Destiny began to unbutton his shirt. It was off of his body seconds later. She ran a hand over his chest then tugged his t-shirt out of his pants. That joined his shirt on the floor. She ran her hands up his bare chest. He wanted to howl with the pleasure of it.
Then she worked on his pants. He helped her get them off of him. She took his dick in her hand. He could have exploded right then, but neither of them would have been satisfied. She stroked him, up and down, a slow, sweet torture. He finally put a hand on hers. “If you keep doing that, this will be over too soon.”
“There’s always next time. As I recall, you have amazing recuperative powers.”
He shook his head. “I want to be inside of you.”
She let go of him then shifted her pants off of her. She was naked in front of him. The sight of her took away his breath. He couldn’t wait. This time wouldn’t be gentle.
He lifted her up then dropped her on the bed. She bounced once and she laughed. “In a hurry, big guy?”
“You bet.”
He rolled a condom onto himself then climbed on top of her. He wanted to thrust into her, but he slid in instead. She was warm and wet and he wanted to pitch a tent. The rhythm he set up was just enough to get her going, but not enough to make him lose it.
He shifted every few strokes and her noises were making him grit his teeth. Then she came with a wail. Her nails dug into his back. Her body arched against him. Her head was thrown back and her jaw was clenched. She was even beautiful like that.
Then his orgasm came rushing out. He couldn’t have stopped for any amount of money. Not if he’d had a gun to his head. He slumped onto Destiny. Their chests heaved together. He rolled off, but kept his hand on her stomach. He didn’t want to move, nor did he want to lose contact with her. He probably just had to make sure that she was real. And in his bed.
She rested her hand on his chest, her body snuggled up against him. She was warm and soft the way a woman should be. “I have to get rid of the condom.”
Destiny let out a groan, but rolled away from him. He got rid of the condom and returned to her. She’d climbed under the covers. She moved them away to let him in. He kissed her cheek.
“I didn’t plan that,” he said.
“I didn’t either.”
“You’ve been thinking about me that way?”
“Of course, Nikolai. How could I not? We were electric in bed that night. That was the best sex of my life.”
“Then I know what I have to top.”
She giggled. “It isn’t a contest.”
“I like to continually improve.”
She groaned, but had a smile on her face. “You’re going to kill me.”
“Would it be such a bad way to go?”
He didn’t think so.
“No I guess it wouldn’t. Could you imagine what the papers would say if we were found dead in our bed?”
“I bet we’d have smiles on our faces.”
She laughed. “Yes, we probably would be happy looking corpses.”
Chapter8
Nikolai visited his hired private detective again. He sent Destiny home with his driver and he took his car to the seedy side of town after work the next day. He’d didn’t tell her exactly what he was doing, but the trip was for her benefit also.
Butch Danvers had the same suit on that he wore for their first meeting. Or did he just have several of the-off-the rack items? Nikolai would have thought that he had enough money to buy better clothing. The criminal element tended to pay well. Better than the wife trying to catch her cheating husband.
Nikolai sat on the same uncomfortable chair and waited for Butch to get off the phone. He pondered what he would bring home for dinner. He’d call Destiny and see what she was in the mood for. No need for her to cook. He could afford take out more than once a week.
He’d cook for her on the weekend.
They’d made love twice last night, then once in the shower this morning. If nothing else, he was going to enjoy the amount of sex he was going to have. When it was over, they’d part ways as friends. He was sure of it.
Destiny talked to him about going to graduate school. She wanted to get a better job. He figured his father would miss her as his assistant, but Nikolai understood that she wanted to get ahead and be more than a secretary.
She wouldn’t want to have a relationship bog her down while she was studying. That meant that this was short term. That worked for him, as he had no idea what his future held. He could go back to the FBI. Or he could stay with his father’s company.
His biggest rival, Boris Yorisky, had talked about the company. What if his father didn’t return? He’d talked to him on the phone and he sounded weak. Weaker than he’d ever heard his father. Truly unnerving. His father had always been larger than life in his eyes. It would be tough to say goodbye to him.
If Nikolai inherited the company, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He’d have to stay longer and sort things out. He refused to let Krevchenko take over. The man was an idiot who would run it into the ground. The man would want Destiny and she’d quit. Even if she didn’t have another job. The idea of Martin touching Destiny had Nikolai seeing red. No way would he let that happen.
Nor would he let the man get his grubby hands on Alman Enterprises. No way.
Butch finally hung up.
“You have something for me?”
“Not anything substantial. The buzz on the street is that Luis is here on the East Coast. He isn’t leaving. The murder of your partner hasn’t chased him away.”
“Bastard.”
Of course he would be cocky. He wouldn’t cow. He’d like to see Luis on his knees begging Nikolai for his life. That would be his fantasy. If Nikolai had anything to do with it, he would be.
The man took away a devoted husband and father, which reminded him that he had to go see his partner’s wife. See how she was. Make sure she was getting along okay.
“I don’t have specifics, but from what I’m hearing, he’s in New York.”
“He can hide there easily,” Nikolai said.
