He shot Grigoriy a scathing glare. Damn right, he was distracted. In one night he’d discovered Irina was Sasha, experienced a mind-numbing orgasm, shot a man he didn’t want to kill, learned Kadir’s loyalties were questionable, and blown his cover. What had been a simple assignment to return the Nobel Laureate’s daughter to her distraught father had turned into a task filled with complications. Not the least of which was the fact that, despite all the logic in the world, he still wanted to fuck Sasha senseless.
If he’d been able to focus strictly on the mission at this point, he’d question his sanity.
Grigoriy’s damnable grin registered in his dark eyes once more. He slapped a hand on Alexei’s shoulder and rose to his feet as the plane lurched forward. “You call. I’ll tend to our patient.”
When Grigoriy pushed a thick lock of Sasha’s hair off her forehead and she offered him the first smile Alexei had witnessed in two long, tormented years, something snapped deep inside. He’d shared women with Grigoriy over the years. But as Grigoriy’s hand slipped down the curve of Sasha’s calf and his fingers gently wrapped around her swollen ankle, Alexei became possessed by the fierce urge to tear his partner’s hand away.
He started to rise, intending to do just that.
“It’s about damn time you checked in. Where the hell are you?”
Hughes’s demanding greeting dropped Alexei back into his chair, but his narrowed gaze remained on Sasha and Grigoriy. Recognizing the growl that crept up his throat for what it was, he blinked. What the
hell was the matter with him? Women never got under his skin. He never let them in that far. Yet this tempting little liar…
“Alexei, I want answers.”
Right. Work. Mission. Not the uncomfortably intimate scene playing out before him. He choked down his irrational reaction and frowned at the phone. “We’re in the air.”
T
he crisp masculine English that broke through Alexei’s phone took Sasha by surprise. Eyebrows raised, she glanced at the receiver in Alexei’s hand. Why wasn’t he talking to Russia, or at least someone from there? As a matter of fact, why wasn’t he calling her father?
Alexei’s ever-present scowl darkened as his eyes rested on hers and he replied. “Had a bit of difficulty at the palace.”
“Difficulty?” Wariness crept into the Englishman’s voice. “What the bloody hell did the both of you do?”
“Uh-uh,” Grigoriy protested with a shake of his head. “Don’t look at me. I drove the car as requested.” He tossed Alexei a smirk that said,
You’re on your own, pal.
With a wink to Sasha, he removed the ice from her foot and began to examine her ankle.
His good humor was the only thing making this evening remotely tolerable. She smiled again and watched the gentle way he manipulated her ankle, rotating it left, then right, then in a slow circle. When he stretched the damaged muscles too far and she flinched, he quickly let off the pressure. Then he set her foot on his strong thigh and quietly proclaimed over Alexei’s harassed sigh, “Just a sprain. You’ll live, kitten.”
“Saeed’s dead,” Alexei answered flatly.
Grigoriy stilled, his fingers tense against the top of Sasha’s foot. She looked to Alexei once more, sensing the news wouldn’t be received well, wishing for both Alexei’s punishment and his reprieve. The conflicted desires made her stomach twist. Three seconds passed. Silent
and ominous. On the fourth, the Englishman’s stream of bellowed curses made the speaker vibrate. Sasha winced at the painful screech.
“Bloody imbeciles! You were assigned to extract the girl, simple in and out. At no time did I give the clearance to terminate Saeed. What kind of idiots does Clarke employ? He swore you were efficient and reliable.”
Both men’s expressions morphed into a dark glower. Grigoriy’s fingers squeezed the arch of her foot. Alexei’s held the chair’s armrests in a death grip, his white knuckles contrasting with the tanned skin of his hand.
For just an instant, Sasha sympathized with Alexei. Her slipup had exposed him. It wasn’t like he’d walked into her bedroom and killed Saeed the minute the door closed.
“Fuck you, Hughes,” Grigoriy snapped. “You don’t have the first clue—”
Alexei lifted one hand, warding off Grigoriy’s outburst. Shrugging, Grigoriy twisted away from the phone and turned his attention back on Sasha. His warm fingers slid down her foot to engulf her toes and press into the ball of her foot.
She nearly moaned in delight. All things considered, this man wasn’t half bad. He had a gentle nature, a kind heart. Nice to look at too. Thick black waves fought for independence against the scruff of a button-down shirt that he filled out like it had been tailor-made for his powerful torso. Distinguished reserve with a touch of roguish appeal. His dark eyes, though, were simply wicked when they glinted with laughter, giving off the impression that he could reinvent the term
bad boy.
