Rush: A Second Chance Romance

by Ellen Lane

  It was completely unlike him, and he was immediately ashamed. “My apologies, Athena.”

  Christ, he really was losing control. “What did you need?”

  The young woman looked hesitant, and Vlad found himself momentarily worried that he’d put her off speaking with him altogether, when that hadn’t been his intention. It was Shiro he was mad at, not Athena. Hell, he didn’t even know anything about her, other than the fact that there was obviously something between her and Shiro.

  She took a deep breath before answering him. “Mr. Kensley, I know you and I just met, and I have no business speaking to you on your personal affairs. But Shiro has been really, really worried about you. He’s been losing sleep over it.”

  Vlad knew he should cut her off there. The moment she’d mentioned “personal affairs” his wariness had slammed back full force. It was one thing to have Shiro lecturing him, but this slip of a girl? He’d rather be rude than show her a single iota of his vulnerability.

  But the young woman continued before he could pass judgement on her - and, to his shock, Vlad found her words cutting him to the quick where Toshiro’s had fallen on deaf ears. “Mr. Kensley, I love Toshiro.” As she spoke the words, Athena’s face reddened. “He doesn’t know it, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him. I know you two are close - that he depends on you for guidance when he comes up short. Now, he’s trying to help you. I don’t think it’s him trying to lord over you or tell you what to do...he wouldn’t dare. He just wants you to be happy. I think...I think he’s worried because it’s been a while since he’s seen you truly happy...he doesn’t like to know you’re struggling. I’m...quite aware that what’s between Shiro and I is only temporary, but I’d like to do the best I can to make him happy. At least, as long as we’re together.”

  It was a bit much for him to process.

  Athena was right on all the facts: They didn’t know one another, and she had no place drawing him into the tangle of she and Toshiro’s affair.

  But that didn’t mean her words didn’t touch him.

  As much as he relied on his logic to guide him, Vladimir wasn’t made of stone.

  She had just poured her heart out to a stranger - a stranger who she had to know could have her job if the notion occurred to him. Who could separate her from Toshiro in the blink of an eye - but someone who cared for the Japanese man just as much as she did. Certainly, Vladimir was pissed at his brother’s meddling, but he was well intentioned - and Vlad didn’t like the idea of Shiro losing sleep just because he was.

  It was absurd.

  Slowly, the dark-haired man ran a hand through his hair. It seemed as if the universe was conspiring against him.

  As if in confirmation, at that moment, the elevator door opened and Shiro returned, a small smile playing about his lips. At the sight of him, Athena flushed slightly and turned to hurry back to her couch.

  For the briefest of moments, Toshiro’s smile wavered. “What did the two of you find to talk about?” He inquired, attempting to keep his voice light. It was that strain that gave him away, and Vladimir glanced from him to Athena, who was already buried in her work once more.

  He stood, grabbing his coat from where it was slung over the back of his chair. Striding over to his brother, he clasped him on the shoulder firmly. “Nothing you need to worry about.” When Shiro arched a dark brow, Vlad allowed himself a small smile. “Get some rest, Shiro. Lord knows you must be jetlagged out of your mind. If you want to argue, we can argue tomorrow. I’m tired and it’s been a long day.”

  “Vlad, I think-”

  “Tomorrow, Shiro.” He repeated, squeezing his brother’s shoulder briefly. “And let’s start with business, alright? If you still want to interrogate me after that, I might be better disposed to listen then.”

  Toshiro seemed to take the fact that his brother wasn’t visibly angry anymore as a good sign, and, after a beat of uncertainty, he reluctantly nodded. “Alright. Tomorrow then. I’m coming to your room before breakfast.”

  “As you wish.” He was in the elevator before Toshiro - or his surprisingly wily lover - could try anything else.

  Vladimir needed air - and a lot of it. He had a lot to think about in the next twelve hours - and he strongly suspected that after all the thinking was done, his resistance would be eroded to next to nothing.

  Which couldn’t bode well for the woman sleeping just down the hall from him.

