by Goode, Ella
Chapter 3
Victor
She kisses like an innocent—an untouched, unpracticed innocent. I can still taste her a day later.
“Is Lennox really getting married?” Ted asks as we oversee a desk being carried in by two workers in white jumpsuits.
I doublecheck their photos the company sent over to ensure that we don’t have imposters.
“Apparently.” Earlier this morning, Lennox arrived in the suite to announce that he was getting married. I initially thought it was a joke, although Lennox is not one to make jokes, but given his previous monk-like existence and focus on business, the statement felt out of place.
“Can’t believe it. Sure, Smooth is hot, but you don’t have to marry a girl to bone her, am I right?”
King reaches over and slaps the back of Ted’s head. “Don’t be a fuckhead.”
Ted tries to duck out of the way. “Yo, Vic, you agree with me, don’t you?”
“Sokolov.”
“Huh? Oh, that’s right. No first names. What do the women say in bed when you call them by their last name? That doesn’t ruin the moment?”
I make a note to fire Ted. King gives me a wry glance over the head of our soon-to-be ex-employee. We do extensive profiling of our hires because they need to be free of any outside entanglements that might open them up to blackmail schemes or other pressures, but apparently our process allows for the occasional small-dicked, big-mouthed, loose-lipped asshole to slip through. That will have to change.
After all the furniture is changed around in the suite to accommodate the new temporary headquarters of Lennox Luxury Living, I direct King into my suite at the other end of the hall.
Tossing my clipboard onto the low wooden coffee table, I ask, “What report do you have on Eugene Collins?”
King takes a seat while I pour him a drink—decaf, as stimulants are not allowed on the job. He accepts the cup of hot liquid gratefully and gulps down half the cup before speaking.
“Nothing as far as I can find. Eugene Collins is a fifty-six-year-old man, married with three daughters. He owns four car dealerships in New Jersey and seven apartment buildings. The buildings are managed by Collins Properties, Inc. which is run by the eldest daughter, Amethyst Collins, otherwise known as Amie—to everyone but you, of course. The middle daughter is Daffodil and she is in San Francisco working at a tech startup specializing in game apps. Violet, who, in my opinion got the best name of the group, was sent down here a year ago. The Collins finances appear clean.”
“Appear” being the operative word. “Dealerships are a common way for syndicates to wash money.”
“Agreed. I’ve reached out to some contacts but it’s been less than twenty-four hours so I’m not surprised we only have the surface intel right now.”
“Keep at it. In the meantime, have Higgs send down a replacement for Ted.”
“Will do.” King reaches inside his pocket. “Here’s the thing you asked for.”
I take the velvet box from him. “Thank you. Send Violet in. She should be”—I check my schedule—"arriving in the dining hall to check the buffet.”
“Roger that.”
Ten minutes after King departed, the doorbell of my suite rings. I set down the security protocols for the resort and make my way to the door. Satisfaction surges through me when I see Violet standing outside. Opening the door, I usher her inside.
“I brought the tea,” she announces and then frowns when she sees my cup of coffee on the table. “Oh, you already have something to drink.”
“I don’t like coffee. I hate the taste.” King must’ve told her to bring it up. I relieve her of the tray and direct her to the sofa.
“I can’t sit down. I’m on the clock.” She taps her wristwatch. “Smooth will be coming down soon and I need to be—”
“Smooth is otherwise occupied.” I have no doubt that Lennox will be following her around all day.
Violet’s pretty forehead wrinkles. “Either way, I still need to go through my morning checklist.”
“Of course. However, you will need this.” I open my hand and allow the chain to drop down. The diamond encrusted flower attached to it glitters in the artificial light. Violet glances from the pendant to my face and then back again.
“That’s...not mine. Did you find that in the suite? I’ll put it in the safe and have someone start contacting the guests to see if someone misplaced it.”
I move it out of her grasp and slide behind her. “It is not lost.”
In fact, it has never been more not lost than this particular moment, I think, as I swiftly swing the chain around her neck and fix the clasp in place. The pendant falls softly in the valley between her plump tits.
She gapes down at the pendant. “What is this?”
“It’s a necklace that contains a GPS tracker so I know where you are at all times.”
“A what so you can what?” She reaches up to tug the necklace free, but it won’t budge.
“The necklace cannot be removed. The clasp is made by a metallurgist friend of mine who created a process in which when the two metal compounds meet, they are instantly held together and cannot be separated without a high volume heat process which would, obviously, be damaging to your skin.”
“I can’t believe this. Why are you tagging me? I’m not a dog!”
“Of course not.” I stare at her in offense. “Animals are chipped in their ears. I would not harm one hair on your head.” I remove her fingers from the chain. “This will allow me to keep you safe. You can place it under your blouse to hide it if the flashiness of it makes you uncomfortable.”
“That is not why I want to take it off. It’s...just because I kissed you yesterday doesn’t mean you own me.”
I draw back with a frown. “But of course it does.”
Chapter 4
Violet
I give Victor the stare down. It gets me nowhere. I play with the pretty necklace. I don’t think I’ve ever owned something this nice. Would it be so bad to let him track me? It’s not as though I go crazy places. I merely move around the resort. I stop maybe too many times at the ice cream machine next to the pool but that’s about it.