“He has many friends there. Quite a network of the Mexican Mafia.”
Might behoove Nikolai to get in touch with his contacts in the Russian Mafia. They might have a better idea of how to find Luis. He hoped the man was underground and wasn’t able to live as luxuriously as he usually did.
That would be wonderful.
“I have another assignment for you to do at the same time.”
He gave the man Destiny’s mother’s details. Told him she was pregnant. Even gave him a picture.
“Same fee as before?” Butch said.
“Of course. Be discreet. Don’t make contact, just get me a location.”
“Sure, thing. She a junkie?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why you looking for her?” Butch said.
“That’s above your pay grade,” Nikolai said.
He left the man chuckling. When he reached his car, Nikolai called Destiny.
“Hey,” she said. “You on your way home?”
“Yes. I’ll be about forty-five minutes. What do you want for dinner?”
“I’m cooking.”
He paused a moment. How domestic of her. “Uh, okay. Can I ask what?”
“No. It’ll be a surprise.”
“If you need wine, there’s a cellar that I haven’t shown you.”
“That can wait until you get home,” she said.
He hung up and smiled. He wondered what other surprises she had for him.
***
Destiny looked around the kitchen when she hung up with Nikolai. There were bowls and such all around the room. Had she bit off more than she could chew? The dish wasn’t simple and had a lot of ingredients.
“Maybe I should have tried something simpler.”
She’d wanted to impress Nikolai. She didn’t know why. She shouldn’t be spoiling him this way. He’d get used to her cooking and then they’d both starve. Well, she though
t it might be fun, but right now it didn’t seem fun anymore. She hadn’t had all of the ingredients, so she substituted others, but she wasn’t sure how to do that.
She sighed looking at the mess she’d made of Nikolai’s kitchen. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be mad. Frustration threatened to make her cry, but she wasn’t someone who cried that easily. He was due home any minute and she had no food to show for the mess.
“Oh my goodness,” Nikolai said.
He stood in the doorway, his suit flung over his shoulder, his tie askew. She bit her lip. She’d never seen him get mad, but today might be a first.
“I was trying to cook, but I don’t really know how. My grandmother did all of the cooking. Or I did it under her instructions.”
Nikolai put his jacket over the back of a chair. He began to laugh. He threw his head back and laughed for a full minute. Okay. That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. At least he wasn’t mad.
He held his stomach while he caught his breath. “Okay. Let’s get this cleaned up.” He looked at her. “And we can get you cleaned up, then we can order pizza.”
“You aren’t mad?”
He kissed her nose. “How could I be mad? It’s just a mess. We’ll order the pizza then clean it up. He opened his phone and took care of the call while she stacked dirty bowls and pans in the sink.
“Let me get out of these clothes and I’ll help you.”
He was back minutes later in jeans and t-shirt. She had already washed everything in the sink. He dried.
“You really aren’t mad?”
“No, I’m really not mad, but you will probably want a shower before we eat.” He leaned in close and wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll help.”
“Who will pay the pizza guy?”
“Right. He did say it would be here in half an hour,” Nikolai said.
“Then let me shower before that happens.”
He pouted. “I wanted to help.”
She had to laugh. This man was an FBI agent and the head of a company. A billionaire who could buy and sell her if he wanted. Here he was pouting because he wanted to take a shower with her. Men. They were odd creatures.
She sighed. “Okay. I’ll wait until the pizza gets here.”
His face lit up. Like a kid about to get a new toy. He kissed her. “Thanks. That’ll make my day.”
“You saw me naked just this morning.”
“I know, but I never get tired of seeing you naked. Naked and soapy is a bonus.”
She blinked. This was incorrigible. They finished the dishes then the pizza guy arrived. They put the pizza in the oven to stay warm and headed up to the shower. Of course the shower took longer because they didn’t just wash.
Destiny wasn’t sure she’d ever had this much sex. Her body was loving it. Her heart wasn’t so sure that this was a good idea, but she shushed it. She would be fine when this was all over. She’d have school to look forward to.
They ate the pizza in their robes. “We could have done this naked. No one’s around.”
Destiny laughed. “Yes, but I don’t want hot cheese on parts of my body.”
“Oh, I’d lick it off of you.”
“Of course you would.”
“I’d take one for the team,” he said.
Yes, the team. How long would this fun go on? She wasn’t sure what she would feel at the end of it all. Would she be heartbroken? Was she setting herself up for that? Probably, but what a ride it would be until then. A hot guy to have sex with. A great house to live in. Someone to drive her to work every day. What more could a girl ask for? Really? What else was there, because at this moment, she couldn’t think of anything.
*
Nikolai knew he needed a night out, so he and Destiny stopped at a bar on the way home. The same bar they’d met in on that fateful night. He just wanted to sit and have a drink with her. Nothing special. Just a moment out of the house.
He would have thought he would get tired of her by now, but he wasn’t. He was just beginning to peel back the layers that made up Destiny. It was a pleasant evening. Until Boris Yorisky walked into the bar. What was he doing in a place like this? Slumming?
