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Ending the call, Viktor eased himself out of the bed, grabbed a quick shower, got dressed and nuzzled Emerson.
“Don’t wake up, malenkaya, just sleep, but know I have to meet Fitz.”
“What?” she mumbled sleepily.
“I have to meet Fitz. He says it’s important. I don’t know how long I’ll be.” He kissed her shoulder. “Stay here. If you feel you have to leave, my driver is at your convenience. Just let me know where you’ve gone.”
“Mmm… okay. Love you. Bye,” she said rolling back over. He was fairly sure she was asleep before he even had time to process what she’d said.
He pulled back and looked down at her. He doubted she’d even remember what she’d said. Normally, if a woman used the L word, Viktor was quick to end things. He was surprised as he examined his feelings and found nothing that made him want to pull away.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you too, dushka,” he whispered.
When he joined Fitzwallace in the SUV, the Scotsman handed him his coffee and started to laugh.
“What?” grumbled Viktor.
“Nothing,” chuckled Fitz. “Nothing at all. I wasn’t sure you were serious about it.”
“I ordered a ring from Antwerp; that’s pretty damn serious.”
“True enough, but if I were you, I’d get that done sooner rather than later, and I’d make sure the news makes all the papers.”
“Why?”
“Oliver Toney. He’s got a hard-on for your girl. Cerberus has been asked to gather some intelligence on him. I got the feeling MI-6 might have asked you to do the same. I thought we’d join forces, and I knew you had, or at least were developing, feelings for the girl.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I was in the audience last night. I normally don’t get aroused by anything or anyone other than JJ, but you and Emerson had me reaching for a glass of water and looking for a place I could fuck my wife. By the way, thank you for that. We had one hell of a night because of you two. So, about that ring….”
“It should be here before week’s end,” said Viktor with a rueful smile. “Do you think I’m a fool?”
“Not at all. I knew from the moment I met JJ that I’d never want anyone else. In all seriousness, Romanov, congratulations. Emerson is one hell of a girl,”
“Thanks, Fitz.”
By the time he returned to the club, he was convinced Emerson’s suspicions about Toney weren’t far off the mark. He’d known the guy was a douchebag, but he just thought he was a tool. If what they were tracking proved to be true, Toney was so much more than any of them had ever thought, and Viktor was beginning to believe Toney had had a hand in the senior Ravenel’s deaths.
As he walked in the front door of the club, he asked, “Any messages?”
“Ms. Ravenel left this morning and said she’d talk with you later.”
“Did she seem all right?”
“She did, Sir,” said the receptionist with a grin. “Can I just say that was the hottest scene last night?”
“No, you may not—at least not in the foyer,” Viktor scolded, but then grinned. “But thank you.”
He headed up to his office and settled in to get some actual work done. Normally he could compartmentalize all the various aspects of his life. He kept everything separate—never letting one area bleed into another. But he kept finding himself letting his mind drift to Emerson. He could recall vividly each moment, every sigh, every touch, everything. And if he wasn’t thinking about what they’d already done, he was thinking about all the delicious things he wanted to do to and with her. Maybe once he got that ring on her finger, he’d be better able to concentrate on other things. Fat chance.
“Sir?” Agata said from the elevator. “May I clean in here?”
“Of course, Agata. Emerson has gone back to her office. If you’d like to clean upstairs after you’re done, I would appreciate it. I’m not sure what our plans are…”
Viktor stopped speaking as Agata backed away from the locked, bulletproof glass case that contained many imperial family artifacts that had disappeared after the revolution and had since been recovered. She was pointing to it with a look of horror on her face. Among the items in the case was one of three of the missing Fabergé eggs his great-great-grandmother, the Grand Duchess Anastasia, had given him. It was the Nécessaire egg—a fabulous creation covered in rubies, emeralds, and sapphires that had been given by Tsar Alexander III to Maria Feodorovna in 1889.
“It’s gone,” Agata finally managed to say. “The egg—it’s gone.”
