I moved my hand suddenly to my back to get better access to my gun.

  “Do you understand what I mean, Arlo? Do you understand what my father does to women?”

  I gritted my teeth. I knew.

  “He’s a savage toward the fairer sex. Fucking deplorable.”

  I was surprised to hear the venom in Nikolai’s voice as he spoke about his father. Although they may not have cared for the man in a father/son sense, I always assumed they had some kind of respect for him. It was very clear they didn’t.

  “He’ll destroy her, Arlo, and I don’t mean end her life in the most humane, painless way possible. He’ll beat her down mentally and emotionally until she’s nothing more than dough that he can form into whatever vision he sees fit. And when he’s the only thing that she can grasp on to, when he has you right where he wants you, he’ll destroy you too.”

  I was seething with rage, and there was no way I could hide my body’s reaction. I wasn’t even trying as a deep growl of aggression and warning left me.

  Dmitry smirked, but it didn’t hold the amusement or satisfaction I assumed it would from seeing me lose control. The very thought of anyone so much as laying a hand on Lina made me want to desecrate the entire city of Desolation. To think that somebody would touch or hurt her, to snuff out that light, made me want to go on a killing rampage.

  “Our father needs to be taken out, Arlo. And because you now have a direct link to him through your woman, because she’s a threat and you know my father won’t stop until he gets what he wants, which is now both of you, she won’t be safe.”

  I curled my lip at him. “Don’t fucking act like you’re giving me some kind of fucking gift, like you’re doing me a favor. You’re doing this because you want power, Dmitry. You’re doing this because your father is psychotic and destructive, becoming too volatile apparently. Don’t fucking act like you’re giving a handout simply because you have a good heart. It’s just as fucking black and soulless as mine.”

  Dmitry laughed and looked over his shoulder, which had Nikolai chuckling as well. “As much as we’d like to take out the old fucker ourselves, show him the kind of family love he’s shown us as we grew up, you know how our world works.” He looked back at me. “It would be bad form for us to have a personal hand in it. But you’re the best of the best. A real coldhearted bastard, aren’t you? You could take him out and make it look like he just disappeared. Poof,” he said as he curled his hand into a fist in front of his face.

  I turned from them and paced, knowing what I had to do but not wanting to fucking work with Dmitry or Nikolai. I didn’t want to make back-alley deals with them. This wasn’t even about the Bratva or their Pakhan. I couldn’t give a shit about Leonid and his fucked-up morals. My only concern and priority was Lina.

  I turned to face them and growled out, “She’s mine.”

  Dmitry started laughing. “Yeah, I think you made that pretty fucking obvious when Dima touched your girl and you pulverized his fucking hands.” Nikolai started laughing even harder this time after his brother spoke. “Although it served the fucker right. He was a touchy bastard and doesn't know what the word ‘no’ means.”

  I clenched my jaw so tightly I wouldn’t have been surprised if I cracked some teeth. As I stared at the dirt and trash strewn on the ground, the stench of decay and age surrounding me, I knew what I had to do.

  “You and I both know you’re going to take him out.” The confidence in Dmitry’s voice made me instantly want to break his neck, but I said nothing, just glared at the prick. “My brother and I don’t need more war. We want an alliance between the Cosa Nostra and Bratva. We need to grow stronger and create not only domestic deals but international ones. And we found a way to do that. But if our father stays in power, he’ll destroy the progress we’re making.” Dmitry looked at Nikolai and smirked, as if they shared a silent conversation on what was really going down.

  “Didn’t you know?” Nikolai prompted and pushed off the wall, stalking toward me. “I’m getting hitched. Got an arranged marriage to a sexy little just-turned-eighteen Italian hottie.” He wagged his eyebrows and grinned lasciviously.

  “That’s your plan? An arranged marriage between the Petrov Bratva and Cosa Nostra?” I ran a hand over my face and shook my head. “You guys are even crazier than I thought.”

