Russian Enforcers Box Set 2 (Books 4-6)

by Nic Saint

  “That may be so, but the moment she sat down, it became hers.”

  He flashed her a quick grin, and she noticed a pair of killer dimples that made him even more irresistible. This man must have slain a million hearts.

  “Jackie’s not here to get laid,” she suddenly said, and his head whipped up at the crude expression. “She’s here to have a good time and to relax. She’s not looking to get involved with anyone.”

  “I get that impression,” he returned wryly.

  Susan smiled sweetly. “Though I’m sure she could make an exception if the right guy came along.”

  He leveled an inquisitive gaze at her. “She involved? Boyfriend? Husband?”

  Susan smirked. She was loving every second of this encounter. Even though playing the matchmaker had never really been her style, she enjoyed it tremendously. “Just tell me where this friend of yours is, and perhaps we can arrange something.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her frankness. “He’s upstairs, preparing for a job.”

  “All right,” she said primly as she rose. “Why don’t I go up to your room, and see if I can be of any assistance with this ‘job’, while you sit here and wait for Jackie. And if she gives you any trouble, just tell her I invited you.”

  “The moment she sees me she’ll probably run like a bat out of hell.”

  “I’m sure she won’t. Contrary to what you might think, Jackie is a warm-blooded female who won’t be able to say no to a warm-blooded male such as yourself.”

  He grimaced. “I thought you just said she wasn’t into that sort of thing.”

  “She isn’t,” she said, raising a finely penciled eyebrow. “But that doesn’t mean she can’t be induced to change her mind. She’s still a woman, isn’t she?”

  And with those words, she swept from the table, and left Erik to await the return of the object of his affection.

  She’d hear all about it soon enough, and frankly Susan couldn’t wait. It was time Jackie got involved with someone. Since she’d known the woman, going on five years now, she’d never had a serious relationship, and hardly any dates to speak of. A person couldn’t go on like that, and it was about time she started making baby steps toward the other sex. If you can’t have a meaningless fling at the Copacabana, when can you?

  She stepped into the elevator with a wide smile on her lips. She was going to surprise Erik’s friend and have a meaningless fling of her own, she’d just decided.

  CHAPTER 4

  When Jackie returned and saw the man sitting in her seat, she started and was about to turn away. But then she saw the curve of his jawline as he stared out through the window of the bar, and she thought there was a certain wistfulness in his face that appealed to her. This wasn’t some brute who chased women for a living, she instinctively knew. And he was waiting for her at her table, Susan nowhere in evidence, so there was a story there.

  She decided to get over herself and at least have a conversation with the man. It never hurt to make an acquaintance, and perhaps by having a little chat, this tension that had been hanging between them could finally be resolved. Usually, when a person is attracted to another person they don’t even know, it only takes five minutes of conversation to convince them the object of their affection is just another human being, and the infatuation magically vanishes.

  She’d noticed this before, and was certain this was one of those occasions.

  She walked up to the man and announced her presence by producing a little cough. He jerked his head up, and when his eyes fell on hers, it was as if a charge of electricity arced through her. Even though he hadn’t laid a hand on her, she felt it flutter up her spine and turn her bones to water.

  She inclined her head, but found it impossible to avert her gaze. He had eyes that electrified her, a deep emerald that profoundly entranced her, and before she could speak a single word, she found herself their captive.

  When she finally managed to tear her eyes away, she took a seat. “Don’t tell me. You murdered Susan, hid her body in the freezer, and then took her place.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched. “Something like that.”

  She frowned at Susan’s half-finished drink. “What did happen to her?”

  “She said she had some business to attend to,” the man said, then held out his hand. “We’ve never been properly introduced. The name’s Erik. Erik Petrov.”

  “Jackie Bouchard,” she returned as she took his hand. It was warm and large, and dwarfed hers easily. His grip was firm but comforting, and she felt enveloped in the blanket of his personality as she gazed into those eyes again. She had to admit she liked it, liked him, and enjoyed the feel of his skin on hers. Though she’d imagined darkness in him before, it was nowhere in evidence now.

  “I wanted to apologize for this afternoon,” he began. “The chair thing?” he added when she arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “I was way out of line.”

  “Oh, that’s fine,” she said with a wave of the hand. “I didn’t even know that chair was taken. People pick a chair and then simply leave. Or they place a towel never to return. So we make it a habit not to let a silly thing like that stop us from claiming an empty chair.”

  He nodded solemnly. “A sound policy.”

  “Well, it’s not really a policy,” she countered. “More like a way of making sure we always have a place to lay our weary bones.”

  He was studying her intently, his eyes never leaving her face. “You don’t look so weary,” he observed.

  She laughed, a little disconcerted by his unwavering attention. “You should have seen us when we arrived. We were bone-tired. We’ve managed to recuperate a little already.”

  “Tough job, huh?”

  “Pretty tough,” she agreed.

  “What is it that you do for a living, Jackie?”

