The Crescendo (The Musical Interlude) (16 page)

“Come on, Alek. I felt you needed to know.” He’s holding his hands up while I’m straining to control the bull raging inside me.

The doorbell chimes, tearing us away from our heated moment. Tanner’s face hardens and his body goes on alert. Walking toward the foyer, he clicks the button on the panel above my living room door, showing us an image of our visitor right away. It’s Adriana, the perfect distraction to keep me from beating the shit out of Tanner. I don’t want her to see me losing control, so I close my eyes and attempt to ground the millions of images flying through my head.

Hurrying toward the front door at the end of the hallway outside the living room, Tanner disappears and then comes back trailing behind my sister. Adriana’s smile fades as soon as she steps into the room and glances at me. I return the
ice pack to my head, but not before she gets an eyeful of my wound.

“Leave us,” I say without looking at Tanner.

“Sure thing, boss.” He turns to leave.

“We’ll finish our conversation later on,” I call out to him.

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for her behavior,” he offers, his attempt to calm the beast raging inside me.

I trust Erin with all my heart. However, after listening to what Tanner has told me about how the brothers feel about our relationship, I’m not certain I believe the way he presented his story. If he had said anyone other than Jacob had told him this information, I might’ve been prone to consider his news. Jacob, although able to lunge into assassin mode when necessary, doesn’t have the ability to be naturally vindictive. Tanner, on the other hand, was chosen to be among Vlad’s group because of his past history of doing things without considering his conscience.

“What’s going on, Alek? I heard there was a shooting outside the Extasia earlier this evening,” Adriana asks, removing her sweater and taking a seat on the couch, her expressive blue eyes focused on me still holding the ice bag on my head.

The headache from hell keeps pounding in my skull, and on top of Tanner’s news, I now have to deal with my sister probing me. Questions storm in her eyes, and I have no doubt her curiosity is
why she has decided to risk coming out at ten o’clock at night in order to see me.

“I’ll just say the case of the pet shop bandit has been solved. That’s all you need to be concerned about.”

“What happened to your head?”

“Where’s your shadow?” I inquire, diverting the conversation toward her new fiancé, Luca, and avoiding her questions.

“At home,” she replies, lifting her little chin as though she’s trying to make a point.

“Then please tell me you’re using the drivers I assigned to you,” I snap more than I intend to do.

“Yes, I am, Daddy Alek. Geez. Wanna tell me why I’m getting the angsty, brother treatment again?”

“Let’s make a deal first. I share what has pissed me off if you tell me why your fiancé failed to mention that Erin attended his show last week.”

Shrugging, she says, “Because she didn’t stay long after the show ended. And maybe because Luca was a little busy proposing to me, you think?”

“Who’d she leave with?” Hell, I’m already acting like a jealous fool. I might as well go all the way. “Did you see her leave with Swansea?”

Adriana’s face softens. “I see. Let me guess, Tanner, the creepy guy, told you he saw her with Mitch? And you believed him? He isn’t exactly an Erin-Alek fan, in case you haven’t noticed.”

I don’t say a word, although I can feel the
anger rolled up in my body, tightening up my neck muscles, and the shame from doubting the woman I love creeping into my heart at the same time. Plus, Adriana’s right. My most loyal accomplice has made his feelings about Erin clear on several occasions. Tanner isn't a fan of Erin's, I get it; but tonight was the first time he has voiced his opinion in such a way. I don't like it. Part of me feels like he's trying to cause a rift between Erin and me. The other half, the part that wants to throttle any man who even looks at my fiancée the wrong way wants me to consider there could be some truth to his words. I need to snap the fuck out of this pity mode and get back to being myself, the man who can read people for who they truly are inside. And if I do find out Tanner has been making this situation out to be more than what he claims Jacob has described then God help him when I'm done beating the shit out out of him.

“Tanner thinks I’m unfocused because of Erin,” I explain. “He claims I'm unable to lead and will jeopardize what we're trying to do.”

“Are you kidding? Tanner’s the most uptight guy I think I’ve ever met. He’s all work and kill everyone else’s play.” She stands, takes my hand, and pulls me down to the couch beside her.

