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DIMITRI
Before we go to my car, I excuse myself and tell Lia I need to make a call. My manhood is still so hard after what we did. I don’t think she realizes how hot she sounded when her orgasm hit, the sounds of pure desire making my dick even harder. Her underwear wassoaked, making my tip ache, precome spilling hotly out of me.
On the phone, I call ahead to one of the many stores the Sokolovs own. I explain to the manager that I want him to leave the keys outside so that Lia and I can have the place to ourselves. It feels crappy having to sneak around, but I still have to remember that if Nikolai gets word I’m with another woman, things could go south very fast. I hate that my father’s twisted scheme is interfering with me and the only woman I’ve ever given a damn about.
After, I call Mikhail. He’s been working hard on the computer front, narrowing down our options to around seven people, all with some connection to the Petrovs.
“Any news?” I ask.
“It’ll be hunting time soon,” he tells me. “I’ve narrowed it down to six. With a couple of days of tailing and data gathering, we’ll have our marks. Then you don’t need to marry Mila.”
I swallow, hating the thought of marrying her, of tying someone to me against their will, of being with anybody who isn’t Lia. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“What if we hit the deadline? Will you do it?”
“I know what you’re going to say. I have to put the family and the business first. I get it.”
“No, actually,” Mikhail grunts. “I was going to say… fuck Nikolai. Why should we let him dictate what the Sokolovs do?”
“That would mean a war,” I say. “We need to catch this early and learn who Nikolai has turned against us. A war won’t be good for anyone, and why the sudden change of heart?”
There’s a pause, and then Mikhail snaps, “Is it so bad looking out for my big brother?”
When he hangs up, I turn back into the office. Lia is back at her easel, touching up a few features on my father’s painting. I watch as she signs her name in the corner.
“It’s done?” I say.
She turns to me, her cheeks still flushed. I don’t think she realizes the pencil in her hair has come loose, her bun unfurling into beautiful waviness. “Yep, all finished.”
“When does the bidding start?”
“Oh, I was going to give it to you… as a gift.”
How can I be so moved by the way she says this? Hopeful, unsure, excited, and doubtful all at the same time. I’m still stunned by her intuition. Knowing nothing about my father’s true nature, she’s painted him dark, brooding, and sinister.
“Or is it weird?” she says, looking at me doubtfully. “Offensive?”
“At the funeral, I thought I might suddenly fill with love for my old man. I thought there was a chance, but I can’t change reality. I can’t change who he was. The painting’s perfect, Lia.”
Her glowing smile of satisfaction makes me smile like a fool. I almost take her hand and lead her outside, but what if one of my employees sees us? What if the word somehow gets back to Nikolai?
Instead, I say, “Shall we?”
Walking into the parking lot and over to my car, I think of Mila, comparing her to Lia. It’s just not close. It’s not even like it’s because Lia is more attractive, alluring, cuter, and sassier. It’s not her smarts, her smile, or her fire. It’s just a feeling, a primal howl, telling me that Lia is the one for me.
If we mess up and the deadline hits, what else am I supposed to do? Let Nikolai tear the city to pieces?
“You don’t have to do that,” she says when I open the passenger-side door for her.
“I know; I want to. Now get in.”
She laughs. “Work hours are over, but I guess the boss can’t stop bossing just like that, huh?”
I grin, but there’s a dark edge deep inside me. She still doesn’t know who I really am. I get into the driver’s seat and guide usthrough the city. My windows are tinted, and we’re not touching, but annoying nerves still try to grip me. It pisses me off. I shouldn’t have to be paranoid just sitting in the car with Lia.
“Are you okay?” she asks quietly.
“Fine,” I tell her.
