Stingray Billionaire: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (72 page)

CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO

Lexi

Despite
Max's early morning breakfast distraction, I managed to make it to the store on
time to open for business. I couldn't stop replaying the morning's sex over and
over and as a result, I was a little distracted when Mrs. Zakhrov rang the
bell. I let her in and failed to notice the three young men loitering behind
her as she entered. They pushed their way into the store and began loudly
arguing over which necklace to buy their girlfriends.

I smiled at Mrs.
Zakhrov, walked over to the boys, and asked if I could help them make a good
choice. The leader had a strange look about him. He was dressed in a business
suit that looked slightly too small for his enormous frame and was sporting a
faux-hawk that looked like it had been smoothed down with an enormous amount of
product. The other two were similarly dressed, but their suits fit them a
little better. All in all, they looked like foreign bankers and since we had a
lot of them downtown, I didn't think much of it.

"Can I help
you gentlemen decide on something?" I asked as I approached. The leader
suddenly whipped around and pulled a gun out from under his jacket.

"Yeah, bitch,
you can help me decide whether or not to kill you," he growled as he
reached out and grabbed my arm. Mrs. Zakhrov screamed as the other two grabbed
her and yanked her purse out of her hands.

"You don't
have to do this," I said, trying to maintain a calm demeanor, despite the
fact that my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. "I'll give
you what you want. Just tell me what you want."

"I want the
owner of this shithole," the man growled as he spun me around, wrapped his
arm around my neck, and pointed the gun at my head. "I want to see
Malinchenko, now!"

"I'm sorry?
Do you mean Mr. Malin?" I asked genuinely confused as to what the man
wanted. "He's the owner, and he should be back any minute. He just ran out
on an errand."

"I want to
see that bastard Malinchenko!" he insisted. "That son of a bitch
needs to be taught a lesson for what he's done to us!"

The other two men
seemed to have lost interest in Mrs. Zakhrov once they determined that she had
very little cash in her wallet. Still, they held onto her arms and pressed her
against a display case as one of them spoke Russian and she began to cry.

"What are you
doing to her?" I cried. "Stop it! You're hurting her!"

"They're not
hurting her," the man said in a bored tone. "They're telling her what
a capitalist pig she is and what a disgrace she is to the Russian
community."

"Why would
they do that?" I yelled. "She's done nothing to deserve that!"

"Yeah, but
her husband is a money-grubbing pig who earns his living off the labor of the
working class," he said indignantly. "So, by association, she's a
pig, as well."

"Oh, give me
a break, you Marxist weirdo," I said, angry that these men had broken into
the store and were causing Mrs. Zakhrov such pain. "You live in the U.S.,
how much of a socialist can you really be? Plus, you're wearing a Gucci suit
that costs probably a year's rent in some parts of this city. Give me a fucking
break!"

"I like this
one!" he laughed as he squeezed my throat a little tighter, cutting off a
large portion of my airway. "She's feisty! Perhaps we should have a little
fun with the feisty one?"

"Fuck
you," I gasped as he released me and let me breathe a little before
squeezing tightly again. He was playing cat and mouse with me, and if he
squeezed me any tighter, I was going to be one dead little mouse. Mrs. Zakharov
said something I couldn't understand, and the two men holding her let go
immediately. They looked over at their boss, repeated what she'd said, and he
quickly dropped his hold on me.

The three took off
running for the door with Mrs. Zakhrov shouting at them in Russian as they
exited the store. I looked over at her as she bent down and retrieved her
clutch from the floor where they'd thrown it.

"I have no
idea what you said to them," I said. "But those must have been some
powerful words, indeed."

"Little boys
who play big boy games sometimes have to be reminded of the fact that they
still sit at the children's table," she said as she pulled out a tube of
lipstick and applied a fresh coat before patting her hair and smiling at her
reflection.

#

Ten
minutes later,
Max walked through the door just as Mrs. Zakhrov and I were giving our
statements to the police.

"What in the
hell happened here?" he demanded.

I quickly filled
him in on the break in and told him about how the men had demanded to see
Malinchenko. "Do you know this person?" I asked. Max nodded and then
went over to check on Mrs. Zakhrov. She spoke to him in Russian and a look of
recognition spread across his face. He nodded and asked if her car was waiting
outside for her. When he'd gotten her safely to her car and closed the door, he
came back into the store and spoke with the police.

I stood and
watched as the crime scene investigators took fingerprints from the display
cases and laughed quietly to myself as they pulled up a set of perfect handprints
off the front door. The stupid criminals had planted their hands on the glass
door as they were leaving. Once the police were done and had left, Max closed
the door, locked it, and turned over the closed sign.

"Come with
me," he said holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me back to the
office, where he poured me a shot of whiskey and told me to tell him everything
that had happened. I recounted all the details I could remember, from the way
the suits looked, to the sound of the men’s voices as they shouted at Mrs.
Zakhrov in Russian.

Max listened
carefully and jotted down notes as he did, then when I was finished, he looked
at me and said, "That's it, we're getting an armed security guard for the
store and one for you."

"Max, don't
be ridiculous," I protested. "They were common thieves and they
didn't even take anything. They just waved their guns around and then
left."

"All the more
reason for you to have a security guard," he insisted. "I'm not going
to have you out there vulnerable and exposed."

"Max, those
men don't have the first clue who I am. I'm no one to them!" I protested
again. It seemed excessive to me to have a guard following me around all the
time and, quite frankly, I didn't like the idea of having my privacy violated
that way. "I'm not afraid of them."