“I’m so scared something will happen to you, Alek. I don’t want to lose you again,” Adriana says, moving my ice bag away and placing her fingers at the scar on my forehead. Sharp pain shoots
through the skin. I wince and so does she. “Sorry. I'm just saying, we’ve already lost Nikolai.” She moves back, lowers her eyes, and crosses her arms. Even though the way she feels about Luca is obvious, she still cares very deeply for my comrade.

“Nyet. We have not lost anything.” The pain in my baby sister’s voice strengthens me, hardening my resolve. I lean over and embrace her. “I’ll fix things, little fish.”

“He doesn’t call or even text me anymore,” she bemoans, her voice laced with worry.

“I’m fairly certain he’s doing well,” I assure both of us, thinking about the way he secretly led us to the couple that almost killed Erin. Nikolai has managed to help his family even from a distance. His silent treatment hurts like hell, but at least I know he still cares.

“I hope so,” Adriana responds, sighing deeply, while I can’t stop thinking of how stupid I am for thinking negatively of the woman I love more than anything this frivolous life of mine has ever offered.

I miss the scent of her body when we awaken each morning, the way she curls into a fetal position as she lies beside me, her hair a cascade of chocolate colored waves on the pillows. The world has turned into a drab and boring reminder of everything she is to me, giving me a hint of the void I’ll get caught up in, the emptiness I’ll face
without the life support to my heart.

“Hel-lo, big brother. Come back to the room, please.” Adriana’s voice brings my mind back to the present. “What are you two doing, you and Erin? I don’t understand why you’re still here, Alek.” Neither do I, but I’m too much of a stubborn fool to admit it.

“When Luca and I thought we weren’t going to make it, do you know what ultimately brought us back together?” she asks.

“I can only imagine, given your boyfriend’s colorful history.”

“Um, did I just hear the pot tattling on the kettle?” she questions, smirking.

“I thought it was the pot calling the kettle black,” I correct.

Adriana playfully rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean. Anyway, it was your love for Erin that encouraged me. Watching you two perform on stage and off, and the way she transformed you from robot brother to a guy who hugs and kisses and does all kinds of things he would never have been caught dead doing before.”

“Robot brother?” I inquire, smiling because my baby sister always has a way of brightening my darkest days.

She nods and continues, “I’m just saying. It was hard for us, and you know why.” She frowns while thinking of my lost comrade, Nikolai, I’m sure. “But the love you and Erin share is real. You’re our inspiration. Mother and Father didn’t get it right, but I know he loved her in the beginning. At some point, I think he came to a crossroad, a place just like the one you’re at, and then he took the wrong path. He and Mother never recovered.”

Her words slam into my chest hard, as though someone has just punched me with an iron glove, dragging my ass back to reality.

“Since when did you get so smart?” I ask, pulling Adriana toward me so I can tickle her.

As her laughter fades, she stares at me, her face suddenly serious. “Go to her, Alek. Don’t follow in Father’s footsteps.”

Those last five words are all I need to hear.

The next morning, I call our travel agent and book a flight on the first plane heading out to Lafayette, Louisiana.

Erin

The last person I expect to see is Alek.

I’ve stayed away from Milan for the last six days, the agony of being away from him building up a wall of anger, loneliness, and a crap load of other emotions inside me. It has taken that long to clear my head, ignoring the pull that makes me want to run back to him and forget about completing the time we need to figure out what we want because, like it or not, I’m addicted to the man and I know he feels the same way. We’re made for each other, and six months of mad, passionate sex and planning for our wedding in Capri has driven that home in my head.

However, when I turn and see him walking toward the little pond at the back of my old house with his shirt halfway unbuttoned—my phantom in the flesh—all the therapy and good sense goes out the window.

I’m totally and completely hooked.

Either that or I’m stuck inside a dream.

As soon as he looks at me, I feel the electricity go through my body as though this is the first time we’ve met. Alek always affects me this way. Always. Every single time. Nevertheless, he sent me away, and I’m still reeling from the things
we’ve said to each other. All the roses he’s been sending me over the last couple of days don’t matter; I’m still going to hold my ground.

