It was a simple trick. Jane used her connection with Claudia Cantore to send Boris running from the house. She 'let' him overhear a fake conversation between herself and the blond woman about Laney being in trouble at the club. Even though Jane had set him up, she was shocked at how fast the man had run to rescue the little Asian woman. He was going to be pissed when he found Laney to be safe and sound and in zero need of his intervention. Sometimes being a PI really paid off. She'd learned about Boris' unrequited feelings for Laney ages ago and had been waiting months to use that piece of gossip to her advantage.Several minutes after Boris had left, Vlad exited his office to head into the city for his meeting. She tossed him a cold look when he suggested she might miss him. He laughed and kissed her hard enough on the mouth that she gasped and her lips tingled from the pressure. Vlad did like to make an impression.?"Where is Boris?" he asked.Jane's heart sped up and she dropped
"I've been expecting you," he said, not getting up from his chair. "Thought you'd come sooner though.""Gunshot wounds take time to heal," she snapped, keeping her gun level on his relaxed form."I meant, I thought your boyfriend would be by sooner," he clarified.Jane's eyes flickered around the room, trying to determine if he had a weapon. She couldn't see anything. "I didn't tell him.""I figured," he said heavily. "He shot up half the town searching for your attacker and didn't come sniffing around me. If you'd told him, I'd be hanging out with Dennis Yankovich by now." He looked at her speculatively. "He doesn't know you're here.""No," she confirmed."Once he finds out, I'm a dead man. Even if you decide not to kill me.""I'm not going to kill you Grubs, I just want some answers." He flinched at the pet name she used to call him. "Whether you live or die depends on you. Once you're in custody, you can be sent to a federal prison in a different state, out of Sitnikov's infl
The ride home was icily silent. Vlad allowed her to brood without comment or touch. Though she had been a cop for ten years, she wasn't used to seeing such brutality from a person with whom she was emotionally involved. Jane stifled a bitter laugh. She never got emotionally involved with anyone, so her entire fucked up relationship with Vladimir Sitnikov was a novelty. If pressed, she couldn't even begin to describe her own feelings toward the tall, dark mob boss. Fear. Lust. Hate. "Is this why you didn't just take me when you had the chance? You wanted me to find out about my former employers? All those months ago, I practically dared you to fuck me on your doorstep. You wanted me to know he was in your pocket, but you didn't want to be the one to tell me." Her voice wavered with pain and anger.He looked across the length of the seat at her with cool disinterest. "That was part of the reason. At the time you weren't ready for me yet.""And now I am?" she asked with a shiver."
"I want to go home Vlad. Now," she insisted, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled off both the shirt and the jacket, draping them over the back of a chair that was pushed up against the marble kitchen island. "No Jane," he said, his voice low, the accent becoming more pronounced as he stalked toward her. "You want to be treated like a whore."He stopped in front of her, his naked chest displaying the stark array of tattoos. The temple with its base of skulls looked more sinister than ever to her, reminding her that he wasn't a pretend bad guy. He was the real thing. And she constantly mocked and defied him. She was only alive because something about her caught his attention to the point of obsession. She tilted her chin and glared up into his dark, soulless eyes, daring him to do his worst.His lips pulled back in a thin, feral grin. He spread his arms wide, "This is where I bring my whores, where I fuck and suck and then leave. Sometimes if t
Jane grinned happily as she sat crosslegged on the floor of Vlad's study in front of his open safe with a pile of VERY incriminating papers piled in her lap. She could hardly believe the code she'd managed to oversee while being forced to trail Vlad everywhere he went actually worked and that her Russian lover felt comfortable enough leaving work in there with his ex-cop girlfriend staying in the same house. Well, he certainly had made spying on his criminal enterprise a whole lot easier the past few days. After the whole kicking-him-in-the-junk and beating-him-up-with-a-toilet-chip incident, followed by the sneaking out of his fortress to confront an attempted murderer by herself snafu, Vlad hadn't been feeling too trusting of Jane. So he'd decided she was to be babysat by Boris at all times. And when not with Boris, she was to be accompanied by Vlad. She wasn't even allowed to pee alone for those few days after she'd confronted Gruber. But the one thing Vladimir Stinikov, impenetra
Jane stared defiantly at Vlad, daring him to say something. He eyed her outfit of black skinny jeans and black T-shirt with the caption "private dick" emblazoned on it with faint distaste. In concession to her wedding day, she had brushed her straight dark hair and added a light layer of make-up, including blue eye shadow, which brought out the angry sparkle in her eyes, and nude lipstick.?She also added a silver skull ring to her middle finger.Vlad looked his usual detached sexy in an even-more-expensive-than-usual dark grey suit with a blue silk tie. "I told Boris to take you shopping this morning," he said, cold anger evident in his voice. "Yet this is what you wear."Oh goody, she had pissed him off again. The cold fa?ade that habitually frightened everyone else in his world didn't stop her from doing everything in her power to annoy him. Especially on her forced wedding day. Because, though she would like to deny what was about to happen, she was under no illusions that once th
