Involuntarily, my tongue comes out to moisten my lips, and I see Lucas’s eyes darken.
“Yulia…” He presses his lower body against mine, and I feel the hard swell in his jeans. “I can’t stop wanting you, no matter what I do,” he says in a low, thick voice. “Every night, when I hold you, I think that maybe tomorrow will be the day when this obsession lessens, when I can go a few hours without thinking about you, without craving you like a fucking drug, but that’s not what happens. I wake up just as addicted, and you know what, baby?”
“What?” I manage to whisper, my mouth dry and my pulse hammering. What Lucas is saying, the way he’s looking at me…
“I kind of like it.” He lowers his head until his mouth hovers less than a centimeter from mine. I can smell the bergamot of Earl Grey on his breath, see the darkness of his pupils and the blue-gray rings of irises surrounding them. “You give me something I didn’t know I wanted, and I’m not about to let it slip away.”
“What…” I inhale, prickles of heat racing up and down my spine. “What do I give you?”
“This.” His lips ghost over mine, the tenderness of the kiss contrasting with the savage hunger I feel in him. “You. Whichever way I want.” His mouth trails over my jaw, warm and soft on my skin, and I close my eyes, a moan escaping my lips as my head involuntarily tips back. I feel hot and dizzy, my body thrumming with a dark, pulsing heat that has nothing to do with the mid-morning sun beaming down on the rainforest canopy above us. I’m drunk on Lucas, high on whatever chemical cocktail my brain cooks up in his presence. He’s not telling me anything I didn’t already know—his sexual obsession with me has been obvious from the beginning—yet the needy part of me searches for a deeper meaning in his erotically charged words, tries to decipher them like a puzzle. Could this be his way of telling me he cares about me? That he loves me, even?
I open my eyes, fighting the drugged sensation so I can find the courage to ask, and then I hear it.
A woman’s peal of laughter, followed by the sound of twigs snapping under someone’s feet.
Lucas must’ve heard it too, because he releases me and spins around, keeping me protectively behind him.
A second later, a small, dark-haired girl sprints out from behind the trees, her tanned face glowing with a smile and her white sports bra soaked with sweat. Two steps behind her is a tall, darkly handsome man. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of gray running shorts, his bronzed, muscular body gleaming with perspiration and his white teeth bared in a grin.
His blue eyes meet mine from behind the shelter of Lucas’s body, and the heat inside me turns to ice.
It’s Julian and Nora Esguerra.
They must’ve been out for a run.
Seeing us, they stop, breathing heavily. Their smiles disappear without a trace.
“Hey there,” Lucas says calmly, seemingly oblivious to the tension crackling in the air. “How’s your run?”
“Hot. Humid. You know, the usual,” Esguerra responds in the same casual manner, but I see the hard set of his jaw as he steps forward to stand next to Nora. He towers over her petite frame, his biceps almost the same width as her slender waist. A ray of sunlight falls across his face, and I notice a faint white scar on his left cheekbone. It runs all the way to the top of his eyebrow, crossing his left eye.
His fake left eye, I remember with a cold shudder. He lost the real one after the plane crash I’d caused.
“Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt,” Nora says, her cool tone belying her apology. Her dark eyes travel from me to Lucas, then back to me as she adds, “It’s my fault. We don’t usually run this way, but I went off our usual path today.”
Lucas’s massive shoulders rise in a brief shrug. “It’s your estate. You can go wherever you wish.” His voice is still unruffled, but the muscles in his arms tighten, and when I glance at Esguerra, I see him staring at me, his gaze menacing in its intensity.
The ice inside me spreads all the way down to my toes. I’m not afraid for myself, but I can’t bear the thought of endangering Lucas, who’s standing in front of me like a human shield. He’s ready to fight for me, I can feel it.
To protect me, he’ll go up against Esguerra and die—if not in the fight itself, then afterwards, at the hands of two hundred guards presumably loyal to their boss.
“Lucas,” I say quietly, curling my fingers around his wrist. “Come. We should go.”