  Dmitry grinned and didn’t say anything else. Good. I wasn’t into all the politics that came with the crime underworld. And I didn’t want details and logistics on what was all going to go down.

  “So we came to a father killer to handle this.”

  I kept my expression composed as I stared at Dmitry. They wanted their father out of the picture, wanted to fucking tie themselves with the Italian mafia, so that was their fight to deal with. But now Lina was in the mix because of me and my fuckup. I had to finish this. I had to go into the fold whether I wanted to or not, but when it came to her, I realized I’d do anything to protect her.

  She had secrets, ones she’d tell me eventually, ones I'd take care of for her, so she never had to worry about anything again but being with me.

  I'd do anything to make her mine. And tonight I was going to make her see—and feel—just that.

  Chapter

  Seventeen

  Galina

  I woke to the groggy feeling that I hadn’t been asleep for very long, the weight of that tiredness trying to pull me back under, but something had woken me up, so I forced myself to blink my eyes open.

  I stared at the ceiling, a sliver of the ambient city light coming through the curtain of the bedroom window. As my mind cleared and I woke up further, I realized what had roused me.

  I wasn’t alone.

  I felt someone watching me, and my gaze was pulled to my side of the bed, where I saw a large masculine body sitting, his forearms braced on his thighs, his head cocked to the side, and his eyes latched on me.

  I gasped and sat up, knowing it was Arlo as the fog in my mind cleared. With a hand on my racing heart, I licked my lips and let the silence stretch out between us.

  “Moye serdtse bolit, kogda ya smotryu na tebya.” His voice was deep and low but still had the intense effect of moving over every inch of my body and lighting it up.

  “Arlo?” I whispered his name in the darkness. “What’s wrong?” It wasn’t by the way he watched me, but the tension in his shoulders, the way he clenched his jaw so tightly I could all but hear his teeth grinding. “Is everything okay?” Every little shift I made on the bed was followed by his eyes, as if he was tracking me and refused to let his prey go.

  “It will be,” came his reply.

  My heart thundered at those three words that sounded almost threatening. But not to me. Never to me, I thought with certainty.

  I'd put my hair in a loosely knotted bun after my shower, and a strand tickled the side of my face. I pushed the lock away from my cheek, seeing Arlo watch the act with a clarity that was startling.

  After he’d left for the night, I stayed on the patio for so long my fingers had felt like ice before going numb. I’d taken a too long and too hot shower, then slipped into bed, where I was sure I wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep because I felt too wound up, my thoughts too consumed with Arlo. He’d been on my mind a lot before all this drama happened, but now being in his home, surrounded by the constant sight of him, the masculine way he smelled, and coupled with our almost intimate self-defense classes, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  I glanced at the small clock on the bedside table and realized I’d only been sleeping for an hour, and although I’d been groggy upon first waking and still very much tired, my body had woken up like a firework exploding in the sky with each passing moment in his presence.

  I was confused why Arlo was here… so close and watching me so intently.

  “I’d like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night,” he finally said after a long moment of passing silence.

  My heart raced faster than it should at such an innocent statement, and I found myself licking my lips. He was so close that I could reach out and touch the stubble along his chiseled, square jaw. “Dinner? Like a date?” I felt stupid right after the words left my mouth, and the way his lips twitched told me he thought it was funny, or maybe cute in a childish way. “Of course I didn’t mean a⁠—”

  “Yes, Lina. I’d like to take you to dinner for a date.”

  My entire body hummed with pleasure. Going on a dinner date with Arlo shouldn’t have made my body tingle the way it did, but here I was, feeling a blush steal over my face. “Okay,” I whispered and ducked my head, this sudden shyness claiming me. A second later I felt the bed shift as he moved closer to me; then his finger was under my chin, bringing my face up so I was looking at him once more.

  I glanced into his eyes that looked far too dark in the shadowy room. And the longer we stared at each other, the more I felt my breathing grow shallow.

