15
HART
The low hum of the jet was comforting. I loved flying and the moments between jobs where I could sit back and sip on a glass of scotch and just relax. Outside of my home in Mexico was about the only place I truly felt like I could switch off and just exist. Beauty had fallen asleep before the plane had even left the ground, she was curled up on the sofa with a warm blanket over her tiny frame. Her youthful excitement over the prospect of flying had been refreshing. She’d likely be pissed when she woke and realized she missed the entire ordeal. Raul was using the bedroom to make a call to Sylvie so Henry and I didn’t have to listen to their incessant dirty talk. Henry sat across from me, the cockney bastard brooding with the best of them. He’d dropped the ball and missed the infiltration on Algimas’ property, and Henry didn’t drop the ball, ever. His attempted warning came too late, and it was sheer luck that the fuckers who shot up Algimas’ kitchen couldn’t shoot worth a damn. I’d already had a quiet word with him, but there’d be no punishment. Even though mistakes in our line of work meant life or death, a mistake was still a mistake. There was no more loyal a man than Henry, and he’d beat himself up over his fuck-up enough for all of us.
“The package arrived intact?” Henry finally asked, breaking the silence.
Nodding, I smiled. Charlie had sent me to retrieve Algimas and the order was to return him breathing. He was breathing, albeit with difficulty.
“And this doll we are following?”
“Her name is Ruby, last known location was a holding room in Vilnius, but Raul had a contact that has checked the location and found it empty. The Albanians are involved in the sale, and it looks like they have her bunkered down somewhere in St. Petersburg.”
“Viktor?”
“Will meet us there.”
Henry grunted. “What happens with this one?” He nodded toward Beauty, and my gaze was drawn to her sleeping form. She looked so young and innocent as she lay there. Definitely not the knife wielding, gun toting femme fatale she had proven she could be.
“She’s invested in finding this child.”
I hadn’t had a chance to inform my team of Beauty’s addition, and Henry’s raised brow told me he was curious, but understanding the chain of command meant he wouldn’t actually voice his questions.
“She dissected Algimas like she’d been born with a knife in her hand. She watched me fillet Matis and smiled the entire time. She also killed a man as we were leaving the property. She’s . . . different.”
Henry nodded, but I could still see the doubt in his dark eyes.
“Madness should stick with madness, don’t you think?”
“You think I’m mad?”
Beauty’s softly asked question came from the sofa. She was awake and peering out the window, a pout on her lips, her brow creased, a look that told me she was unhappy with the clouds that blocked her view.
“Of course,” I replied, and she cast me a sardonic look that made me chuckle. Directly across from me, Henry had slipped in his earbuds and was doing his best to ignore us. Standing, I moved across the small space that separated Beauty and me and sat down beside her. Our thighs were touching, the heat from her body reaching out to mine, and it made me happy that she didn’t attempt to move away. That was the thing about Beauty. Even if she was uncomfortable, she wouldn’t cower or show that discomfort, she’d battle through it. At this moment, though, her body language suggested she was completely relaxed with my nearness, no battle in sight.
“It takes something special to be able to kill a man and not suffer any lingering effects.”
“They raped and abused me for three years. I think I’m entitled to a little payback.”
Her voice was tempered with anger. Lifting my hands in surrender, I agreed. “But there are many women who have been in your predicament and were unable to do what you did.”
“So, what? I’m crazy and a killer. You going to lock me away now?”
Panic flared in her eyes and her back stiffened as she readied herself to fight. Reaching out, I gently held her chin between my thumb and finger.
“Not a chance, Beauty. We are partners, remember? We are the same side of the same mad coin, you and I. We are different, up here.” I tapped the side of my head. “It doesn’t make us wrong, nor does it make us right, it just makes us us.”
Her body lost some of its tension. “Will your boss try and take me away.”
“Never.”
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, her attention returned to the windows.
“You’re not a captive here, Beauty. We are equals, and anything you want to do, I’ll make it happen.”
Surprise etched into her features, her reflection in the window staring intently at me. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I stared right back.
“I’d really like to kill Algis.”
Grinning, I poked her gently in the ribs and was stunned silent by the contagious laughter that spilled from her lips. It was a sound I would do anything to hear over and over. Apparently, my Beauty was ticklish.
“Within reason,” I murmured.
Her smile dropped, and she sighed loudly, her chin settling into her hand as her gaze left mine to find the clouds.