He doesn’t move, and neither does Esguerra. The two men appear to be rooted in place, their powerful muscles bunched tight as they glare at each other. Lucas is a couple of centimeters taller and slightly thicker in the chest than Esguerra, but I have a feeling they’d be evenly matched in a fight. Violence is the language they speak; it’s there in the scars on their bodies and the savagery in their eyes.
If the line of trust is crossed, only one of them will leave this forest alive.
Apparently reaching the same conclusion, Nora says softly, “Yes, Julian, we should go.” Parroting my gesture, she wraps her slim fingers around her husband’s broad wrist, her tiny hand appearing childlike next to his. Esguerra tenses further, and for a moment, I’m certain he’ll twist out of her grasp, shaking her off with the ease of an adult pushing away a clinging toddler, but he doesn’t.
“Yes,” he says, making a visible effort to relax. “You’re right. Let’s go. I have some work to do.”
Nora nods and drops her hand, turning away. “Race you!” she yells at Esguerra over her shoulder, and with one last glance in our direction, she sprints away, disappearing into the trees. Her husband follows, and a few moments later, we’re alone again.
Lucas turns to face me. “Are you all right?” he asks quietly.
“Of course.” I force a smile to my lips. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Stepping to the left, I slip around him and hurry toward his house, unwilling to stay in the forest even a moment longer.
I no longer have any doubts about my future here.
The next time Esguerra sees me, blood will be spilled.
L
ucas
T
he moment we get home
, Yulia excuses herself and disappears into the bathroom to take a shower before starting lunch preparations. I consider joining her there, but decide against it.
As much as I want to comfort her after what happened, there’s something I must do first.
Half an hour later, I walk into Esguerra’s office. He must’ve just showered and changed, because his hair is wet as he stands up to face me, his eyes hard and his jaw stiff with anger.
I don’t bother beating around the bush. “She’s mine,” I say harshly, approaching his desk. “Which part of that was unclear?”
Esguerra’s gaze hardens even more. “I didn’t touch her.”
“No, but you want to, don’t you?” I put my fists on the desk and lean forward. “You want to make her pay for what happened.”
“Yes—and so should you.” He mirrors my aggressive stance, the wide desk between us the only barrier to the violence simmering in the air. “Almost four dozen of our men died, and she’s walking around like nothing happened… running a fucking restaurant on
my
property.” His words drip with barely restrained rage. “Do you know that a reservation at ‘Yulia’s cafe’ is the hottest commodity on the estate these days? The guards treat those slots like they’re fucking gold.”
I straighten, glaring at him. “Yes, of course I know.” It was only yesterday that I had to break up a fight between two guards—a fight that resulted from a card game where the prize was an eleven-thirty reservation slot on Friday.
“And you’re letting this happen?” Rounding the desk with sharp strides, Esguerra stops in front of me, fists clenched. “This is
my
estate. I’m letting her live because I owe you, but I do not want to be reminded of her existence every day, do you understand me?”
“Perfectly.” I meet his furious look with one of my own. “Which is why I’m leaving.”
Esguerra goes still, the anger transforming into something colder. “Excuse me?”
“That’s what I came here to discuss,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. Pushing down the rage boiling in my gut, I say in a steady tone, “You will never forgive her, and I will never give her up, so the way I see it, we have two options. We can kill each other over this, or I can take her—and myself—out of the picture.”
“You’re quitting?”
“If that’s what you want.” I give him a level look. “We work well together, but it may be time to go our separate ways. I’ll train my replacement before I go, of course. Thomas is an excellent pilot, so you’ll be fine there, and Diego is smart and loyal; he’ll make a good second-in-command for you. Or…” I let my voice trail off.
Esguerra’s eyebrows snap together. “Or what?”
“Or we can figure out a way for us to work together without me living here.” I pause, letting that sink in. “Before you decided to make this compound your permanent home, we went wherever the business took us. It was nice to settle down here—and certainly safer for you and Nora, given that situation with Al-Quadar—but you know as well as I do that we’ve had to give up a few lucrative opportunities because you wanted to limit travel.”
