Page 38 of Shielded Secrets

She backed up as I advanced toward the door, shaking her head. “Rurik. I don’t want you to spend money on me.”

“I want to.”

“But I’m not your burden. I’m not your responsibility to provide for.” Her back hit the door and she frowned.

“You’re my girlfriend,” I said, leaning down to whisper in her ear as I put my hand on her side. Caging her in like this seemed to turn her on instantly. Now wasn’t the time to fuck again. I was expected at the house to talk with Lev and Vik, and Eva and Irina were waiting downstairs for her to get moving to shop.

“And if I want to treat you, I will.”

She sighed, bracing for another line of her argument. “But?—”

I kissed her hard, making her moan and clutch for me. Again, now wasn’t the time, but I liked the idea of her walking around with her panties wet from desire for me. “But nothing. If you come back here without spending my money on whatever you want and need, I’ll fuck this little pussy so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

She shivered, gazing at me with pure lust shining in her eyes. “Is that supposed to be a threat?”

“Oh, you fucking gorgeous tease,” I growled before taking her lips again. “How about this?” Once I made sure she was panting and desperate from another kiss, I backed up and smiled at her again. “Nosex until you come home after spending my money on whatever you want and need.”

Her mouth hung open as she pouted, then scowled. “That’s not fair.”

I spun her to exit my apartment so I could walk her downstairs. “It’s also not fair that you delude yourself into thinking you’re not worthy of being treated like this.”

“That’s not…” She cleared her throat. “That’s not what I was thinking.”

“No?” I held her hand and kissed her on the elevator again. I couldn’t get enough of this woman. I was addicted to touching her, kissing her, enjoying her. Every smile or laugh she gave me felt like a trophy.

“Fine. I can sometimes struggle with accepting help.”

“Sometimes?” I laughed.

“Don’t tease,” she warned playfully.

“I won’t. I’ll just break you out of that habit instead.” I framed her face and stared at her before the elevator reached the garage floor. “You are worthy of everything you dream of, Kelly. I promise you that.”

I kissed her forehead, and with what looked like a slight frown, she folded into a hug against me, squeezing me tight.

Why? Why would she think she wasn’t worthy of anything good? Because of her past? Because she was unwanted when no one adopted her? Because her parents rejected her when they were nothing more than drug addicts?

On the drive to the Baranov mansion, I battled with the strong possibility that it was a mix of several of those things. And I wished that I could erase it all from her mind.

We’d been sleeping together since I saved her that night. Every night. During the day. All she had to do was freaking look at me, and I wanted her so badly that I couldn’t—and didn’t—resist. Even though sex was usually only physical, it was a demonstration of my desire for her, how worthy she was of being with me, of being with a man at all.

But it wasn’t enough. That was part of my reasoning to agree to her going with Eva and Irina today. She needed the “girl time” and to know her worth as a friend. She would benefit from the distance from me before she could be overwhelmed. It wasn’t easy to let go and surrender her security to the guards assigned to the women on this outing, but I realized that the pros of her spending time with Eva and Irina were important, too important for her to miss out on the opportunity. Besides, she neededclothes and any other necessities a woman would want for day-to-day things. If she wasn’t going to ask to go to her apartment and pick up things, then we’d provide for her at my place. I didn’t need to ask to know she was frugal, and I suspected that was a big part of her struggling to accept that I’d give her my card and expect her to use it.

At the mansion, I saw that Lev and Vik had beat me there. Oleg was just walking in with me. His hair was still damp from most likely a recent shower, and he seemed more alert than usual. I bet he’d just finished with a workout—his attempt to counter the effects of old age and his love of cigars.

“What have you got for me?” he asked as he sat.

“We’ve been following the rumors and reactions to the Petrov deaths,” Lev said.

I furrowed my brow, already feeling so lost. “Deaths? Plural?”

He nodded. “The dealer who attacked Kelly was a former Petrov dealer. Like Irina told us, that particular man wasn’t ‘in’ with Igor anymore. He’d turned traitor and stole from them, and Igor had ordered him to be killed, but he escaped. No one on the Petrov side is upset to see him gone.”

“Good.” The last thing I wanted to do was cause more trouble. Or attract any more. “Then what other Petrov has been killed who could be relative to this case?”

“Marcus James,” Vik said. “I’ve collected intel that he was basically a Petrov fan. He was most interested in buying the product from him to have it sold on that campus and elsewhere.”

“Marcus openly admitted his alliance with the Petrovs?” Oleg asked. He shook his head as he spoke, unable to believe it even as he inquired about the matter. “No. He wouldn’t.”

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