  “Dlya tebya ya sdelayu eto bezopasnym.”

  I almost moaned at the way his deep voice moved over me as he said the Russian words.

  And as if he just realized he’d spoken in a language I couldn’t understand, he murmured, “I’ll make it safe for you, Lina.”

  “Galina.” My real name fell from my lips almost instantly, and I should have been afraid about giving that part of myself to him. It wasn’t safe, not with the running and hiding, but as I looked into Arlo’s eyes, this inherent part of me knew this man would live up to his promise to protect me. Even from myself. “Please, call me Galina. It’s my full name.” Not a lie, but also not totally the truth. Yes, it was my full name, but I’d made it sound like Lina was a nickname instead of what it really was. An alias.

  Things started to feel weird then, more electrified, a charge in the air that had my breathing becoming even more frantic to the point I felt light-headed. When Arlo’s gaze dipped down to my mouth, he moved his thumb along my bottom lip, a slow and steady stroking that had pressure and heat settling between my legs.

  “Galina,” he murmured in the sexiest way imaginable. My eyelids started to droop, to close on their own, as my nipples beaded under my thin T-shirt, as my pussy became wet. I ached in the best possible way down there.

  “Look at me, moy svet.”

  I couldn't help but obey his command as I opened my eyes, my eyelids fluttering. I held my breath as our gazes locked. I knew what was coming. A kiss. I didn’t want to stop it, even though I probably should have. It would only complicate things in the long run. But I’d been thinking about his lips on mine for the last couple of months, and even obsessively since staying at his home. I wondered if his kiss would be soft or firm, gentle or aggressive.

  I didn’t care how it was. I wanted whatever he’d give me, virginity be damned.

  “You should stop me,” he said, but he was leaning in slowly, maybe to give me a chance to change my mind. I wouldn’t.

  “But I won’t.”

  The deep, primal sound that rose up from the center of his chest had more wetness spilling between my thighs and had my breasts feeling sensitive and heavy. I wanted his touch, his hands stroking over every single naked inch of me. I wanted his mouth on my body, drawing out all the dark pleasure I’d only fantasized about.

  He slipped his hand along my jaw to curl his fingers around the back of my neck, pulling me forward until our lips were now touching. The kiss was soft, barely any pressure, but God, it felt so good. And when a little moan spilled from me, I felt the tension escalate in Arlo’s body.

  He groaned, and his fingers tightened on my nape a second before he deepened the kiss, tilting his head to one side as he used the hold he had on my neck to move mine in the other direction. I parted my lips on a gasp, and he used that opportunity to slip his tongue along the seam before delving into my mouth.

  His kiss was passionate and deep, his flavor heady and spicy. I could taste a hint of vodka coming from him, and I found myself sucking on his tongue, drawing not only the essence of that liquor from him, but also everything that was Arlo. A rough sound vibrated out of him, and then he was hauling me toward him until I straddled his waist, my thighs split as I braced my knees on either side of his muscular thighs.

  I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, bringing my breasts flush with his hard chest. Could he feel my nipples? The twin, hard points hurt so bad, but in the best of ways. The sounds we made as we kissed were wet and dirty, needy and desperate. I certainly felt like I was drowning.

  But what a way to die.

  His hands were on my waist, his fingers digging into my flesh in a bruising manner that turned me on even more. I sat down fully on him, and a gasp left me as I felt how hard he was right against the most intimate part of me. His harsh groan sounded more animalistic than human, and the kiss deepened farther.

  He slid a hand up my spine, tangled his fingers in my hair, and a moment later he yanked on the strands, pulling my head back and breaking the kiss. I moaned at the pleasure and pain that dominant act caused.

  Arlo had his mouth on my throat instantly, his lips at my pulse point, sucking and licking, his teeth scraping over my sensitive flesh as he gently bit down. I shuddered on top of him, felt the rhythmic pull of his lips on my neck, and knew there would be marks there come morning.