His nostrils flare. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“When you were in a coma, I ran the whole organization. I handled everything from suppliers to customers, and I got to know every aspect of the business. If you want—if you trust me enough—I can be more than the second-in-command working by your side. I can represent us internationally, do whatever is necessary to grow the business abroad.”
All emotion fades from Esguerra’s face. “You want to be my partner.”
“You could call it that, though an executive operations manager might be a more accurate label. You’d have the final say on major decisions, but I would run the new ventures and keep an eye on our existing operations in person. I could set up base someplace central, like Europe or Dubai, and do as much travel as necessary to keep things running smoothly.”
“You’ve thought this through.”
“Yes. I’ve known for some time that this won’t work long term.”
“Because of
her
.”
“Yes, because of Yulia.” I hold his icy gaze. “I’m not about to let anything happen to her.”
“And if I don’t agree to this?”
“Your business, your choice,” I say. “I like working with you, but I have other options. For one thing, I can go legit and open a security firm somewhere. If you don’t want this, just say the word, and I’ll be gone.”
He stares at me, and I know what he’s thinking. He can’t let me leave—I know too much about the inner workings of his business—so he has two choices: kill me or agree to my proposition. I gaze back at him calmly, ready for either possibility. I know I’m taking a risk, pushing him like this, but I don’t see any other way to resolve this situation. Yulia can’t spend the rest of her life hiding in my house and trying not to draw Esguerra’s attention. At some point, something’s going to go wrong, and when it does, things are going to get ugly.
I have to take her away before that happens.
Just when I think Esguerra has decided my loyalty isn’t worth it, he sighs and steps back, his hands uncurling at his sides. “Does she really mean that much to you?” There’s weary resignation in his voice. “Can’t you find another pretty blonde to fuck?
I raise my eyebrows. “Could you find another petite brunette?”
A humorless smile stretches across his face. “It’s like that, huh?”
“She’s my everything,” I say without blinking. “So yes, I guess it’s like that.”
Esguerra looks at me, his smile fading. Then he says abruptly, “Ten percent of profits from the new ventures, plus the same salary—that’s my offer.”
“Seventy percent,” I reply without missing a beat. “I’ll be doing all the work, so it’s only fair.”
“Twenty percent.”
“Sixty.”
“Thirty.”
“Fifty, and that’s my final offer.”
“Forty-five.”
I shake my head, though I couldn’t care less about those five percent. “Fifty percent,” I repeat. If Esguerra is to respect me as a partner, I need to stand my ground. It’ll make for a better working relationship longer term. “Take it or leave it.”
He studies me coolly, then inclines his head. “All right. Fifty percent of the new ventures’ profit.”
“Deal.” I extend my hand, and we shake on it. “I’ll get the ball rolling, so we can be out of your hair soon,” I say, releasing his hand and stepping back. “Just one more thing…”
Esguerra’s mouth tightens. “What is it?”
“You know as well as I do that our line of work is dangerous, especially out there, beyond the compound,” I say. “Given that, I need your promise that you won’t
ever
come after Yulia or her family. No matter what happens to me.”
Esguerra nods curtly. “You have my word.”
T
hat evening
, Yulia is quiet and withdrawn, her gaze trained on her plate throughout most of the meal despite her brother’s presence at our table. Several times, Michael tries to engage her in conversation, but after getting only monosyllabic responses, he gives up and quickly finishes his meal.
“What’s up with her?” he mutters as I walk him to the guards’ barracks while Yulia stays behind to clean up. “Is she mad at me or something?”
“It has nothing to do with you,” I say. “She’s just worried about something.”
“What?” The boy shoots me an anxious glance. “Did something happen?”
“No.” I smile reassuringly. I’ve grown to like Yulia’s brother over the past few weeks, and I don’t want him to worry either. “She thinks it has, but she’s wrong.”
