by Goode, Ella
Blurb
It only took one look from the unusual gaze of Violet Collins to snare Victor Sokolov. Unfortunately for the burly Russian security specialist, Violet doesn’t share the same instant attraction. She’s wary of attachments ever since her family exiled her a beach resort. While she doesn’t mind allowing him into her bed, her heart is off limits.
Victor wants more than physical submission, he wants her love, and what Victor wants, Victor gets. He’ll fight to have Violet even if it means going up against her family because he needs to have her sweet kisses forever.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
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Chapter 1
Victor
The noise in the suite is reaching ear piercing levels. I frown in annoyance at the chaos. My charge as head of security for Lennox Luxury Living is to ensure that my principal remains secure at all times. The easiest way to carry out this task is to put them in an empty room with no windows. Unfortunately, human beings enjoy interaction, which I do not understand, as people are trash and dealing with them for any extended amount of time is similar to rolling around in a dumpster.
Lennox is a workaholic and for the most part, minus the no-windows bit, he lives in his office—which I find acceptable and why I’ve agreed to work with him. From time to time we travel to various sites—all of which I meticulously investigate ahead of time. Those are workable situations. Not my favorite, but as long as I’m given advance notice, I’m able to prepare.
What is not workable are these...parties that involve small spaces, strangers, and drunkenness. I eye the entire crowd with suspicion, ready to take down anyone and eject them from the room forcibly.
Lennox isn’t enjoying this event either. He’s merely here for his good friend and employee. This is another reason why human interaction should be avoided. Having friends requires you to do things you don’t ordinarily want to do.
I am a loner by choice, not by accident. People do not interest me. Not men or women. They are a hassle, a distraction, and moreover, a waste of my time. I scan the room for any signs of suspicious people once again. I spot a man attempting to tear off a drunken woman’s dress.
“We have a situation at ten o’clock. Male, about five foot ten, wearing a brown silk shirt, is about to engage in a level two assault of a nonconsensual female. Please address,” I say into my headpiece.
“Roger that,” replies my man. I watch as Ted crosses to the couple and separates the two.
“What should I do with him?” Ted’s voice asks through my earpiece.
“Toss him out.” As we should with all trash.
“Incoming,” another voice says.
I turn to see Anna, Lennox’s assistant, enter. I give her a nod of acknowledgment.
“Sokolov, I’m bringing in a new employee for Mr. Lennox to check out.”
“Is the person on the list?” I flip open the clipboard. I believe in paper, old school tech, for these kinds of things.
“Of course she’s on the list. Selena Smooth. She pretty much runs this place. I’m going to get her to take my place,” Anna whispers to me.
“Good luck with that.” Mr. Lennox is a hard guy to please. He’d hired and fired about fifteen security firms before settling on mine.
“Oh, I don’t need luck,” Anna replies with a grin.
I don’t entirely know what that means. Sometimes people talk in codes that I don’t understand, but I don’t really care to be educated either. That’s unnecessary information. I only deal in necessities. And I don’t rely on luck.
“You can bring her in.”
Anna sighs. “You’re the hardest part of this job, you know. Not everyone’s a threat, Victor.”
“Everyone’s a threat. And it’s Sokolov,” I remind her. No one calls me Victor. Not even my mother.
“Right. Right. I forget because normal people call each other by their first names after knowing each other for more than a month or so, let alone years.”
I don’t reply because her complaint doesn’t require one. Or, at least, there is no reply that she would find acceptable. First names are an invited intimacy that I don’t wish to share with anyone. I would explain this to Anna but she would not understand--as evidenced by the fact that I am forced to call her Anna instead of Mueller, which is her surname.
The door opens and a woman walks through. I allow her to approach Lennox. They exchange words. Anna is between me and Lennox so I’m forced to shove her aside as Smooth raises her arm to slap Lennox. I’m about to grab Smooth and throw her to the ground when I see Lennox wave me off with a slight shake of his head.
I step back and watch as Smooth’s blow whips Lennox’s chin to right. He grins. I step back and take up my stance at the door. See, people are fucked up. Interaction with any human is highly overrated.
The door to the suite opens again, just a sliver, and I see a small face peak inside. She peers around, her eyes growing as big as saucers when she spots me. She lets out a tiny squeak and then hurriedly backs away.
“There’s a level one threat at the entrance. I’m checking out the disturbance. Have King come and cover for me.”
“Yessir,” replies my right-hand man.
I leave my spot and slip out the door. The girl is at the VIP elevators, frantically punching the down button. It takes only seconds for me to reach her. I grab her wrist and whip her around.
“Name,” I order.
“Wh-what?”
Large, lavender eyes meet mine. I stumble back, nearly falling to the floor. Those eyes. I’ve never seen anything like them in my entire life. The earth shifts under my feet and my head swims. I give myself a shake and try to regain my footing.
“Name,” I repeat, my voice taking on an odd hoarseness.