"Lexi, I'm
not going to have this argument," he said firmly. "You will have a
security guard and that's all there is to it."

"You are so
damn stubborn!" I yelled. "What if I don't want a damn security guard
tailing me all over the place?"

"Then, you'll
have to find a way to make peace with it," he said calmly. "I'm not
arguing with you; it's a done deal."

"And, what if
I quit?" I said calmly. "What if I tell you that the security detail
is my no-fly zone and if you do it, I'll quit?"

"You
wouldn't," he said.

"Try
me," I challenged as I stood staring at him defiantly with my hands on my
hips. "I'm not kidding, Max. No deal."

"Lexi, you
don't understand," he sighed.

"No, I really
don't, so I suggest you start explaining," I said, refusing to back down.

I wasn't going to
give in on this one without a fight and from the looks of it, neither was Max.

CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE

Max

After
talking with Mrs. Zakhrov, I knew exactly who had been the store and I was
adamant that we get security for the store and one who would follow Lexi
wherever she went. I debated about whether I should tell her exactly why it was
essential, but backed down when I realized that telling her might result in her
leaving and then she'd be at an even greater risk.

"I'm not
going to argue with you, Lexi," I said. "It's a done deal. Quit if
you like, but I'll still have a security officer follow you around until they
find these guys."

"You are
impossible, Max Malin!" she said as stared at me with defiance in her
eyes. More than anything, I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her tight
because I knew how close she'd come to being harmed. The men who broke into the
store were part of Dementyev's gang and Mrs. Zakhrov had confirmed it for me. Her
husband knew the major players in the Russian underworld and as a result, she
was well informed on who belonged to whom.

"Lexi, please
don't cop an attitude with me right now," I ordered. "I've got more
than I can handle and this is just one of those things that is going to have to
be."

"Cop an
attitude with you? You have got to be kidding me!" she yelled. "I was
the one who was here with those thugs! If anyone has the right to have an
attitude, it's me!"

I knew she was
right, but I also knew that I was absolutely right, too. We stood inches from
each other in the office, staring into each other's eyes, waiting for one of us
to back down, but neither did. I couldn't help but feel aroused by her anger
and the longer I looked at her, the more aroused I got. We hadn't had time
finish our tryst over breakfast and I'd walked away aching.

"Lexi…"
I started. She looked gorgeous in the blue wrap dress she'd chosen for today
and for once, she'd left her hair down. It flowed loosely past her shoulders
and framed her face in a way that almost invited me to play with it.

"I'm mad at
you!" she said, but I caught the hint of a smile flit across her lips
before she regained control of her mad face.

"No you're
not," I countered as I moved closer and wound a strand of loose hair
around my finger as I gazed into her amber eyes.

"Yes… I
am…" she gulped as I traced a light line down the side of her cheek with
the tip of my finger. "I'm…um…mad."

"No, no
you're not," I whispered as I leaned in and came within millimeters of her
lips with mine. "You're not mad at all."

"I…oh…I…"
she stammered as I cupped her face and leaned in to press my lips to hers. The
softness of the kiss sparked an urgency in me that I was afraid I wasn't going
to be able to control, and when she reached up and wrapped her arms around my
neck, I knew we were headed somewhere fast and reckless.

I gripped her
waist with one hand as I slid the other inside her dress and roughly pinched
one of her nipples. She gasped and kissed me harder as I quickly slid the skirt
of her dress up around her waist. She unzipped my pants, pulled out my swollen
shaft, and began stroking it as I pushed my hand between her legs and shoved
her panties to one side.

Our kiss
intensified as we both worked each other into a frenzied state of arousal and
soon, she had backed up so that she could perch herself on the edge of my desk
and guide me between her legs. I could feel the heat radiating from her as she
pulled me closer and positioned me so that one, quick thrust put me deep inside
her wet warmth. I groaned and began pumping my hips back and forth as I tried
to hold back. I wanted to bring her with me, but the tension from this
morning's play had built up inside me and after a few thrusts, I was lost in
her tightness and couldn't stop myself.

"Oh, Max!
Yes! Yes!" she moaned as she pushed her hips forward, meeting mine as I
thrust into her over and over again. I could feel her tightening around me as
she urged me on and soon, I felt the familiar rush of blood and the wave of
coldness that raced through my veins as I let go and released inside of her. I
gripped her tightly and rode the wave while I felt myself throbbing inside of
her as she pulsed her hips and continued rocking. A few seconds later, I heard
her moan softly and felt the warmth of her release as the wetness flowed and
her inner muscles gripped and then loosened.

"You
okay?" I asked as I held her close. I was afraid that I'd crossed some
boundary and she'd now leave for good.

"Oh, Max, I'm
better than good," she whispered into my chest as she continued to rock
her hips. I could feel myself swelling again, and as I looked down at her, I
wondered if I should continue. She answered my question when she whispered,
"Yes."

The second time
was less rushed and more languid. We easily fell into each other's rhythm and
found a place where our lips mirrored the rest of our bodies and drove us back
to the edge of pleasure for the second time. She gripped my hair and kissed me
hard as we both climaxed again, and I groaned into her mouth as I felt her
pulling me deeper inside as she rocked back and forth. I kissed her deeply and
felt her pressing against me.

"So," I
whispered after we'd both started breathing normally again. "How about
that security detail?"

"Mr. Malin,
you are absolutely incorrigible," she laughed softly. "Fine, but can
you make them follow at a discreet distance? I just don't want to feel like I'm
being tailed."

"I'll see
what I can do," I said as I kissed her again.