Yeah, keep on telling yourself that and you’ll start to believe it, sweetie.

Part of me hates that I’m being weak. I clearly remember all the hurt words and the emotional wounds, yet the closer he gets to me, standing beside the pond, the more my resolve melts away. He’s like a drug—a demon I can’t exorcise from my system. If this is what it feels like to be possessed, then I’m definitely game.

Alek spots me from across the pond and walks over to where I stand. He’s wearing a red and black plaid shirt rolled up at the sleeves, ripped jeans that show off those insanely tapered hips of his and one of the straw cowboy hats so many men around these parts like to wear. Even though he’s completely out of his element here in Lafayette and with his choice of clothing, the look works better on him than it does on any Louisiana native I’ve ever seen.

I fight a smile trying to creep onto my lips. Alek has put a lot of effort into making sure he looks as though he fits in to my home city, and the thought of what he’s trying to do makes him look even more adorable. My heart speeds up as he closes the distance between us.

Without a word, he grabs me, shoving my body up against his chest, and kisses me hard. I’m
still mad. Even as I fight him, however, my body betrays me and electricity runs down my spine. I can feel myself getting wet even now.

Easing up on the deadlock he has on my lips, he leans back, panting; his bronze face flushed on his cheeks. “Did Swansea kiss you that way? That why the two of you needed to meet up in a dark alley? Did you fuck him?”
Oh, no, he didn’t just say that?

As soon as he releases me, I step back and slap his face, the sound of it echoing through the deserted area. His face whips to the side.

“You’re a jackass for coming all this way and asking that.”

Slowly, he turns his face back toward me and he’s actually smiling, but it’s not an amused one at all. “A jealous jackass, yes, considering you were the one who offered to leave me first,” he answers with a dark gleam in his eyes. Suddenly, I want to take back what I’ve just done because he’s right. All of this started with my stupid suggestion to leave Diabolique and move back to Lafayette.

“Well, I didn’t see you making a move to stop me,” I retort, my voice sounding weak.

Lunging toward me, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.

Kicking and screaming, I manage to squeak out, “You leave me here with Jacob, the spy guy, for over a week and then come here to insult me? Put me down! Help!” There’s no one around to hear me, though, except Jacob. Lafayette’s backwoods are about as secluded an area as seclusion gets. Besides, I don’t think I really want anyone to help me. I’m as turned on by Alek’s behavior at the moment as I am at any other time we’ve acted like wild, horny animals before having sex.

Alek carries me back to the house. “Your bedroom. Where is it?”

“Why should I tell you? You’ll just insult me again when we get there,” I manage to say through the pressure on my stomach and the blood rushing to my head.

“Never mind. I’ll find it.” Turning our bodies toward the stairway, he trudges over to it, climbs the stairs and enters the first room on the right side of the hallway, which happens to be my bedroom.

I bounce once as he throws me on the bed. He then moves on top of me with all the stealthy grace of the assassin he used to be, or maybe he still is for all I know.

“You’re insane,” I say through gritted teeth. Alek pins my arms down to my side. He’s so fucking powerful I don’t stand a chance against his stronghold. “Jacob! Help me!” I call out.

“Your accomplice has left the house for the day, I’m afraid,” Alek says, smiling and obviously enjoying what he’s doing.

“Next time you think about leaving me, then
I'm going to make sure you will remember this day,” he whispers furiously in my ear before slamming his mouth down over mine. In return, I work my hands out of his grip and up underneath his shirt, raking my nails down the skin of his back and savoring the feel of his ripped muscles underneath my hands, knowing that this beautiful man belongs to me. Alek lifts up and growls, turning his head to the side, the bull that’s about to ram his prey to death, I’m sure. Pulling my arms above my head, he secures both my wrists in one of his big hands and grinds his body against my underwear.

Damn it! Now I remember why I don’t wear dresses. This dark side of Alek, the man who I’m both angry with and turned on by so much, causes a clench that begins in my stomach and travels all the way down to the area between my legs, setting me on fire. I don’t want to let him off so easily, though, because I’m still ticked off about being accused of sleeping with someone else when all I’ve done is thought of Alek the entire time we’ve been apart.