  **

  It was always comforting to be in familiar places. By this point in his life, Toshiro had stayed at the Four Seasons in St. Petersburg so often it was almost like home - like one of many homes. He was always on the move, so any hotel he stayed at more than a handful of times was home.

  As he lay back on the bed, staring at the ornate ceiling above him, he wondered what was going on a single floor above him.

  That didn’t mean that he was trying to picture his brother’s sex life in his mind’s eye - God no. If the restraint he showed in almost every other aspect of his life was any indication, he could only imagine what might happen once Vladimir did give into his latent desires.

  And he would give in.

  Shiro certainly knew that now, after losing his own battle with temptation.

  The fruits of that little endeavor were currently lying in bed beside him - fast asleep.

  Shiro should have supposed his father had an ulterior motive in his “suggestion” that he hire an assistant. The man was infamous for trying to get his sons to settle down and, up until now, they had sidestepped him at every turn.

  But, in Shiro’s opinion, there was no way his father could have known just how compatible he and Athena were. It was...perplexing, to be sure. Here, lying next to her, listening to the way she breathed, he could almost be convinced that nirvana truly existed - and this was coming from a man who had seen a good portion of what there was to see in the world.

  Once Shiro had allowed himself to give in, everything had changed.

  But he and Vlad were two different people, to be sure. While the younger man was fairly sure that it wasn’t a question of if Vlad would crack, but when, Vlad was Vlad. He could turn around and surprise his brother - reject his inner impulses and shock the hell out of them all.

  But, this wasn’t just about impulses. One simply had to take one look at the way Vlad changed when Charlotte walked into a room to know that it was more than sexual between them. Oh, certainly, it was immensely sexual… but there was something more there. Something Vlad might never have experienced before in his entire life…

  “What are you looking so pensive for?”

  He looked down to see Athena’s wide blue eyes fixed on him and his stomach did a funny little twist in his gut - completely and utterly beyond his control. “I thought you were sleeping.”

  She made a soft, tired little sound that beckoned his libido tantalizingly. “I was on my way.” When her lips curved into that radiant, full smile, he knew he was lost. Of course, she didn’t know it yet - and he planned on keeping it that way for as long as possible.

  “Well, since you’re awake, maybe you can tell me just what it was you and my brother were talking about?” He’d been trying to get it out of her ever since they left Dansk, but Athena wasn’t budging - not even under the assault of his most persuasive techniques. At his question, the dark-haired woman merely smiled, two spots of color appearing on her cheeks.

  “I told you already, Shiro, it was nothing. Just small talk.”

  The Japanese man rolled his smaller lover under him in a smooth motion, relishing her soft sound of surprise. “I don’t think I quite believe that.” He nestled himself in between her pale, milky thighs - a place he increasingly believed he belonged. “Want to tell the truth?”

  Athena laughed - if a bit breathlessly. “I am telling the truth!”

  “Oh, really?” Shiro cut off the sound of her mirth by pressing his mouth soundly to hers. Within an instant, the kiss became deep, sensual and tantalizingly arousing. “Let’s see if we
can’t get you to open up?”

  **

  She hadn’t expected to sleep, so when Charlotte woke at four in the morning to a firm knock on her door, she was momentarily disoriented. She groped blearily in the dark for her phone on the bedside table, and the moment she saw the time, she cursed lowly.

  Who the hell could be knocking on her door so early?

  Charlotte dragged herself out of bed, struggling to keep her eyes open. A combination of jetlag and the bottle of wine she’d indulged in for dinner was doing everything it could to keep her unconscious. Yawning hugely, she stumbled over to the door and shoved a mess of curls from her face before yanking it open.

  The sight that met her gaze made her straighten almost immediately.

  Vladimir stood in the doorway - wearing the same clothes she had seen him in before she left the office, his collar undone and his gaze intense. Beneath his scrutiny, Charlotte found herself growing slightly nervous. She was wearing only a double XL t-shirt that barely came down to mid-thigh and absolutely nothing else. If she were in her own apartment, she would be sleeping naked, but the luxury of the Four Seasons St. Petersburg demanded something a little more modest.

