Sergei (19 page)

"I'm ready to tell you. It was really stupid though." She glanced toward the ceiling and blinked rapidly. "Even all these years later, I can't believe that I lost my brother because of a box of candy."

His brow furrowed. "I don’t understand."

"We haven't been together long enough to talk money, but I'm a pretty frugal girl."

"Is that why you're trying to do the work around the house by yourself? Because, Bianca, it's not very frugal to have to pay a professional to come in and fix everything a second time."

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that. Some of the stuff around here I wanted to try myself as a way of proving I could do it all by myself."

Recognizing that stubborn independent streak of hers, he gave her thigh a little pinch. "You don't have to prove anything to me or anyone else. It's okay to ask for help."

She pinched him back. "I'm starting to figure that one out."

"Good."

"I don't want you to think that I'm broke or whatever. Actually, I'm quite comfortable and have savings, mutual funds and retirement." She shrugged. "I just don't see the point of spending money on things I can get cheaper. Like my car," she said and gestured out back. "It was two years old and had less than ten thousand miles on it, but I got it for a steal. I got the house at a county tax sale auction for an outrageously low price. Same thing with my clothing. I do a lot of online designer flash sales."

He had no idea what a flash sale was. Putting together the glimpses she'd given him, he made an educated guess about the afternoon that had changed her life. "You didn’t want to pay the outrageous prices for candy at the movie theater so you asked your brother to stop at the convenience store?"

"Yes. This was a few years before Mama moved the shop to its new location. The old shop was a few blocks away from a big, busy convenience store. Perry and I popped in for candy and drinks. We were along the back of the store, near the coolers, when we heard these loud, rude guys come inside."

"How many?"

"Three," she said, her fingers tightening around his. "I didn't see the one with a gun at first. I only saw the two with baseball bats. They were tearing the place up, knocking over displays and beating on the display cases. Mr. Mirwani was shouting at them. His wife was hiding behind the counter and calling the cops. Perry noticed that the door that led to the stockroom was open so he pushed me that way—and that's when they saw us."

Sergei could tell she needed some encouragement to finish so he curved his hand against her neck and rubbed his thumb up and down along the vein that pulsed wildly there. Soon, he planned to make her heart race for much better and pleasurable reasons. "What happened next?"

"The one who didn't have a baseball bat chased us. The door that led out to the alley was locked, and I couldn't get it open fast enough. Perry and the guy—Adam Blake—started fighting. My brother went down hard. Adam had his back turned to me so I picked up a broom and hit him across the back of the head."

She stopped and closed her eyes. A single tear dripped down her cheek. Sergei ached for her and slid a little closer. He embraced her and wiped the shiny wetness from her face. "Go on, Bianca."

"So I grabbed Perry's hand and tried to get him up off the ground so we could run, but he was pretty badly dazed. Adam got to his feet first and pushed me into a stack of boxes. I fell and then he was on top of me. He put his hands on my neck and started to choke me so I clawed at his face and scratched his cheek and eyelid open. That was when he hit me."

Sergei's jaw clenched together so tightly he was shocked his teeth didn't shatter.

"But then Perry jerked him off me and they started fighting again. It was such a mess and everything was happening so fast." She rubbed her temple. "Perry took another punch to the face and fell to the ground. Adam looked like he was about to stomp Perry's head so I jumped on his back. We were both slapping and spinning and shouting. Somehow I ended up against the wall. He slammed his head back and broke my nose and chipped my tooth."

Red spots clouded Sergei's vision. If Adam Blake hadn't been locked away in prison, he would have killed the man for hurting Bianca.

"He jerked away from me, and I fell to the floor. I didn't realize he had the gun tucked into the back of his jeans until he stepped away from me, and it fell. I don't know what I was thinking. I'd never fired a gun in my life but I lunged for it."

"And?"

"He got to it first. He called me…he said something really awful and aimed at my head. I closed my eyes." She closed them now, in the present, as if reliving the memory. "And then I heard Perry shouting my name. He jumped between us—and took the bullet right in the chest."

Her eyes flashed open. The shimmer of tears filled him with such sadness. He desperately tried to console her. "
Lyubimaya
."

She sniffed loudly as he wiped her face with the bottom of his shirt. "Perry fell into my arms. Adam just looked at me. He seemed stunned. It was a complete turnaround from the vicious, bloodthirsty little bastard he had been. Then he ran out of there. Not long after, Mrs. Marwani rushed into the room and dropped down beside me. I didn't know it at the time, but Adam shot her husband on the way out the door. He died instantly."

Their gazes met, hers so wounded and his pained for the loss she had endured. Finally, she said, "In movies, they always make death this noble moment, you know? It's not like that in real life. Perry didn't say anything. He just clutched at me while he choked and wheezed. His blood spilled onto my legs and soaked my dress. He didn't say goodbye or have any last words. He just gasped…and that was it. That was the end of my brother's life."

He started to tell her that he was so sorry for her loss but the words wouldn’t take away her pain. It had been so many years since Perry's murder that the days for offering condolences were long gone. Instead, he traced his thumb along the apple of her cheek and asked, "What's your favorite memory of your brother?"

Surprise flitted across her beautiful face. "I don't know." She considered his question. "Maybe the time he convinced me to go camping with him."

"You? Camping?" He didn't believe it. "Where did you put all of your hair products and makeup and clothes?"

Playfully thumping his arm, she laughed. "Yes, I know. I hated most of it. He wanted to go old school with a tent and sleeping bags. It was miserable—but somehow I ended up loving it. That was one of the last times we were together and one of the best weekends of my life."

Glad to see her smile again, he wrapped some loose strands of her hair around his finger. "Tell me what else Detective Santos told you."

