Moving Target (Target #3)(28)

“Not that. We are getting attached to one another.” He flops back down on his side, but it’s not in a pouting type of way. “That is dangerous.”

“For me?”

“For both of us.”

I lace my hand through his. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Only boys brag about sex. A man simply has sex and pleases his woman with multiple orgasms. For her. She is the only he has to impress.”

“Could you make a T-shirt for that? Maybe an ad campaign?”

A little of the wariness leaves his face. “Perhaps.”

“Is there something else bothering you?”

He nods. “Benjamin and I talked this morning while you were sleeping.”

“And?” I don’t mind that he had a conversation with him because Dima shares everything with me, including information about the man who could possibly be my father and the asshole who could possibly be my brother as well.

“We have confirmation that Konstantin is your father. Benjamin contacted his brother in the states. Roman sought out your mother and talked to her.”

I tense up immediately. So much for post-orgasmic bliss. “What do you mean by sought out?”

“He and his very sweet wife, and girls, pretended to get lost in your neighborhood while your mother was out doing her morning walk. She brought them inside, fed them, and basically told him her life story.”

“That sounds like my mother.”

“Sounds like you.” He grins for a moment. I like that grin. The way it makes him look so young and carefree. “Conrad Riggs is your father. He didn’t bother to use a disguise by changing his physical appearance while married to your mother.”

My stomach drops to my toes. “What about my dear, seriously assholish, possible half brother?”

“That we will have to take up with Leonid.” Dima’s gaze turns hard. “I know where he is, and we’re going to get him.”

“We?”

“I’m not leaving you behind. We will get him and bring him to your father to sort everything out.”

“What if Konstantin likes Leonid better than me? Not that I want fatherly approval. My stepdad was great. He made me feel loved and like his daughter. I was actually sad when my parents divorced, but my mom and stepdad remain friends.”

“No one actually likes Leonid. He’s your typical Russian, or rather a caricature of one. Wears shiny suits, too much cologne, and too much jewelry. He’s always out to prove that he’s got the biggest dick.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know that yours is the biggest.” I wink at him, but his eyes get even harder. “Oh no. That was a joke—not about your penis, but about his. I don’t even know what his looks like and not because I was drugged. Everyone was really specific about not hurting me. Except the one guy who hit me, but I’m pretty sure he looked like he wanted to cry.”

“The bruise is barely there anymore. You’re a fast healer.”

“Sex cures everything—Mario told me that once.”

He laughs. “Mario was an exceptionally smart man.”

“You’re not jealous of him anymore?”

Dima raises my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Only of the time he got to spend with you, but it’s not very fair of me to begrudge him the help he needed. You are an exceptional woman, Chloe. Always remember that.”





16





Dmitry

Benjamin picks us up on the mainland in a small jet. While I trust him with my life and Chloe’s, we traveled to shore by speedboat first.

My island home is my sanctuary, and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. Chloe sits beside me, her legs crossed at the ankles. She’s not being demure. The dress, if one could call it that, is little more than scraps of silk sewn together over her breasts and arse.

If we were alone, I’d love it. But since we’re going to a club where she will be on display, I hate it.

The only reason she’s even wearing it now is so she will be accustomed to it by the time we arrive.

“Good evening, folks,” Benjamin begins in a completely American newsman accent over the intercom. “Looks like we have clear skies to twelve-thousand feet. We’ve been cleared for take-off, and we will arrive in Moscow in less than three hours. As this is a short… well, shorter flight, I expect a tip and a bottle of your finest when we land. Keep your hands and feet inside at all times until the ride comes to a complete stop.”

Chloe giggles.

I roll my eyes. “Let’s go.”

“I’m waiting for you to thank me.”

“Thank you.”

“Wow, that was easier than I thought,” Ben admits, sending Chloe into another fit of laughter.

“Sorry, he’s not that funny, but I’m nervous and had a glass of wine to calm down. It didn’t work.”

I touch her thigh, rubbing my palm along the top of her smooth skin. “Trust me.”

Her hand covers mine. She squeezes it. “I do. It’s the other guys that worry me.”



Chloe disembarks the plane first, her body concealed by a fur coat that covers her from neck to ankles. She’s wearing boots as well. There is snow on the ground, and the temperature is hovering in the twenties.