"Lena, come here. It's time for you to meet Sasha." Yuri held out his hand.
I gawked at him and shook my head. "No, thank you."
"Lena." He spoke sternly and wiggled his fingers. Not wanting to look like a total wimp in front of everyone, I mustered my courage and took a tiny step toward him. When I placed my palm against his, he pulled me even closer. Holding my hand, he guided me toward the dog's head. I cringed as the soft fur touched my fingertips but didn't dare jerk back. I didn't want the beast to misinterpret any quick movements.
When the dog pushed against my petting hand, I held my breath. Please don't eat me.
Instead, the dog whined and made a happy sound as he nuzzled my stomach and rubbed his huge head all over me. Realizing the dog wasn't going to bite my hand off, I relaxed and continued to gently pet him. "Hello, Sasha."
The dog lifted up its massive paw and smacked my arm. I gripped his paw for a quick shake and let it drop. When I tried to stop petting him, he pushed against me again, the force of it enough to make me stumble backward. After communicating his desire for me to continue, I didn't dare stop.
"I think he likes me." I smiled at Yuri, my grin one of pure relief and amusement.
"Likes you?" Yuri studied his dog. "I think he's smitten. I've never seen him take to anyone so quickly."
Scratching behind both ears, I said, "You just have very good taste, don't you, Sasha?"
Chuckling, Yuri snapped his fingers and gave the dog an order. Sasha hurried to comply and moved to his master's right side. Yuri slid an arm around my waist. "Come. Let me show you the house."
I glanced back at the car. "My bag—"
"I'll handle it, Miss Cruz," Feodor assured me.
"It's Lena." I extended my hand and shook his, noting the subtle signs of arthritis in his swollen knuckles. "And thank you."
At Yuri's side, I got the grand tour of the place. As he pointed out the architectural details here and there, I realized how much of himself he'd put into building the place. I saw such excitement in his eyes as he showed me the fireplace he'd reclaimed from a Russian dacha and the limestone he'd chosen from a Texas quarry.
"You look bemused, Lena." He leaned against the door frame of the sumptuous library and watched me as I ran my fingers along the deep but empty shelves. "Is the house not to your liking?"
"It's beautiful, Yuri."
"But?" He shot me a teasing smile. "You look as if you expected something different."
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Okay. I did," I finally admitted. "You know how these mega mansions can be with their gold leaf and more marble than a mausoleum. They're often rather gauche."
He feigned offense by touching his chest. "Me? Gauche?"
"No," I said with a laugh. "Pretentious? Yes."
"Ouch!" He chuckled at my playful barb. "Since you haven't seen the upstairs, I think you should reserve your judgment on that account."
"Why? Is your bed made of pure gold?"
His eyes darkened with need. "You'll have to wait and see."
I swallowed hard at the implication. After the way he'd rocked my world in the shower, I didn't know if I'd survive a tumble between his sheets.
He held out his hand. "Dinner?"
I nodded and joined him at the door. "Does Feodor cook?"
"Not tonight," Yuri said. "I wouldn't want him to feel the stress of making everything perfect for you so I made other arrangements."
"Is he seeing someone about his hands?"
Yuri glanced at me in surprise. "You noticed?"
"Of course."
"He's going to the best man in Houston. Feodor says his hands and knees feel better but I try not to let him take on too much. This is supposed to be his retirement."
"Then you should get this place staffed, Yuri. Put him in a managerial position but make sure he's well-supported. You'll have peace of mind and he'll be happy knowing he's looking after your home."
Regret tightened his expression. "You're right. I shouldn't keep putting off the hiring of new staff. My priorities lately—"
"Are out of balance?" I interjected carefully.
Yuri stopped walking and turned to look at me. He gave a reluctant nod of his head. "Very."
Stress radiated from him in waves. I rubbed his arm. "Don't you have an assistant?"
"For the business, yes, but not personally." He made a face and slashed his hand through the air. "I don't want someone I don't know poking around in my personal and home life."