"He said that the Night Wolves think I might have hired the prisoner who attacked Adam Blake. Apparently, this convict is tied in with some Albanian crew."

Sergei easily connected the dots. "And, because I'm with you, they think you used me to hire a hit." His gut clenched. "Shit."

"Yeah. I straight out asked Nikolai if the Albanians were behind the attack, but he said no."

He didn't think Nikolai had any reason to lie to her. "Then he must know who ordered the hit and why."

"I figured as much."

"Bianca," he spoke carefully, "we have to be extremely cautious until this matter is settled. You can continue working, but you have to promise me that you won't go anywhere without me or the men I hired to watch you." Before she could protest, he put his finger to her mouth. "Please, Bianca, don't fight me on this. Let me keep you safe."

She dragged his hand away from her lips. "I wasn't going to fight you. I am woefully out of my depths here. I need your help." Then, with a quirk of that sexy mouth of hers, she added, "But maybe you could give those two guys following me a refresher course."

"Sweetheart, they're going to be getting more than a refresher course when I get a hold of them in the morning." He was still aggravated beyond measure that neither man had texted or called him about Bianca's run-in with Santos.

Staring at their interlaced hands, she asked, "When do you fight again?"

He enjoyed the sight of their fingers intertwined. Her bare wrists inspired thoughts of jewelry. She needed something delicate and gold to decorate them. "The first weekend in June. It's a tournament that lasts two nights."

"There are tournaments?"

"Every year the bosses get together and put on a tournament. It's a way to introduce new fighters and score them for future betting."

"You only have to fight twice? Once each night?"

Sergei could hear the fear in her voice. "I will fight four times if I win."

Bianca caressed his knuckle with her thumb. "From what I hear, you never lose."

"I don't. It's why I'm so valuable."

"You're not a racehorse, Sergei. You're a human being. They shouldn't be making money off you like this."

Touched by her words, he admitted, "I make money off myself, too."

"To pay off your debt more quickly?"

"No, to bring Vladimir and my mother here. The last lawyer didn't work out very well." He didn't want to get into the details of how badly that experience had ended. "I need the money to pay for a new immigration lawyer and visas and—"

"There are easier ways than getting the shit beat out of you in a cage, Sergei."

"Easier, yes, but the money isn't as fast. I'm tired of waiting. I want my family here as quickly as possible."

"I don't like it."

"I don’t expect you to like it."

"So what? You just expect me to stand on the sidelines and cheer you on while I pray you don't get killed?"

"I won't be killed, and I don't want you to stand on the sidelines. The fights are not the place for a woman like you."

She trailed her finger down his chest. "A woman like me, huh? What sort of woman is that?"

Sexual energy sizzled between them. Liking the turn their discussion was taking, Sergei peppered kisses along the exposed skin of her neck and jaw. "Gorgeous. Sexy. Classy."

"Keep going," she said with a smile coloring her voice.

He sucked hard on the curve of her throat and bit down gently. His dick throbbed at her excited gasp. "If I keep going, we're going to end up fucking on this table."

A mischievous glint brightened her eyes. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Grinning, he stood up and strode toward his suitcase to dig out some extra condoms he had stowed in there rather than running upstairs for one from their stash. By the time he had grabbed what he needed, Bianca had undressed and perched like some sort of erotic wood nymph on the table. Her nipples enthralled him, and he gently pushed her back to the table so he could have better access to the places he most wanted to touch with his tongue.

"Sergei." Hearing her moan his name as he latched onto her breast made his balls ache. He sucked hard on her nipple, running his tongue over the peak, and then released it to attack the other one. She scratched at his scalp, her short nails gliding over his skin and sending shivers down his spine.

Wet and puckered, her nipples stood at attention when he was done with them. He flicked one and then the other before pinching them with enough force to make her hips buck off the table. "We should the pierce these. Can you imagine a pair of diamonds right here?"

"You're out of your mind." She hissed when he tweaked her nipple a little harder than usual. "It's not happening."

"Five months ago, you said us dating would never happen. Maybe we'll revisit the idea of piercings in a year."

"No." She ran her bare foot under his shirt. "Take this off." Her foot traveled down to his shorts. "These too."

He bent down to capture her mouth. "I think you're forgetting who is in charge here."

"Oh." She offered a contrite smile. "Right."

"I didn't say it was a bad idea." He stripped and tugged the chair closer to the table. Sitting down, he was still too tall, but it was a more comfortable angle for what he had in mind. Forcing her thighs wide open, he gazed upon the shiny pinkness of her pussy peeking out there. His mouth watered for a taste of her, and he decided not to deny himself a moment longer.

He probed the slick opening of her with the tip of his tongue. She squealed and wiggled as he started to fuck her that way. Despite her dating history, Sergei could tell she hadn't had much experience in his brand of sex. How any man could simply satisfy himself making love to Bianca in one position stupefied him. With her luscious body and sweet response, she was the hottest woman he had ever had—and the one he planned to make his one and only.

"Yes!" She pressed her pussy to his lips, encouraging him with her little moans and sighs. "Sergei, that feels so good."

He groaned against her cunt and slid his tongue through her folds to find her clitoris. Using his fingers to frame the tiny nub, he coaxed it out from its hood and fluttered his tongue over the swollen pearl. Bianca cried out and lifted her hips. He smiled against her pussy and went wild between her thighs.

She shattered in record time, her clit pulsing beneath his tongue and her pleasured cries echoing through the house. Without giving her a moment to catch her breath, Sergei thrust two fingers in her slippery channel. He attacked her clitoris with his tongue while fucking her pussy with both digits.