“We’re leaving.”
“No, Zin, I’m fine. The last thing I want to do is go home,” she said.
“Why?” Storm asked in that aggressive, deep tone that was all commanding. Zin could see Aspen cringe from it.
“It’s…There are more people here. It’s better.”
“With us is where you’re safest. We need to find out what exactly went down here and why Andrei is interested in bothering you.”
“He didn’t bother me. He was just being typical Andrei. He thinks women are second-class citizens.”
Zin gripped her arms and gave her a slight shake. “Goddamn it, Aspen, he had you by the fucking throat and pinned against the fucking balcony.” Zin kept his teeth clenched and Aspen just stared up at him in shock. Her sage green eyes sparkled and he couldn’t resist. Her scent, the feel of being this close to her, knowing that some dick tried to hurt her and he needed to step in along with Storm sent any patience he had out the window. He was mad with possessiveness and need.
“Aspen,” he whispered right before he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.
* * * *
Aspen didn’t know what had come over Zin or her, but the moment Zin kissed her, nothing else seemed to matter. The man was every woman’s fantasy come true.
He held her tight and explored her mouth with passion and need. She found herself giving in to his quest to take whatever he wanted from her. It was magical, different, overwhelming to say the least. She felt his hands move along her arms to her ass, and pull her snugger against his chest. She gripped his back, rocked her body against him as they both moaned.
“Zin. Zin!”
The sound of Storm’s commanding tone, his order penetrated their dazed state and Zin pulled slowly from her mouth.
She stared up at him and his dark blue eyes that stood out in contrast to his onyx hair.
“What the fuck are you thinking? She’s Porter’s sister. Get the fucking car. I’ll get her downstairs to the garage,” Storm ordered.
Aspen looked to Zin but his face showed no expression as he took his order and disappeared, leaving her standing there feeling like an easy target for any man tonight.
Storm stared at her, looked her over and then spoke into the cell phone she hadn’t even realized he was holding.
“Affirmative. Get to the penthouse pronto. Zin will update you any moment.”
He disconnected the call and grabbed her upper arm.
“Let’s move. Smile, so no one thinks anything is going on.”
She was annoyed, and even angry at his tone, and his treatment of her. She was still trying to recover from Zin’s kiss, and the encounter with Andrei. She didn’t need Storm’s help or for him to go blabbing to her brother and his friends about what happened. As soon as they got into the elevator along with one of Storm’s newly appointed guards, she pulled from his hold.
He glared at her and stepped into her space causing her back to wedge up against the wall. Damn it, she hadn’t expected the surge of attraction she felt to Storm. His big muscles, the way the tux hugged his gorgeous body and his incredible good looks. The man was so breathtaking, even with that bit of gruff that always seemed to appear late in the evenings.
She knew more about Storm and his team members than she could ever let on. They had been somewhat of an obsession for her. Something she could never entertain, never show her attraction to but only admire from afar. She couldn’t face the fact that Zin kissed her the way he did.
“I’m not messing around with you, Aspen. Andrei is not a man to underestimate.”
She wanted to tell Storm that Andrei shouldn’t underestimate her, but that was her anger talking. She knew this wasn’t going to be the end of this situation with Andrei. He was pissed that she secured that construction deal for Dmitri when he felt that it was his. Andrei assumed he had Clarence convinced about the numbers, but he was being pompous and overcharging when there was already plenty of money to make. It also gave her a nice hefty bonus. But she was also securing the existence of Pro-Tech Industries so that Storm, Winter, Zin, York, and Weston wouldn’t have it stolen out from underneath them.
Didn’t they know that Sotoro was working with Andrei, Demyan, and Iakov? As much as she felt on edge with Dmitri, he had given her a lot of inside information on Storm and his crew. Did Storm think she was so stupid she wouldn’t know he was a made man? It insulted her intelligence and what little connection if any they had. But now Andrei threatened their lives and Porter’s. She would need to talk to her brother and get him to take the necessary precautions.
She turned away and Storm stared at her. She felt his gaze upon her, and inhaled his cologne, his manliness. Everything about Storm was mysterious and dark. Men feared him. Hell, even Dmitri somewhat did. Andrei didn’t, but being made a fool wasn’t going to win any points. Andrei could harass Storm and Zin for interfering in his affair and getting him removed from the venue tonight.
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved. You or Zin,” she said without thinking.
“Are you out of your mind? He had you by the throat.” He slammed his palm against the wall. His guard kept his face forward as she looked from him back to Storm.
“That’s Andrei’s MO. To him women are good for only a few things. The respect isn’t there and he was pissed off.”
The elevator doors opened and the guard who accompanied them looked out first and then headed to the awaiting car. Storm looked around and then guided Aspen toward the car. He had a tight hold on her hip and she wondered if he would manhandle her, he was so enraged. Her heels clicked and clacked on the concrete flooring as she tried to keep up with his long strides. She got inside and he slid along the seat next to her.
“Why was Andrei pissed off at you?” he asked her as the car began to roll through the parking garage and onto the busy city streets.
She kept her face straight ahead. She knew that Storm and his team would know by now that she was the one to secure the deal. What did she expect? A thank-you for landing them the job of their lives?
