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Chapter 3
Olivia
The storm roared on for hours as I ate pub food and drank champagne with Viktor and his strange group of brothers. I called Anna, letting her know I was safe, but stranded, then did the same with Blaise and Daniel at the auction house. I had to push myself to do both, because every moment I spent with Viktor I became more and more fascinated by him. Real-life concerns had become annoying distractions from our conversation.
“At this rate, we will all require rooms for the night.” Viktor sighed as we both looked at the rain turning into hail as it battered the windows. The sky was darkening further, and I knew he was right.
“Yeah, I couldn’t navigate this in broad daylight for more than ten minutes, and that was a real nail-biter even with four-wheel drive. Where are you coming up from?”
“Downtown, near Scollay Square. Yourself?” His bright eyes had a way of piercing into mine even when he was smiling. It didn’t intimidate me; instead, it only increased the warm, melting feeling I got deep in my belly when I looked at him.
“Cambridge. Been there since college.” This was why Anna and I had shared a small apartment even when we both started earning—student loans had us both by the throat. When she married, I’d gotten a new roommate, but hopefully the commission from the McDonough sale would let me clear my debts and have the place to myself.
“Ahh, I see. No wonder you are reluctant to make the drive at night.” He glanced over at his brothers, who were embroiled in some debate in Russian that involved a lot of mock anger, laughter, and back slapping. “Yet you are dedicated enough to brave it for the sake of your company. This auction house is lucky to have you.”
“Let’s just hope they remember that when it’s time for my percentage.” This was my first big score for the auction house. We would have to do a series just to sell it all, and they would doubtless draw rich collectors from all over the East Coast.
He chuckled again, a brief, low sound in his broad chest, accompanied by the faintest curve of a smile. I had learned that Viktor’s real smiles were subtle things, his thin, well-shaped lips barely showing the flash of his teeth. The one he had given Billy had been wider, fake, and cold-eyed. This one had warmth in it…just for me.
“So you said you’re in imports?” I was trying to keep the conversation going instead of just staring at him, but that was tough. He had me all flustered without even getting into serious flirting.
“Yes, my brothers and I have made our fortune through our warehouses and retail connections. It is a small fortune thus far, but I shall build on it.” His gaze swept over me. “Though I doubt you have much interest in the import business.”
“Not separate from you, no,” I said as boldly as I could, although the somewhat shy smile that slipped across my lips as I spoke was entirely unbidden. My body had only gotten more drawn to him over the course of the conversation, and when he mentioned staying, I had to fight off a surge of excitement at the possibilities. Just listening to that silky voice of his made me crave his touch. “Is it that obvious?”
“Not particularly, but I know women.” The gleam in his eye made me swallow hard. At this point, I barely noticed his loud brothers, or the intensifying hailstorm, or even the blues music Mike had put on to distract from the ice shattering against the windows and walls.
I forced down the sudden shyness that tried to come over me. I wasn’t much of a flirt, I’d never tried to seduce a man in my life, but I’d certainly never actedshyabout my interest. Normally I was happy to let a guy make all the moves, and if he didn’t, then, oh well. But Viktor made me want to try.
“I’ll bet you do,” I muttered, looking him up and down. A man like this could probably get any woman he wanted into bed, and he knew it. His confidence was not overbearing, he didn’t brag. He didn’t need to. “The question is, what do we do about it?”
His eyebrows rose slightly, his intense gaze locked with mine. “Well, I suggest we make the best of the situation.”
My breath caught in my throat. But I pushed myself past my shyness, for once listening to the heat he stoked up in my body just by talking. “Guess we’ll need a room, then.”
And the way he smiled at me at those words made it all the more worth it.
***
The walk upstairs took forever. I only had two small glasses of champagne in me, but I felt dizzy and warm and a little frantic to reach my room and follow Viktor into it.
“I don’t normally do things like this,” I admitted, hoping to explain away my slight awkwardness as I fumbled the key into the door and failed to open it the first two turns.
His hand covered mine, he took the key and pressed it in a fraction, then turned it smoothly. “I’m very flattered, then, that you are making an exception.”
His green eyes mesmerized me for a moment before he leaned forward and kissed me, pulling me into his arms as the door slid open. We stepped back through it, one of his hands leaving me to close it and set the key on the shelf beside it. Then he wrapped me in his arms again, and the way he pressed his body against mine, all hard and lean beneath his suit, had my skin immediately spark with tingles.
We were kissing roughly, hands starting to roam and breath coming heavy and shaky, when another lightning flash blinded me. A second later, the lights went out, turning us into shadows in the fading light.
I froze and he looked up, but then just let out a low, warm chuckle that whispered against my ear before he bent down to kiss me in the dark.
“The lights are out,” I muttered unnecessarily, as he trailed his soft lips down along my neck. When he let out another quiet chuckle, his breath ghosted against my collarbone. I couldn’t help the shiver that ran through me.
“What do we need light for?” he murmured as his fingers grazed the underside of my breast, and I found my own hands clutching tightly against his lean hips. “I can see your beautiful curves just fine in the moonlight. And I will hear you moan my name with or without light.”
I shuddered and lifted my hands to unbutton his shirt, but he moved back then and stuck me with his intense green gaze.
“Viktor,” he rumbled, his face serious as he watched me, green eyes flicking back and forth between mine. “Say it.”
