by Bella Rose
Mikhail grinned. “I do believe we are done with the table, thank you.”
He took her hand and stood up. Blair felt a thrill of anticipation slide up her spine. She followed his long strides through the casino and to the elevator. Once inside, he crushed her to his chest. She gave a tiny moan as his mouth covered hers in a long, hot kiss.
“The cameras,” she said with a gasp. “Who’s watching?”
He let his lips travel down her throat to the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “I don’t particularly care.”
His teeth nipped the sensitive skin and Blair decided she didn’t care either. She tangled her fingers in his dark hair and pulled him closer. She pressed her body against his. She was on fire with arousal. Soon she would be begging him to let her straddle his leg just for the friction.
Chapter Eight
Mikhail gave up on self-control when the elevator doors opened. He put his arm beneath Blair’s legs and swept her up into his arms. The concierge met them in the foyer, a round look of surprise on his face.
“Door,” Mikhail growled.
The man hastily complied with Mikhail’s order. Carrying Blair into the suite, Mikhail bypassed the living room for the bedroom. Housekeeping had neatly made the bed. He didn’t care. Laying Blair in the center of the mattress, he climbed up beside her and took her mouth in another bruising kiss.
He loved how desperate she was. She was already tearing at the fastenings of her jeans and trying to scrape off her blouse. Mikhail laughed as he helped her get rid of her top. Once the creamy expanse of her breasts was on display, however, he forgot everything else.
Using his mouth, he sucked at the soft flesh exposed above her bra. It wasn’t enough. He reached beneath her and popped the clasp to fully expose both pert breasts. He groaned at the sight. Her nipples were pale pink perfection.
Taking one between his lips, he tugged and sucked until she was arching her back and crying out with pleasure. He used his fingertips on the other nipple. Tracing the contour, he rolled it between his thumb and index finger until it was hard as diamonds.
“My God, Mikhail, please?” She was trying to get her jeans off. “I need you to touch me! I swear I could come right now!”
He struggled out of his own shirt first, popping a few of the buttons in the process. They hit the wall with a ping. It didn’t matter. Blair was already arching up off the bed to slide her jeans down her legs. He helped her get them off.
“No underwear?” He was delightfully surprised.
She grinned. “I hate wedgies.”
He buried his face in the short hair covering her mound and nuzzled her. “I think I like that a lot.”
“Oh my God!” she groaned. “You feel so good!”
Her scent clung to the hair between her legs. Mikhail gently delved between her nether lips and found her hot and wet. The flesh was swollen with arousal and wet with her juices. He spread her open with his fingers and gave her clit a light lick with the tip of his tongue. That was all it took to make her come hard and fast.
Blair cried out and every muscle below her waist seemed to seize up. She would have clamped her legs closed but for his shoulders holding them apart. He licked her again and felt her shudder with the deep contractions of her orgasm.
“I need to be inside you, Blair,” he grunted. “I want to feel all that heat around my cock.”
“Please?” she begged.
He unfastened his pants and pushed them down his legs. Then he was finally lying between her spread legs with his cock pressed intimately against her mound. The dewy hair tickled his shaft. He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders to keep from crushing her.
Probing her opening with the head of his cock, he felt how tight and hot she was. He grunted as he tried to go slowly. Blair wasn’t having any of that. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in deep. Mikhail groaned in pure pleasure as he sank balls deep in her hot pussy.
“Fuck, you feel good!” He realized that he’d been speaking in Russian and said it again in English. He couldn’t think when he was so strung out on the pleasure he found between her legs.
She scored his shoulders with her nails and threw her head back against the mattress. He lowered his lips to her neck and kissed her until she squirmed and cried out with the sensation. The taste of her lingered on his tongue and he knew he would not last long.
The delightfully snug inner muscles wrapped around his cock began to quiver as she reached her second peak. Mikhail braced his weight on his knees and cupped her bottom in his hands. He thrust hard, slamming into Blair’s welcoming body again and again. His climax uncurled at the base of his spine like a live thing. He gasped as he realized he could no longer control himself.
He squeezed his eyes closed as he came inside her. He bathed her womb in his seed and felt as though he was marking her for all time as his. She screamed his name as she came again. Her climax milked what was left of his spent cock. His lungs felt as though they might collapse. He rolled to the side to avoid crushing her and mourned the loss as he slid free of her pussy.
They both lay on their backs, breathing in concert as they let the world settle back into rhythm. He found her hand, twining his fingers with hers and wondering why he felt so strongly that he needed the contact.
“Wow,” she said softly. “That was incredible.”
Mikhail didn’t speak. He was afraid that he could not put words to what he was experiencing in that moment. Instead he pulled her closer, encouraging her to snuggle into his side.
“Where are we going after Vegas?” she whispered.
He sighed. The real world seemed far away. “I’m not sure. We’ll likely travel by commercial airline and make a few stops.”
“Rio,” she whispered. “We should go to Rio.”
“Why?”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Rio.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Then to Rio we will go.”