“Because I secured a new construction deal for Dmitri right out from under Andrei’s nose. He wanted that deal, twenty million plus, maybe more by the time all is done. It was just business. Don’t act like you don’t know everything about it.”
She kept a straight face and didn’t turn to look at him. He was silent, and she felt uneasy about it. She didn’t like feeling exposed, readable by Storm. There was just something about him that affected her so. She knew his reputation and she knew to never lie to him. When Storm or Winter asked a question, the person better answer and be truthful or there would be hell to pay. She respected them.
“Revenge has its side effects, Aspen.”
She swung her head to look at him. She hadn’t expected that response. Like he had a clue as to why she wanted revenge and that revenge was indeed her motivation in screwing Andrei out of the job that should have been his. Nothing would ever be enough. No amount of money made would take away her nightmares, her experience as a seventeen-year-old woman who was beaten, nearly raped, and sold to be some foreign asshole’s sex slave. Andrei owned and operated that business. There were others involved. Others she screwed over, ruined their businesses, their future, and made them suffer. But Storm, Zin, York, Weston, Winter, and her brother Porter didn’t know what she was capable of or how she sought revenge on those unpunished. So Storm hadn’t a clue either. He probably only knew about her abduction because of Porter and his need to keep her out of Chicago and away from Andrei.
“You’re playing with fire, little girl. You don’t know what men like Andrei are capable of.”
She snorted in annoyance. He hadn’t a fucking clue. She could tell him right now. She could tear into him and let the almighty Storm know exactly how she knew firsthand what a prick bastard Andrei really was. But that would mean showing a vulnerability she had given up a long time ago. A weakness that only flashbacks brought on that she shared with no one ever. Not even the fact that s
he could have sworn she recognized the voice of one of the men who took her from the facility where women were being held before being shipped out. When she heard that voice, that was when she would truly be tested.
Storm didn’t know what she went through. At least not all of it. Maybe Porter told him about her so they could watch over her when Porter and his team weren’t nearby? If that were the case, then that explained why they kept their distance. They didn’t want her because of what happened to her and because they saw her as their sister. Well, except maybe Zin. He was the one to kiss her, but even that could have been pure lust.
“Your brother is going to find out about this.”
She looked at him. “That’s your job isn’t it? Try to keep an eye on me. Keep me in Texas where it’s safe from mobsters and cruel business dealings? I had that under control. I don’t need babysitters. You can drop me off at my home and go back to the party or whatever. I’ve got this.”
Storm slammed his hand down on the leather seat between them as he faced her.
“Are you delusional? Were you not present mentally during that confrontation? He had you by the throat. His hands were all over you, cupping your breasts, showing through actions that he wants you and can take whatever he wants. He was going to make you leave with him.”
She shook her head. “No man can make me do anything I don’t want to do, Storm. It’s over. Drop me off at my place.”
“It’s not over. You’ve got yourself a situation, baby girl, and you’re going to need some help.” She shot a look at him and was annoyed at the way he called her baby girl. She wasn’t some kid. He always saw her as the teenage girl who was Porter’s baby sister. They all did. Except maybe for Zin who actually had the balls to act on his apparent attraction to her. Kudos to Zin. So why was she feeling disappointed that Storm wasn’t pulling her across the leather seat and onto his lap so he could kiss her the way Zin had? Because he didn’t have the same feelings for her that she had for him. For all of them.
Maybe she did have a death wish. Maybe she really needed to walk away and get out of the city completely? Away from Andrei, away from the painful memories of Chicago, the constant cutthroat business politics she needed to handle on a regular basis. Perhaps it was time for a change.
* * * *
“Now what?” You think he’s going to just drop this?” York Reiss asked Aspen as he sat in the chair across from her. It wasn’t so difficult to be angry right now. Seeing her in the sexy evening gown, hair all done up, makeup, cleavage exposed like a goddess and his temper flared. York longed to touch her, taste her, hell, just hold her in his arms and inhale her perfume. She filled his every dream and fantasy and yet he couldn’t have her.
“This is not your problem. Any of yours. He’ll get over it.”
She replied as she recrossed her legs, showing off a bit more thigh than the last time she shifted positions on the couch.
“You think so? You think Andrei will get over the fact that you pulled a multimillion-dollar deal right out from underneath his feet?” Weston asked her. She looked at him and then glared at Storm and Zin.
“Maybe not so easily now, since Storm and Zin decided to go all crazy on him and toss him out of the venue like some loser. He has a reputation to maintain. Besides, if he should be bent at anyone, it should be Dmitri. He’s the one who made out in all of this. Listen, I have no regrets about this business deal. You guys are the ones blowing this out of proportion. It was just business, an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Besides, your company made out from this deal big-time,” she said and stood up.
York stood up, too, and blocked her from walking away. He held her gaze, looking down into her sage green eyes. He towered over her. They all did. He wanted to protect her and possess her and it was getting ridiculous to fight the attraction he felt. Before he could say a word, Storm spoke.
“Sit your ass down. This is not over.”
“I don’t take orders from you, Storm. I’m not part of your team,” she scolded.