“It’s Violet.”
Violet. It’s perfect. The whirling in my head stops and I hear an audible click as the moving plates lock into place. The world settles and I see everything so clearly.
“Violet.” It tastes like candy on my tongue.
“Yes, Violet C—”
I shake my head. “I don’t need to know your last name.”
“Um, why not? Aren’t you the head of security for Lennox’s team?”
“Yes.”
I start walking. “Mark, I’ll be taking my break now. Please advise if anything unusual occurs or should you need my assistance.”
“Break?” he asks in confusion. We don’t take breaks in my business.
“Yes. Call in a replacement. Use Tucker. He’s the alternate on standby.”
“Yessir.”
There’s a small tug on my grip. I look down to see Violet trying to peel my fingers away from her wrist.
“Sir, I belong here. I’m Smooth’s assistant. If you just look me up. It’s Violet C—”
“I don’t need to know that,” I cut her off again.
“But last names are important,” she protests.
I open the door to the suite at the end of the hall and pull her inside. “I know,” I tell her once the door is shut behind us. “But yours will be Sokolov soon enough so it doesn’t matter what your name is now.”
“Sokolov? Who is that?”
“Me.”
Chapter 2
Violet
“What’s with men always trying to marry me?” I absently ask the question. First my father tried to marry
me off and now this man thinks out of nowhere that I’m going to marry him. It is the strangest thing. I have enough problems remembering to do things I need to do for myself, let alone a husband. Never mind the fact that I don’t even know this man.
“I do not try to do things,” he responds. It’s direct but his face looks like he ate something he doesn’t like. It can’t be one of the appetizers at the bachelor party because we have one of the best chefs on staff. I might have taken the liberty of trying one of everything before it was delivered. Don’t judge me. It’s my job to make sure everything is good and that includes the food. My boss Smooth says I’m just doing a quality check. Sure. We can call it that if everyone wants to. “I do them.”
“Me too!” Well, I try my best, at least. Sometimes I take on more than I can handle and a few small things slip through the cracks but I always fix them. Okay. Maybe I would be able to handle a husband. I am good at handling things for other people. That is my job though. I don’t think a husband is supposed to be a job. This wall standing in front of me sure looks like he’d be a lot to handle, yet for some reason I have the urge to try to do it. If my dad had offered me to someone who looked like Victor. I might have taken him up on that one.
“Who else thinks to marry you?” His hand that is still holding mine tightens. I look down to see it engulfs my whole hand. The man really is a giant.
“You’re big.” My eyes roam over his body. Not big like the guys who hang out at the pool or down by the gym. He is a whole other level of big. He’s massive. That’s the right word to describe him. I reach out and poke his barrel stomach. It’s hard but I don’t think there are abs. He’s solid like a mountain. I bet he could lift one.
“You did not answer my question.” My eyes travel up his large chest to meet his dark gaze.
“What?” I try and think. What did he ask me?
“Who is trying to marry you?”
“Oh!” I roll my eyes. “My dad.” I lean in. “He thinks I need a man to keep an eye on me. That I'm always getting myself into trouble. Maybe he’s right.” My shoulders drop. “That’s why I’m here. He put me into the dad witness protection program.” My hand flies over my mouth. I'm not supposed to say that. I haven’t even told Smooth why I am lying low at her resort.
Victor’s eyes narrow on my face. His whole body goes tense. Maybe I’ve said too much. He could go digging for information. That is, after all, his job. He could probably know everything about me in a few seconds if he wants to. My eyes meet his dark gaze. Yeah. I’m not sure that anything will be able to slow him down.
“Please don’t tell anyone that I’m hiding out,” I whisper. We’re alone in a suite he pulled me into. I know no one can hear us but it seems like something I should whisper. “My dad told me I’d be safe here. Everyone thinks I ran away.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.
“O-kay,” he agrees.
“Okay?” Well, that was easy.
“For a kiss.” My mouth drops open. Maybe not so easy.
“A kiss?” My face warms. Why does that make me turn a shade or two of pink? He told me moments ago we’re getting married but I think maybe he’s teasing. As my eyes search his face I come to the conclusion this man is likely not one that makes jokes about serious things.
“A kiss.” His free hand that isn’t still holding mine comes to my hip. He pulls me into his big body. I have to let my head drop all the way back to look up at him. His hold on me is both possessive but soft. Gentle is not a word I would have ever thought to use to describe this man when I first saw him.
“Your eyes,” I say. They look soft too. I no longer see that deadly assessing look they had.
“My kiss, Kotyonok.”
“Violet,” I correct. “You can’t call me another woman’s name and then kiss me.” I tisk him with a thump to his giant chest. This makes his lips curve up in a little smile.
“Kotyonok means kitten in Russian.”
“Oh.” I furrow my eyebrows together. “You call other people that?”
“No, Kotyonok. Only you.”
