In His Sights (Fire & Vice Book 7)

by Nikita Slater

  “Besides, if I put my hand on your ass I wouldn’t be able to stop there, and I don’t think you’re quite ready for the kind of loving I want from you.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Y-you want?” she asked breathlessly. Damn, this man knew how to suck all the air out of a room.

  He took the banana peel from her hand and tossed it next to the empty water container on the night table then turned back to her, gripped her hips over top of the blanket and tugged, pulling her steadily down the bed until she was laying down while he crouched over top of her. He hovered over her, his big body covering hers without actually touching much of her. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, leaving them flat on the bed on either side of her prone body.

  “I want,” he said huskily, his voice deep with purpose.

  They lay like that for several heartbeats, just being together. She knew in her heart that he wasn’t going to take things further. Yet. But he was warning her that he wanted to. He was breaking down the invisible barrier growing between them and their desire for each other. He was done ignoring the attraction that blazed up between them every time they looked, touched or spoke to each other.

  “I want you so bad it doesn’t make any fucking sense, Lucy,” he growled, searching her face while he spoke. “Tried forgetting you. Tried telling myself all the logical things. I’m too old for you, you’re too innocent, too sweet. I’m too jaded, too hard for someone like you. But the truth is, I don’t care about any of that. Don’t even care that the Russians’ll probably put a bullet in me the minute I make my intentions clear. I want you and I’m done denying us what we both want.”

  Lucy licked her lips. “What do we want, Mack?” she asked, her question a feathery whisper across his chin where he hovered over her.

  “We want to be together,” he told her. “For as long as this thing’ll last.”

  She frowned and looked down, her long lashes sweeping the tops of her cheeks. She could feel her mascara from the night before making her lashes stick together and wanted to rub them apart with her fingers. It was not ideal to have his face this close to hers when she was still wearing last night’s makeup.

  “Okay,” she said, trying not to sound timid because she knew this conversation was going to be important. Still… she was enjoying the press of his body against hers. Her burgeoning hormones were a little distracting. “But that sounds like you don’t think that anything that starts between us will last.”

  Her direct stare and candor seemed to spark something in him. He brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones and pressed down, almost possessively, sending skitters of feeling fluttering under her skin until she didn’t think she would ever properly catch her breath again.

  “Got to be honest with you, baby,” he told her. “I haven’t been in a relationship since my ex-wife and that shit was toxic. She was toxic. I don’t know if I have it in me to be more than a black-hearted bastard.” He stared down at her, taking in the shock that she tried to hide at hearing that he’d been married. He pressed his thumbs further down her face and tilted her chin, forcing her to look up. “Any of the women I’ve been with since her would agree.”

  Lucy winced a little, imagining all the women a man as good-looking as Mack would have access to. She nodded in understanding. The waitresses at the diner had warned her that a man Mack’s age and disposition would definitely have a history. Heck, he was practically a walking cliché. Or so they assured her. Folks from her community just didn’t get divorced though, let alone messy divorced as Mack seemed to have done.

  “Don’t look at me like that, baby,” he growled, brushing his thumb across her cheek in a way that seemed to connect intimately with her nipples.

  She licked her lips and darted a glance at him. “Like what?”

  “Disappointed.”

  “Ah,” she murmured. “Well, I guess I am… a little.”

  “Why’s that?” he asked huskily.

  “You have to understand that yes, while I’m here to have fun, I still have a fiancé waiting for me at home, Mack. He knows I’m undecided about our future together and he’s willing to wait for me, because that’s what men like him do. But if I do something in this city, something irreparable to my reputation, I can’t go back to him. I’m not willing to throw myself away on a man who can’t commit past a romp in the hay.”

  His lips twitched a little and he brushed some hair off her forehead. “Damn, baby.” He reached for the edge of her shirt and tugged it gently up. “We’re having the commitment talk and I haven’t even gotten you naked yet. This is all backwards.”

  She laughed and pushed at his hand. He refused to move it away, but he didn’t force it any higher either. Instead he splayed his hand across her belly. She sucked in a stuttering breath as a bunch of butterflies went crazy in her belly. He watched her lips with hungry fascination.