  His mouth was everywhere, along my jawline, skirting over my lips, his tongue licking slowly at my cheek before sliding down the side of my neck. It was such a primal act, as if he was this feral creature trying to stake his claim on my body.

  “Tell me what you want,” he grumbled low, his voice sounding thicker, as if it hadn't been used in far too long.

  I didn’t think I could find my voice right now, so another moan rose up. His fingers tightened in the bun of tangled strands on the back of my head, and he grunted when I started rocking back and forth atop his lap.

  “Tell me what you want, who you want to give it to you.”

  I gasped at the forcefulness of his words, but it was such a turn-on I felt even more wetness slide out of me, the cotton barrier I wore sticking to my cleft.

  His erection was hard and thick between us, moving over my panty-covered pussy. I only wore a thin shirt and no bra, my underwear and his slacks the only thing stopping him from pushing into me and giving me what I really wanted—Arlo deep inside me.

  “I want you.” The words came out before I could censor them, but now that he’d heard them, I was glad I hadn’t tried to keep them in. “I just want you, Arlo.”

  His fingers tightened in my hair again as he groaned, and then he let go of the strands, and I pressed my mouth back to his. The kiss turned deep and passionate, as if we were trying to breathe each other in. And the entire time I ground myself on him, rocking back and forth, writhing on top of Arlo as he slid his hands behind me to cover the small of my back. He pushed up my shirt and cupped my ass cheeks in his big palms, giving them a light squeeze that soon turned more forceful.

  “So fucking perfect.” He squeezed even harder this time until I felt my eyes close on their own as dark pleasure spiked within me. “You’re so fucking hot.” He kissed me with more force, grunting against my mouth until I swallowed the sounds, giving him a moan in return.

  Arlo curled his fingers harder into my ass, and I started really rocking back and forth, sliding my slit along his massive erection. I felt like he had a steel rod tucked behind his slacks. I could imagine how good it would feel… how much it would hurt for him to push all those stiff inches into me.

  He pulled at my bottom lip with his teeth, licking away the sting he caused, and that’s when I exploded. I let my head fall back on my neck, his fingers now pulling out the hair tie, letting my locks tickle the base of my spine, my skin feeling overly sensitive.

  “Fuck yeah.” He had my now loose hair wrapped around his fist, tugging it hard enough I cried out as the pleasure went impossibly harder. The sting of him pulling my hair coupled with the orgasm rushing through me had me crying out loudly. Embarrassingly. “Christ, give me more of those sounds.”

  I never wanted the pleasure to end. And when it started to fade and I sagged against his chest, I expected Arlo to tense, maybe close off from me again. What I didn’t expect was for him to wrap his arms around me and just… hold me. It made me feel like he didn’t want this moment to end either.

  “So beautiful,” he murmured as he slipped his hand under my shirt and started rubbing my back gently, soothingly. I rested my head in the crook of his neck, Arlo’s scent so dark and spicy. I inhaled deeply, wanting to take another piece of him inside me. The deep sounds of his soft Russian endearments made me sink against him even more.

  His words ran softly along my body before licking them away as soon as they landed on my skin. He gently moved his lips along the other side of my neck, sucking at the flesh, pulling it between his teeth before letting it go. I felt those tendrils of pleasure rise again despite having just gotten off.

  “Arlo.” His name was a strangled mewl from my parted lips. I never knew I could sound so wanton and needy before.

  “I know what you need, baby.”

  The world tilted as I was suddenly flipped around and now on my back, Arlo hovering over me. His hands were braced on either side of my body, the shadows concealing the majority of his face. I found that darkly attractive. All I saw was the thunderous, stormy look of pure lust reflected back at me.

  He leaned down and started kissing me deeply. “So sweet.” Arlo was breathing so hard. “S toboy ya teryayu kontrol.”

  I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, pushing against the seam before delving inside and dueling with his tongue.

  “You make me lose control, Galina.”

  I made a small cry of pleasure at hearing him saying my full name.