Though her wedding ceremony hadn't been the happiest event of her life, Jane found herself several hours later partaking in what would pass for their reception with surprising enjoyment. She sat at her new husband's side eating a sampling of each new Russian dish that was placed before her in one of the city's most exclusive restaurants. The owner, Vladimir Sitnikov, had closed the establishment to the public on the occasion of his wedding and invited only his closest friends and soldiers. Some of the food she enjoyed and some she pushed away after one bite.Jane knew that she would have to impress the men that surrounded Vlad, and among the Russians there was only so many ways she could do that. Strength and vodka. Since she wouldn't be winning any arm wrestling competitions in the near future, she ended up downing shot after shot of vodka in honour of her health, her beauty, her fertility and whatever else the jovial foul-mouthed men could come up with. After a few hours of revelry,
"Oh my god!" she groaned the next morning, rolling off the bed with a thump, and run-crawled to the bathroom. She got the lid of the toilet open just in time to discover that vodka is not nearly as smooth coming back up as it is going down."Burns, does it, malysh?" said a darkly amused voice from the doorway."Fuck you and your 'molysh' bullshit," she replied between bouts of nausea. "I'll give you a pet name that'll make even your goddamned mafia ears burn."She glared at him from underneath her bangs. Then she laughed weakly, imagining what she must look like: sweaty, pale and shaking with nausea in day old clothes. "I make a hell of a bride," she said with a watery grin before vomiting again.With a muttered comment in Russian, he went to the sink, ignoring her weak slap at his leg to get him away, and wetted a facecloth. He bent over her and, lifting her dark hair, pressed the cool cloth against the back of her neck. She sighed in relief, her body beginning to relax now that
Vlad looked down at his wife while she worked quietly. She sat crosslegged on the floor on top of his expensive rug in front of the roaring fire she had insisted he light for her. He'd demanded a kiss in return for the favour. When she had laughingly refused, he had, like the thief he was, stolen it from her and then proceeded to steal so much more. It amazed him yet, this intense feeling he felt for his wife. He knew it was love, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it. What he felt went beyond the calf-like love he witnessed in others. He had wanted to possess Jane in a way that would bind her to him for eternity. Even now, he felt anxious that she wasn't as much his as she should be. He could make men bleed without thinking twice. He took anything and everything he wanted, leaving destruction behind him if he encountered resistance. Yet Jane had defied him on numerous occasions and he could do nothing but claim her again and again. She was a strong woman, not to be broken easily
She's still alive, Vlad told himself over and over again as he sat waiting for Petrov to appear. They wouldn't murder the only leverage they have over you. They need us both alive.Intellectually, Vlad knew his words were true. But inside, his thoughts were black and murky with rage. He couldn't erase the vision of Petrov grabbing Jane from behind and lifting her off her feet. She had screamed Vlad's name and reached for him. He had been helpless to get to his woman while she was afraid and suffering.Vlad contented himself with imagining every way in which he could torture Petrov while still keeping him alive. He wanted Petrov to understand, to truly understand the colossal mistake he'd made in touching Jane. Vlad had been willing, for friendship's sake, to let the boy leave the city unharmed, though it might weaken him in the eyes of the organization. Instead of accepting his generous offer, Petrov had declared war.The enforcer had sacrificed his life the moment he moved against
King took her hand in a firm grip. When Jane winced involuntarily, he frowned, gripped her wrist and pulled her closer when she tried to pull away. Jane glanced back at Boris. When he didn't react with murder and mayhem, she allowed Tyson King to turn her hand over in his and examine the palm. He gently touched the grazes where glass had pierced the skin. King dropped her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Sitnikov. I've heard about you and have been eager to make your acquaintance."Somehow, Jane didn't find that comforting. Especially not when King indicated the man standing to his right. "Daniel Mercer is head of my security. He'll be working with you on getting your husband back."Jane was about to protest any interference when she got a good look at King's head of security. There was no way to describe his eyes except dead as they calmly took in every detail of her and Boris' appearance. His face was hard as rock. Even the sexy waves of sandy brown hair and trimm
