CHAPTER TWELVE
Benjamin
True to my word, I allow Dima to sleep on the sofa by the door while I share a bed with Morgan. I convinced her to take a shower—alone—and to take her time. I think she spent the greater part of an hour in there. When the door opened, steam billowed out. But it was good for her. Her eyes had lost much of the haunted look, and her body seemed less tense.
Now, she’s in my arms, snuggled up to me and breathing deeply. Sleeping peacefully while I stare at the shadows on the wall. I can’t remember the last time I held a woman like this. Honestly, I think Morgan has ruined me, even more so than the last committed relationship I had.
Hell, my relationship with Kate doesn’t touch this.
That’s not a slam to her, but rather a revelation on my part. I wanted too much, too fast, and I was too newly disconnected from the Bratva. They couldn’t trust me on my own yet, no matter what Grandfather had promised. While I didn’t think they would hurt her, the Bratva would scare her… make sure she would never betray us. Given her connections to the British aristocracy and the size of her fortune, I know the paparazzi who followed her every step would have eventually outed me, and that could never happen.
In the end, none of that mattered because that damnable woman went her own way. She’s happy now, married to a builder from Texas.
Morgan shifts, pulling a shapely thigh over mine. The heat of her scalds my skin, ratcheting my desire to touch her, to give her pleasure, and to hear her soft moans.
I can’t have her, and not because my cousin is close by either. I don’t deserve to touch her under these circumstances. While I know Morgan taking the flash drive to the lab was circumstance, I can’t help but feel like everything that happened after that is completely my fault. Yet, if I hadn’t gotten involved, she would be dead. Her lifeless body found on the floor of the lab.
Her lips blue.
Her skin grey.
Blood pooling beneath her.
I close my eyes and pull her tighter against me. The flash drive that hangs from the chain around my neck seems to weigh me down, like my own personal albatross.
However, I can’t risk removing it.
It’s our only hope for survival.
The next morning comes all too quickly. The three of us head down to breakfast in the hotel’s private café for VIP guests. I check my messages while Morgan and Dima alternate eating with eying each other across the table. Only Maxim has responded, saying he can help us in London only. Outside of that, we’re on our own.
“Fucking brilliant.”
Morgan’s lashes flick up, her blue gaze assessing. She doesn’t say a word as she covers my hand with hers, attempting to comfort me. I don’t push it away. I crave the contact she so willingly gives me.
“Maxim is a no, I take it,” Dima asks.
“He’s a yes for London.”
Dima grunts. “That is of no help.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
Morgan taps my hand. “Don’t be so grumpy.”
“Who is Captain Obvious?” Dima asks with a serious face, but there is a gleam of humor in his eyes.
“Shut up.” I throw my napkin at him.
Dima flashes his gun.
“Boys,” Morgan says with a pointed glare. “Mind your manners and eat.”
I shoot off another email to Violet, then dig into the food. Who knows when we’ll be able to stop and eat again.
The television captures my attention, and I can’t take my eyes off it. I fully expect to see our image with the word wanted appearing underneath. But that never happens. Instead, a morning cooking show fills the screen.
“Have you heard from Violet yet?” Dima asks.
“No. It’s not like her to be silent for so long.”
“Who is Violet?” Morgan asks.
“Hacker with a background in biology. I thought she could decipher what’s on the drive.”
“Oh,” Morgan says lightly. “Are you close to her?”
I don’t miss the flash of jealousy in her eyes. “We’ve never met, actually.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. People have online relationships all the time,” she points out.
“I don’t even know her real name.”
“So?”
“She’s a respected colleague in the hacker community.”
“Which means that you do know her.”
Dima keeps eating, his gaze landing on us every so often as he scans the room.
“You’re welcome to cut in at any time, mate.”
“You’ve got it handled.” He smiles at me and winks at Morgan. “Go on, dig deeper, cuz.”
She blinks at him, like she’s just been dazzled. I can admit that my cousin is a handsome bloke. Women like him well enough, but I loathe the look on her face. Normally, that look is reserved for me. All right, so over the past four days, that look has been for me alone.
White-hot jealousy flashes through me. I stand, grabbing Morgan’s hand as I do. “Come with me.”
“Why?”
“I need to take your mind off Violet.”
I stride across the room, my steps so long and quick that she nearly has to run to keep up with me.
“I was done with breakfast. Thanks for asking,” she says as we step inside the elevator.
“I didn’t ask.”
“You’re so obvious.”
Releasing her, I cross my arms and lean against the wall. We are the only people in here. I could fuck her right now, and no one but the security cameras would be the wiser.
However, I won’t take her now.
Besides, she wants me just as bad. Her nipples are hard and poking through her thin shirt.
“As are you,” I point out.
The elevator doors open, and I grab her by the arm once more.
“Stop grabbing me—unless we’re in danger.” Her face pales slightly. “We’re not in danger, are we?”
“The only danger you’re in at this moment is from me.”
“I thought you trusted me,” she says, pulling out of my grip.
“This has nothing to do with trust.” I hold the card to the door, waiting impatiently for the millisecond it takes for it to unlock. As soon as I hear the click, I shove open the door. “This has everything with you getting in bed.”
“We’re not waiting until after the package is delivered?”
I lean into her. “Not. A. Chance.”
Her mouth forms a perfect O before she licks her lips and says, “What if I don’t want to?”
“Then we won’t. I’ve done very bad things in my life, but to force myself on another… that is….” English words escape me as my past threatens to rear its ugly head. “Repulsive. Unacceptable.”