"Well, you can't do it all. A man in your position has a million things on his plate. I can only imagine how many things you've put on hold to spend the day with me." I cupped his jaw and ran my thumb over his bottom lip. "You have to find someone you can lean on, Yuri."
He gripped my hand. I trembled under the intensity of his piercing gaze. "Help me, Lena?"
I reared back with shock. "What? Me?"
"You." He ran his finger down my cheek. "It has to be you. I trust you to help me find some balance in my life."
I opened my mouth to decline the offer but then slammed my lips together. What else did I have going on right now? A whole lot of nothing. My blog had always been something I'd updated on the fly and dedicated an hour to in the morning and another two hours or so in the evening. Without a job to fill in my daytime hours, I had a lot of empty time to occupy.
"Okay," I agreed softly. "But," I held up a finger, "I do this my way. I won't have you micro-managing me and standing over my shoulder. If you give me a set of tasks to accomplish, you have to trust that I'll accomplish them efficiently and to your standards without your involvement."
"All right. I can pay—"
I put my hand over his mouth. "No."
"Yes," he replied, his answer muffled my palm.
We both smiled as he tugged my hand away from his face.
"Lena, you can't work for free. That's insulting."
"Here's the thing, Yuri. I have a pretty good feeling that if I'm hanging around your house doing this personal assistant thing, you're probably going to seduce me every chance you get—and I'm going to let you. Taking your money while we're involved would be distasteful. I won't give people a reason to talk about our private business."
He grumbled but didn't disagree with me about inviting gossip. "Let me make you a deal."
"I'm listening."
"Work with me until you find new employment. When you make the move into a new position, we'll settle up with what I owe you for the hours you've worked for me. That way you won't be my paid employee and my girlfriend at the same time."
Even though I didn't want to violate my principle of taking money from a man who was also heating up the sheets with me, I recognized that it was fair to be paid for my work. This wasn't a perfect solution but it was elegant enough for me to accept.
Glad the he understood my concerns of mixing money and pleasure, I acquiesced with a nod. "Okay. I can live with that."
"Good." He kissed my forehead. "Tonight, over dinner, we'll draw up a contract so it's entirely legit."
"On a napkin?" I asked playfully.
"Only the very best for you," he replied with a smile.
I rolled my eyes and wound my arm around his. "So where's this dinner you promised me?"
"Probably waiting for us in the dining room," he said matter-of-factly. "I hired a private chef for the evening."
"Ooh! Fancy!" I gave his arm a little pinch. "A gourmet meal sure beats my offering of cold cereal any day."
"I'm sure Feodor would be delighted to trek down into the cereal cellar to pick out a box of our very best vintage. I hear 2010 was a particularly good year for marshmallows."
"Really?" I giggled at his silliness. "A cereal cellar?"
"Well, I am pretentious after all."
"Yes. Extremely," I added with a grin. "And me? What am I?"
Yuri considered me for a moment. His lips pressed against my temple. "Perfectly perfect."
I wasn't so sure about that
but I wasn't about to contradict such a lovely compliment. "Thank you. That's sweet."
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gathered me close to his side. I kept pace with him as we made our way into a cozy dining room just off the kitchen. It was smaller than the larger formal dining he'd shown me and fully furnished unlike most of the rooms I'd seen.
A moment after we'd taken our seats, Feodor appeared with a decanter of wine. As he filled my glass, he smiled at me. "I placed your things in the guest room, Miss Cruz."
"Okay. Um—thanks."
With a nod, he left the dining room. I glanced across the table at Yuri who sipped his wine and eyed me carefully. "What is it, Lena?"
I dragged my finger along the edge of the table. "The guest room?"
"I didn't dare presume."
I understood what he meant. Whatever happened tonight, it was my choice.
And I had already made my decision.
Chapter Nine
After a delicious dinner and delectable dessert course, I found myself curled in the corner of a cushy sofa in Yuri's office. It was the only other room on the first floor that had been furnished and decorated. We'd fallen into a discussion about the European pipeline he wanted to construct. With his long legs stretched out in front of him, he sat on the opposite end of the couch. I still couldn't believe how damn sexy he made a pair of jeans look.