"Jane, come to me, pchelka!" she looked around and saw Boris reaching for her, his large arm thrust under the car.She reached out and put her hand in his, trusting him completely. His hand immediately engulfed hers and with a grunt of pain he pulled her bodily from under the car. Jane winced as her sweater rode up and the bare skin of her side scraped across the pavement. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She suspected Boris was shot and he was still trying to help her. If he could suck it up then so could she.Boris pulled her into a sitting position next to him. His other hand was pressed tightly to his shoulder where blood was seeping from between his fingers.They heard the screech of tires. Jane tried to crawl up the car to look over the hood. Boris yanked her back against his body and swore as the SUV pulled out into traffic and passed them. A man was leaning out the window with a gun.Boris grabbed Jane around the waist, stood with her in his brawny arms and lunged a
"My ass hurts, asshole," Jane said grumpily the next morning while Vlad led her to their car. "I can't believe you lied to me."Vlad shrugged his shoulders, supremely unconcerned with her discomfort as her sore ass came into contact with the plush leather seat of his Bentley and her breath rushed out in a pained hiss. "You lied to me first when you ignored your promise to release me. Besides I merely said I would not beat you. I consider that light spanking as foreplay to our second round of lovemaking last night. Admit it, you enjoyed it just a little."Jane glared at him, put her sunglasses on and stared steadily out the opposite window from where he sat. He laughed huskily and reached around her to draw a seatbelt over her chest and hips. Once she was safely buckled in, he did the same for himself. Despite her objections Jane had enjoyed the way her husband had taken her forcefully after relieving his anger on her rounded derriere. Something about the combination of pain and pleas
Jane climbed his body, and pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss. She wasn't eloquent, she didn't know how else to tell her criminal mastermind of a husband that she had fallen in love with him despite herself. His words had pierced her heart, ensuring the final thrust in her capitulation. She belonged to him now of her own free will. His lips devoured hers in return, sealing their incredible attraction to each other with a promise of forever.Jane tore her lips from his and began kissing her way down his body toward his cock, which stood eager for her attention. Her lips closed over him with an ecstatic moan, encasing the tip in the velvety softness of her mouth. She ran her tongue around the head, paying the indent particular attention. Vlad groaned and thrust his hips up, forcing more of the stiff flesh into her mouth. Jane enthusiastically complied, bringing her hand up to fist the base and sinking down the shaft as far as she could go. "Fuck!" he groaned, fighting t
Vlad bent down and swept her off her feet. Jane laughed crazily and grabbed hold of his neck as her feet left the ground. He had one arm around her back and the other tucked under her jean clad legs. Her booted feet stuck out in front of them as he strode up the steps, into the mansion and past Boris, who calmly closed the door and disappeared into the shadows."Here I thought all those muscles you like to hide under your suits were for show," she smirked.Vlad ascended the stairs swiftly with his wife held tightly in his arms. "I will smack that beautiful ass for suggesting such a thing.""Bring it on, Russian!"Vlad let her legs slide to the floor once they were in their bedroom. Now that they were alone, he allowed his eyes to roam over her with unconcealed lust. He took his jacket off and began unbuttoning his shirt. Nodding toward her, he said, "Clothes off. Now, Jane."She didn't need to be asked twice. She unbuckled her skull-studded belt and shoved her skinny jeans down he
Vlad was leading Jane from the restaurant with a hand under her arm when the blond man he'd been talking to stepped in front of them, blocking their path. They stopped walking. Vlad didn't give any outward impression of annoyance, but Jane felt the subtle shift in his body as he moved her slightly back, away from the other man whose sharp eyes were taking the pair in."It seems that I must congratulate you on the recent occasion of your marriage, Mrs Sitnikov," the man drawled, his cold blue eyes sliding from Vlad to Jane. "I was sorry to have missed the invitation."Jane didn't like his tone of voice. He seemed insolent, something she hadn't experienced in any of Vlad's men thus far. "If you know my husband at all," she replied, her brown eyes just as cold, "then you know he acts quickly when he wants something and doesn't require the approval of others."The emphasis she put on the word others left no doubt that she meant 'subordinates'. The man stepped toward Jane, but Vlad stopp
Jane rolled over in her bed and tried to get comfortable underneath the layers of homemade quilts. Where once she would have hated the thought of everything in the room and house, now she found the familiarity comforting. Even the creak of bedsprings took her back to her childhood spent in that same room. Oddly, visiting her family seemed to ease the worries she had struggled with all of her life. She had resented her family and the lifestyle they led. Now, coming home, she saw everything in a different light. It wasn't for her, but she didn't hate everything Amish anymore. Especially now that they seem to be in favour of indoor plumbing.She missed Vlad. More than she thought possible. More than she had ever missed anything, ever. This was her third night away from him. And she was done. She wouldn't spend one more night out of the arms of her husband. Their marriage may have been forced on her, but she found now that she badly wanted it. She couldn't imagine not having Vlad in her li