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  “Dmitry…”

  He stalked toward her as she turned around and backed farther into the room. He tried to control his stance, but his body stiffened with nerves. He knew he was frowning. “You won that round, but I don’t want you to think because I let you keep that job I’m a pushover. That’s so far from the truth.”

  She swallowed hard, her eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”

  A smile spread across his face unbidden. The imp was going to play dumb. He continued pressing forward until the backs of her legs hit the bed. “I’m used to being in control, Lauren. It’s how I’m wired.” He reached over and flipped on the bedside lamp so they could see each other better. It seemed easier to let her believe he was a high-handed asshole than to harp again about their predicament.

  He wanted more time. He’d finally gotten in her bed, and it wasn’t enough.

  She cocked out one hip and crossed her arms under her chest, lifting her chin defiantly. “Well, I’m not used to having someone tell me what to do, so get over yourself fast.”

  He chuckled as he took the last few steps into her space, crowding her against the bed. When he cupped the side of her face with one hand, she leaned into his palm. “Maybe we could make a truce.”

  She narrowed her gaze, yanking her cheek away from his touch. “I don’t think I’m going to like your idea of a truce.”

  He reached for her arms and tugged them apart, dropping them at her sides. Before she could protest, he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her in the black lace bra he’d noticed all evening through her shirt. He cupped her breasts with both hands and stroked his thumbs over her nipples through the lace.

  Her eyes fluttered, and her head tipped back. “What kind of truce is this?”

  “The best kind,” he mumbled as he tugged the cups down, exposing her nipples and pushing her sweet tits upward. Unable to help himself, he dipped his face and sucked one nipple into his mouth. She tasted heavenly, and he held the tip between his teeth gently, flicking his tongue over the swollen bud.

  Lauren moaned as she grabbed his biceps. “Dmitry…”

  Good. She was as affected by him as he was her. His cock grew harder. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if she hadn’t reacted to his touch the way she did. He wasn’t kidding. He was dominant in every way in the bedroom. And the heavens aligned when they put Lauren in his path. The woman was on fire when he commanded her. She might not recognize it cognitively or perhaps agree to it out loud, but her body spoke volumes.

  He reached around her back and quickly popped the clasp of her bra. As it fell down to the crooks of her arms, he leaned back enough to pull it free.

  She instantly wrapped her fingers around his biceps again as if to steady herself.

  Dmitry stared at her nipples. So pink and rosy. So delicate. Her breasts were perfect. She was truly gorgeous. His hands landed on her hips, and then he drew them around and popped the button on her skirt. Slowly, he lowered the zipper, willing her to be wearing panties that matched the discarded bra. If that were the case, he would probably swallow his tongue. He’d seen her in nothing this sexy in the six months since he’d been her only clothing supplier.

  His choice had been by design. After all, he knew if he ever saw her in anything that remotely resembled what she wore tonight, he would have taken her months ago. Even in T-shirts and baggy pants, she’d been a knockout.

  The skirt fell to the floor, leaving Dmitry with a dry mouth. Indeed, she wore a matching pair of black lace panties—if they could be called that. More like a scrap of enticing silk than anything else. As sexy as they looked on her, he wanted her naked. He hooked his fingers in the sides and slid them down her legs, kneeling at her feet as he pulled them from first one foot and then the other.

  He set his hands on her ankle and unbuckled her heel. As much as he liked seeing her in these shoes, he didn’t want to be kicked by a clunky thick wedge tonight.

  As soon as he had her heels off, he smoothed his hands up her legs and stood before her once again. Her face was flushed, and her nipples stood even more rigid. Her eyes were glazed with arousal. Jesus, she was sexy. “So, here’s how this is going to go down…”

  She lifted one eyebrow, her lips parted.

  He couldn’t resist her lips another second and leaned down to capture them with his, immediately intensifying the kiss into a heated devouring.

  She tasted of the mint he’d watched her suck earlier in the evening. And he nearly collapsed when she moaned into his mouth and grabbed his shirt at his chest with both hands, fisting the cotton material.

  Instead of finishing his sentence, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto the bed. As he scooted her back several feet, he climbed over her body, never breaking the kiss. He held himself above her, hovering, only his lips touching hers.

  She grabbed his shirt again, this time pulling on it from the hem to drag it up his body. When she reached his face, he finally broke the kiss to reach over his shoulder with one hand and haul his T-shirt over his head.

  She stared up at him. “Dmitry, stop.” He blinked his eyes several times, and she set her palms flat on his chest and shoved, as if just realizing what they were doing.

  He held steady. “What?”

  She glanced back and forth and waved a hand between them. “This. This thing we’re doing. It’s a bad idea. Two minutes ago we were at each other’s throats. We can’t just have sex now.” She flattened her small hands on his chest again and shoved to no avail. Did she think she could move him?

  Dmitry smiled. He grabbed her wrists in one hand, swiping across his chest to haul them over her head. He tried to ignore the way her breasts rose high on her chest as he watched her face.

  Her breath hitched. Her nipples puckered—that he couldn’t miss. Even her belly dipped. Eyes wider, she bit her lower lip between her teeth. And then she moaned. She fought her need, but she was losing.