“The men who infiltrated Algimas’ property were American.”
Beauty glanced back over her shoulder.
“Is that unusual?”
“Not entirely unusual, most definitely unexpected. It makes me curious as to who or what they were there for.”
“You think they were there for me?”
The thought occurred to Raul, Henry, and myself, but until we knew more we wouldn’t speculate.
“What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we get to St. Petersburg?” I asked her, changing the subject.
A curious expression morphed into a dreamy smile.
“Go shopping.”
Rolling my eyes, I collapsed back against the couch.
“You will indeed be the death of me, love.”
16
BEAUTY
St. Petersburg was beautiful, the buildings uniquely foreign and steeped in history. According to the pamphlet in my lap, like me, it had gone through name changes over the years. It had gone from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, then Leningrad, then St. Petersburg once again. Pressing a finger to the window I was perched in front of, I whispered, “Are you as confused as me?”
I wanted to go out and explore, but had pinky promised Hart I would stay put while he slept. Sprawled on the giant bed behind me, his leanly muscled frame was completely relaxed as he slept, the sheet at his waist barely covering the large bulge that rested beneath it. The thought of how I’d rocked myself to orgasm against his flesh there made my pussy clench. I wanted more, more pleasure. I’d been starved of it for too long, and I was furious Algis had stolen this from me. Just the thought of the rapist bastard had my temper growing. My monster. I knew what it was now, I knew where it came from, and I knew how to feed it. It was by no means satiated with how things ended with Algis. I needed longer with him, I needed his last breath, and instead, some entitled crime lord was taking it. That made me angry, too.
The gun Hart had pushed into my hand back in Algis’ home lay in my palm, the cold weight welcomed. It helped me relax. Hart allowed me to keep it with another pinky promise that I wouldn’t shoot him or any of his men. I guess that meant Charlie Decena, too, even though a part of me wanted to shoot him. Anger at the justice that had slipped through my fingers because of his own wants and agenda ate away at my sanity, or what little of it I had left. Leaning my head against the glass window, I thumped my forehead.
“Stupid crime lord boss taking my vengeance,” I murmured.
“Are you talking to yourself?”
Hart’s gravelly voice sent a shiver of goose pimples over my flesh. Sighing, I leaned to one side so I could see him from my chair that sat in front of a large window overlooking the city.
“Talking to ones’ self is the first sign of madness, yo
u know.”
Hart laughed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, uncaring of his nakedness now proudly on display. His hair was mused up, his face soft with sleep . . . well, as soft as a killer could get.
“Where did you hear that?”
“My mom,” I answered without hesitation.
We both froze. A memory. Mine? Or Lucy’s? But I’d said ‘my’ mom, not Lucy’s.
“Relax, Beauty, you’ll pull a muscle thinking so hard.”
“I remembered something.”
Hart stood, his hard, angry cock bouncing as he walked towards me. His whiskey colored eyes were sharp, his body ready to pounce. His jaw held a dark shadow, his chest smooth and hair free. He looked like an angel. A dark angel.
“Keep looking at me like that, and we’ll have to do something about the ache in my balls.”
Without realizing what I was doing, I licked my lips. Blow jobs had become something to fear, and something I loathed doing. But the thought of Hart’s cock in my mouth made me feel different. Powerful even.
“Oh, my sweet Beauty, you are just asking for trouble.” Hart knelt before me, his eyes level with mine. “Your memories will come when they are ready. Don’t force them. As you remember things, we can begin to piece together your past.”
“A past I can’t return to,” I reminded him.
Shrugging, he pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Maybe not ever.”
“Maybe that won’t be so bad.”
“You want to keep me?”
His wicked grin turned him into a sexual rogue in a heartbeat.
“Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, hmmm?” he echoed his previous statement.
“When do we go looking for Ruby?”
The thought of the young teenager frightened and possibly being abused made me sick to my stomach. I was impatient to get out there and look for her, to find her, to free her. When we’d arrived in St. Petersburg, we’d met with a man named Viktor. Tall and lean, with perfectly arched brows over pale blue eyes, his handsome looks had struck me stupid for a moment. That stupidity was slapped aside the moment the man looked at me. I’d seen that look plenty of times over the past few years, condescending and superior, and I was not prepared to simply stand back meekly and take the silent hypocrisy. When I tried to steal Raul’s gun to shoot the Russian bastard, Hart had Henry deposit me in the car where I was forced to wait while the men-folk talked men-folk stuff. It pissed me off and put me in a foul mood. Giving Hart my silence all the way to the hotel had been somewhat invigorating. Such displays of disobedience and power hadn’t been tolerated by Algis, and I found it easier to give Hart a little lip knowing I wouldn’t be punished for it. Or in this case, no lip at all. As soon as we arrived at our room, Hart showered, then promptly fell asleep. My pouting silence had bitten me on the ass, because now I had no clue what was happening. I should have spent my silent moments better by asking questions.