  All at once, she wished her purchases from the previous day had included some sort of flannel pajamas. She felt woefully exposed in front of the man before her, but Charlotte was still so fuzzy from sleep that all she could do was stare up at him.

  Goddamn, he was gorgeous. The thought was even more flagrant when she didn’t have her good sense to dissuade her from it. He kept himself buttoned up in those tight suits all the time - and while they did justice to his broad shoulders and narrow waist, without a suit, he was simply more impressive. It was almost as if the strong lines of his body were about to pop the seams of his shirt...and, shamelessly, a part of her wished they would.

  “For Christ sake, don’t look at me like that, Charlotte.” His sharp tone was enough to jerk her gaze back to his, and the redhead’s cheeks colored. For the briefest moment, she thought Vladimir was admonishing her like a child.

  Until she saw the flagrant heat in his eyes.

  He was staring at her as if she were the main course at a particularly decadent dinner, his blue gaze intense and focused as it moved over her from head to foot. Charlotte swallowed thickly, doing the best she could to pull her t-shirt lower over her thighs as her body reacted blatantly. Her nipples hardened beneath the thin cotton material covering her breasts and, all at once, she could hardly breathe.

  But, somehow, she managed to force a single question past her lips. “Vladimir...what are you doing here at this time of the morning?”

  The tall man raked a hand through his dark hair - which Charlotte noticed looked as if he’d been doing much the same the entire evening. She was fixed with the ridiculous urge to rise to her toes and smooth it back into place - completely and utterly reproachable.

  But that was honestly one of the least risqué thoughts she’d ever had about the man who was supposed to be her boss. “I... came to check on you.” He finally managed, prompting Charlotte’s brows to join her hairline. Check on her? The last time she checked, she wasn’t five. “Make sure jetlag hasn’t gotten the best of you.”

  Like it had obviously gotten to him? Charlotte didn’t quite know what to say. It was obvious that there was more to this, but she didn’t feel like starting an interrogation when she was still half-asleep. “I was asleep.” She finally managed, as another huge yawn that threatened to dislocate her jaw. “I’m fine. You should try and get some sleep, Vladimir.”

  His hand swiped through mussed black locks once more and he stared at her a moment longer before nodding, curtly. He looked faintly embarrassed, as if he himself didn’t know why he’d shown up on her doorstep. “Right.” Vladimir spoke more to himself than he did to her, before turning to go. “Goodnight then.”

  Charlotte had no idea why she reached out. She should have let him go. That would have been the smart thing to do. Instead, she found her fingers catching in the sleeve of his shirt. “Vladimir, wait.”

  Dear sweet God, she was out of her mind. But when Vladimir slowly turned back to her, his expression somehow hungrier than before, Charlotte ceased to care. All that mattered was that she had wanted this man for weeks. Months. And here he was, outside her hotel room, thousands of miles away from anyone that might interrupt them. “Do you…” she swallowed thickly, hoping she wasn’t being too forward. “Do you want to come in?”

  The dark haired man stared at her for a long beat before the sleeve she gripped twisted. All at once, Vladimir had a firm hold on her wrist and was backing her into the hotel suite, kicking the door closed behind them. Within four steps, he had her hips hedged against a heavy venetian sofa, trapped against his own.

  And evidence of what he’d really come for.

  “Charlotte.” When he spoke, his tone was low, gravelly and almost pained. “I can’t...I need…”

  The mere sound of him on the edge of begging was enough to take her breath away. Here was a man always steadily, obsessively in control. One of the most powerful men on the planet...and he was in her hotel room. “What do you need?” When she finally managed a reply, her own voice was breathless with desperate want.

  She had to hear him say it.

  “You,” He growled, without hesitation, “I need you.”

  And then he was kissing her - just as hot, heady and hungry as he had in his office all those weeks ago. Charlotte’s arms were around his neck and his tongue thrust hungrily past her lips. He tasted like vodka, chocolate and everything good in the world.