  She cleared her throat, wondering how much to tell him about herself. She was a private person, and liked to keep it that way, especially with strange men with entrancing eyes. “Susan and I, we both work for Peterson Enterprises. It’s a big firm that produces software for the travel industry. They partner with resorts like the Copacabana, and each year the company organizes a lottery. The winner gets a two week paid vacation at one of the resorts.” She spread her arms. “This year we were the lucky ones.”

  “So this is your first time in this place?”

  “It is. What about you?” She took a dainty sip from her turquoise drink.

  “We’re actually on a job, Bruno and me.”

  “What kind?” Any job that involved staying at one of Cancun’s most expensive five-star hotels was definitely a job worth looking into.

  He gave her a long, searching look, and she thought he looked guarded. Not right now, she decided. She could probe him later. For now, she was just interested in deciding whether he was a psychopath or not. He seemed innocuous enough, and a lot nicer than she’d given him credit for. For someone so eager to strike up a conversation, he was quite relaxed. Definitely not the lady-killer she’d taken him for.

  “I’m a consultant of sorts,” he finally said. “We’re called in to check security, and we do a full assessment of the place before handing in our report.”

  “And now you’re doing an assessment of me, is that it?” she said archly.

  He gave her a crooked smile. “I wouldn’t go so far as that, exactly.”

  She leaned back, studying him from beneath her lashes. He was nice, she decided. Nice in a self-deprecating sort of way. Not the seductive fiend she’d taken him for at all. She even found chatting with him quite enjoyable, and wondered why she hadn’t done it before. There was nothing to it. Just a nice, friendly chat with a fellow tourist. Meeting people and making friends.

  “Now tell me what really happened to Susan.”

  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Lemme see. She went upstairs. Said she had some unfinished business with Bruno.” He shrugged. “Guess she wanted to drop in on him and say hello.”

  Knowing Susan, she’d do a lot mor
e than just say hello, Jackie thought wryly. The woman was a man-eater. “So we better not disturb them, then.”

  He grinned. “I guess not.”

  They eyed each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. The ice was broken, and she raised her glass and took a sip while mirth flickered in her eyes.

  CHAPTER 5

  There wasn’t much more to be said, but still it was hard to let go. They’d shared all the harmless bits of information one exchanges with a casual acquaintance at a resort like this, and yet Erik wanted more—wanted to know all about her, but he knew better than to pry. She’d already indulged him by sharing a drink with him, and that should suffice. He wasn’t going to push his luck by probing deeper into the woman’s private affairs. He didn’t want to antagonize her when they’d made such progress. She’d even smiled at him, which was a first, and had momentarily stunned him.

  Bruno would have told him to call it quits, and yet he found it hard to let go. From here on out he could only put his foot in his mouth, he knew. God, he was so horrible when it came to this sort of thing. He didn’t do casual, or nice, or slick, and didn’t possess one ounce of charm. He’d already used up all the charm he could muster, and his jaw was cramping up from the smile he tried to keep in place.

  What he wanted was to pick her up, sling her over his shoulder and take her upstairs, then ravish the life out of her in his bed. But that wouldn’t go over too well. Jackie Bouchard was a nice girl, all prim and proper. The kind of girl who liked to make polite conversation, and liked to take it slow, one excruciating date after the other, until she finally allowed a guy to get to first base.

  Well, screw first base. He wanted to go all the way and he wanted it now. And yet he restrained himself, willing the piece of rock-hard wood he suffered at the mere sight of her to heel.

  Staring at her luscious lips and suppressing the urgent desire to worry them with his own, he growled, “Is she a good friend of yours, this Susan?”

  “She’s more of a colleague, but we’ve known each other such a long time now that we’ve become friends.” She grinned. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”

  With some effort, he returned her smile. He didn’t think he’d smiled this much in years. “She sure is.”

  “I don’t think there’s anyone quite like her.” She stared down at her drink for a moment, swirling it in her glass. It was one of those girlie drinks. All bright color with a plastic palm tree dumped in. “Men are instantly attracted to Susan. It’s weird. She has this…” She gestured with her hand, a gentle flutter of delicate fingers that he watched with fascination. “…this female magnetism, for lack of a better word, that seems to draw men to her. When Susan walks into a bar, you can literally hear necks crick, jaws drop, and eyes pop.”

  She looked up to study him, and he thought he’d never seen more beautiful eyes looking back at him, a mixture of browns and greens and flecks of gold. He could look into those eyes forever and never grow tired. She wouldn’t even have to speak to him—just to look at him like that and he would die a happy man.

  “Susan attracts a certain type of guy,” he stated, drawing out the words, “but I’m afraid I’m not one of them.”

  She seemed surprised by that. “You don’t feel attracted to Susan?”

  “Not one bit,” he assured her. “She seems like a nice person, though,” he added quickly, not wanting to insult her friend.

  She smiled, and her eyes lit up even more, splashes of cerulean touching the edges. He thought he’d discovered the secret now. Those eyes seemed to reflect her every mood, every thought that went through her head. Liquid and large, they were truly mirrors of her soul. Christ, a man could drown in them.

  “I mean, she’s nice to talk to,” he added lamely, for lack of anything better to say.

  “She’s extremely nice to talk to,” she nodded. “I do it every day and have never found fault in her conversation.”

