I felt like Pavlov’s dog, becoming wet and needy just by being in the same room with him, just from the sight and smell of him.
All too soon the elevator came to a stop and the door opened.
He led me forward into what was an anteroom, the large space having a minimalistic touch to it. A few abstract black-and-white paintings covered the walls, and a plush rug met my feet the deeper we went into the room. Nikolai slid his fingers off my nape so slowly I knew he’d done it on purpose, to really let me feel him.
He stepped up to a large dark wooden door with a silver curved handle. When he reached out the side I noticed another small keypad on the wall similar to the one in the elevator.
After a series of beeps, he pushed open the front door and stepped aside to allow me to enter first. The interior was dark at first, but once I stepped fully inside a soft glow illuminated the foyer as if activated by a motion sensor.
The lights were still off in the rest of the apartment, and my eyes adjusted to the darkness in front of me. I could make out a living, set lower than where I stood, the design showing the very same minimalistic style as the anteroom.
I heard rustling behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Nikolai taking off his jacket and hanging it on the silver hook by the door, then reaching into his pocket to take out his cellphone and a set of keys. He tossed those in a small bowl that sat on a long, narrow table against the wall beside the door.
“I thought you’d keep your pretty new wife in that hotel room for at least a week. Break her in the good old fashioned Russian way.”
A startled squeak left me and I snapped my focus in the direction of where the male voice had come from. I felt Nikolai move up behind me instantly, a heavy, warm presence like a protective wall.
It was then I noticed a large body sitting in the corner of the room, the shadows concealing him almost fully.
“Thought you’d have to carry her over the threshold because you’d made it impossible for her to walk.”
I backed up a step, slamming right into Nikolai’s hard body. His hands came up to rest on my shoulders, his fingers squeezing me slightly.
Nikolai growled, “watch it, Dmitry.” A beat of heavy silence passed before Nikolai spoke again. “I won’t remind you to show respect again where Amara is concerned.”
Hard, tense silence followed, thick enough it was hard to breathe as Dmitry just stared at us, still covered by darkness, the lights from Desolation barely reaching him. But then there was a subtle movement of him inclining his head and I exhaled all that tension away.
“Making yourself at home here is going to have to stop.” Nikolai said through gritted teeth.
“Is that so?” There was almost… humor in Dimitry’s voice.
Nikolai’s body grew harder behind me. “Yes.” That lone word was hard and tight and pushed through clenched teeth.
More silence. More thickness coating the air.
“Fine. I guess being married now affords you some privacy.”
Nikolai made a deep sound behind me that was reminiscent of a growl.
“How was the flight?” Dmitry said in way of changing the subject.
I felt Nikolai’s body shift a little, then felt his warm breath tease the side of my neck. “The flight was fine.” More warm breath along the side of my throat… more clenching of my inner muscles. “Oh but how we wanted to do more. Isn’t that right?” His voice was low, too low for anyone but me to hear. “Mmm, how I wanted to do so much to you, little doll.”
My breath hitched and my face felt hot that he was saying these things where Dmitry could easily hear.
Dmitry laughed low and a second later he was rising from the chair.
“I told you to wait in the anteroom.” Nikolai’s voice lost all that sexy Russian deepness as he moved out from behind me so he was now blocking my view of the rest of the apartment.
“Sasha was thirsty.”
I looked around Nikolai’s arm, expecting to see a woman come out of the shadows, Persephone to Hades perhaps, but there was just the sound of a clock ticking down the seconds.
“Should have kept her at your place then.”
And then I saw slight movement beside Dmitry’s leg. A sleek, toned body coming to stand beside her owner. Sasha was a dog.
“You know Sasha doesn't like to be alone.” Dmitry reached down and ran a hand over her head. Now that my eyes had adjusted I could see him more clearly… could see he was watching me.
Dmitry took another step forward and the motion activated lights flared to life. I stared at Nikolai’s brother, saw him smirk at me, then glanced down at his canine companion. A sleek black and brown Doberman sat on her haunches beside him, her ears pointed straight up, her black eyes trained on me. If I didn’t know she was alive, hadn’t seen her move just moments ago, I could have mistaken her for a statue for how still she was.
He kept stroking her head, his sleeve pushed up his forearm so I could make out the tattoos that lined his wrist and snaked up to disappear under his shirtsleeves. But even those dark designs couldn’t hide the very clear–and numerous–scars that were raised underneath the ink.
“Why don’t you just get to the point of why you’re here?” Nikolai had shifted once more so he was standing at my side, and I felt instantly warm when his hand settled on my lower back. But he only kept it there for a moment before he slowly slid it up, between my shoulder blades, and curled his fingers around my nape again.
God, why did I find that possessive, dominating hold so damn arousing?
I couldn’t help but feel as if Nikolai did this as some kind of brand of ownership. And I couldn’t find the energy to care. Because I liked it. I liked the heavy weight of his palm on my nape. I liked the feel of his thumb stroking up-and-down the side of my neck, over my pulse point right below my ear.
“I have business outside of the city that’s going to require my attention for a few days.” Another long pause. “I need you to watch Sasha,” Dmitry said in an even tone.
I looked at the Doberman again.
“I’m not a kennel, Dmitry.”
“Don’t act like you don’t like her company.” Dmitry slid his gaze over to me. “It’ll only be a few days. Besides, you know I don’t trust anyone else with her.” Dmitry slowly grinned as he kept staring at me. “Not allergic to dogs are you?”
I found myself slowly shaking my head.
“Great,” Dmitry said with as much enthusiasm as a cold man like him probably could muster. “It’s settled then. A couple of days tops. I think you and her will get along well, Amara.”
I was aware of a rough sound leaving Nikolai, felt the air in the room grow hotter, the tension increasing.
“You and I have some business to discuss, don't we brother?”
I looked at Nikolai, saw the hard set of his jaw, the clench of muscle underneath. His nostrils flared once before he gave a hard nod toward his brother.
And when he looked at me I saw that truth in his eyes. Whatever business they had to discuss most likely had to do with me… with my father and the massive mess that had been left back on the East Coast.
“You’ll be okay for a couple of minutes?” Nikolai asked and I was sucked into his orbit, as if he were the sun pulling me closer and closer.
Although I didn’t feel like I would be fine. I felt like I was coming apart at the seams and didn’t know if that was a frightening realization, or one that I ultimately would welcome.