***
Blair wrung her hands together and tried not to look as suspicious as she felt. Or perhaps the word was conspicuous. She could not believe they were about to board a commercial airplane using false identification. This went way beyond her comfort zone.
“Relax,” Mikhail murmured. “Everything will be just fine.”
“We’re breaking the law.” Even as she said the words she realized how she must sound to someone like him. “Although I suppose it’s just another day to you.”
“I rarely travel without my own papers, so no.” He actually laughed. “This is not a normal day. And I have never attempted to be half of a happily married couple. So perhaps this is an opportunity for both of us to just have fun?”
“Have fun?” She stared at him in consternation as the TSA security line crawled forward another few inches.
“Certainly.” He gestured to a couple a few feet away that were hanging all over each other. “They seem to be having a good time. Perhaps we should imitate them?”
She snorted and grabbed his arm. Gazing up at him, she batted her eyelashes furiously until he started laughing. Then he circled his arms around her and dipped her backwards over his arm. He planted a very theatrical kiss on her lips, which left her giggling like a ridiculous schoolgirl.
Someone tapped Blair’s shoulder. She turned in surprise to see a tiny old woman grinning up at her. “Sweetie, I just wanted to say that it’s just such a blessing to see a young couple so in love in this day and age.”
Blair felt like a deer in headlights. Fortunately Mikhail was quicker to react than she was. He offered the woman a solicitous smile. “Thank you so much for the compliment. My wife and I are newlyweds though. I suppose the true test will be what we look like in thirty years.”
“Very true.” The old woman nodded sagely. She gestured to the rheumy-eyed man beside her who appeared to be asleep on his feet and paying them no attention. “My Alfred and I have been together sixty-two years. Some are definitely better than others.”
“
Wow.” Blair could hardly wrap her mind around that notion.
The lady went back to poking at her husband, and Mikhail gazed down at Blair with a warm smile. “Can you even imagine such a thing?”
“Sixty-two years of marriage? Not really,” she mused. “My folks had only been married about twenty when they were killed.”
“My father went through six wives.” Mikhail sounded more exhausted by this fact than disgusted. “He discarded them when they were no longer interesting.”
“Meaning young and beautiful?” she guessed.
He grimaced. “Something like that.”
“How long was he married to your mother?” she wondered. “You have brothers, right? Ivan and Aleksei?”
“You pay attention,” he murmured.
“I’m a pilot,” she reminded him. “Attention to detail sort of goes with the territory.”
“I see.” He touched her cheek with his finger. “And yes. I have two brothers. My mother passed away when Ivan was only six. That was when my father began using and discarding them.”
“Yuck! All those stepmothers.” Blair wrinkled her nose. “I lived in a group home until I turned eighteen and went to college. You could probably say that it was rather motivational. I knew I wanted to be able to be financially independent and care for myself.”
“You had no relatives to care for you?”
“No.” She shrugged it off. She hated when people felt sorry for her, although Mikhail’s interest didn’t feel like pity. “That’s where Ethan and I met actually. When I started working for Skye Aviation, I got him a job. He was having some issues before that.”
Mikhail’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “I can imagine that.”
There were a few moments of comfortable silence, and then she could feel him gearing up to ask a question. Their line had moved forward a few more inches until she was next. Her stomach began to knot with dread.
“What happened to your parents, Blair?” Mikhail asked softly.
She was nervous. She could blame that for her candid answer. “They were killed in an explosion in Chicago. They were having a date night at some little restaurant downtown. I don’t really know what happened. The authorities just called it a senseless act of violence. I was only sixteen. They didn’t really tell me much, and at the time I didn’t want to know.”
“And now?” he prodded.
She turned to gaze up at him. He looked so safe and solid. This was a man she could count on. Even when things got rough, she had a sense that Mikhail Romanov would just get rougher. “Would you like to know?”
Blair bit her lip. That was something she had never really been able to answer. “You could really find that out for me, couldn’t you? I mean, you have the ability to dig in places I couldn’t. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes.” He nodded his head. “I would do that for you. You’ve already done so much for me, and much of it with me acting like a complete ass.”
The laugh was unexpected, but it felt good to let out the tension in a positive way. “How can I resist a man who admits he’s being an ass?” she teased.
“I will find this information for you,” he announced. “Perhaps it will allow you to get closure.”
“Maybe it will.”
The blue-suited, blue-gloved TSA agent waved at Blair. “Next!”
To her unending relief, Mikhail went with her. He kept one arm lightly around her waist as though he couldn’t bear to be parted from her for even that long. Handing the agent their tickets and passports, Mikhail offered the man a smile.
“Thank you.” The guy handed them back and motioned them to the next available line so they could start stripping off shoes and jackets.
“Okay, that was completely anticlimactic,” Blair said, feeling strangely grouchy.
Mikhail raised an eyebrow. “You sound upset by that.”
“I got all nervous for nothing! Of course I’m upset.” She poked him. “I should probably make a scene just so I get some mileage out of all this angst I’ve been feeling for the last hour.”
He gave her a wry grin. “I think not.”