  Charlotte wanted more. Her hands sifted through the dark ebony of his hair and Vladimir made a low sound of approval in the back of his throat, nipping at her lower lip before sucking at her mouth tantalizingly so a soft moan escaped her. As she was still trapped against the couch, there was little the redhead could do but writhe against the rising jut of his erection against her lower stomach. She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist - to feel the pressure lower, where she needed it so desperately she was almost willing to climb the man like a tree.

  As her tongue tangled with his, Charlotte rose onto her toes, arching against him shamelessly in a bid to feel the full length of his body against hers. With a groan, Vlad’s hands slid down, from her minute waist to cup the curve of her behind and pull her even more flush against him. In a smooth movement, he lifted her from the floor to perch precariously atop the back of the sofa. Charlotte’s grip on the man held her in place and, all at once, her t-shirt hiked up so that the clothed bulge of his erection pressed against the most sensitive part of her.

  With nothing else between them.

  A sharp breath hissed from her as Charlotte’s fingers curled tightly into the back of his neck. “Fuck…” She undulated against him slowly, creating hot, delicious friction that soon had her all but gushing against him as their mouths devoured one another. Perhaps later, she would worry about ruining what had to be an expensive pair of slacks and an ungodly dry-cleaning bill, but at this particular juncture, Charlotte cared little.

  It wasn’t long, however, before Vladimir noticed the mess she was making. He tore his mouth from hers for long enough to glance down and realize the thin cotton shirt hiked up to her waist hid absolutely nothing.

  He stared at her bare lower half for long enough to make Charlotte’s cheeks burn - but Vladimir was too preoccupied to noticed. He muttered something low and dark in Russian a moment before one of his hands trekked down to curl into her thigh. A thumb stroked teasingly over her lower stomach, making the muscles there quiver, and Charlotte gasped as Vladimir worked on kissing and biting a series of dark, livid marks over the line of her neck. She squirmed in a blatant attempt to escape his grip - to somehow gain control of the heat spiraling through her in ever-cresting waves.

  But the moment Vladimir touched her between the legs, she was absolutely lost. A soft cry escaped her when he used a muscular thigh to brusquely part her legs even wider before his hand
slid down to cup the blazing heat of her.

  For a long moment, he held her - just like that - and Charlotte could feel her heart beating between her legs. She didn’t know if she wanted him to just cut pleasantries and fuck her, or if she wanted to endure his teasing until her brain melted into a puddle of mush between her ears. All she knew was that she never wanted it to stop.

  “You are so hot here…” When Vladimir growled the words, low, in her ear, his suddenly thick, Charlotte shuddered.

  “For you,” She breathed, her fingers tugging so hard at the buttons on his shirt that they popped off, scattering on the floor in an instant. “You’re damn right I am.”

  “Only for me,” Vlad affirmed, biting at her neck sharply so she yelped - a split second before two fingers sank deeply into her.

  Charlotte gasped at the sudden intrusion - the digits were long, thick and glorious - so much more substantial than her own. But then, she couldn’t even compare her own ministrations to what Vladimir was doing to her. Long, agonizingly deep thrusts of his fingers that soon had her writhing against him, whimpering and bucking her hips into the very welcome intrusion.

  Vladimir held her in place with a hand on her hip as he pleasured her, his mouth still busy mapping the landscape of her throat. When he fastened on at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, biting down firmly as he rubbed some ungodly place inside her, Charlotte shrieked, clutching at his shoulders as she tried in vain to keep herself grounded.

  Vladimir had hardly been touching her five minutes and she was already painfully close to orgasm. To be frank, she had never been this absorbed in a lover the first time they were together. She usually took the first time she slept with a man to scout him out - to write up a mental dossier of his strengths and weaknesses.

  But with Vladimir, she hardly had the wherewithal for that. “Oh God…” She groaned, as his fingertips rubbed and pressed at that heavenly spot high inside her. “God...Vladimir...please. Right there….” She had no idea where there was - only that she had never been able to reach it herself and that it was rapidly ruining her for every sexual experience that would follow.