  “And fuck if I’m not tempted a little,” he murmured, almost to himself. They stayed that way for a few more minutes in his cozy, warm bed just being alone together, touching, without the intense urgency of their first few meetings. “I really do want to keep you, Lucy.”

  She licked her lips again, loving the way his ice blue eyes lit with fire and followed the movement with an almost worshipful intensity every time she did it. “Then keep me,”she told him.

  “Don’t tempt me,” he growled back.

  “Why?” she whispered, rubbing her cheek against him with whispery soft strokes.

  He stood up, flicked the blankets off her and reached out for her hand. When she was standing in front of him he looked down at her. Way, way down. Finally, he answered. “Because, Lucy baby, if I decided to keep you, I would never let you go. And for a girl who thinks she’s looking for commitment, I don’t think you’re quite ready for all that entails.”

  He didn’t even touch her. She could feel her heart stutter to a stop before kicking back into a too-fast beat. Then he took her hand in his, tugged her out of the bedroom and into the hall. In the light of day when she wasn’t hiding under the blankets it became embarrassingly obvious that she was swimming in men’s clothes.

  “Umm, am I wearing your T-shirt and sweatpants?” she asked, already knowing the answer but feeling compelled to point out that someone had undressed her without permission.

  Fire raced under her skin as he turned around and walked backwards down the hall. He brought the back of her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips along her knuckles then flashed her a devastating grin that she felt clear down to her toes with a handful of tingles stopping right around her vaginal region. She tried not to hyperventilate or stumble over shoes when they stopped by the front door.

  “Yeah, you didn’t look at all comfortable in that short skirt and too-tight top you were wearing at the club. I had to take them off,” he admitted. “And they tore a little because, you know, delicate fabric, big hands.”

  Her mouth fell open for a moment as she contemplated him, embarrassment and amusement crashing through her. She couldn’t help but laugh. “You did see me naked then!” she said accusingly.

  He winked and led her out the door, slamming it shut behind them and locking it. “Then I guess our relationship is progressing nicely, wouldn’t you say, Lucy?”

  Chapter Six

  “Ding!” Lucy called cheerfully, stepping into Hudson-McKinley Bonds and Investigations. She’d been bugging them to get a bell for months, but Jane refused. She said anyone that came looking for her made an appointment, so she knew to expect them. Anyone else walking in off the street would get shot. An alarmed Lucy had started making appointments and clearly announcing her presence in case her sister hadn’t been joking.

  “Fucking Dong,” Jane called back hoarsely from the back of the office.

  Lucy tugged her noise cancelling earphones, one of her first and favourite big city purchases, down to rest around her neck so she could hear better. She glanced around the agency, peeking in the offices that she’d resupplied and redecorated with Vlad’s permission and his
unlimited credit card until she spotted her sister on the floor of the washroom clutching the edge of the toilet. Jane’s face was an alarming shade of pale green and sweat dotted her forehead. She was resting her chin against an arm which was braced against the toilet seat and looking more limp than Lucy had ever seen the dynamic woman.

  “Oh my goodness, Janie!” Lucy exclaimed, dropping her purse and rushing to kneel next to her sister on the floor. Jane didn’t bother to open her eyes as Lucy gently took her sister’s cheeks into her hands and tilted her face up. Jane’s eye was puffy and starting to turn blue around the edge. “What happened to you?”

  Jane popped her uninjured eye open and looked blearily at Lucy. “Ran into a fist during an apprehension,” she admitted sourly. “But you should see the other guy.”

  Lucy’s lips twitched. “Okay, I’ll bite. What did you do to the other guy?”

  “Well after I stunned the shit out of him with my taser, I spent a few minutes explaining why it isn’t polite to hit women and that there’s a reason he still lives in his momma’s basement taking illegal bets on football games.” She placed two shaking hands against the toilet seat and pushed away, leaning her back carefully against the wall behind her and slouching with a grateful sigh. “Then Mack showed up to pull me off the fucker, finish the apprehension and rant at me for running a bond jumper to ground when I’m supposed to leave those to him.”