“Viktor and Raul are making inquiries. We will meet them for dinner and figure out our next course of action.”
“Somebody might be hurting her.”
“Her sale has been compromised. She’s young, a virgin. Her seller won’t just hock her off to the nearest available buyer. He’ll want big money, which means a big buyer, which means patience. They will want her virginity intact, and they will want her unmarked, which means she’ll be scared but untouched.”
It gave me a little comfort to think she would be safe, for now. It didn’t alleviate the need to do something, though. This sitting around was going to send me loopy or loopier.
“I don’t much like waiting around,” I confessed.
“Then we should do something about that.”
A strong hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me none to gently from the chair I was sitting on. Taking my place in it, Hart wrapped a hand around the thick girth of his cock. With a deviant smirk in place, he reached for his cell phone and within seconds had classical music playing.
“Dance for me, Beauty.”
A combination of his playful attitude, the sexual tension, and the music made me giddy with delight. The worrying thoughts of Ruby slipped away, and the music bled deep into my soul, filling my heart with happiness. Wearing a pretty, matching baby-blue bra and panty set, I took a few steps away from Hart and began to move. The music was slow to start, and I swayed and spun as I warmed up. Then I crept into that room in my mind, the one where the memories of dance were stored and protected. Grand jetés, arabesques, retire devants, pirouettes, those memories of learning to dance were all there. Ballet, dreaming on your feet. When I danced, I could pretend I was somewhere else. I could be someone else. But as I danced before Hart whose hand stilled as he watched with utter fascination, I was here. I was Beauty, and I danced for him.
THE END
for now…
BEAUTY, Part 2, coming to you for 2019.
To find out more, please visit www.anitagrayauthor.com
Thanks for reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed BEAUTY. If you could leave an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, I’ll be forever grateful.
I hope you will check out the rest of BLAIRE’S WORLD: 6 other Dark Romance Novels waiting just for you. They don’t have to be read in any order, so you can dive right in wherever you’d like. All available on Amazon. Enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
BLAIRE’S WORLD
LUNA & ANDRES
SERAFINA
KRISTOFF
EVELINA
OLIVER
I also encourage you to read The Dark Romance Series if you haven’t already. With over 1000 5-star reviews, BLAIRE and BLAI2E have become international Amazon sensations. Anna Zaires says BLAIRE, Part 1, is “Compelling Dark Romance.”
Available on Amazon.
Enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
Available on Audio.
Find them here: www.anitagrayauthor.com
OTHER BOOKS BY KIRSTY DALLAS
Mercy’s Angels Series – contemporary romance (Kindle Unlimied)
Violet Addiction – friends to lovers
Breeze of Life – road trip romance, friends to lovers
Decker’s Wood – bestselling comedy romance
Bradley’s Whistle – comedy romance
Stupid Love – comedy romance
When Nothing Is All You’ve got – award winning dark romance
Liberty – a spin-off to When Nothing Is All You’ve Got
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kirsty Dallas is an internal bestselling and award winning author from the south east corner of Queensland, Australia. Her comedy romance, Decker's Wood, was an Amazon, iBooks and Nook bestseller, and was also a Goodreads Top 10 Comedy for 2014. Novels to date also include the highly acclaimed Mercy's Angels Series which tackles the subject of violence against women, and standalone novels Breeze of Life, Violet Addiction, Stupid Love, the award winning dark romance, When Nothing Is All You've Got, and Liberty.
Kirsty Dallas' stories are renowned for their raw honesty and engaging characters. Plots that delve into the frightening subjects of abuse, rape, drugs and violence are twisted into the pages of her books, bringing heart stopping action and a roller coaster of emotion.
Working with Australian Director and screen writer, Chris Sun, Kirsty worked as script editor on the horror feature film, Boar. Boar was signed to Universal Pictures Australia, and went to number 3 on the charts following it's 2018 release.
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Beauty: Part 1: Blaire's World (Beauty's Duet #1) Page 11
