guys I’d known before had made me feel like a freak
just for enjoying it? I think it was because of the relish
he took in my pleasure, as if nothing made him happier
than seeing—or listening to—me come.
“Tonight,” Angelo told me, “when I’m finished here,
we’re going to do that for real.”
My mind spun. It had only been a day since I’d slapped
him at the party. He’d lied to me: was I ready to trust
him again, to take that step with him? But just the
thought of it made my ass start to grind against the bed
again. God, what’s he turned me into? “Where?” I
asked, shocked at how breathless I sounded.
“I’ll pick you up at your place,” he said. “And then we’ll
go somewhere, somewhere no one knows us.” His voice
grew low. “And I’ll find something to bend you over and
—”
A hard rap of knuckles on glass, seemingly from inches
away. I actually looked around, startled, before I
realized it was at Angelo’s end. I heard him curse. “I
gotta go,” he said. “I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
And then he was gone.
A knock at my bedroom door. I jumped up off the bed
and straightened the comforter. “Come in.”
Rachel pushed the door open. “What was that?” she
asked cautiously.
I pushed my hair off my sweat-damp forehead. “What
was what?”
“All that screaming.” Her eyes narrowed.
I did my best poker face. I was a Malakov, dammit.
Ice-cold. My expression would reveal nothing—
Rachel’s eyes widened. “It’s that guy from Central Park!”
Chyort! However hard I summoned the ice, it wouldn’t
come. Angelo had reduced me to a hot pile of mush. I
sighed and nodded.
Rachel threw her arms around me. “Tell me everything.
Only pausing to thank me for getting you together.”
I hugged her. “Okay, but it’ll have to be fast.” A ripple
of excitement shot down my body. “I’m going out.”
16
Angelo
I watched from the shadows as the huge container was
lowered towards the waiting truck. It was bitterly cold—
even the Russians were wrapped up in thick coats and
gloves, yelling to each other to hurry. They were more
concerned with keeping warm than keeping guard.
Good.
I glanced across at Rico, who was ready to give the
order to move in. He gave me a friendly nod, but I
could feel the tension between us. I’d chewed him out
when he’d rapped on the car window, but the truth was
it was me who was in the wrong. I’d been so busy
imagining Irina pumping her slender fingers into her
pussy, I hadn’t noticed the Russians arriving. What was
with me? It was like the woman had cast some Russian
witchcraft on me.
The container settled onto the truck and the Russians
started to secure it. Rico opened his mouth, but I held
up my hand: I wanted to wait as long as possible, get
them to do all the work for us….
Now. I dropped my hand and Rico yelled the order. The
Russians looked up in dismay as flashlights went on all
around them. As they squinted against the blinding light,
they heard five guns being cocked. “Give it up!” I yelled.
“No one has to get hurt!”
The Russians looked at each other...and slowly raised
their hands, cursing. Good. No need to make this thing
bloody if we didn’t have to.
Less than five minutes later, we’d collected the Russians’
guns and tossed their cell phones in the water so they
couldn’t raise the alarm too soon. Two of my guys got
into the truck and we climbed back into our cars and
prepared to drive off in convoy.
“Mikhail and Vasiliy will fucking kill you for this,” snarled
one of the Russians through the car window.
I lowered the window and smiled sweetly at him. “Tell
Vasiliy,” I said victoriously, “A wise man once said…’fuck
you.’”
Our little convoy moved off and I raised the window,
cutting off the Russian’s stream of cursing. And just like
that, we stole a million dollars worth of counterfeit
goods.
“That is one pissed-off Russian,” said Rico, watching in
the mirror from the driver’s seat. “Hey, we should
celebrate. Let’s hit a bar. Let’s hit five bars.”
I grinned. He was right: we did need to celebrate. And
normally I’d have liked nothing more than to sprawl
around a table in one of New York’s fanciest bars. But….
But I wanted to celebrate with her. “Nah. I got plans,” I
told him.
I saw the hurt in his eyes straightaway and felt lousy.
But he rallied quickly. “Well, sure,” he said. “That same
chick again? Hell, I can understand that. You should get
your dick wet.”
I nodded and grinned, but just a little uneasily. It didn’t
feel like that, like I was just fucking her to celebrate, as
I would have done in the past. It felt like much more
than that.
A half hour later, the truck and its stolen cargo were
safe in one of our warehouses and I’d given Rico a thick
wad of cash to take the guys out on the town. I felt
guilty...but the guilt evaporated as soon as I pulled up
outside Irina’s house and saw her hurrying down the
path towards me. Her coat covered her almost to her
knees, but I caught tantalizing glimpses of the firm,
stocking-covered thigh as she climbed in. She’d barely
closed her door when I put my hand on her cheek and
turned her to me, then drew her into a long kiss. I ran
my other hand down her body, feeling her through the
layers of clothing, eager to unwrap her.
“We could just go inside,” I growled as I broke the kiss.
Less than a minute and we could be on her bed, doing
for real what we’d played out on the phone.
She shook her head. “My roommate’s there.”
“So? Let her listen.”
For the first time, I saw her flush, a delicate rose blush
that made her look delectably innocent. “She already
listened!” she said with feeling. “Somewhere else!”
I grinned. “I know a place. But first…” And I slipped the
long, slim box out of my overcoat pocket and handed it
to her.
I’d bought it that afternoon, when Rico and I were
cooling our heels in the city waiting for Peterson to get
back to us with the information. I’d paid a visit to an
Italian jeweler I knew, a guy who’d been under my
protection for years. I knew he wouldn’t rip me off. And
when I’d seen the necklace, it had been so perfect for
Irina that I hadn’t even checked the price tag.
She opened the box...and gasped as she saw the
slender chain with its shining triangles of polished silver.
Each one was thicker at its center than at the edge,
angular and yet touchably smooth. When I helped her
slip it around her neck and fasten the clasp, the
triangles lay flat against her skin around the base of her
throat, twinkling in the streetlights as she turned her
head to examine herself in the rear view mirror. I
thought they looked like ice crystals—that’s why I’d
picked it.
“I love it,” she breathed.
I leaned close and growled in her ear. “I want to fuck
you when you’re wearing that necklace...and nothing
else.”
She stiffened...and nodded. I put the car into drive. I
knew where I was going to take her: a little street that
would be quiet, this time of night, while still being only a
stone’s throw from the Brooklyn bridge.
The Chrysler had easily enough room in the back for us