"So that's the problem with the pipeline in a nutshell." He wiped a hand down his face and shook his head. "Every time I think I have the project nailed down, something pops up and there's a setback."
"Is that a problem for the funding?" I asked the question without thinking. "Sorry. It's none of my business."
He shrugged. "The backers of the pipeline are public knowledge. I hold the largest interest, obviously, but there are others—and yes. They're nervous."
"Maybe one of them is sabotaging you. After that mess in Cyprus and the ongoing recession fears, it's possible one of your backers needs to pull out of the deal. If they want to save face and not have to expose their shaky financials, tanking the pipeline deal is a sneaky way to do it."
His gaze snapped to my face. His expression convinced me he hadn't even considered that yet. "Shit."
He was off the couch in an instant and digging his black phone out of his pocket. I'd seen the white one back at my apartment. The black seemed to be his business phone and the white his personal one. It wasn't the first time I'd worried about the way he had so much to juggle.
"I've been so focused on environmental groups protesting the pipeline and rivals and the political angle that I didn't even think about that possibility"
I watched him pace back and forth and talk hurriedly to Anna, the executive assistant who had botched the email about our postponed date. If she was that bad with personal correspondence, I hated to think what else she'd let slip through the cracks in that office.
Because they conducted the conversation in Russian, it was impossible for me to follow. He seemed curt and to the point. It was odd to see him so focused. His demeanor totally changed as he gave his orders. I realized then that the way Yuri was with me was so completely different than he was with others.
As he finished his conversation and set aside his phone, he leaned back against his desk and held my gaze. "What's that look, Kitten?"
My eyebrows arched. "Kitten, huh?"
"Would you prefer sweetheart or perhaps something in my own language?" His lips twitched with amusement. "How about zaychik moy?"
I narrowed my gaze. "Do I even want to know what that is?"
"I'm sure Vivian would be thrilled to translate for you."
"No doubt." I rose from my comfy spot and crossed the distance. Resting my hands on his hips, I gazed up at him. "You're different with me. It was strange to see the ultra-focused business version of you pacing back and forth in here."
"I'm relaxed with you. At ease, "he said and cupped my face. Our lips met in a gentle kiss. "I would love to stand here and promise that my business dealings won't bleed over into the time we spend together but I won't lie to you. That," he gestured to his black business phone, "comes with me as package deal."
"I know." I rose on tiptoes to kiss him. "I can handle it." I stroked my hand down his chest. "I wish I could help you with this pipeline thing. It sounds like it could really turn into a tangled mess."
"It might," he conceded. "Your suggestion of sabotage isn't one I'd considered but it's one I'm reluctantly willing to admit might be correct."
"Earlier, when we came in here, you told me that the details of the environmental report were part of a private assessment. Who else would have that information, Yuri? If it's not a backer, it's someone from the inside." I traced my thumb along his chin. "I got totally screwed by my crew at 716. Don't let the same thing happen to you."
"I won't."
"Good." Standing there, pressed up against his solid heat, I became intensely aware of how desperately I wanted to feel his naked skin against mine again. Our shower had given me a taste of the exquisite pleasure he offered.
My gaze fell to his phone. "Are you expecting another call from Anna?"
He nodded. "Later."
I picked up his phone and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans. "Then we'll leave this on the bedside table."
Desire darkened his eyes. Without giving me a chance to change my mind, he grasped my hand and dragged me out of the office. I scurried to keep up with him. Excitement fluttered in my belly. I so wanted this. I wanted him.
We ran upstairs and took a right down a long gallery hall. Startled by the sight of one of Vivian's paintings, I skidded to a halt. He snapped back when I was an arm's length behind him. Glancing at the wall, he smiled. "Oh. That."
"She'll stroke out from pure elation if she sees that you nestled her painting between a Basquiat and a Galán."
Yuri shot me a surprised look. "You know your art."