The boy frowns in confusion. “So everything is fine?”
“Yes, Michael,” I say as we approach the building. “Everything is fine, I promise.”
He gives me a doubtful look, but when we stop in front of the entrance, he says gruffly, “Tell Yulia I said, ‘Good night and stop worrying.’ She’s such a worrywart sometimes.”
“She is, isn’t she?” I grin at the kid. “And you tell Diego that I’m going to need to talk to him first thing tomorrow, okay?”
He nods and goes into the building, and I walk back home. When I get there, I find Yulia sitting in the lounge chair in the library, her nose buried in a book.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say, crossing the room. “What are you reading?”
She looks up. “
Gone Girl
.” She puts down the book and stands up. “I should probably go shower. I’m tired.”
“Yulia.” I catch her wrist as she tries to walk past me. “We have to talk.”
She hesitates, then says, “All right, let’s talk. Lucas” She draws in an unsteady breath. “You know this can’t go on forever. Sooner or later, you and Esguerra will come to blows because of me, and I can’t bear that. If anything happened to you—” Her voice breaks. “You have to let me go.”
“No.” I pull her toward me, my gut clenching at the mere suggestion. “I’m not letting you go.”
“You have to.” Her gaze turns imploring. “It’s the only way.”
“No, baby.” I move my hands up to clasp her upper arms. “There’s another alternative. We’re going to leave together.”
“What?” Yulia’s lips part in shock. “What do you mean?”
“I’m going to oversee the expansion of Esguerra’s organization,” I explain. “There will be quite a bit of travel involved, so we won’t be living here. We’ll set up base somewhere in Europe or the Middle East—you can help me figure out exactly where.”
Her eyes are impossibly wide as she stares up at me. “You want to leave here? But it’s your home. What about—”
“I’ve lived here less than two years,” I say, amused. “Another place can be home just as easily. This is Esguerra’s estate, not mine.”
“But I thought you liked it here.”
“I do—but I’ll like it elsewhere too.” Moving one hand to her chin, I tilt her face up. “Anywhere you are will be my home, beautiful.”
She exhales shakily. “But—”
“No buts.” I press my thumb to her soft lips. “I’m not sacrificing anything, believe me. I’ll be Esguerra’s fifty-percent partner on these new ventures, so if all goes well, we’ll get filthy rich.”
“We?” she whispers when I take my thumb away.
“Yes, you and me.” And before she can ask, I add, “We’ll take your brother back to his parents. Things are quieting down in Ukraine, so it’s safe for him to return. We’ll visit him as often as you want, of course, and if he wishes to stay with us, that’s also an option.”
“Lucas…” Her forehead creases in a frown. “Are you sure about this? If you’re doing it for me—”
“I’m doing it for us.” Lowering my hands, I cup her ass and pull her against me, my cock hardening as I feel her legs press against mine. Holding her gaze, I say, “I want to know that you’re safe, that no one will ever be able to take you away from me. You’ll have the best bodyguards money can buy, men who are loyal to me and me only. We’ll build a fortress of our own, beautiful—a place where you won’t have to fear anyone or anything.”
Yulia’s palms press against my chest. “A fortress?” Her eyes gleam with hope and a strange kind of unease.
“Yes.” I tighten my grip on her ass, enjoying the feel of her firm flesh even through the thick material of her shorts. Forcing my mind off the lust pounding in my veins, I clarify, “Nothing as extreme as Esguerra’s compound, but a safe place of our own. Nobody will be able to touch you there.”
“Except you,” she murmurs, her slender hands fisting in my shirt.
“Yes.” My lips twist into a dark smile. “Except me.” She’ll never be safe from me, no matter where she goes or what she does. I will protect her from everyone else, but I will never set her free.
“When…” She runs her tongue over her lips. “When are we leaving?”
“Soon,” I say, my eyes following the movement of her tongue. “Maybe in a month or less.”
And before my balls can explode, I reach for the zipper of her shorts and capture her lips in a deep, hungry kiss.