  “Baby, we’re nowhere near at each other’s throats. I can assure you we’ll have bigger disagreements than this one in the future.” He leaned closer, leaving inches between their faces.

  She squirmed, her breasts jiggling in a way that made his cock harder. It pressed against the inside of his jeans painfully.

  “I don’t see how we even have a future if you’re going to spend all your time bossing me around. I wasn’t fond of that scene at the bar, Dmitry. We need to talk about it.”

  He took a deep breath. “I know. We will. Later. Right now I need to taste every square inch of your skin.” He could figure out a way to ease his need to control her in public. She was a strong woman with thick skin. She needed to be her own person, but God help him… In the bedroom… He was about to bust.

  She opened her mouth wider and tugged on her wrists. “Dmitry. This is crazy.”

  “Why?” He closed the distance between them and kissed her wrinkled brow.

  “We can’t solve all our problems with sex.”

  He chuckled slightly as he lifted his face a few inches. “Again, why?” He was kidding, but if only they could…

  Her eyes widened again.

  “Lauren, I’m teasing. I don’t intend to solve anything with sex except maybe the stiffness of your body that will relax into the mattress after you come.”

  “Ugh. Listen to yourself.” She wiggled her torso between his legs.

  He wanted to close the gap and press his body tightly against hers to put pressure on his cock, but he knew this was serious for her. He needed to do a little talking before he claimed her body again. “Baby, I consented to the job, even though it’s horrifically dangerous for you to be working in that bar, and—”

  She interrupted. “You call that consenting?” Her voice rose as she shook her head. “You marched into my place of employment and tossed around your weight until my boss felt the need to hire you. That’s not really a negotiation, Dmitry. That’s bullying.”

  “In the end, you got to keep the job, didn’t you?” He knew
she was right, but he was loathe to admit it. He’d gone too far at the bar. What choice did he have? The clock was ticking on their relationship. Leaving the apartment was making the hour hand spin too fast for his taste. If anyone saw her… How was he going to keep her safe? He needed a plan that extended way past this week. And he needed to face the fact that he might have to set her up somewhere far away and let her go. He shook the thought from his head for the second time that night. He wasn’t ready to face it.

  “Are you serious?” She rolled her eyes. “Dmitry, I don’t want you following me around like some sort of bodyguard. I’m fine without you. I can go to work all by myself. I’m a big girl.”

  He glanced down at her sexy naked frame. “I’d hardly call you big. You’re like a hundred pounds soaking wet.”

  “Yep. You keep thinking that. Whatever. But that’s not the point. You can’t keep me from going out on my own, finding an apartment, living.”

  “Alive.” He pressed her wrists into the mattress. “All I’m interested in is keeping you alive. Nothing else.”

  “Really?” She lifted her head and angled her gaze between them. “Looks to me like you’re interested in far more than that. I’m naked. You’re on top of me. We’re one pair of tight jeans short of a fuck.”

  He smirked. “‘One pair of tight jeans short of a fuck?’”

  She rolled her eyes. “And a condom.”

  Now he laughed, his voice vibrating between them. “So, I can take my pants off now?”

  “No.” She stiffened again, but her nipples betrayed her by puckering into sharp peaks. “We’re talking. Or rather, I am. You’re still in caveman mode.”

  “Caveman?” He lifted one brow in question.

  “Gah. Dmitry, I’m telling you not to order me around.”

  “And that brings us back to my truce.”

  “Which is?”

  “I listen closely to whatever you have to say outside this bedroom, and you let me have my way inside this space.”

  “What? That’s not a truce. That’s you bullying me both inside and outside of bed.”

  God, she was infuriating. “I said I’d listen to your wants where they pertain to other aspects of life. I’m only asking you to let me control you behind closed doors.” Still holding both her hands with one of his, he used his free hand to strum over her nipples until she arched into his touch. Then he smoothed his palm down her belly until he reached the smooth skin at the apex of her sex. “It’s called negotiating.”

  He could smell her arousal, and when his fingers hit wetness, he knew she was his in every way that mattered.

  “Dmitry…” Her voice was gravely. “You aren’t playing fair.”

  He removed his hand and trailed back up to cup her chin. She was right. He knew it. He couldn’t stop himself. “What else do you need to say? I’m listening. I promise.”

  “Listening? You said you’d listen to anything I had to say outside the bedroom. That doesn’t in any way indicate you would actually accept my decisions.”

  “True. But only as far as your safety is concerned.”

  “My safety. That’s all you ever talk about. I’m fine, Dmitry. Chicago’s a large city. No one knows we’re here. And even if they did, they would never be able to find me. I’m like a needle in a haystack. Buried. Lost. Hidden in the crowd.”

  “There is where you’re wrong, Lauren.”

  She rolled her eyes again. “How could that man possibly still care about my location after six months? It’s ludicrous. I wasn’t even with him that long. I’m surely the last person on his mind.”

  With a sigh, Dmitry released her arms and sat back. He still straddled her body, but he let her swing her hands back over her head.

  She set her palms on his biceps.

  He slumped his shoulders and leaned closer. “The threat is real. It will always be real. Yenin will never be satisfied.”