"I didn't have much of a choice. Until Nikolai moved Vivian into her own studio in that warehouse of his, I was surrounded by her paint and sketches and books for years." I took a step back to get the full effect of the wall. A smile played upon my lips. "She looks good there."
"Not as good as you're going to look in my bed," Yuri said before bending down to sweep me up in his arms.
I squealed with surprise as he tossed me over his shoulder. "What are you doing? Put me down!"
"I've waited long enough. No more stalling." He strode down the long corridor with me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The sound of Sasha barking and bounding upstairs echoed in the still house. I lifted my head to see the massive, furry beast racing toward us. No doubt my squeal had alerted and confused him.
At the end of the hall, Yuri spun around and gave Sasha a stern command. The dog slid to a stop but whined pitifully when he realized Yuri was leaving him in the hallway. I felt bad for the dog but the idea of having a canine audience wasn't one I particularly relished.
Safe inside his room, Yuri carried me to the bed and dropped me on it. Giggling, I bounced twice before he crawled over me. With his knees on either side of my thighs, he pinned me in place. Our gazes clashed as he loomed over me and interlaced our fingers. He trapped my hands overhead and captured my mouth in a punishing kiss.
Trembling with anticipation, I wound my legs around his waist and surrendered to the erotic swipe of his tongue. His fingertips drifted down my cheek and along the curve of my throat. Yuri shifted his weight so he had unimpeded access to my body. I shuddered as his masterful hands outlined my breasts and followed the slope of my tummy.
Our rapidly exhaled breaths mingled as Yuri unbuckled the thin belt I'd paired with my dress and tugged down the side zipper hidden along my ribcage. When he pulled me into a sitting position, I went willingly. He peeled the dress down to my waist and unhooked my bra.
Already my nipples had formed dark, tight peaks. He palmed my breast and brushed his thumb over my sensitive flesh. "God, you're so beautiful, Yelena. Such silky, warm skin…
"
I gasped and fell back to the bed as he suckled my nipple. He eased the sharp arcs of delight caused by his suckling mouth with slow drags of his velvety tongue around my puckered flesh. I ran my fingers through his hair and lightly scratched my nails against his scalp. "Yuri."
He kissed his way down my belly and nipped playfully at my belly button. Grasping my dress, he dragged it down my hips. I answered his silent plea and lifted my bottom. With a couple of pulls, my dress and panties were whisked away and tossed to the floor. I felt a little silly for choosing my sexiest pair of undies when Yuri hadn't even paid them notice.
When he stood and started to undress, I pushed up onto my knees and crawled to the edge of the bed. I shoved his hands out of the way and flicked through the buttons lining his shirt. He toed out of his shoes and yanked off his socks before unzipping his jeans. I licked my lips as he stepped out of his jeans and boxers. That thick cock jutted forth so proudly.
He shrugged out of his shirt and let me run my greedy little hands all over his sexy chest. I couldn't get enough of his ripped physique. "You're so damn fine."
He laughed and kissed me, sliding his arms around me and taking me down to the mattress again. "No need for the compliments, Kitten. I'm already out of my pants."
I giggled at his lighthearted remark and then moaned with need as his wicked mouth found that spot on the side of my neck that made my toes curl and my tummy clench. He caressed my naked body with such reverence. His big hands teased and squeezed and stroked until I was so hot I felt sure that any moment I would spontaneously combust.
Only then did he slowly, teasingly, walk his fingers down my belly. Our gazes held as he cupped my bare mound. He nuzzled our noses together and nipped at my lower lip. "Spread your legs for me."
I inhaled a shaky breath but complied with his order. He brushed his fingers up and down the seam of my pussy. I ached so badly down there. My clit throbbed mercilessly. I could feel the evidence of my arousal seeping from my core.
Even so desperately aroused, I was clearheaded enough to think about consequences. Benny and Dimitri's impending parenthood was proof enough of what happened when a couple got caught up in the heat of the moment. For those two lovebirds, the unexpected surprise of a baby was a welcome one but for me? I wasn't ready for that responsibility.