Thief (Boston Underworld #5)(53)

“For tonight, let us forget that it’s true.” I enclose her in my arms, and she does not argue.

Her resistance fades as the minutes pass and I kiss her purely for the sake of kissing her. When my fingers move to the knot of silk at the nape of her neck, she shivers. We’ve been through this already tonight, but this time is different.

I release the straps, and then her zipper. The silk falls around her feet, and I couldn’t recreate this image with all the paint in the world. She looks beautiful in red. But she is a goddess divine when she’s naked.

Her breasts are small and firm, and her ballet practice has given her no use for bras, which I like very much. A woman should be available to her man, and my Nakya is always available to me. Her legs are long and lean, strong enough to squeeze the life out of me when I’m fucking her. She is a canvas unlike any I’ve ever seen, and it pains that she doesn’t know her value. Great pieces of art can be unappreciated, but such is not the case with her. I’ve stolen many priceless things in my life, but nothing as priceless as her.

“Come.” I thread her fingers through mine and lead her to the bed.

Pulling back the covers, I gesture for her to get in, but she hesitates, seeking out the meaning of this. I would tell her, if I knew it myself.

“Stay with me tonight,” I implore.

She does not give in easily. Her eyes are sharp, and her armor is still intact.

“How many women have you brought here?” she asks.

Her jealousy stirs my dick to life, even though I’m too spent to take her again. “You’ll be the first.”

She purses her lips, and I know she doesn’t believe me.

“I do not bring women into this room, Nakya. The only women who have been in this room now total two. You and Nonna. But I’m afraid I must divulge that she does not warm my bed, she only makes it.”

For a few long breaths, she is completely still. When she finally crawls into my bed, I’m tempted to tie her up and keep her here forever. But for now, tonight will have to do.

I undress while she watches, her face propped on her hand, the sheet pulled up just above her nipples. I remove everything but my briefs and lie down beside her.

For a moment, we don’t touch. We don’t move. I’m not even sure she’s breathing, but I know I’m not. It’s more intimate to bring a woman to my bed without the intention of having sex. I’m not even certain I know how to begin.

“I think it’s good what you told your brother tonight.” Her words fill up the cavernous space, and it’s not what I want to discuss, but I suppose it’s better than lying like a corpse next to her.

“We have a strained relationship. I doubt what I said will matter.”

“I think he will forgive you.”

I don’t answer because I’m not as hopeful.

“What were you trying to warn Talia about?” she asks.

I look at her. She is my captive, and rightfully, she doesn’t need to know these things, but I can’t think of any good reason to keep them from her.

“You understand this world. You know that honor comes above all else, yes?”

“Yes.”

“The pakhan did not believe my father was being an honorable man. He demanded that I cut off his ear, and I did. But my father is misguided in his anger, and instead of blaming himself or even me, he finds fault with Alexei.”

“Oh.” Nakya frowns. “Would he ever hurt Talia?”

“Sergei?”

She nods.

“I would like to say that I know for certain, but I don’t. He is a skilled liar, and I have often questioned his true character.”

“He hides it from you?”

“It’s hard to tell sometimes.”

The admission is an honest one, and more than I should give her. I can’t trust that she isn’t just fishing for information to use against me later, but I would like to believe that Nakya has more honor than that herself.

“And what about Katya?”

“What about her?”

“You also made a point to warn Talia about her.”

“Only because she has her sights set on Alexei. She is rabid for a high-ranking Vory husband, and she is delusional enough to believe that she can destroy their marriage and take him for her own.”

“It looked like he was not the only one she was after this evening.”

Her words are tainted with possession, and it encourages me to lean over and kiss her again.

“She only wants me for my rank,” I murmur against her lips. “But it makes no difference now.”

Her eyes fall shut, and I said the wrong thing.

“No, I suppose it doesn’t. Viktor won’t let you marry her when Ana is up for offer.”

Pillow talk extinguished, the room is quiet again. My eyes are heavy, and I can think of nothing else to do, so I pull her into my arms and bury my face against her neck, inhaling her.

“Go to sleep, zvezda. Tomorrow is a new day.”





I wake in Nikolai’s arms. The only logical reason I can find for his desire to cuddle is that his judgment was impaired from too many drinks at the party last night. But when I look at his face, he is not asleep, and he’s not under any illusions of what took place.

His eyes are soft and warm, traveling over my face as his fingers ghost over my arm.