  She gave him a sly smile whose meaning eluded him. He wondered if he’d already made some social faux pas he wasn’t aware of. He probably had. But she was still here, and she was still smiling, so he must have done something right.

  He leaned forward in a ‘consequences be damned’ reflex action, and laid his hand on hers. She jerked her head up when their fingers touched, but didn’t remove her hand. He studied her fingers for a moment, long and slender like a pianist’s, and pressed them to his lips, then held on for a moment. He was probably breaking every single rule in the book but he didn’t care. “You have very soft hands,” he murmured, feeling them under his calloused fingers.

  “Thank you,” she muttered, a twitch of her eyebrows hinting at a frown forming on her brow.

  He knew this was probably a bad idea. One didn’t just grab a woman’s hand and start feeling her up. But knowing that if he didn’t at the very least hold her hand for a minute he was in danger of self-destructing, he held on, ignoring all the warning signs. “Do you know that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen?”

  Weird. That didn’t come out right. His heart now firmly lodged in his throat, he knew there’d be hell to pay if he continued down this road. He was about to piss her off so badly… But that couldn’t be helped. He had to unburden his heart before it burst at the seams.

  Her eyes darted up in surprise. “Is that so?”

  “That is so,” he assured her. “And if I was rude to you this afternoon, I apologize. It wasn’t my intention to insult you.” He looked down at her hands for a moment, then trudged ahead without thinking. “I have this horrible habit of being rude to the people I care about. It’s a habit I’ve been trying to break.”

  He looked back up when she jerked her hand away. “You’re quite forward, Mr. Petrov.” She flicked her eyes up at him again, and he could see the indignation burning. “Is this the way you treat all women?”

  He leveled a steady gaze at her. “Nope. Just you.”

  She frowned. “Why me, exactly?”

  “Because I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

  “I’m sure you’ve met plenty of women like me.”

  He shook his head, his eyes still on hers. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” he repeated. “You’re gorgeous, Jackie.”

  The words hung between them for a moment, then her lips twitched up into a hesitant smile. “No one has ever said anything like that to me before.”

  “A shame.”

  “Quite.” She closed her eyes, and shook her head. The loss of contact sent a ripple of disappointment through him. “I…I’m not used to hearing things like that. From anyone, for that matter.” Her voice was a little hoarse, and her smile was gone.

  He sat back. This was the moment she would excuse herself and walk away. The next time they met, she’d either give him the cold shoulder, or a cursory nod. Instead, she surprised him by giving him an intense stare. “Tell me more about yourself, Erik. Where do you come from? What makes a man say those words to a woman he’s never met before? And, most importantly, do you use that line on every girl you meet, or is it just me?”

  “Just you,” he assured her, holding her gaze easily. What happened now was entirely up to fate. He’d said what he had to say, without beating around the bush. “I don’t play games, Jackie. I’m not that guy. Some men have a book of practiced pick-up lines, and know exactly what to say. I don’t.”

  “You surprise me. How do I know you’re not simply toying with me? Having a laugh at my expense?”

  “Why would you say that when every word I told you was true?”

  She smiled a wistful smile. “I guess no one has ever told me that I’m beautiful before, so I know it must be a lie. And if it is, that makes me wonder why you would say these things to me. Why you would lie to me. What your ulterior motive could possibly be.” She shrugged. “The answer is an obvious one. You want to go to bed with me and think this is the best way to go about it.”

  “I do want to go to bed with you,” he said in a low voice. “But I’m not that calcul
ating. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to seduce you.”

  “Then you are different from other men,” she deduced with satisfaction.

  “I am. I never lie. It’s not in my nature.”

  She shifted in her seat. “Then tell me this. Why would you fancy me? I’m just a simple secretary. I’m not attractive, glamorous or appealing. Plain Jane is probably the best way to describe me.” She held up her hand. “Hell, plain Jane could take my correspondence course and learn a few things, and if they ever turn her life story into a movie, I’d be perfect for the part.”

  “I beg to differ,” he returned dryly. “You’re a knockout, Jackie, and anyone who says different is a fucking liar.”

  She let out a sound of astonished shock. “So you’re calling me a liar?”

  “I am,” he said emphatically. “I’m laying out the simple truth, darling. I like you. I want you. Why beat around the bush when you can lay all your cards on the table straight from the start?”

  She broke into an astonished laugh, and it tinkled through the room like the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. “You are a strange man, Erik Petrov,” she concluded. “And I don’t know whether to be insulted or amused.”

  “Be insulted if you want. It doesn’t change a damn thing.”

  She eyed him amusedly. “Though I find your statements outrageous, I also find them quite charming, to be honest. I find you quite charming, Erik.”

  That one took him by surprise. He’d never been called charming before. “Thanks, I guess.”

  She waved her hand in an airy gesture. “That doesn’t mean I’ll sleep with you, of course.”

  “Of course,” he accepted. “I never thought you would. Women like you don’t sleep with men like me.”

  “Oh? And what kind of men would that be?”

  “The ones from the other side of the track.”

  “Are you from the other side of the track, Erik?”

  He grinned. “You can bet I am. In fact I’m so far removed from your world, you wouldn’t believe it.”