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Always, Alex watched out for any Russians among the crowd. He didn’t know all the mafia groups who used this town as R&R, rest and relaxation, but that didn’t matter. As a Ukrainian, he could sense and recognize anyone who was Russian whether he knew them or not. Plus, operators had a certain stride, a confidence, even an arrogance, that the civilian populace would never own. He was watching, firstly for that kind of body language among the hundreds of people wandering the street, secondly for any facial identification, if possible.
“You’re tense.”
His hand became firmer against her back for a moment and then Alex relaxed it. “I am watching for my own kind,” he told her wryly.
“What are the chances?”
“Very good.”
“How can I help you spot one?”
“You know how operators swagger. Keep your eyes on the man who walks like that. Let me know and I will double check you on it.”
“How many guys did you know in the two years you were down here?” Lauren saw the light from the streetlamps shadow Alex’s face. Now, he was operational, and she could feel him sensing, sifting through hundreds of possibilities to either keep or reject. They all did that when they were ‘on.’
“Many,” Alex admitted.
“Are there any more like you?” and she looked up at his rugged face, the shadows deepening the angularity of his features. It made him look fierce. Indomitable.
“Just one, Nik Morozov, my combat medic friend who is also Ukrainian. We were considered misfits in Vlad’s group. We would not partake in the rape of a woman. We would not harm anyone. Lucky for us, we were their combat medics, so they did not force us to do the things they did. We would have refused, if they had. Nik and I grew up together, our wheat farms near one another.”
“I think you’re lucky you weren’t killed by Alexandrov because you refused to participate.”
“We would walk away from the village. There was nothing we could do, Lauren. If we tried to stop the raping, Vlad would have pulled out his pistol and shot us both in the head. We hated it, and we felt helpless, guilty, and it became harder and harder to bear over time.”
Lauren saw sudden pain comes to his eyes. And then, it was gone. He instantly shifted into hunting mode once again. “How did you two stand it?”
Alex shook his head. “The only way we could have really stopped the Russians was to put a bullet through their heads.”
“Why did you join the Russian mafia?” She saw him frown, his mouth thinning. Lauren was beginning to understand his facial signals. The question was painful for him.
“At that time,” Alex admitted hoarsely, slowing his walk, pulling her to the side, near the edge of the walkway, his hand resting against her back, “Kira needed therapy. We were poor. I decided to join the mafia to make a lot of money quickly so my little sister could get the psychiatric help she needed.” He shrugged, casually looking at the slow-moving, milling crowd. The noise-level was high. There was a lot of laughter. These people were on vacation, with no worries in the world. He looked back down to see Lauren’s reaction to his explanation. His heart wrenched. Her eyes were swimming with tears that she was valiantly trying to stop from falling.
Without thinking, he lifted his hands, framing her upturned face, gently removing the tears with his thumbs. “Why tears?” he demanded, his voice thick. Never had Lauren looked as vulnerable as she did right now. And he couldn’t stop himself from continuing to frame her beautiful, shadowed face with his hands.
“B-because you love Kira enough to do anything you can to help her,” Lauren whispered, blinking, trying to stop the tears. “You put yourself in harm’s way to do the right thing for her. And you suffered a great deal by doing so. I can’t even begin to imagine what you went through, Alex. Your sister had been raped. And then, to join a mafia team where the leader condoned it…” She gave him an anguished look. “I just can’t imagine how that tore you up.” Lauren was transfixed by the hooded, burning look in Alex’s eyes. He didn’t scare her any longer and that was simply amazing to her. She hungrily absorbed his unexpected touch, his calloused hands against her face, gentle, not controlling. The people ebbed and flowed around them, but she heard nothing except for his deep voice, drowning in the understanding in his eyes as he held her upturned gaze.
“I do not regret my decision. Kira received her therapy and she improved remarkably. And I was able to help Cal and Sky escape.” His eyes grew dark and he added, in a husky tone, “And I have met you,malen ‘kaya…”
Little one.The endearment he had called her by that one time when they were at Cal and Sky’s home. He’d told her then that it was a Ukrainian man’s way of telling the woman that he loved her. For a moment, Lauren thought he was going to lean down and kiss her. She could see it in his eyes, feel it all around him. And what stunned her the most was that she WANTED Alex to kiss her. Lauren lacked the bravery it took to make the first step, to simply lean upward and brush her mouth against his. The molten energy spun between them, and her lower body clenched. Hungry. Needy. Wanting Alex. No one else.
“Come, you must be hungry?” and he released her and took a step back. How badly Alex wanted to kiss that full, soft mouth of hers, and taste her. Lauren had actually wanted him to kiss her! That staggered Alex. Never, would he have thought he’d ever see that look of longing, that yearning, in her face. Her lips had parted and he’d groaned inwardly, desperately wanting to close the distance and kiss her. It would have been good cover, but Alex knew better. If Lauren really did want to kiss him, she had to make the first move. Otherwise, it could become a certified disaster, and any trust he had cobbled together with her would be instantly shattered.
Looking away, Lauren was too shaken to say anything. The comforting feeling of Alex’s large, splayed fingers settled against the small of her back once more, made her feel good. Made her feel her body awakening in a new and different way. His touch was sending tiny tingles from her spine, straight down to her lower body. It felt good, as if some magical, unexplained transformation were slowly taking place within her. Lauren felt Alex standing there, patient, waiting for her to reply. Did he sense her? How she was feeling? Did he know she had wanted to kiss him? Lauren felt unsure of herself and the speed of the changes that were happening between them.
Clearing her throat, she met his warm gaze and whispered, “Yes, I’m ready to eat.”
By the timethey had finished eating their meal of Peruvian stew, night had fallen. Now, outside the small restaurant, Lauren felt the damp coolness of the night. She hadn’t worn anything all that warm.
“May I?” and Alex lifted his arm as if to see if she would allow him to place his arm around her shoulders, draw her near, and keep her warm against him.
Nodding, Lauren moved closer. Heat radiated off Alex like a sun. As his arm settled around her shoulders, light, not heavy or trying to control her, she wrapped her arms around herself and relaxed. Lauren could feel his latent strength as he drew her gently against his body. It felt reassuring to her as they slowly walked down the wooden path toward the main street.
“Okay?” he asked, dipping his head enough to catch her shadowed eyes. She had drawn her arms in around herself in what Alex suspected was a defensive gesture. Did Lauren feel threatened by him? Forcing herself to play her role for the good of the mission? He knew Kira would not have been able to do so. He had no desire to make Lauren suffer like that. There was no need, and he would not do that to her. He started to lift his arm from around her shoulders.
Lauren whispered, “It’s okay, Alex.” And then she added, “You’re like a big, warm teddy bear to me. Did you know that?” She saw the worry leave his eyes, saw yearning replace it. For her. There was something seductive and sensual going on between them. Was this how a woman felt toward a man they liked? Lauren had experienced none of these feelings before, and was now lamenting on why she hadn’t forced herself to get at least a few relationships under her belt in the past. But her fear… well… it had just been too daunting to try. The past too raw. Never put to sleep. Always there. Until now.Until Alex.
“So, your arms around yourself?” he probed gently, as they melted into the flow of the tourists, “is to keep you warm? It is a defensive body-language gesture, too.”
