Dimitri (14 page)

She shook her head. "He told me to mind my own
business."

Dimitri doubted Johnny had said it that nicely.
"I'll talk to him."

"No, it's done. I'm over it. If he wants to
ruin his life, let him."

"You don't mean that." She could talk tough but
he knew how much she loved her brother. "You're not cold enough to
turn your back on him. You have a big heart, Benny."

"A big, stupid heart," she grumbled. "He told
me that he's already talked to a lawyer about selling the building.
He wants the money from the house, too."

Dimitri sat back in surprise. "Just like that?
He made all these decisions without talking to you?"

She nodded. "You know, if he'd come to me and
talked to me about why he wants to sell or why he needs the money,
I would've been happy to find a way to restructure to give him what
he wants. But to do it this way? To threaten to take me to court?
He's such a monster."

He'd wanted to spare her all this heartache but
it no longer seemed possible. "I'll call Yuri and see what lawyer
he recommends."

"Dimitri, you know I can't afford the types of
lawyers he would recommend."

"Let me handle it."

"No. This is my mess. I'll clean it
up."

"Benny." He said her name sternly and in a tone
of voice he'd never used with her. "We're partners now. I want to
help you. Please don't fight me on this."

Her determined expression softened. She gave a
tiny nod. Eventually, she admitted, "I love that you're willing to
help me, Dimitri. Really, I know how lucky I am. I just don't want
you to feel—"

"Obligated?" he guessed.

"Yes. Obligated."

He leaned forward and put both hands on the
arms of her chair, trapping her in place. "I don't feel that way.
I'm helping you because I want to help you. I'm helping you because
it makes me feel good to take care of you."

She drew a strange shape on his shirt. "When
you put it like that…"

He grinned and pressed his mouth to hers. She
relaxed under his slow, easy kiss. The taste of hot chocolate and
coffee tantalized his taste buds as he swept his tongue against
hers. Their foreheads touched. "Benny, don't ever hesitate to ask
me for help. I'd do anything for you."

She ran her hands up and down his arms. "I
know."

He felt like they were finally making some
headway. It was going to be an uphill battle to get her to feel
comfortable asking for his help but he was willing to fight it.
"Now, eat your breakfast so you can go to this food thing and
dazzle everyone."

She groaned. "I don't know how the hell I'm
supposed to get through this. The business is imploding as we
speak. My brother is probably dealing drugs or pimping out
prostitutes to make money. Somehow I'm supposed to plaster on a
smile and gush about my stupid pastries and cookies?"

A devilishly wicked idea took hold. He lowered
his mouth until it teased across hers. "I know how to put a smile
on your pretty face."

"Oh?"

With a quick shove, he pushed her chair back
against the wall and dropped to his knees. She gasped with surprise
and tried to push his hands away from the hem of her dress.
Whispering hotly, she insisted, "Dimitri, we can't do that here!
Someone will hear us!"

Not easily deterred, he grinned up at her.
"Then you'd better be very, very quiet."

He moved her skirt out of the way and grasped
her panties. She squeezed her knees together but he forced them
apart. Even as she fought him, he could hear her breaths growing
shuddery and excited. With her panties thrown onto the desk behind
him, he made quick work of tucking her skirt up and pulling her
sweet, plump ass to the edge of the chair.

"No, Dimitri! Please, don't—Oh!" She
mewled like a kitten when he swiped her slit with his tongue.
"
Oh
!"

He chuckled and carefully parted the pink lips
of her sex. Using his fingers to outline her clit, he flicked his
tongue over the juicy little bud and coaxed it out to play. He
sucked it between his lips and flicked it a few times before
letting it loose and finding the right rhythm.

Benny gripped the arm of her desk chair and
clapped a hand over her mouth. She muffled her own moans and
whimpers as he ate her pussy. He couldn’t get enough of her. The
nectar that flowed from her core beckoned him. His tongue dipped
inside to taste her, thrusting up into her like a small cock and
making her squeal with delight.

Soon, her hand left the chair arm and she
gripped handfuls of his hair. He didn't mind the burning sting
caused by her tugging fingers. He wanted to drive her crazy, wanted
to hear her come undone as he nibbled her clit and lapped at her
pussy.

When she came, it was with a long, quiet moan.
She had a hand pressed tightly to her mouth, deadening the sound as
it left her lips. The chair rocked, the wheels squeaking as she
jerked her hips and pressed her mound against his mouth. After she
sagged back against the chair, Dimitri continued to lap and flick
at her. The aftershocks left her trembling and panting.

Reluctantly, he finally pulled away from her.
He plucked tissues from the box on her desk and tidied her up a
bit. She let him slide her panties back into place and fix her
skirt. Leaning back in her chair, she smiled, her silky pout curved
wide and her eyes bright. "I should sulk more often."

He laughed and caressed her bare legs. "Maybe
you should hire me as your assistant."

She chortled with amusement. "I don’t think
we'd get much work done."

"You work too hard as it is." He pecked her
cheek. "Come out with me tonight."

She started to accept but then shook her head.
"I won't get done with this Tasting Houston thing until
mid-afternoon. I really need to go home and clean house and mow the
yard."

"Let me worry about your yard." He kissed her
deeply because it was the easiest way to get her to agree. "We'll
go out and have fun. Yuri asked us to join him at Faze. Ivan and
Erin will be there. It will be nice."

She finally nodded. "All right. Let's go out
tonight."

With their evening plans settled, he slid onto
the desk and watched her eat breakfast. What he finished in three
bites and four long drinks took her much longer to eat. When they
emerged from her office, they got a couple of curious looks but no
one dared say anything. Benny's bright red ears and neck betrayed
them, of course. One look at her and anyone would know what they'd
been up to in that office.

