The Master (30 page)

His speech had left me speechless.

He curled his fingers, buffing his nails. “I know, baby girl, I’m
that
good.”

A
s dinner wound down, Jess declared to the table, “Natalie, hot
mamí
, and I are late for the bar.”

“I’m not a big drinker,” I told her. “More accurately, I’m a very bad drinker.”

Máxim raised his brows:
Understatement, then?

Jess said, “I scheduled the ceremony for tomorrow night, because I could, and because I’m fucking brilliant like that. We’ll have all day to recover.” To Máxim,
she said, “I’ll get Cat drunk for you, so maybe you can get to first base.”

As she dragged me and Natalie to the adjoining bar, I looked over my shoulder at Máxim.
Help!

He held his palms up, a mischievous smile playing at his lips.

The barroom was as dark-paneled as the Grand Hall. Huskers memorabilia lined the walls. Top 40 country music played on a jukebox.

At the bar, Jess ordered a round of tequila shots. Natalie looked around. “Did you scare off Polly?”

Jess said, “She slipped out thirty minutes ago. One of the groomsmen slipped out thirty-four minutes ago. Polly ought to be choking on motherland tonsil right about now.”

How had Jess noticed them leaving? She’d always been engaged with our table’s conversation. Not for the first time tonight, I wondered if Jess’s carefree attitude masked a keen
intellect.

The bartender served up shots, salt, and lemon wedges. “Are we really doing this?” I asked, though I already had the salt shaker in hand.

Jess cried, “
Sí, sí, señorita.
”

Natalie added, “It’s futile to resist her.
Trust
me.”

Lick-shoot-suck-gasp.

Another round.

As the third round arrived, Máxim and his brother came over. Aleks wrapped his arms around Natalie, as if he’d missed her. She melted against him.

Máxim told me, “I’m going with my brother to smoke cigars. I’m supposed to separate him from the bride, right?”

“You are.”

“Tequila? Should I be worried?”

Under my breath, I said, “You left me to the wolves. Now I’m trapped in their den.”

“Take this.” He slipped bills into my clutch, what had to be a thousand dollars.

“Aww. Did you give me pin money?” I probably should’ve brought my own, but I hadn’t even thought about my purse in the guest bedroom closet—the one filled with ten
grand.

“In case you leave the lodge and go into town. Call me if you need more,
moyo solnyshko.
Or anything at all.” He seemed as reluctant to part as Aleks obviously was. “And
if you see those farmers, you text me immediately.”

I saluted him.

Jess told Máxim, “I’ll take real good care of our hot little
mamí
.” She raised two fingers in a V and wiggled her tongue between them.

He cast me a look:
I can’t even with this one.
He tugged me off the bar stool to pull me aside. “Is she hitting on you?”

“She’s just having fun with me. I think she’s got eyes for either the buxom barmaid or the burly bar-back, probably both. In any case, I would think a hobbyist like yourself
would love to imagine me and—”

“
Nyet.
I—don’t—share.”

“Easy, Trigger. I wasn’t planning on it.”

Satisfied nod. “And I’m a
former
hobbyist.”

I wished it were that easy for an escort to say grandly, “I’m a
former
paid sex worker.” Life was so not fair. I canted my head at him and said, “You’re done
with that, are you?” He’d racked up enough hours with escorts to earn a dozen college degrees. Could a PhD of hobbyism quit cold turkey?

“That’s in my past.” He brushed his knuckles over my jawline. “It’s my understanding that better things await me in the future.”

I needed to fan myself. All day he’d hinted at a relationship with me. Just when I decided I wasn’t imagining this, a stray thought arose:
What if he’s only amusing
himself—with me? Has he been broken of his scheming ways?
My withered trust wanted to know. “Your brother looked astonished by your speech. He must be relieved that you’ve
changed so much toward him.”
Have you changed toward everyone?

Máxim nodded. “He feared I would go the route of Jessica, only not as well-meaning. Did you notice his apprehension growing? He suspected I was setting the room up, readying to
deliver a blow.”