“I shall help you with your check list.” Victor pulls his phone from his pocket. His thick fingers move over the screen as he sends a text, I’m guessing. I thought about those fingers all night after our kiss. I notice he still has the hair tie he stole from me on his wrist. “Smooth is still in her room. Shall we start there?”
“Still in her room?” I jump up. “Something must be wrong.” I start to panic. Well, Mr. Lennox had carried her back to her room last night. They might be in bed together still. He all but paraded her through the hotel as he carried her off to her manager suite. That’s what everyone is whispering around the resort this morning. You have to take gossip around here with a grain of salt. I am going to go find out for myself.
“Calm down, my kotyonok. She is but asleep. No sounds have come from her room.” My eyes go wide.
“You were listening? What if they had been—” I raise my eyebrows to emphasize the rest of what I’m saying.
“Mr. Lennox did not spend the night. He is still in his own suite.”
“What, do you have trackers on everyone?” How does he know all of this?
“I have team members on them,” he answers simply as he stands.
“Oh. I guess that is your job,” I mumble. With the way Mr. Lennox is acting and the text Nathan sent me, the man wants our Smooth for more than a one-night thing. He is playing for keeps. I bet Smooth has no idea how into her Lennox really is. The man followed her around all day yesterday. If he wasn't with her then I could see him putting a guard on her. He treated her like precious cargo.
“I’ll escort you over.”
“No, I’m good.” I reach for his hand to get my hair tie back. It is my last one. My others have all broken or gone missing. I keep forgetting to get a new stack. His fingers tangle with mine. “I wasn't going to hold your hand. I am
trying to get my hair tie,” I tell him but don’t try and break free of our locked hands. I probably couldn't even if I tried. That’s the lie I’m currently telling myself anyway. Victor doesn’t need to know that I enjoy him holding my hand. That the slightest touch from him has my panties getting damp. That there isn’t much that I wouldn’t let him do to me. He keeps calling me Kotyonok and all I want to do is lie in his lap and have him pet me all day.
“Da. You are good.” He licks his lips. “More than good.” He keeps his face so straight I almost miss the sexual innuendo he’s slipped in there. I won’t be able to resist him for long if he continues to speak to me the way he does. Who am I kidding? I’m not even trying to resist him. He keeps asking me for kisses and I keep giving them to him.
“My kisses are more than good?” I find myself asking. He leads me by the hand out of his office. I’d forgotten I am supposed to be going to check on Smooth. The kiss yesterday went on forever, even though it felt like it was mere seconds. It seemed to be over too quick but my watch said otherwise. I’d gotten lost in one of Victor’s kisses for almost an hour. I didn't think people could kiss that long but what the heck do I really know about kissing? I guess I am making up for lost time. I wondered what he thought of our kiss. When I pulled away I couldn't read his face. He’d put me back on my feet and I all but ran from the suite at that point.
“There is no word to describe them.” I watch his eyebrows furrow for a second. He’s really thinking about it. “It is not of this earth. Heaven maybe,” he concludes.
“Heaven.” I repeat the word. Being described as that makes me feel warm all over.
“My own personal heaven.” I almost trip over my feet when he says that. I never know what he is going to say or do next. “Kotyonok. Are those sandals hard to walk in? The chain in it is pretty but not at the expense of you hurting yourself.” I have on sandals which have a thin chain that falls over the top of my foot. It leads to a ring that goes around my toe to keep the sandals on my feet. It’s not the sandals that make me stumble but Victor’s words. No one has ever spoken such lovely things about me.
“It’s fine.” I don’t tell him that it’s him that almost made me fall on my face as we continue to walk toward Smooth’s place. I’m not sure how he would handle knowing that he’s the reason I’m suddenly clumsy. The thought of him disappearing forever so he isn’t harmful to me crosses my mind for a quick second. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went to that extreme. I never know what crazy thing he’s going to do next as my self-proclaimed protector. Believe me, I’m not complaining that he wants to follow me around, tell me nice things about myself and kiss me senseless. I’d have to be an idiot to complain about it. I keep my thoughts to myself to play it safe. I don’t want him going anywhere and I sure as heck don’t want those lips leaving either.
“Kotyonok. What brings this pinkness to your cheeks?”
Although I’ve tried to hide my thoughts, my attraction to him shows on my face. I realize now that I’ll never be able to keep anything from him.
I lick my lips, drawing his eyes there. His gaze travels from my lips down to the necklace that I can feel against my skin. I really didn't put up much of a fight when it came to permanently wearing it.
“You want more kisses?” he asks, stepping closer to me. We’ve stopped walking and I notice we’re outside of Smooth’s place.
“I didn't say that.” I reach out and knock on the door.
“You go.” I look over and see a man I hadn't noticed a moment ago turning to leave. In my defense, Victor is giant and can block a lot of things in your line of sight. More so if you barely measure in over five foot.
I knock again but nothing. “Open it for me.” I motion to the locked door.