They shared a quick kiss before he wished her
good luck and watched her drive away in the bakery's delivery truck
with Marco and Adam. He started back upstairs but one of the
dishwasher boys popped his head out the side door and stopped
him.

"Yo, D!"

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Yes?"

"Benny left her keys in her car, man. They're
just hanging there in the ignition." The kid, Carlos, gestured
behind him. "I thought maybe you'd want to know since she's already
gone."

Dimitri frowned. "Thanks, Carlos."

"Anytime, man."

Carlos ducked back into the building but
Dimitri took the long way around to the parking area the employees
used. He found Benny's car in its usual spot. Just as Carlos said,
the keys were dangling from the ignition and the doors were
unlocked.

Shaking his head, Dimitri opened the door and
reached in to grab the keys. This wasn't the first time she'd done
this. In the five years he'd known her, this had happened at least
a dozen times.

Irritated with her carelessness, he decided it
was time to teach her a lesson. He'd move her car somewhere nearby.
Hopefully the shock of coming back to the bakery to find it gone
would burn the lesson into her brain. Not only was she risking
losing her car to theft but there was always the possibility
someone dangerous could take her keys. Considering she had an
address tag dangling from the chain, it wouldn't be hard for a
criminal to find her home. She'd be totally vulnerable
then.

He had to slide her seat back as far as it
would go but his knees were still bent uncomfortably in the compact
front seat. When he fired up the ignition, his gaze jumped to the
gas gauge and the flashing empty symbol. No gas and keys in the
ignition?

His irritation eased as he
considered the stressful hell Benny had been living the last few
days. Forgetting her keys and neglecting to gas up were symptoms of
a broader issue. She was trying to do too much by herself. She
needed to learn to rely on other people for help. She needed to
grow comfortable asking
him
for help, even with something as small as gassing
up her car.

Rather than prank her by moving the car, he
buckled the seatbelt, backed out of the space and drove to the
closest gas station. After filling up, he made his way to the
full-service car wash his buddy Alexei owned. He ignored the
surprised looks as he climbed out of the front seat of the tiny
car. Inside the small lobby, he bought a package that included a
full detail. He sat in a corner seat, pulled out his phone and
answered emails and texts from the office manager and the
supervisor at Front Door while he waited.

Gaze down, he kept his ears open and listened
to the conversations swirling around him. He heard two men, their
heads close together, whispering about something that sounded
suspiciously like a human trafficking operation. It wouldn't be the
first time he'd heard of such a thing. No place was immune from
that kind of horror.

In this area, those operations were run mostly
by a handful of Asian gangs and a contingent out of Central America
who brought in young girls and boys for the most vile of purposes.
No Russian with half a brain would touch that dirty action. One
whiff of trafficking and the frightening side of Nikolai would rear
its ugly head. It was a side of Nikolai no man ever wanted to
see.

Dimitri pretended to be busy but listened
intently. Even though the details bandied back and forth made his
stomach pitch, he kept his focus on the two men. These were the
things Nikolai would want to hear. The large and growing Russian
immigrant population was terribly vulnerable to trafficking,
especially the desperate young women who dreamed of a new life
here.

As the two men headed for the door, Dimitri
became aware of a young man talking quickly into his phone. His
Spanish skills weren't good enough for him to catch every word but
he was able to understand enough of it. When he heard the Hermanos
mentioned, he held his breath. Even though Johnny was on his shit
list, he wanted to keep him from getting hurt.

"Dimitri?" Alexei waved him over. "Your
girlfriend's car is ready."

He hadn't mentioned it was Benny's car but
Alexei didn't need to be told. In the same way his relationship
with Benny had spread through her bakery, it would have started the
rounds among his circle of friends, too.

Tucking away what he'd overheard while
eavesdropping, he joined Alexei at the counter and followed him
onto the sidewalk. Alexei handed over Benny's keys. "Your
girlfriend's car insurance is about to expire. My boys noticed it
when they were wiping down the glove box."

Not surprised that she'd overlooked that
detail, he thanked Alexei and climbed into the gleaming car. He
considered driving it straight back to the bakery but his
discussion with Benny kept going round and round in his head. He
decided it was time he and Johnny had a little talk.

Pulling into the driveway at her house, he
noticed the overgrown grass and the messy flower beds. Everything
needed a good pressure washing. If she was really serious about
selling, all these little things would have to be taken care of to
ensure she got a good price and made a positive impression on
buyers. He made a mental list of all the things he would need to
tackle in the next week or two to help her get ready.

He used her keys to get into the house. It was
quiet inside. Uncertain whether Johnny was armed, he cleared his
throat and shouted, "Johnny! It's Dimitri! You here?"

While he waited for an answer, he made his way
into the living room. He spotted the stack of envelopes on the
coffee table. He shouldn't snoop but that didn't stop him from
thumbing through the late notices, credit card and loan statements
there. He could only imagine the kind of gut-gnawing stress this
was causing Benny. To come home every day and see this huge stack
of reminders? She was lucky not to have cracked by now.

"Johnny!" Dimitri moved to the foot of the
stairs and shouted up to the second floor. "You awake?" He paused
and heard nothing. "Johnny, I'm coming up. We need to
talk."

Upstairs, he pushed open the doors, standing to
the side just in case Johnny did something stupid, and searched for
the right room. He found a bathroom first and then an empty
bedroom, probably the one their grandmother had used when she'd
been alive.

The stench of pot wafting from the door on his
left confirmed it was Johnny's before he even opened the door. He
glanced inside and experienced a rush of disgust at the pig sty
Johnny called a room. There were piles of dirty clothes and stacks
of cups and empty liquor bottles on the desk and the massive
speakers. In the center of the bed, still fully clothed, sprawled
Johnny. He snored loudly, probably sleeping off a
hangover.