“But you’re not like that anymore?” As brilliant as Máxim was, I could see him getting bored without something to occupy his mind.

Another brush of his fingers. “I have other things to focus on now. Such as my
vigorous
plans for you later.”

My breath hitched.

He brought me back over to the bar, assisting me into my seat. “Until later.” He brushed my hair over to one side, then pressed a kiss between my shoulder blades.

I was trembling when Máxim strode off with his brother, my mind whirring. A relationship with a man like that? I’d always hoped my luck would turn around, but this was
ridiculous.

Natalie said, “So, you and Maksim are clearly serious. How long have you been seeing each other?”

“I met him almost two weeks ago.”

Jess’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit! It’s your two-week anniversary. We should
drink
.”

Lick-shoot-suck-gasp.

Natalie pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, then asked me, “How did Maksim know all those things he said in the speech?”

He’s in the business of information,
I thought. But I just shrugged. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“Not at all. I’m ready for it to happen. Aleks is nervous though. He thinks something will stop the wedding or take me away from him.”

Jess added, “She won’t tell me all the details, but he, Maksim, and the other brother had a fucked-up childhood in Siberia.” Did they know about the scars on
Máxim’s back? “So Natalie is pretty much air for Aleks.” She acted like she was suffocating. “Must . . . have . . . air.”

Natalie told me, “He’s been uneasy about you, because he wouldn’t put it past his brother to kidnap you permanently. And Maksim watched you like a hawk throughout dinner. I was
surprised he left you.”

He probably had one of his security detail spying on me.

Jess said, “You’re about to bolt, aren’t you? We’ll totally help you! We can go to my parents’ lake house.”

“Are we scheduling a
mafiya
carefrontation?” Natalie asked. Then she tapped her chin. “I should warn you: I ran from Aleks twice. It ended in marriage.”

“Why would you run?”

“The first time? Because he broke into my house, intending to abduct me back to Russia. The second time? Because he wouldn’t talk to me about his past.”

Máxim had shied away on the plane, but I knew I could get him to open up. If I did.

Natalie said, “Aleks kept all his emotions bottled up. Unlike his brother! When Maksim toasted love and held up his glass to you, everyone in that room knew he was lost.”

For me.
It struck me that if Máxim was legit, my whole life might turn around. I was making friends and had seen snow. I’d ridden a horse and gotten laid in a covered bridge.
I possibly had a boyfriend who could help me fight for my life back. I couldn’t stop a smile. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world right now.”

Jess told Natalie, “That sounds like something a prisoner would say.” To me, she said, “I can’t let Natalie get nervous about anything the night before her wedding. So
pony up the deets.”

To distract them, I said, “Let’s do one more round.” Famous last words.

Lick-shoot-suck-gasp.

Lick-shoot-suck-gasp.

Lick-shoot-suck-gasp.

Sometime later, I patted myself on my back. I’d distracted them and was having serious fun in the meantime! I’d missed hanging out with people my own age so much.

And I loved watching the rapport between Natalie and Jess. Natalie was the most laid-back girl I’d ever met. Jess was absolutely the craziest. Yet they totally fit.

As we grew drunker, Jess turned philosophical. “Why do guys think I want to date just because I bounced their dick for a night or two? Men are so predictable, so boring! Especially
compared to women. If you and the Russian don’t work out . . .” She made a phone gesture against her head, mouthing,
Call me.

Lick-shoot-suck-gasp.

Eventually Natalie admitted that Aleks had taken her to a masquerade at Le Libertin, an exclusive BDSM club in Paris. So both brothers had that interest? Did Dmitri as well?

Natalie would’ve been sparing on the sex club descriptions, but Jess, who knew the story, kept prodding her: “You left out the best part! The metal dildo! And the sexual
circus.”

The details of that night scorched my eyebrows—and fueled my curiosity. What else would Máxim show me?

Jess pouted. “For some reason,
I
didn’t get an invitation to Cirque du Cock. So I have to live vicariously.”