“Stop it! Apologize, damn you!” I buck my body since his death grip on my wrists won’t let me do much else. “This is rape!”

Alek stops for a moment, considering. “Is it really? Or is this for show? Tell me now, Jaybird. Or maybe Swansea’s hiding somewhere out back.”

I growl through my teeth. He infuriates and invigorates me. “I can’t keep going back and forth this way, Alek,” I say weakly, my anger turning to sorrow. “If you don’t want to marry me, then fine. But don’t ease your guilty conscience by making me out to be dishonest.”

“Should I go?” he asks in his thick Russian accent, looking hurt.

“No fucking way you’re leaving me again,” I whisper. “Stay.”

“I can’t think of anything else except you. You consume my every thought. My body aches for your touch. But when I heard that you and Swansea met up—” I work a hand out of his stronghold and place two fingers over his lips, silencing him at once.

“Forget Sam. I don’t give a shit about him. You either want me or you don’t. Trust me and know that I’m with you, no matter what crazy crap is going on in your life, or leave me here and move on. Decide.” My voice comes out fast and breathy, indicators of the passion I feel inside for this man.

He gives a lusty laugh and even I have to smile with him. Alek has me right where he wants me, and I want him so badly. Though he would never knowingly hurt me, we’ve both wounded each other enough with our words and insecurities.

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” he responds, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

“I survived a widow attack; I think I can
handle the rest,” I assure him.

Alek’s gaze darkens as he dips his head toward mine, and the kiss we begin is filled with heat. Alek fumbles with the buttons on my tank dress and then loses his patience, ripping my dress open and exposing my breasts. Louisiana in the spring is already too hot for a bra, and I like the feel of the cotton against my nipples. He bites my neck hard, and I arch my back up in response. My fingers curl as my nails dig grooves into his back while he growls in response.

One hand grabs my breast and squeezes it hard while the other finds a way between my legs. Somehow, we manage to get each other’s clothes off, though I’m not quite sure how.

He suckles my breast greedily and bites my nipple, the sensation blazing a trail to my sex. I gasp from the thrill of pleasure and pain mixed together.

“Did I hurt you?” he whispers in between kisses.

“Hell, no. Don’t you dare stop,” I reply in between sucking and nibbling his neck. “It’s been too fucking long. I need to feel you. Now!”

“Patience, my songbird,” he whispers.

Alek lowers himself between my legs, spreading them, and as soon as his tongue touches my folds, I orgasm. The remembered sensation of his sensitive hands and mouth on my sex are enough to drive my body to new heights. Hands
still entwined in his hair, I ground my hips into his face. He grabs my ass and holds me there. When the second orgasm hits, he plunges two fingers deep into me and licks my clit until it passes.

“Oh, my God! Yes! That’s exactly what I need.”

Then he lifts me up and turns me over. With my ass in the air, it only takes a moment before I feel his thick cock penetrate me from behind. When it does, I push back to drive him even deeper inside me. He slips in and out of me, pushing his cock all the way to the hilt.

"Oh, yes. That’s it, you sexy bastard. Work me like you mean it! Show me how much you missed me," I order him and he doesn't disappoint.

I’m not even aware of the primal screams breaking forth from my throat. I’m only vaguely aware of the growls and grunts coming from Alek. Pounding me harder and faster, Alek’s muscled frame works my body into a frenzy as I push back to meet him. There’s an unexpected but welcome sting as his hand slaps my ass hard, once, twice. Then, with a scream and a growl, our culminating orgasms burst forth.

After a moment, Alek pulls out and lies beside me. I can’t move, can’t think. All that I’m aware of is that my body and mind are both satisfied.

Alek loves me. He came back for me. I roll over and consider him, our gazes locked on each other and our hands entwined.

“Well, Jaybird?” he asks, propping up on his
elbow and staring down into my face.

“Welcome to Lafayette,” I reply breathily as I slap his chest, push him down, and then move to a sitting position, straddling him.

“‘Tis a fine welcome, indeed,” he says with a gorgeous smile.