He had an entourage, of course. Several of them were beautiful women. Tall, leggy. Nikolai never had a type, but Boris always had. They’d been in the same private school together. Boris was two years ahead.
“What’s wrong?” Destiny said.
She must have noticed him tense.
“Someone I know just walked into the bar.”
“Someone you don’t like, for sure.”
He smiled at her. Perceptive. Boris had clearly spotted him and was making his way over to Nikolai’s table. He sighed. Guess he had to play nice. If he had to choose between Boris buying his father’s company or Krevchenko running it, he’d rather have Boris. But not by much.
Boris was a large man. He indulged and it showed in the jowls on his face. He looked more than two years older than Nikolai, probably because he drank more than anyone Nikolai knew.
“Nikolai Alman. How are you?”
Nikolai rose and shook the man’s hand. He wanted to shower afterwards. Boris then noticed Destiny.
“Who is the lovely woman?”
He took Destiny’s hand, kissing it.
“This is Destiny Brown. She’s my assistant.”
Boris glanced his way as if he knew that she was more than that. Didn’t matter. He didn’t care what Boris thought. Destiny had to tug her hand back because the man was holding onto it. That made Nikolai mad. Boris didn’t need any more women around him. He should leave Destiny alone.
“Assistant? Maybe I will poach her from you. Give her an offer she can’t refuse.”
Now he was purposely poking the bear, trying to make him mad.
“I don’t really think you have anything to offer,” Destiny said.
Nikolai wanted to laugh. Boris wasn’t amused. “You would let her talk to me that way?’
“She can talk however she wants.”
Boris took a step toward Nikolai who fisted his hand, ready for a fight. They’d been known to scuffle at prep school, but it had been at least since college since they’d ever come to blows.
“He’s not worth it,” Destiny said.
She didn’t even stand, but her words made Nikolai stop. She was right. Boris had no class and if he wanted a fight, Nikolai wouldn’t back down, but why should he fight? He knew he could beat Boris.
Boris should know that Nikolai could beat him, also.
“In my younger days,” Boris said, then stalked off.
Nikolai shook off the experience then sat down, giving Destiny a smile. “Thanks for the reminder. He wasn’t worth it.”
“I’m not a big fan of male posturing like that.”
“It’s partly a Russian thing.”
She shrugged. “But you aren’t in Russia.”
“But many of us are first generation. My father would never have stood by and let another man touch his wife. That man would have been on the floor in pain.”
Destiny frowned. “The man is harmless.”
“Maybe, but he has no right to disrespect you.”
“He wasn’t.”
Maybe he wasn’t, but Nikolai didn’t like how Boris had been eyeing Destiny. He had been undressing her with his eyes. Nikolai hadn’t like that. He didn’t really have any claim on Destiny, but he certainly felt protective of her. That was just a Russian thing.
“You done with your drink?”
Nikolai wanted to get out of the bar. He had no desire to watch people fawn over Boris. Wait staff did because he was a good tipper. Women did because Boris threw money around. Even though his father had made a fortune, Boris acted like vulgar new money. It was one thing to spend it freely. It was another to flash it around.
Nikolai had been raised to be more discreet. He dropped some bills at their table then guided Destiny out of the bar.
“I’m guessing there is a story between you and Boris,” Destiny said.
&nb
sp; She didn’t miss a thing. Nikolai sighed. “Yes, there is, but I’m not ready to talk about it right now. Suffice it to say that we have a history. Not a good history and we don’t like each other.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
Nikolai chuckled. “Let’s not talk about Boris. Let’s talk about dinner. I’m starved. I can cook or we can get takeout.”
She stretched like a cat in her seat and that made him think of something else he was hungry for.
“Whatever you want to do.”
***
Destiny knew that Nikolai had been bothered by Boris, but she didn’t get why. Nikolai was successful in his own right. What rivalry did the two have? And why? Men.
That might be a conversation for another day. She wondered where Nikolai went sometimes. If he had a woman on the side, she wanted to know. She didn’t want to be part of that. If he had that woman, that person could pretend to be his girlfriend. And truly be his lover.
He’d left his suit jacket in the kitchen while he went to take a shower. Destiny decided to go through his pockets.
“What are you looking for?”
Destiny jumped. Nikolai stood in the doorway, a pair of jeans on, his shirt open. “I, uh, was looking to see if I could figure out where you’ve been going.”
“Why don’t you just ask me?”
“Where have you been going?”
“To see a private detective.”
That was easy. Now she felt guilty for invading his privacy. “Why?”
“The last time was to ask him to look for your mother.”
“You're having someone look for her? I should pay for that.”
He waved his hand. “No, I’ll take care of it.”
She cocked her head. “Why? It’s my mother.”
“Don’t worry about it, Destiny.”
“Why were you seeing this detective to begin with?”
He took a breath then rubbed a hand down his face. Was he trying to think of a lie or deciding if he should tell her?
“I didn’t really want to talk about this,” Nikolai said. “But I guess I should.”
This sounded serious. “If it’s none of my business, just tell me.”
Her Russian Billionaires - The Complete Billionaire Romance Collection Page 47