by Ruff, K. S.
Maxim linked his fingers with mine as he addressed Cory. “I already have a couple of men assigned to you. I’ll make sure they maintain a respectable distance.”
Cory nodded. “Thanks.”
The six of us filed downstairs as we made our way outside. We found Ethan and Konstantin talking just outside the front door.
Konstantin brightened when he saw Shae. He reached for her hand before kissing her on the cheek. “How did it go?”
She smiled. “The students were a bit surprised by our teaching style, but they were enjoying themselves by the end of the day.”
He tucked Shae under his arm. “Good. Do you ladies like Chinese food?”
My eyes widened. “I love Chinese food.”
Shae laughed. “Me too.”
Konstantin beamed. “I know just the place.”
I glanced at Ethan and Brady. “Are you guys okay with Chinese food?”
Brady rolled back on his heels and shrugged. “Chinese food sounds great.”
Ethan nodded. “That’s fine with me.” He nudged Brady as we walked toward the parking lot. “The six of us aren’t going to fit in one car. Why don’t you ride with Maxim and Kristine? Konstantin and Shae can ride with me.”
Brady nodded. “Sounds good.”
Shae and Konstantin climbed into the back of Ethan’s car. Maxim held the front passenger door open for me as Brady slid into the back seat. He pulled me against his chest as I slid past him. “Not so fast, kotyonok.”
My heart stalled. “What’s wrong?”
He smiled. “It is customary for a man to kiss the woman he is dating when he picks her up from work.” An amused look fell over his face when I opened my mouth to object. He silenced me with a deep, sensuous kiss.
I tried to end the kiss in a reasonable amount of time, but Maxim crushed me against his chest. His kiss grew fierce as he fought for my submission. I grew mindless as I relaxed into his arms.
I fell back against the car when he finally released me. I touched my fingers to my swollen lips. “You have to stop kissing me like that,” I whispered hoarsely.
His eyes were hooded and filled with lust. His entire body vibrated with need. “Like what?”
“Like you want to have sex,” I whispered.
He lowered his voice as he leaned closer to me. Testosterone rolled off him in huge overpowering waves. “One night, Kristine… one night with me and all other men would cease to exist for you.”
My heart skipped three or four beats. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I whispered brokenly.
Maxim looked conflicted as he studied me. His eyes darkened as he engaged in some internal debate.
I slid into the front passenger seat without breathing another word.
We met Ethan, Shae, and Konstantin at the restaurant a few minutes later. I still felt shaken by the kiss, so I reached for Brady’s arm as Maxim ushered us through the door. “Why don’t you and Ethan join us?”
“Kristine, this should at least look like a date,” Maxim grumbled irritably.
Brady’s eyes flitted between Maxim and me. “Maxim’s right. If you want others to believe the two of you are dating, then Ethan and I shouldn’t join you. We’ll sit at the table directly behind you.”
The waitress greeted Maxim and Konstantin by name. She ducked into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of wine. Maxim had already chosen a table by the time she returned. He smiled as he pulled a chair out for me.
The waitress opened the bottle of wine while conversing with Maxim and Konstantin in Russian. She glanced curiously at me while Maxim was speaking. She nodded, then smiled as she handed Maxim the bottle of wine.
Maxim poured all four glasses of wine. He handed each of us a glass before raising his own glass for a toast. “To an old friend… a new friend… and to the woman who holds my heart.”
I smiled and gently shook my head. How someone in the mafia could speak so eloquently was completely beyond me. The four of us tapped our wine glasses together before raising them to our lips.
Maxim pulled my chair closer to his the second I set my wine glass down. He wrapped his arm around me and immediately began playing with my hair. He drew a handful of hair to his nose and inhaled deeply. “I loved waking up to the smell of you this morning.”
I glanced at Shae, whose eyes had grown wide. “It’s not what you think,” I protested a little too loudly.
Maxim laughed as he continued teasing me. “I’d like to take you home with me tonight. I want you to roll around in my sheets again, so they’ll smell like you.”
I elbowed him in the ribs. “You behave.”
Konstantin looked thoroughly entertained by the ribbing. He draped his arm around Shae’s shoulders as he shifted his attention to her. “When do you have to leave for Sevastopol?”
She set her wine glass on the table and frowned. “We leave on Saturday.”
“In five days?” Konstantin asked. His disappointment was obvious.
Shae’s eyes met mine. “Sadly, yes.”
Maxim’s face fell as he looked at me. “I won’t be able to join you in Sevastopol until Sunday. Prime Minister Azarov has requested my presence for a meeting between Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov and our Foreign Minister Kozhara on Saturday. We are renegotiating the presence of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.”
Shae’s face lit with interest. “Russia has a naval fleet in Sevastopol?”
He nodded, but his eyes remained on me. “I should be able to join you for dinner Sunday night. When do you expect Rafael to arrive in Sevastopol? I still want to meet him.”
Shae narrowed her eyes at Maxim. “Why do you want to meet Rafael when you so obviously want to steal his girl?”
Maxim chuckled as he reached for his wine. “I want to meet him so I can size up my competition.”