She walks inside. “Shut the door, Ben.”
I do as she asks, then stalk her across the room. She’s trailing articles of clothing on the way, and I’m more than willing to follow that path. As she turns to face me, the backs of her legs hit the edge of the bed, and she goes tumbling down. I follow after her, rolling us once so she’s on top—for my viewing pleasure. Her breasts are full, and her hips are gently curved. She has the body of a dancer.
Cupping the back of her head, I pull her down to claim her mouth. She opens to me easily, sweetly.
My hands roam her body, exploring the soft skin I crave so much. Caressing her, I listen to every gasp, every sigh that lets me know she loves what I’m doing to her. But my Morgan is no passive lover. Her hands are just as demanding, just as curious.
“My feisty woman.”
“My very jealous man.”
I nudge my erection against where she’s hot and slick. Welcoming. “Do something about it. Show me that you’re mine.”
She leans forward to position herself over me, and I seize the opportunity to take her nipple into my mouth, sucking hard. I’ve learned her breasts are sensitive, and I’m pretty sure I can make her come this way, but I want to be inside of her when that happens.
My eyes close in pleasure as her small hands wrap around my cock and guide me home. My hands sweep down her back even as I thrust up, cupping her perfect bum to hold her in place. The feel of her warmth surrounding me is almost too much.
“I need a minute,” I admit, opening my eyes to find her smiling at me like the goddess she is.
She rolls her hips, sending me deeper.
Unable to stay passive any longer, I guide her movements, give her words of endearment in Russian and French. I don’t trust myself to speak her language. To tell her how I’m starting to feel about her.
No good will come of it.
I watch as her hands glide down the center of her body, cupping her breasts and then letting go of one to delve between her thighs where we are joined in the most intimate of ways. Her fingers brush against my cock as she slides along her skin.
She cries out as she touches her clit, rubbing it so hard and fast that I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up with her.
Her hair falls from its small bun to caress her jaw.
I love watching her like this, as she takes her pleasure and brings me along with her. I meet each roll of her hips, thrusting to the rhythm she sets. She lets go of her breast and grabs the necklace around my throat, tugging on it until I’m sitting up.
She fists it, using it as an anchor while her breath starts coming in sharp gasps that let me know she’s on the verge of coming. I’m on the verge of rolling her on her back and fucking her, but I can’t.
What started out as a jealousy fueled move to show her that she belongs to me has turned into something more. I caress the side of her face and kiss her again. This time, I savor her lips and the taste of her.
Nothing exists in this moment but us.
No Bratva, no flash drive, no threat on our lives… nothing.
Yet, this moment is everything. Something shifts inside of me, cracking in places that I try to keep hidden.
She smiles against my lips and breathes my name.
Her inner muscles ripple around my cock. She lets her head fall back, exposing the soft line of her neck as she lets out a low moan. I kiss her there, join my fingers to hers, and help her orgasm along. She’s so wet, inside and out, that as she tightens around me, I give a hoarse shout.
I come inside of her in hot spurts that nearly take my breath away. She doesn’t stop moving until my orgasm subsides. Her body is slick and hot against mine. The smell of sex and her shampoo fills the air.
I search for her mouth again, kissing her with a passion I can’t seem to shake around her. My body knows what my brain refuses to process. I can’t blame it really.
“Ben,” she says in a breathy voice. “That was the best sex ever.”
“For me as well.” I lean back to gauge her expression, then realize she’s still holding tight to the bloody necklace. “Let go, love.”
Staring into my eyes, she removes the chain and places it around her neck. The flash drive looks obscene hanging between her breasts. “Let me carry this burden for a while, okay?”
I nod, wanting more than anything to snatch the damn thing from around her slender neck. “But not too long.”
Her sweet mouth frowns. “You don’t trust me?”
“The burden is too great.”
“If we carry this burden together, it won’t seem so heavy,” she replies softly, and then lays her head down on my shoulder.
In that moment, I know the truth of everything. I know I am in love with a woman I have no guarantee will live to see the next day.
While Morgan showers, I join Dima in the main part of the suite. He pours two shots of vodka and slides one over to me.
“It’s not the best, but it will do.”
I throw the drink back and gasp a little. “It’s horrid.”
“Better than nothing.”
He’s right. We drink in silence. After a while, the taste of the vodka doesn’t matter at all.
“I need a Plan B.”
“Get your woman to safety.”
“The safest places I know are with Koyla and Grandfather.”
My cousin rolls up his shirtsleeves, revealing the edge of a spider web. I cannot tell if the spider is going up or down from this angle—or rather, if Dima will continue to work for the Bratva. “You could send her there.”
“I could.”
“I could take her for you.”
“You could.”
“But?” he asks.
“She would no longer be at my side.” That is the crux of the matter. I need her more than life itself. Yet, to admit that…
“Grandfather would guard her with his life.”
“You’ve spoken to him.” It’s not a question.
“Da. He is impressed with her bravery. She’s different, that one, from your brother’s woman. Everly is soft, which makes Koyla soft.” He doesn’t mean this as an insult, but it’s not exactly a compliment.
“In some ways, Morgan is more vulnerable than Everly, while in others…” I shrug, but he knows exactly what I can’t put into words.
“Send her to Grandfather so you can concentrate on the problem at hand.”
He makes it sound so easy, as if sending her to Grandfather is a foregone conclusion. “If I do this… I trust only you to get her there safely.”
Dima smiles, revealing white teeth. “That’s because I’m the only one who can.”