Nothing like Alexei’s captivating light green gaze that hinted at deep dark secrets better left unspoken.
They were as different as night and day—Grigoriy harboring a lighthearted nature, while Alexei was reserved and serious. Yet both men knew how to touch a woman.
Her attention slipped away from the intoxicating pleasure that
rolled up her legs with the simple massage as Alexei’s fist thumped into the armrest. His harsh, measured words further broke through the dreamlike state Grigoriy’s massage was creating.
“The
girl
is secured, Hughes. I suggest you drop the lecture.”
Not suggest—Sasha heard the threat loud and clear. Warning came with those words. Veiled promises that Hughes would regret another scathing remark. Despite the warmth in her veins, she shivered.
Alexei’s gaze flicked back to her face, roamed down the length of her body, and jerked to a stop on Grigoriy’s large hand. His jaw tightened a fraction more. He quickly looked away. “We’re arriving at Kadir’s villa in Siena shortly. We’ve been advised to seek other accommodations.”
Another heavy pause drifted through the speakerphone, followed by the sound of rustling papers. Hughes’s voice softened. “Things happen, Nikanova, but was this really necessary?”
“You think I’d shoot a man for the fun of it? Hell yes it was necessary. My cover was compromised.” Alexei’s green eyes locked with Sasha’s once more, the blame he assigned to her glinting bright. “Irrecoverably.”
As Sasha’s heart sank heavily into the vacant crevice of her chest, she closed her eyes to escape that judgmental green light and tuned out the rumble of his voice. He’d killed the only true friend she knew. A good man who treated her with more consideration than Alexei ever had. For that, she wanted to hate him. But she couldn’t quite summon the full emotion of hate. Each time she looked at Alexei’s handsome face, old longing stirred. When he touched her, when he had held her both times tonight, she found herself being pulled by a stronger desire to somehow push from her mind the casual way he aimed and fired and terminated a gentle life.
He still had the same effect on her system as he had from the first night she’d stood on her cousin’s stage and met his appreciative stare through the smoke and multicolored lights. He had changed her life
forever, yet despite all the reasons she should despise him, when he was near, sense fled. All she could think about was peeling off his clothes and exploring that hard male flesh beneath. Combined with that overpowering urge was an unexplainable need to understand the secrets his unforgettable eyes conveyed. To expose them, and somehow, just for a heartbeat or two, witness how those green portals might look without the scars he harbored.
All things that would never happen now. Desire might still brim between them, but even if he could get over his anger about her unintentional slip, he was taking her to Russia. She couldn’t allow that to happen. When they reached Siena, she had to escape. Alexei might have held her captive for entirely too many years, but she wouldn’t die for him.
Grigoriy changed feet, and his deep baritone drew her out of her thoughts. “I’m familiar with the safe point. It’s a shithole, but it’ll do for one night. We can catch the train tomorrow night.”
Alexei nodded thoughtfully. “Safer to travel by night. I’m not entirely sure we won’t have unexpected company.”
So he
did
worry about Kadir’s motives. Interesting. Sasha’s brow furrowed. She’d tossed out the warning, but hadn’t really given it consideration. Would Kadir use Saeed’s death to his advantage? If he succeeded in returning her to Dubai, no one would know. If they did, few would care. Just her father, who cared for all the wrong reasons.
Once more, Alexei’s gaze flicked across her body, flashing with deep color as it came to rest on her breasts. Too vivid remembrances of the pull of his mouth against her nipple, the agonizingly pleasant flick of his tongue rushed through her mind. Heat stirred in her veins to mix with the delightfulness of Grigoriy’s massage. The combination reminded her of the even more wicked pleasure she’d experienced with Alexei staring down at her, another man’s hands stroking her flesh. Her womb pulsed, and to Sasha’s shame, her nipples beaded. She tugged on her foot, extracting it from Grigoriy’s hands, wanting only
Alexei’s touch to stoke the brimming sexual awareness that hummed through her veins. Not a stranger’s skilled hands.
“Alexei? Hello?” Hughes asked.
Alexei shook his head and glanced at the phone as if he too had been pulled from his thoughts. “I’m sorry. Interference. Say again?”
Sasha felt a smirk tug at her mouth. Nice excuse.
“May I tell her father she’s unharmed?”