I stared at Maxim. I couldn’t tell if he was joking. “I’m not sure when Rafael will arrive. It depends on how long he stays in Paris.”
Maxim studied me as he refilled Konstantin’s wine. “Does he have business in Paris?”
I shook my head. “No. He’s going to talk to Michael.” I cringed when I realized my mistake.
Maxim stilled. “Why?”
Shae’s eyes glinted with mischief as she reached for her wine. She chuckled softly. “You haven’t told him.”
Maxim glanced questioningly at Shae. He raised a single eyebrow as his attention returned to me. “Told me what?”
Shae giggled. “Rafael and Michael are brothers.”
I scowled at Shae. I snatched the wine glass from her hand. “No more wine for you.”
Maxim took the wine glass away from me and handed it back to Shae. He crooked his finger under my chin as he turned my face toward his. “Your boyfriend and your ex-fiancé are brothers?”
My heart came to a screeching stop. “Yes.”
He smiled as a smug look settled over his face. “Now I know.”
“Know what?” I asked nervously.
His eyes flared with desire. “You should not be with either of those men.”
I kicked Shae under the table before collapsing against the back of my chair.
Shae narrowed her eyes at me. “Ow!”
Maxim yanked me against his chest. “Kiss me,” he demanded gruffly.
“Wha…”
His lips crashed forcefully against mine. His tongue swept through my mouth in long overpowering strokes. I clutched at his shirt, and suddenly my control slipped.
He coaxed my mouth and mind into an erotic dance that left little doubt as to where Maxim’s true skills really lie. I fought against the searing desire now threatening to consume me. My breath came hard and fast as carnal images filled my mind.
My eyes flew open when I felt a light flash against my cheek.
He kissed my neck, then nuzzled my ear. “Looks like the press has finally arrived.” His voice was thick and filled with lust.
I was still trying to catch my breath. I narrowed my eyes at him as I slowly
released his shirt. “You did that on purpose.”
He tried to appear unaffected by the kiss. He looked shaken, but he shrugged. “It’s good press… for both of us.”
The waitress stopped by the table to deliver our food. Maxim spooned a couple of dishes onto my plate as I sat staring at him.
He glanced at me and smiled. “Prime Minister Azarov had a message for you.”
My eyes widened. “For me?”
He nodded. “He said if you don’t want to teach at the university, he will find a position for you at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
My jaw fell slack.
Shae’s fork hung suspended in mid-air. “Prime Minister Azarov wants to hire Kri?”
Maxim nodded. “Yes… and now that I know her relationship with Rafael will fail, I’m going to do everything within my power to convince her to stay in Ukraine.”
My heart slammed against my ribcage. “I don’t want to live in Ukraine.”
He stared at me incredulously. “Why not? The Ukrainian people love you.”
“They love… me?”
“Everyone is completely enthralled with you. The media is circulating stories about how you delivered flowers to the children’s hospital, how you attended the fundraiser and hugged all those cancer kids, and how you’re training our university students in peacekeeping.”
I glanced at Shae. “But Shae...”
Maxim shook his head. “She wasn’t at the fundraiser, and she’s not the one who captured the prime minister’s affections with her witty foreign policy remarks.”
Konstantin nodded. “I’ve heard the dress Maxim purchased for you has completely sold out. Every woman in Ukraine tried to purchase that dress after seeing your picture on the front page of the newspaper this morning.”
I looked at Maxim. “Did you set this all up?”
He slowly shook his head. “It wasn’t my idea to take the flowers to the children’s hospital, and you’re the one who decided to hug all of those children last night. All I did was purchase the dress.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “The prime minister does realize that I’m an American?”
Maxim laughed. “Of course he does. He also knows you worked as a policy advisor for Senator Rockefeller.”
My eyes widened. “How does he know that?”
“I may have mentioned it in passing,” he noted unapologetically. He dug his fork into a pile of noodles, seemingly unaffected by the developments.
I shook my head as I tried to piece everything together. “So how would he go about hiring me? Would he offer me a work visa?”
“He could offer you a work visa, but he suggested an alternative course of action,” Maxim responded with a wry smile.
I bit my lip. I was almost too afraid to ask. “What did he recommend?”
Maxim pressed his lips to my ear and whispered, “He told me to marry you.”
* * * * * *
Hundreds of teddy bears were delivered to my room in every shape, size, and color imaginable. Ethan and Brady helped me load them into their car so I could take them to the children’s hospital before we headed over to the university.
Shae joined us. “You do realize he’s setting you up? He sent these teddy bears knowing full well you would deliver them to the hospital.”
My jaw clenched. “Yes, I realize he’s setting me up, but I can’t not do this… not after seeing how those kids responded to the flowers.”
Shae sighed. “You know, Kri… I’m beginning to think it really does suck to be you.”
I nodded in complete agreement, although the acknowledgement seemed a bit misplaced considering we were both crammed into a car with a gazillion teddy bears.
The four of us handed out teddy bears for well over an hour. The kids were ecstatic. I was relieved to find that Maxim hadn’t leaked anything to the media. I was afraid I might run into them at the hospital. Thankfully, the only people taking pictures were parents and nurses.
