“Raphael?” He’d be dead. If he hurt her, Isabella’s brother or not, he’d be dead.

She inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled.

Her eyes fluttered shut, the sleep pulling her back under.

“The old guy,” she murmured sleepily, her eyes struggling to remain open.

“Did he hurt you?” I tried to keep my fury under bay as I waited for her answer. If he laid a single finger on her, I’d dig him up and fucking kill him all over again. I’d bring him back to life, so I could burn him alive.

“Anya.” Who the fuck was Anya? “He hurt Anya.”

ChapterTwenty-Five

AURORA

Aheavy weight of a muscled arm draped over my waist. The delicious scent of a man had me snuggling closer to the heat source, as if it was my own personal security blanket. It had been a long time since I woke up with a guy in my bed. It wasn’t something I cared to do even with a steady boyfriend.

The arm was strong and comforting. Protective. When I shifted, the arm tightened around my waist and pulled me closer, his chest pressing against my back. I kept my eyes closed, just relishing in his heat and amazing smell. I didn’t want to wake up, forcing my brain to shut down and let me go back to sleep.

But it was for naught. Because I was intrigued and wanted to know who was in my bed. I opened my eyes and my vision seemed slightly blurry. I blinked several times, and my eyes latched onto a muscular arm around my waist.

Tattooed.

And just like that, my memory from last night poured in. The sex club. The performance Alexei and I gave to Igor. Sex.The freaking hot sex!

Instantly, heat bloomed low in my stomach at the memories. Sex with Alexei Nikolaev was a toe-curling, brain-melting experience. I should feel mortified, yet I didn’t. How could anyone regret something so freaking hot?

Shifting my hand, I curiously eyed the complicated ink on his forearm. Just as I reached out to trace it with my fingers, I felt him tense at my back.

“Don’t,” he warned softly. His breath was hot in my ear and it sent shivers down my spine.

My fingers hovered barely an inch over his skin and the temptation to touch him was great. I wanted to feel him under my fingertips, roam his body with my hands.

But I didn’t.

I’d never touch anyone without their permission. Though I didn’t care to ponder why I allowed him to touch me. It didn’t cross my mind to forbid him to touch me. It felt too damn good. Though this was just a job. A sinful, fucked up, undercover job.

Ugh, my brothers would tear Alexei apart if they knew.

My hand fell beside me, and his own hand slid from my waist. With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes.

We laid in silence as I struggled with this all-consuming need to touch him. Feel him against me. These emotions were tricky. Unexpected.

Maybe it was normal to feel this attraction to him after what we experienced in the club and then again last night. Though I started to suspect it had nothing to do with it.

Whatever this was, it snuck up on me over the last few weeks. And I didn’t unnecessarily dislike it. It made my body buzz with nervous energy. The kind that I knew he could calm, as ridiculous as that sounded. He smelled so good, warm skin and a faint sexy scent that was uniquely him.

I could hear his breathing, warm and confident. And the ache between my thighs pulsed, making it harder to ignore him. I wanted him. So fucking much that I actually contemplated begging him to fuck me.

“Take your clothes off,” he ordered, his words almost sounding like a challenge. My eyes shot open and met his stare, his light blue eyes sending a newly sparked current through my body. The look in his eyes made me warm from the inside out, causing a deep, throbbing ache between my thighs. “And hand me your panties.”

Enigma.

He was my tempting enigma, so damn intune with my body that I’d have sworn he knew me better than I do.

I rose up onto my knees, the mattress shifting underneath me. I held his gaze as I pulled my shirt over my head. Then my shorts followed, leaving me only in my flimsy panties.

My skin buzzed with anticipation. Alexei didn’t move, his burning gaze caressing my body. When he watched me, the whole world faded out. Nothing mattered but him. Not Igor. Not the cameras. Nor the possibility that he was watching us. All that I felt and saw was Alexei.