  Lucy ducked her head to hide the blatant interest that Mack’s name caused. “Oh Jane, what’s Vlad going to say when he sees your face?”

  “Nothing good, that’s for damn sure.” Jane groaned, shoving a hand through her straight shoulder length black hair and fluffing her cute bangs into odd angles. “All I have to say is that man is going to die regretting not knowing who he punched if Vlad forces me to give up his name.”

  Lucy nodded seriously. After she’d realized exactly who Vlad was and what kind of organization he ran she’d badgered her sister into divulging information until Jane finally gave up the goods on their courtship. It was a delicious story full of romance and intrigue, especially to a sheltered Amish country girl who, before moving to the city, only got titillation through books, most of which were gothic romances. And Vlad was practically the definition of a modern day gothic villain.

  “Like your shirt,” Lucy murmured, her lips curving into a smirk as she eyed Jane’s T-shirt. It was black with a red Tyrannosaurus Rex holding a grabber thing and yelling ‘unstoppable!’ which was actually really appropriate for a woman of Jane’s short stature and limited arm reach.

  Jane smiled wanly back and waved her wrist limply in Lucy’s direction. “I like your whole outfit, little sister. You’ve got some pretty decent taste for a fresh off the farm girl.”

  Lucy blushed and ginned. “Thanks!”

  It had taken her awhile and a few wardrobe changes to settle on a style she regularly enjoyed wearing. Jeans were far too restrictive after wearing skirts and smocks her whole life, but she didn’t really like wearing long dresses either. So, she’d chosen a combination of leggings, short skirts and rocker T-shirts. She collected the T-shirts as she collected favourite bands, listening to music pretty constantly when she wasn’t working or hanging out with friends and family. She paired her outfits with funky pattered scarfs and high-heeled ankle boots.

  Vlad had pressed her to use his credit card for any personal purchases, but Lucy hadn’t used it other than to decorate her apartment and resupply Jane’s office. He had already been more than generous by giving her Jane’s old apartment rent-free and a full-time bodyguard. Instead, she’d been spending her waitressing money on all her fun new purchases. She didn’t have a need to save money for much since she was probably going back to the farm in eight months, so she spent freely.

  Jane moaned and covered her face with shaking hands. “I’m so nauseous,” she whispered and slid a little further down the wall.

  Lucy frowned and reached out to rub Jane’s leg soothingly. “I get why you have a black eye, but I don’t get why the shiner is making you sick. How long has this been going on? Do you have the flu?”

  “I don’t know,” she said weakly. “It’s been coming and going for a few days now. I’ll be perfectly fine and then it’ll hit me all of a sudden and I’ll have to run for a toilet. It doesn’t matter where I am. Hell, I had to park in an alley yesterday and just barely managed to lean out of the car to puke all over the pavement.”

  “Could it be food poisoning?” Lucy asked, hoping silently that it wasn’t. Vlad was so protective of his wife she could easily see him searching out whatever chef had accidentally poisoned his lovely wife and slaughtering him without mercy.

  “No, I’ve barely eaten anything this week. Something about the smell is putting me off most food right now.” Jane breathed in and out carefully, her face relaxing as the nausea subsided. She reached a hand out for Lucy. “Help me up.”

  Lucy sat in stunned silence for a moment before automatically giving Jane her hand, then she scrambled to her feet. She yelled and threw her arms around her sister. “Holy cow, Janie, I think you’re pregnant!”

  Jane squirmed in her grip, which wasn’t unusual. Lucy was always forcibly hugging Jane and Jane would make a show of jokingly shoving her away. This time was different though, this time Jane shoved her a little more sharply than usual and stared in shock as she processed the words that hung in the air. Lucy let her go and gave Jane some space.

  They eyed each other, one with barely concealed ecstatic expectation and the other with dawning horror, her hand hovering just over her stomach.

  “Impossible,” Jane snapped.

  “Entirely possible,” Lucy replied with a raised eyebrow.

  “Shut up,” Jane glared at her.