“Of course. Let him know we’ll have her home soon. Tell Clarke the same.”
A grunt wafted through the receiver. “He’s arriving in the morning. Seems he doesn’t think I can handle the both of you.”
At that, Grigoriy laughed. “Not handle,” he corrected. “He knows trouble follows Alexei. More likely he’s coming to keep you from a coronary.” He picked up Sasha’s uninjured foot again. The pad of his thumb worked down the length of her arch.
The voice on the line sobered, momentary humor giving way to somber professionalism. “There’s been a development here. He’s bringing a team of analysts.”
Alexei perked, his attention zipping from Sasha to the phone resting in his open palm. “Who?”
“I’m not familiar with the name. Moretti? Husband and wife pair. I didn’t realize you Opals endorsed those kinds of complications.”
Surprisingly, the first touch of a smile Sasha had ever witnessed from Alexei curved his sensual mouth as he responded, “Oh,
those
complications. Yeah. Have fun with that. Last I heard, Clarke exiled her from headquarters until she could get her pregnancy hormones under control.”
Complete, utter silence came from the phone, twisting Alexei’s grin until Sasha’s heart skipped a beat from the simple, astounding beauty. Then, with a cough, Hughes recovered. “Indeed. Well. Report in tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.” Alexei punched a button and terminated the call. In one fluid motion, he rose to his intimidating six-foot height, his wide
shoulders filling the aisle between the luxurious seats. He deliberately approached her, bent to clamp his fingers around Grigoriy’s wrist, and forcibly removed it from Sasha’s foot. His smile was gone, his look darkly intimidating. “I’ve got this.”
Grigoriy’s jaw twitched with a hint of annoyance. For one brief second, Sasha would swear she saw a similar threat flash behind his dark eyes. But it disappeared in his blink, leaving her to question whether she’d imagined his sharp reaction. He rose to his feet and edged around Alexei, taking a chair farther up in the cabin.
“Is it…smart…to go to Kadir’s?” she asked, unnerved by Alexei’s dark expression.
Alexei assumed the position Grigoriy had abandoned. He lifted both her feet onto his lap, then gently removed the baggie of ice from her ankle. Warm fingertips skimmed over her swollen skin. Her heart shuddered violently as he gave her the one thing she had spent two years waiting for—his willing, tender touch.
R
efusing to acknowledge his behavior and the implications that came with it, Alexei told himself he examined Sasha’s ankle to soothe his own peace of mind, not because doing so justified the compelling need to touch her, or because he couldn’t tolerate another minute of Grigoriy’s hands on her body, even if they hadn’t strayed beyond her feet.
He came to the same conclusion Grigoriy had and eased her feet from his lap. “It’ll hurt for a day or two. I’ll see if I can find you a wrap.”
As he moved past the divan, her hand reached out to brush the back of his. He stopped, the faint caress eradicating all the anger he had tried so diligently to hang onto. Her fingers latched lightly around his and drew his attention to her face, where questions glimmered behind her blue eyes. It killed him to disengage his hand and continue on to the cabinets near the bathroom door. But if he stayed, if he let her hold on to his hand and probe her way beneath the surface, he’d give in to
the raging need to collect her in his arms and lose himself in the softness of her mouth.
Yet while he rummaged through the cabinets in search of a first-aid kit, his gaze kept drifting back to her. She’d blown his cover. Endangered him and the mission beyond repair, forcing him to do the one thing he wanted to avoid.
Grigoriy would have likely shot
her
for blowing his cover. Under any other circumstance, confronted with any other mission, Alexei would have done the same. But beyond all the legitimate reasons he couldn’t kill Sasha, there were a dozen others he couldn’t explain.
Like how something had happened inside him when he’d looked down at her impassioned expression and came so hard he thought for a minute his heart had stopped. Maybe it had. Maybe that explained why he was so out of sorts and on the edge. Whatever the case, his heart sure kicked like someone hit him with a defibrillator when she said his name.
Flashpoints of memory surfaced, vibrant pictures of Saeed fucking her sultry mouth, of both their cocks sliding in and out of her body, of the way she arched her back and offered her rosy-tipped breasts for Alexei’s mouth. Beneath the confines of his dress pants, his cock twinged. Alexei gritted his teeth and forced his gaze away from her. The only thing stopping him from indulging in the sweetness of her body was Grigoriy, and the very real likelihood Grigoriy would expect to join them.