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“I see that,” she pointedly says with a smirk, deliberately glancing at my jeans just below my waist. “What can I say? I’m nothing but thorough.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t say that. It’s been my absolute pleasure to learn your many other things beyond that, milaya.”
The smile she gives me makes my knees feel weak. It reaches all the way to her eyes, turning them a deep midnight blue.
“Only good things, I hope,” she says.
“The best, Kat. The very best.”
After this frustrating emotional roller-coaster of a day, I can’t wait a second longer to have her in my arms again. Especially not when her beautiful eyes glow with warmth and pleasure whenever they meet mine.
While holding her hand, I slowly draw her into my arms. “Come here,” I say against her lips.
Kat wraps her arms around my neck, placing a quick, almost dismissive kiss against my mouth before pulling away again. “So, how did it go?” she asks with a smile as I sigh with frustration.
“Can we talk about this later?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. Like a dog with a bone, Kat isn’t likely to let this go.
“No way,” she says, looking at me as if I might be out of my mind for even asking. “I’ve been sitting here for hours, biting my nails and wondering what had happened to you. I can’t wait any longer.”
With a shake of my head, I lean forward until my mouth reaches the sweet-smelling column of her neck. I kiss it languidly. “Then, kiska, I believe we’re at what they call an impasse. Because after dreaming about having you back in my arms all afternoon, I can’t fucking wait, either.”
Kat groans in frustration. “Nikolai Stefanovich—be serious.”
I nip her ear lobe. “Katherine Devereaux—I assure you, I’ve never been more serious in my life. I warned you we would continue this later.”
Kat rolls her eyes before pushing against my chest. “The sooner you tell me everything that happened with McGuire, the sooner we get to do just that.”
After cursing under my breath, I give her the most disapproving look I can manage. “You’re a piece of work, did you know that?”
She shrugs. “Duh. And we both know you wouldn’t have me any other way. Now, spill the beans. How did it go?”
I resist the urge to grind my teeth and grimace. “Well, how should I put this, Kat? Let’s just say that coming home to find your pretty ass in my bedroom—on my bed, no less—is the only good thing that came from this whole pointless afternoon.”
“No luck finding McGuire, then?” she asks with a slight frown.
I shake my head. “No, there’s no trace of him. Lucien’s intel was bad—or outdated, at least. McGuire was gone.”
With a deep exhale, Kat hugs me, and it almost unmans me. To my absolute dismay, my cheeks grow warm and I find myself blushing, embarrassed that she’s witnessing my failure at taking down the Irish family’s boss. I’m glad Kat’s head is pressed against my chest and she doesn’t see it. A bit awkwardly, I wrap my arms around her shoulders.
“Oh, well,” she says. “Nobody’s hurt, right?”
“No, but?—”
“Well, then today’s still a win in my book.”
I scoff at that ridiculous statement. McGuire got away with directly attacking me—and worst of all, Kat—unpunished. Under no circumstances would I ever count that as a win.
“Kat—” I say, but she interrupts me.
“I mean it. We’re all going to live to fight another day.”
“Including McGuire.”
She dismisses that fact as insignificant with a decisive wave of her hand. “It’s just a matter of time before you track him down. All will be well when it ends well, Nik. And it will. I have no doubts about that. Trust me.”
“I’m trying, believe me. But you have to understand, Kat—I won’t be able to rest until he’s dead. It was one thing for him to murder Maxim. For better or for worse, Maxim made his bed. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have McGuire’s head for it. But Maxim knew the consequences of fucking around with the man’s daughter. But for him to come after you…”
She sighs. “Nik?—”