Natalie said, “The weird thing was learning Maksim is a member too.”
You don’t say.
“He’ll probably take you.”

“
Mamí
gets to go to Cirque du Cock? And not me? Now you two are just being twats.”

Lick-suck-shoot-gasp.

Jess also grew more physical, seizing Natalie in a headlock. “Who’s your wedding coordinator, now? Huh? Huh?” She rubbed her knuckles in Natalie’s red hair until
she’d created a huge rat’s nest. “
I
am the wedding
coordinator
—the coordinated terminator. Say it.”

Natalie just laughed. And she let the rat’s nest stay.

Lick-suck-shoot-gasp.

“How did you meet Maksim?” Natalie asked me, slurring. “He usually only ‘dates’ ”—she made air quotes—“blondes.”

Oh. We were back to me. My head swirled.
Bob and weave, Cat.
But I didn’t want to with these girls. They were so nice and real. “Oh, it’s not a big deal.”

“Sure it is!” Natalie said. “I want to know how my future brother-in-law would meet a smart co-ed.”

I considered telling them about my escort foray. They probably wouldn’t find it a big deal. I didn’t know if it was gut instinct or the tequila advising me to trust them, but at that
moment, I felt like I could. To an extent. I would never tell them about Edward—apparently, I couldn’t yet gasp out the words
husband
and
murderous sociopath
in one
sentence—but I could put their minds at ease about Máxim.

“Tell us!” Jess shoved her shoulder against mine, nearly sending me off my bar stool. “We’re all drunk, and it’s obvious that you and I are long-lost
sisters—which means I can’t fuck you.” Leaning in, she added darkly, “In certain states.”

“Anything you tell us stays between us.” Natalie hiccupped.

“Okay, well, um, I needed some money quick. So I . . . took my friend’s place on an escort date. Máxim ordered tall and blond, but I went instead. He’s my first and only
client.”

When I saw the disgusted look on Jess’s face, I instantly regretted my admission. Then she said, “You mean I’ve been doing it all this time for free? Who’s the
chump?” She pointed a thumb at herself. “I’m the chump.”

Natalie was more romantic about it. “If you hadn’t gone that night, you never would have met him!”

Never to have met Maksimilian Sevastyan? The man steadily turning my world inside out?

“How do you feel about him?” she asked.

“I’m falling for him, but I try not to. I know he’s a player. He’s a gorgeous billionaire and could have any woman he wanted.” Even with his
issues
. Maybe
they were fixed now? “Yet sometimes I get a sense of déjà vu around him, like we’ve known each other before. Does that sound stupid?”

“It sounds romantic,” Natalie said.

Jess nodded. “Totally romantic. Hey, do you read romance novels? Of course you do. I’m sending you some faves. Give me your addy when I sober up.”

I smiled and nodded, though I had no addy. It was such a simple request. No one else would give it much thought. But I had no home. I wanted a home. And a Russian. And a dog. “I’ve
only known Máxim for thirteen days. I can’t be feeling what I think I’m feeling.”

“I was half in love with Aleks after a single night.” Natalie twirled her ring with a secretive smile.

“You mean after a single glance,” Jess said. “I was there. I witnessed the whole thing. Love at first sight exists. What did you think of Maksim?”

“DDG. Drop dead gorgeous. Thought beyond that was impossible.”

Natalie said, “He’s got it so bad for you.”

“If she tells you that, then listen,” Jess said. “We call her the Manalyzer.”

“I can read any guy. Except Aleks.” Natalie waved that away. “And Maksim is lost for you. He called you
moyo solnyshko
.”

“Tell me what that means!”

“ ‘My sun.’ It’s a fairly common endearment, but for a guy like Maksim to say it? And it totally fits with what I heard him tell Aleks about you.”

“What’d he say?”

“Just before they came over here, Aleks asked what he was doing with a nice girl like you, and Maksim said, ‘She makes things . . . brighter.’ ”