York wanted to say she already was, but that would be a lie, a fantasy never to become reality. They tried to go legit with the business. It just wasn’t feasible without coming off as weak and losing just about everything. Aspen would need a man, men to take good care of her in every aspect.
“Do you know what it means to have a mob boss on your ass? Do you have any fucking clue what revenge he’ll seek knowing you ripped him off from that kind of huge payoff? No! Apparently fucking not. How damn stupid are you?” Storm yelled and York was shocked. He was being pretty hard on her.
Aspen stepped forward and looked about ready to press her finger into Storm’s chest then thought better of touching him.
“What? What do you think you’re capable of doing?” Storm challenged her.
She shoved at his chest and he stepped toward her. Looking down at her.
“Go to hell. I did what I had to.
She went to turn away and Storm grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him.
“He wants you. Will take everything, even this body from you against your will.”
“He’ll have to kill me first.”
“You don’t think he won’t?”
“I don’t care either way.”
“What?” Winter said from behind Storm.
She looked away. She was angry, wanted revenge, and York could understand that.
Storm reached forward and cupped her cheek. He gripped her chin to force her to look up into his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
“That I could care less about living or dying?” She snorted softly under her breath. “Why do you care?
Storm’s eyes darkened, his grip tightened, and he covered her mouth and kissed her.
In a flash Winter was behind her supporting her back, running his hands along her shoulders and arms as Storm devoured her moans and stroked his tongue in exploration in her mouth. She gripped his tux. His hands dug into her hair, her scalp and both men pressed their bodies against hers when suddenly he pulled back gasping for breath. She nearly lost her balance but Winter was there to steady her.
“You aren’t resistant to any male who wants to take from you what he wants. He won’t accept no. You’re too weak to handle men as powerful as Andrei.”
Her anger rose and York was shocked too. Storm just made her feel used. He was showing her how weak she was under a man’s control.
“You’re such an asshole.”
“I’m proving a point. You’re not meant for this type of life. Dealing with mobsters, being threatened and used for your body. He’ll make you spread your legs and he’ll take your soul.”
She took a deep breath and then released it.
“I’m not going round and round with you over this. What’s done is done. Now please leave. I’m tired, I have an early meeting in the morning and I need my mind fresh, not boggled down with your hysterics and your mind games. I appreciate the escort home, the assistance with Andrei, but it ends here. I don’t need your protection. I don’t need you playing games with my head, taking what you want from me to show me how weak I am and how easily a man can use me and trick me. I’ve been dealing with men like you for years. I can handle this myself. I’m glad we’re clear that I mean nothing to you either. Get out.”
“Aspen, please listen to us.” York tried to calm the situation but one look into Aspen’s eyes and he knew that Storm had truly hurt her.
They watched her walk away and go into her bedroom way across the room in the upscale pent house.
“That’s what she thinks,” Winter said under his breath.
“Let’s go. We’re done here,” Storm said and turned to leave.
“Are we leaving her unattended?” York asked, fully concerned for her well-being.
“She doesn’t want our help York,” Storm snapped at him as they all headed out of her penthouse.
York was fuming. As much as Storm tried to deny his feelings for Aspen, it was obvious that he cared about her. He was suffering as m
uch as the rest of them were. They all had enemies similar and even worse than Andrei. They would think nothing of hurting Aspen, taking her, torturing her or even killing her to get back at any of them. What kind of life would that be for Aspen?
But the fact that Storm was going to leave her place with her unguarded wasn’t right. His persistence to pretend he didn’t have feelings was getting in front of his better judgment. Aspen was still important to them and was Porter’s sister.
“She needs protection,” York said aloud in the elevator. They were squeezed into the small box. They were all too big, too tall for such small spaces.
“She made her decision.” Storm snapped. York looked at the others. They kept their faces forward but he could see the change of emotion in their eyes. Aspen did that to them.
“I don’t think your right. I think she needs protection. Andrei could come here or send some of his guys to mess with her and scare her further.”
“I’m the commander. I give the orders,” Storm snapped.
The elevator doors opened.
“I don’t get you. I know you care about her. We all fucking do. You couldn’t resist kissing her, tasting her, and then you turn around and act like it was a fucking game and basically slap her across the face. She’s in danger. We get that clearly. So we can’t have her. We can’t involve her in the life paths we chose or she could get hurt or even killed. I get it. But leaving her unguarded is just asking for something to happen to her. Why are you being such an asshole?” York raised his voice and walked ahead to the SUV. That was when he saw one of their well-trained security guys talking into his wrist mike.
York glanced back at Storm. Storm got into the SUV and Winter into the driver’s side. The others joined and then York got in.
So his commander wasn’t such an asshole after all. He had placed a team of security at Aspen’s penthouse. She was going to be safe. They would protect her no matter what. But that kiss, the way Storm poured so much emotion into it and how receiving Aspen was to it just further clarified the mutual desire. If she was in danger anyway, then why couldn’t they claim her as their woman? Wouldn’t that in itself make Andrei Renoke have second thoughts about fucking with her and with them?
The American Soldier Collection 10: Compromising Love (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 6