  She blew out a breath. “Still. It’s a bar. A job. How could they ever find me there?”

  “They have ways. I’m betting it would take them about two nights if they were looking.”

  She shuddered harder now and gripped his arms tighter. Her face closed in, her eyes nearly shut. “You really believe I’m still in danger, don’t you?”

  “I know you are.”

  “And you care…” she muttered those last words.

  “God, Lauren. Of course I care. You’re everything to me.” He hadn’t meant to sound so cheesy, but there it was. If it kept them safe for him to let his feelings out, so be it. He needed her to listen.

  She stared at him, her body relaxing marginally. Even her fingers loosened their grip.

  He cupped her cheek gently. “Look, I wasn’t trying to be a jackass tonight. I’m just trying to keep you alive. If circumstances were different and you wanted to waitress at a bar or go to school or even walk freely down the sidewalk window shopping, I’d be all for it. But as things stand, that isn’t safe. Yenin’s men will find you. And they will take you back.” He bit his tongue. Images of what would happen to her if Yenin got his hands on her made him cringe. And if he found out they had been together all these months… Jesus. He would likely strap Dmitry to a chair and make him watch while he fucked Lauren in front of him—and then kill them both slowly.

  She swallowed. “I can’t stay in this apartment for the rest of my life.”

  “That’s why I consented to the job as long as I’m there with you.” It was risky, but it made her happy and at least kept her safer than being alone. He shuddered.

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  For the first time in hours, his shoulders relaxed. He blew out a breath. “If I hear one word about Yenin’s men being onto you, we get the hell out of Dodge. Understand?” Fuck. If he heard one word about anyone being onto him, they were getting the hell out of town.

  “Yes.” Her one word was soft.

  “Don’t ask me questions. Don’t hesitate. Just follow my lead if I ask.” Please, God, give me a week with this woman. I just got her in my bed.

  He knew whatever time he had with her would have to last a lifetime. It would never be enough, but it was all he had. Hopefully, if Yenin was released soon, someone would warn him, and Yenin’s men would take a few days to find him. That was all he had to rely on. Abram knew nothing about anyone specific from Vegas being in Chicago, and there was no word yet. Surely it was relatively safe letting Lauren hold down a job for the time being.

  He could live with the Russians knowing where he fought. That wasn’t avoidable. They probably had his entire play card for the next two months memorized. Hell, they probably knew more than either he or Mikhail knew about who and when and where they were fighting next.

  Fine. As long as they were keeping tabs from afar.

  Dmitry would bank on that for now. He had no choice.

  “Okay.” She stroked her hands up his arms and wrapped her small fingers around his neck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize… Or maybe I didn’t believe.”

  “I know, baby. I’m just trying to protect you.” He gave her a wry grin.

  “Don’t keep secrets from me. It will backfire. You’ll piss me off. Besides, it’s my life we’re talking about. I deserve to know what dangers lurk in my corner. Got it? If the situation changes or you learn more, fill me in.”

  “Deal. See? Easy? Negotiation. I’ll listen to your needs outside the bedroom. You let me lead inside.”

  She shivered again. “And what does that entail, exactly?” A grin split her lips.

  Dmitry set his palms on the sides of her head and leaned down, hovering above her lips. “Let me show you.”

  Chapter Eight

  Lauren stared into Dmitry’s eyes. Her belly clenched. She’d been aroused for so long there was surely a puddle between her legs on the sheet. She’d tried everything to deny her body’s response to him, but every effort led to failure. Even when he got all caveman and bossy, she was wet. It was smoking hot the way he tried to control her.

  And she kne
w he meant well. He truly believed she was in danger—and he cared so much about keeping her safe, it was endearing.

  She squeezed her legs together to stave off the need. It didn’t help. Her clit pulsed without the pressure she needed to push her over the edge.

  Dmitry reached for her wrists again. He pulled them over her head against the rungs of the headboard. “Grab the spindles, baby.”

  She wrapped her fingers around the rungs and held on.

  He eased down her body and climbed off the bed. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” He turned without hesitation and padded from the room, opening and closing the door with a soft snick.

  A shiver raced down her spine and brought goose bumps to her body. What the hell was he doing? She felt exposed, but it was the middle of the night, probably after three in the morning. No way would Lauren or Mikhail walk in at this hour. Still, she held her breath and listened closely, flinching when the door opened again as Dmitry returned.

  He locked the door this time and walked across the room.

  He held several things in his hand, but he moved around so quickly she couldn’t discern what his fingers were wrapped around.

  When he returned, he set the items on the foot of the bed and met her gaze as he popped the button on his jeans and then lowered them to the floor.

  Jesus.

  His cock was impressive. She’d seen it last night, but it still rendered her speechless and unable to yank her gaze away. She squeezed her legs together tighter, her pussy gripping at nothing while she watched his dick bob up and down as he climbed back onto the bed.

  When he grabbed one of the items from the foot of the bed and crawled to her side, she angled her head to get a better view.

  He held up a pair of handcuffs, dangling them in front of her face. They were padded with fuzzy black fur. “You weren’t the only one who went shopping today.”