. It's been more than two hours."
He looked apologetic. "I could have worded that differently. I only meant that you could have called me. I would have been happy to pick you up." He brushed his fingers through my loose hair. "I worry about you."
"Dimitri, I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."
"I know you can." He grunted softly in frustration. "I'm screwing this up. I'm trying to say that you don’t always have to do everything on your own."
My annoyance fled. I rubbed my hand over his hard chest. "I understand." Wanting to show him I meant it, I added, "The next time I go out with the girls I'll really let my hair down, okay? Then you'll be the one getting a late night call from your plastered girlfriend asking you to come pick her up instead of poor Ivan."
Dimitri chuckled. "I'm sure Ivan loved that."
I smiled at the memory of Erin pawing Ivan on her way out to his SUV. "Well considering the way Erin had Ivan's shirt half unbuttoned by the time he got her to the parking lot, I'm sure he did love it."