“You know the price, Kotyonok.” I roll my eyes but tilt my head up to offer him my mouth in fake annoyance. My heart is already racing with excitement as Victor takes his kiss. I let out a moan when my feet again leave the floor as he kisses me deeply. I have to fight myself to not cling to him. The kiss ends before I want it to and he puts me back down onto the ground.
He does as I ask, opening Smooth’s door but not with a key. I watch him pick the lock so quickly you almost miss it.
“You don’t have a key?” I gasp.
“No. Mr. Lennox would never give another man a key to his woman's place.”
“Oh.” That makes sense. That’s kind of sweet. Yeah, he is super into Smooth. I smile, wanting her to have her happily ever after with a man falling head over heels in love with her. She deserves someone that will take care of her for a change. “But isn't it against the law to pick locks? Wouldn't Mr. Lennox get mad you went around something he didn't want anyone to do?” I question.
“For you, Kotyonok, I’d do anything.” Oh my. I get the warm feeling again. Victor’s words might always be short and to the point but they are good.
“But remove the necklace?” I reach up and grab it. I hold it tight because well, I don’t want to remove it if I’m being honest.
“You do not wish it.” He confirms my thoughts. “Go see to your friend. I know your morning to-do list is long. I wish to help you complete it so you don’t get upset.” He gives my bottom a small smack. I jump entering Smooth’s place. I glance back as the door closes, not missing Victor’s smile.
His face really does change when he smiles. He’s already handsome but this makes him even more so. Now I can’t find the right word to describe how he looks when he chooses to grace me with one of those smiles. So I use his word. It’s like heaven. My heaven.
Chapter 5
Victor
“Close off the perimeter around Cabana Two,” I order into the headset. “No one should be allowed to enter the space until Lennox emerges.”
“Roger,” responds King. “I sent you an email on that other matter. It’s a small update and I hope to have more tonight.”
I check my messages. Collins has had no recent contact with any of the Northeastern syndicates but an incident did happen last year right before Violet was sent south to the resort. The details are murky as there is no police report or official record of the incident. There are only rumors from acquaintances about a possible issue. More intel to come, ends the informant. Frowning, I pull up my app to locate Violet. I’d planned on doing something much more pleasurable while Smooth was occupied but that will have to be shelved until I extract an accounting of the incident. It is necessary for me to eliminate any threats that may exist.
After all, she is mine now, which means that anything that remotely threatens her shall be extinguished. I pocket the phone and go in search of her.
“It is time for a break,” I say when I come upon her in the kitchen of the resort.
She makes a disappointed face. “I wish I could but Smooth and I usually meet around this time to discuss the afternoon activities.”
“Smooth is otherwise occupied.” I tuck Violet’s frame next to mine and begin subtly ushering her toward the exit.
“Occupied? Is there a problem that she needs help with?”
“She’s being adequately seen to.” And I doubt Violet’s boss would appreciate the interruption. “Let us go to my office and discuss your fatherly protection program.”
I take her wrist and start to move her toward the elevator.
“Oh, look at the time.” She tugs at my grip. “I better go meet with event planning. There’s a big party coming tomorrow.”
“The big party is on the day after.”
She stops moving. “How do you know that?”
“I have your schedule memorized.”
This somehow surprises Violet. I take advantage of this by sweeping her up in my arms. She yelps in surprise.
“Wait. What are you doing?”
This surprises me. “I am carrying you.”
“I know but where and why?”
“To my office.” Perhaps she did not hear me speak. “To discuss your family issues.”
“I heard you the first time b
ut that doesn’t explain why.”
The elevator door slides open and I place her inside the car. With a swipe of my keycard, I send the elevator jetting to the top floor. “Because I need to know what kind of danger you’re in.”
“Currently, I’m in an enclosed space with a man twice my size. That would be the danger I’m in.”
I peer down at her. “You do not look as if you are in a panic.”
She wrinkles her nose. “I’m not but if I didn’t like you, I could be.”
Her confession pleases me. I straighten and focus on the doors in front of me. After a few seconds of silence, I feel a small finger poke my bicep. I look down to see Violet scowling at me.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you going to respond to my comment that I like you?”
“Do you need a reply?”
“I mean...just because I gave you kisses doesn’t mean I like you. There are plenty of people who sleep with others even if they don’t like that other person. It’s called hate—“ She stops then and turns pink.
“Yes?”
She motions for me to bend down. I lower my frame enough so that my ear is even with her mouth.
“Fuck,” she whispers.
“I would not know,” I tell her. Fucking someone you did not care for does not sound appealing to me. I narrow my gaze. “Are you saying that is something you wish to do?”
Her eyes widen. “No. I’m saying that’s a thing. Oh my goodness. Why are we even on this topic?” She waves a hand in front of her face.
“You said that just because you gave me kisses, I shouldn’t presume that you like me.” Although that makes no sense. Why would you kiss someone you do not like? I would not touch a woman that I did not care for and despite the fact that my kotyonok knows that such a thing exists, I do not believe she is the type to engage in that type of sex either.
“Yes.” She nods, clearly relieved to have moved on from the topic of hate fucking.