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Kira covered her face and laughed. “You’re mortifying.”
“You love it and you know it,” Annie said, linking her arm through Kira’s and pulling her toward the closet. “Come on. We’re going to make sure Lyon can’t keep his hands off you.”
16
Lyon closed the door behind the bellhop and headed down the hall of their suite at the Mandarin. He paused at the entrance to the living room and looked at his wife, her back to him as she gazed out over Central Park.
She still took his breath away, but now there was more than the animal lust that had heated his blood in the beginning of their marriage. The hunger he still felt for her body was magnified by a level of need that frightened him.
He didn’t know if he could live without her.
She turned, as if she’d felt him watching her, and the sun flared behind her, eclipsing her face. For a moment, it was like she was gone, and dread bloomed in his stomach.
Then, she was back, her face lit gold by the afternoon sun behind her.
She smiled. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know I have the most beautiful wife in the world,” he said, walking toward her.
She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. “You’ve become quite the charmer, Mr. Antonov.”
He held her face in his hands. “Only with you, Mrs. Antonov.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her lips in a kiss that was meant to be gentle but quickly turned bruising. Her tongue met his in a heated sparring match, and his cock was instantly hard, hungry for the sweet heat of her body.
She moaned into his mouth, fanning the flames of his desire, and he pressed into her, regretting the past few nights when he’d chosen not to wake her after coming home late. His intentions had been sound — she needed her rest — but now he feared he wouldn’t be able to restrain his hunger for her when he finally got her naked and in bed.
Which unfortunately, could not be right now.
She was breathless when he pulled away, her eyes glassy, reflecting the same passion he’d felt roaring through his own body.
“You have to go,” she said, her voice thick with regret.
“I have to go,” he repeated, kissing her quickly one last time. “But this will be continued this evening.”
She smiled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Promise?”
“You can bet on it.” He held her hand as he backed away from her until he had no choice but to drop it. “And Rurik will be right outside the door if you need anything before I get back.”
He’d left Alek in Chicago to lead the men and guard against further encroachment by Vadim. Rurik was the only other man he trusted to protect Kira.
She scowled. “I thought Rurik was going with you.”
“I’m not leaving you alone,” he said.
“But — ”
“I’ll be fine. This is Kalashnik territory. Vadim isn’t ready to take on someone else.”
He turned away before he changed his mind about leaving. He couldn’t afford to lay about with his wife, reacquainting himself with her body and drinking champagne in bed, however much might want to.
And by god, he did want to.
But he had to protect her, to protect what they were building together.
And that meant he had to grease the wheels of the cavalry he’d been forced to enlist in his cause.
Ellis Island was only accessible by ferry, probably the reason Roman had chosen it as a meeting place. Tailing someone was harder than it looked on TV. It was almost impossible to stay hidden when the mark frequently changed direction and modes of transport, and no mode of transport was harder to tail than a boat.