Most of the students were in class with Sammi and Cory by the time Shae and I arrived. A young girl named Natasha spoke up the second I entered the room. “Ms. Stone, is it true you delivered over two hundred teddy bears to the children’s hospital this morning?”
I stopped abruptly. I narrowed my eyes at Sammi and Cory. “Did you tell them?”
Cory and Sammi shook their heads. “No.”
The guy sitting next to Natasha raised his cell phone. “It’s all over social media. There are pictures and everything.”
I sank into the closest chair. A student named Galina was sitting next to me. She practically swooned. “Is it true that Mr. Markov has asked you to marry him?”
I buried my face in my hands.
Shae deflected the remaining questions so Cory could explain the simulation we were supposed to be modeling for them.
I spent the next three hours negotiating a settlement agreement between Shae, Cory, and Sammi, who acted as foreign policy advisors from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Georgia on the expansion of the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline.
Maxim popped his head inside the room, just as the simulation came to an end. He was holding a dozen red roses in his hand. “I thought I would take my future bride to lunch.”
The entire class cheered and immediately began snapping pictures with their cell phones.
I grabbed his arm and tugged him into the hallway. “What are you doing?” I hissed irritably.
He pulled me in for a heated kiss. “I believe this is what Americans call a full court press.”
I eyed Brady as I pulled away. “Teddy bears? Really? You did that on purpose. You knew I’d feel compelled to take them to the hospital and it would end up drawing more press. Do you know people are actually pulling for us to get married? How do they even know that topic came up?”
He shrugged. “Maybe Prime Minister Azarov leaked it to the media.”
I punched him in the arm.
He laughed. “You do realize you’re hitting a member of the Russian mafia?”
I began pacing in front of him. “Is this all just part of the show? You can’t be serious, Maxim. You’ve only known me for three and a half days! I can’t do this. I can’t get involved with another man who proposes on the fourth date.”
Maxim leaned against the wall. He studied the flowers in his hand. “Who proposed on the fourth date?” he asked a little too casually.
I shot him an annoyed look. “Michael!”
Maxim abandoned the casual facade. His eyes raked over me as he stalked toward me. “Why did it take him so long?”
I stumbled backwards as a number of alarms sounded in my head.
He backed me up against the wall and immediately boxed me in. “I can keep you safe here. I can give you a life you’ve never even dreamed possible. You are perfect for me, Kristine. We balance each other… beautifully. And I know you feel something for me.”
He placed his finger on my lips as I began to protest. He gradually moved his finger to my temple. He tapped gently. “You’re denying it up here, but your body doesn’t lie.” His eyes captured and held mine as his lips hovered over my mouth. Our breath mingled as my pulse quickened. He held us both suspended in time as he waited for some sign. His eyes gleamed triumphantly when my composure slipped. I could no longer hide the desire coursing through my blood. He completely consumed me as his lips collided with mine.
Brady cleared his throat as Maxim pressed me into the wall.
I tried to catch my breath as Maxim pulled away. My brain was hazy. I felt intoxicated, deeply unsettled, and confused. I reached for the wall as I began to shake. “I… I can’t go to lunch. I’m working through lunch.”
Maxim pressed the flowers into my hand. “Dinner then. I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock.” He walked away before I could even respond.
Brady lunged for me as I slid down the wall.
* * * * * *
I pushed through the rest of the afternoon. We guided our students through three small group simulations. I was thrilled to se
e how quickly they were picking up on the negotiation strategies. The four of us stayed inside the classroom to debrief after the students left.
I decided it was time to offer my friends an apology. “I’m really sorry about the disruption this afternoon… and for all of the other distractions. This thing with Maxim has taken on a life of its own. I don’t know if he’s doing this because he thinks the press will keep us safe or if he’s actually serious about me moving here.” I threw myself into one of the chairs. “This is insane.”
Cory cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re distracting the students. I think they’re bonding with you. Your relationship with Maxim represents some sort of modern day fairytale. They like the idea that you could come here from America and fall in love with their country.”
Sammi nodded. “Look at how many Russian and Ukrainian women flee this region. Look at how many come to the United States as mail order brides. What kind of message does that send? Now you come along and send an entirely different message. You’re the American woman who travels to Ukraine and falls in love with a Russian man. You offer evidence that their country and their people are desirable. Why wouldn’t they want you to stay and marry Maxim?”
I sighed. “I don’t need an entire country pressuring me to move here. I don’t want to live in Ukraine. I want to live in the United States… and I’m not in love with Maxim. I’m in love with Rafael.”
Sammi shrugged. “That’s not the message they’re being fed by the media.”
I glanced pleadingly at Shae. “What should I do?”
Shae looked thoughtful. “I don’t think you have much of a choice, Kri. I think you need to ride this out until Rafael gets here. Maybe things will calm down once we get to Sevastopol. Just give it a few more days.”
I rolled my eyes. “At the rate this is going, I’ll be married and pregnant with Maxim’s child by the end of the week.”
* * * * * *
The rest of the week continued in much the same way. The training at the university went remarkably well, but my relationship with Maxim grew more complicated with each passing day. I could no longer write off his interest as a passing fancy or a publicity stunt, although we did make the news every single day.