  Lucy smirked. “Make me.”

  “Brat!” Jane snarled and then bit back a moan because apparently either getting overly emotional or raising her voice was making her nauseous again.

  “Pregnant,” Lucy pointed at her belly.

  Jane smacked her hand sharply and ignored Lucy’s hissed ‘ow’.

  “Impossible!” Jane snapped again. “I only have one ovary and a bunch of scar tissue from the shooting! The doctor told me my chances of getting pregnant are slim to none. I just… can’t be pregnant… can I?” The defiant look on her face was beginning to melt into one of wonder and she was starting to look seriously wobbly.

  Lucy reached for her arm and Jane allowed her to take it. She helped her sister into her office chair behind the desk, then crouched next to the chair and gazed up at her big sister. “I’m guessing you’re having sex on the regular, aren’t you Janie? Vlad seems to like your hot bod a lot. He touches you every chance he gets and then you two disappear. I mean, I might technically be a virgin but I’m still a farm girl, I know what you two get up to. Or at least I hope you’re screwing around like farm animals!”

  Jane moved the hand that was covering her eyes and stared at her sister. “What did you do with my innocent baby sister and how am I going to explain this brazen sex-talking hussy to our parents?”

  Lucy laughed but ignored her. “And you have one perfectly functioning ovary that’s popping out eggs full of hormones just screaming at Vladimir’s virile little swimmers to come and get her each and every month. It was bound to happen!”

  Jane slapped a hand over Lucy’s mouth, but she burst out laughing. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you. Who are you hanging out with these days? Do I need to get better reports from Alexandr? Please never mention Vlad’s swimmers to me ever again if you want to remain sister friends.”

  “Deal,” Lucy said in a muffled voice and then licked Jane’s hand.

  Jane made a face and jerked her hand back wiping it on her jeans. Her eyes started to take on a haunted look. “I don’t know what to do. What if I am pregnant, Lucy?” she whispered.

  Lucy patted her knee, stood up. “There’s only one way to find out. You stay here, I’m going to run to the store, okay?”

  Jane nodded absently
and sat staring silently at the wall while Lucy snatched up her purse and rushed out the door. She waved at her Alexandr who fell into step behind her while she practically ran down the street to Mrs. Lin’s corner store market. She completely ignored him while she snatched up a pregnancy test, some Gingerale, a can of chicken noodle soup and crackers. She dumped everything on the counter and elbowed him out of the way so she could pay.

  “How are you doing today, Lucy?” Mrs. Lin asked, smiling brightly at the young woman.

  Lucy beamed back and reached across the counter to squeeze the elderly woman’s hand. They’d shared tea on multiple occasions in Mrs. Lin’s small apartment above the store when Mr. Lin was busy minding the cash register. Lucy had grown very fond of the elderly couple and learned to love the neighborhood through their eyes. She decided if she were to live permanently in the city, she would choose this neighborhood. She knew what people thought of it; that it was run down and lurked on the edges of the crime-filled central core, but it had a vibrant, homey feel that Lucy was becoming attached to. Her diner was a few blocks away and there was a subway close by where she sometimes caught the train when she was able to convince her bodyguard that she didn’t want to ride in the car.

  She picked up her bag, turned on her heel and slammed into Alexandr’s unmoving chest. She looked up at him, startled, and tried to step around him. “Sorry about that, excuse me, I’m in a rush!”

  He grabbed her arm and tugged her until she was back in front of him. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

  She cocked her head to the side, her chin resting slightly on the spongy leather of her earphone. “Um, nope, not that I can think of,” she said cheerfully, shifting restlessly and looking past him, making it clear she was in a rush.

  His eyes narrowed on her too-innocent expression. Of course, she knew exactly what he was getting at, he wasn’t blind or stupid, but she wasn’t going to help him out. “The pregnancy test,” he prodded.

  “Oh that,” she said dismissively. “It’s not for me.” She darted around him, pushed out the door and rushed down the sidewalk. A quick glance back over her shoulder told her he’d stepped out of the shop behind her and was on the phone. Most likely to Vladimir Sitnikov.