Chapter Nine
Mikhail stared at Blair as she slept in the seat beside him. The hum of the huge jet engines was underscored by a few conversations between other passengers. For the most part it was silent. They were in the air on their way to Rio de Janeiro. He could not imagine why she had wanted to go there of all places, but for now it didn’t matter.
Sending a quick text to Ivan, Mikhail let his brother know where they were. The flight attendant gave him a surreptitious glance to let him know she was aware he was breaking the rules. Mikhail winked at her. He didn’t particularly care for rules.
Ivan responded almost immediately. Why do you still have the woman with you? Aleksei’s man Igor is throwing a fit and charging us three times the amount for the papers.
Mikhail wasn’t about to explain the whole thing to his brother. It was a good cover. Nobody will be looking for a married couple.
Where are you going? Ivan wanted to know.
Rio.
He didn’t have to wait long for his bossy younger brother to answer. Aleksei and I will be flying to Moscow in three days. Meet us there. Aleksei is bringing Susanna.
That gave Mikhail pause. Is the FBI involved? He contemplated using all caps to make his demand for information crystal clear.
Not officially.
Mikhail looked again at the sleeping woman beside him. Make arrangements to fly my companion home once we get to Moscow, he ordered Ivan.
There was no response, but Mikhail knew his brother would do as he was asked. In the meantime, Mikhail had several days with this lovely companion to enjoy. That brought to mind the promise Mikhail had made in the security line to find out what had happened to Blair’s parents.
He sent a text to Aleksei this time. Can you look into explosions in restaurants in the Chicago area roughly twenty-five years ago?
There was a brief pause, but Mikhail knew his brother would never be able to resist a mystery like this one. Yes, but why?
My travelling companion lost her parents in an explosion. Her name is Blair Edwards. I want to know who was behind that incident. Mikhail suddenly realized that there was another mystery he was throwing at his brother’s feet.
What is this woman to you? Aleksei wanted to know.
Mikhail sighed. He reached over and tucked a stray strand of short hair behind Blair’s ear. Then he answered Aleksei with total honesty. I don’t know yet.
***
Blair walked through the posh hotel suite and straight out onto the balcony. The city streets seethed with activity far below, but beyond that she could see the white sands and blue ocean. White-capped waves came in and out in an ebb and flow that soothed Blair on a primal level. Above it all she could see the Christ statue towering over it all.
“You wanted to come here.” Mikhail’s warm voice came from behind her. “Are you satisfied?”
She sucked in a deep breath of the tangy air. “It’s incredible.”
“I only regret that we have only one night to spend here.” He gently kneaded her shoulders. “Shall we leave the hotel and have a look around?”
“Yes!” A wave of excitement overtook Blair and she flung her arms impulsively around Mikhail’s neck. “Thank you so much for bringing me here!”
He returned the embrace, gently kissing her cheek. “Someday you will have to explain why you wanted so badly to come here, but I would not suspend your joy for anything.”
Blair grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to the elevator. “How did you manage to get a room in this hotel? We’re right near the center of everything. It’s perfect!”
He only smiled. She supposed that for people with great sums of money at their disposal, it was nothing to command a room at the finest hotel without too much trouble. The elevator soon spilled them into the lobby and from there they began walking through the Centro neighborhood. The narrow pedestrian streets were c
rowded with locals and tourists alike. Mikhail kept her close, and Blair soon realized that he managed to carry himself in a way that sent even the obvious thugs scurrying away.
She took a step back and smiled up at him. “You’re very casual today.”
“One does not tromp around Rio in a suit,” he quipped, gesturing to his casual cargo shorts and plain black T-shirt.
She nodded down at her skirt and T-shirt. “I’m overdressed as well.”
“I would be most happy to buy you some local attire.”
“I bet!” she teased. “The locals wear a thong as though there is no other sort of bathing suit bottom to choose from.”
“You’re right.” His expression turned grave. “I would get arrested almost immediately for gouging out the eyes of any man who dared to look at that delectable bottom of yours.”
She craned her neck around, trying to catch a glimpse of the body part in question. “You like my butt?”
He pulled a brightly colored red-and-yellow sarong from the cart of a street vendor. Wrapping it around her waist, he deftly tied it at the hip. “You have a derriere that makes me hard just imagining what it feels like to hold it in my hands.”
Her belly did a flip-flop at his suggestive tone. Then she picked up one fringed end of the sarong. “It’s beautiful.”
“It would be even more beautiful if you were wearing nothing else.” He tossed the vendor a coin. “Come. There is something I want you to see.”
***
Blair gazed around her at the brightly colored buildings of the Lapa neighborhood. Her heart swelled as she realized where Mikhail was taking her. He could have no idea what it meant, but perhaps that was what made the gesture all the more precious to her.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “If you’re tired, we can go back to the hotel.”
“No.” She tugged his hand. “This way.”
“I thought you had never been here before,” Mikhail said suspiciously.
Blair looked ahead. She immediately spotted the place she had waited her whole life to visit. The brilliant red hue of the tiled walls was set off by a million different colors included in the famous Escadaria Selarón. The 250 steps created by a local artist were almost as much of an icon in Rio as the statue of Christ the Redeemer.