“Okay. Then you can have your kiss as payment.” I pucker up, thinking this is going to be one of those fast smacks on the lips. His mouth turns from the firm line to another smile. It makes his face light up for almost a second before it’s gone.
I miss seeing more of it though because my stupid eyes fall closed when his mouth comes down on mine. He pulls me more into his hard body. I melt into him as my feet leave the ground. He makes it easier for his mouth to meet mine as he deepens the kiss. There is nothing quick about this. His tongue sweeps across my bottom lip. He may have picked me up on his own and pushed for this kiss but he is asking me to open my mouth for him. He’s silently willing me to give it to him. He wants my consent before he takes my mouth fully and I now want to know what he tastes like.
I give him exactly that. My lips part for him, allowing his tongue to slide in and meet mine. Each new thing I discover about him is never what I expect it’s going to be. I thought our kiss would be rough and rugged, yet it’s nothing like that. His sweetness fills my mouth as he gently owns it. I realize now that he’s a gentle giant when it comes to me. I don’t know how I thought he would taste but it wasn’t of sticky sweet marshmallow. I moan into his mouth not only from what he’s doing to me but from the taste of one of my favorite desserts. I now know he stole some of the ones that were being passed around at the party. There has never been a kiss better than this in all of history. No one can top the taste of Victor mixed with a hint of mini smores. My mind drifts to how his giant hand looked picking up the tiny desserts and popping them into his mouth. I’m guessing by the way he’s devouring me right now that I look like one of those tiny little snacks to him.
My tongue continues to tangle with his as I try my best to mimic his actions. This kiss is my first. I’m not counting the one that was stolen on the playground by Johnny when I was six years old. I’d pushed Johnny to the ground and sworn off boys at that time. I dig my hands into Victor’s shirt, not having any thoughts of pushing him anywhere. I feel him free my hair from its tie. The only thing I can think about is how I’m going to get more of his kisses without him realizing.
Chapter 3
Victor
She kisses like an innocent—an untouched, unpracticed innocent. I can still taste her a day later.
“Is Lennox really getting married?” Ted asks as we oversee a desk being carried in by two workers in white jumpsuits.
I doublecheck their photos the company sent over to ensure that we don’t have imposters.
“Apparently.” Earlier this morning, Lennox arrived in the suite to announce that he was getting married. I initially thought it was a joke, although Lennox is not one to make jokes, but given his previous monk-like existence and focus on business, the statement felt out of place.
“Can’t believe it. Sure, Smooth is hot, but you don’t have to marry a girl to bone her, am I right?”
King reaches over and slaps the back of Ted’s head. “Don’t be a fuckhead.”
Ted tries to duck out of the way. “Yo, Vic, you agree with me, don’t you?”
“Sokolov.”
“Huh? Oh, that’s right. No first names. What do the women say in bed when you call them by their last name? That doesn’t ruin the moment?”
I make a note to fire Ted. King gives me a wry glance over the head of our soon-to-be ex-employee. We do extensive profiling of our hires because they need to be free of any outside entanglements that might open them up to blackmail schemes or other pressures, but apparently our process allows for the occasional small-dicked, big-mouthed, loose-lipped asshole to slip through. That will have to change.
After all the furniture is changed around in the suite to accommodate the new temporary headquarters of Lennox Luxury Living, I direct King into my suite at the other end of the hall.
Tossing my clipboard onto the low wooden coffee table, I ask, “What report do you have on Eugene Collins?”
&nb
sp; King takes a seat while I pour him a drink—decaf, as stimulants are not allowed on the job. He accepts the cup of hot liquid gratefully and gulps down half the cup before speaking.
“Nothing as far as I can find. Eugene Collins is a fifty-six-year-old man, married with three daughters. He owns four car dealerships in New Jersey and seven apartment buildings. The buildings are managed by Collins Properties, Inc. which is run by the eldest daughter, Amethyst Collins, otherwise known as Amie—to everyone but you, of course. The middle daughter is Daffodil and she is in San Francisco working at a tech startup specializing in game apps. Violet, who, in my opinion got the best name of the group, was sent down here a year ago. The Collins finances appear clean.”
“Appear” being the operative word. “Dealerships are a common way for syndicates to wash money.”
“Agreed. I’ve reached out to some contacts but it’s been less than twenty-four hours so I’m not surprised we only have the surface intel right now.”
“Keep at it. In the meantime, have Higgs send down a replacement for Ted.”
“Will do.” King reaches inside his pocket. “Here’s the thing you asked for.”
I take the velvet box from him. “Thank you. Send Violet in. She should be”—I check my schedule—"arriving in the dining hall to check the buffet.”
“Roger that.”
Ten minutes after King departed, the doorbell of my suite rings. I set down the security protocols for the resort and make my way to the door. Satisfaction surges through me when I see Violet standing outside. Opening the door, I usher her inside.
“I brought the tea,” she announces and then frowns when she sees my cup of coffee on the table. “Oh, you already have something to drink.”
