The Russian's Proposal (Friends Forever Book 3) Read online

  “Katia?” Her head jerked back towards the kitchen when she heard his deep voice calling her name. “You okay?”

  She realized she’d been leaning idly against the closed door, contemplating the man’s muscles.

  Hurriedly, she pushed away and pulled of his tee-shirt, relieved that he couldn’t see her. “I’m fine! I’ll hurry.”

  “Good. This will be ready whenever you are.”

  She realized that he was right outside the doorway and stared at it for a long moment. What would he do if she called for him to come in? She was standing in the middle of the bedroom contemplating the man naked!

  Yeah, she should be ashamed that she was objectifying the man, but…well, what woman wouldn’t? He was hot! And as long as she did it only in her mind, that was okay, right? It wasn’t bad if she was only mentally undressing the man and thinking about licking every inch of his whole body!

  Taking a deep breath, she tied the strings of the bikini, then turned to face the mirror.

  “Oh no!” she gasped. “It’s worse than I’d thought!”

  “What’s worse?” his deep voice asked.

  Katia jerked away from her image, grabbing the tee shirt she’d just removed, pulling it over the bathing suit that was…well, barely anything!

  “Nothing!” she called back, surprised that he’d heard her exclamation from this distance. Just went to prove that the man was ever mindful. Shorts – quickly donned and she slid her feet into sandals that she could easily take off when she had to walk through sand. “Okay, breathe,” she coached herself in a whisper, hoping he wasn’t still outside her door. She couldn’t let him know what she’d been thinking. That would be rude, she reminded herself.

  With a nod for confidence, she turned to grab the beach bag some amazing assistant had thought to include with all of the clothes, and did an inventory. Sunglasses, sunscreen, big hat…extra clothes so she didn’t have to be in a wet bathing suit all day…yep. She was good to go!

  Stepping out into the main room once again, she walked over to the kitchen as casually as possible under the circumstances. But her little fantasy-fest she’d just enjoyed caused her to trip over her own feet as he watched her approach. The trip caused his dark eyebrow to rise in question but she simply brightened her smile and slid onto one of the chairs. “This smells incredibly good, Sergei. How did you learn to cook?”

  He set the casserole and small bowl of fruit on the table between them, then took the opposite chair. “You okay?” he asked.

  She lifted her glass of freshly squeezed juice. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

  “You look flushed and it took you a while to change. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  She smiled and carefully set her glass down on the table. “I’m fine. Just…what are we going to do today?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Have you ever gotten to swim with stingrays?”

  She stared at him for a long moment, pretty sure that he was kidding but…. “You’re not talking about the stingrays that have those pointed tails, right? There’s some other kind of stingray, correct?”

  He laughed. “Nope. The only stingrays I know of have the pointed tails.”

  “Um…” she tried to come up with a flippant answer but nothing was coming to mind. “Well, I’ve never really been to the ocean, let alone swam with stingrays.”

  He stared at her for a long moment before he put his glass of juice down. “You’ve never been swimming in the ocean? How is that possible?”

  She rolled her eyes, serving herself some of the delicious smelling casserole, then putting some on his plate as well. “It’s easily possible, Sergei. My father never allowed us to go to the beach. In fact, he rarely even allowed my mother and I to go with him when he traveled. We were mostly stuck in the house in Moscow. He took us out occasionally to show us off, but that was rare.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged as if the answer should be obvious. “Because he wanted to control us. He liked having that kind of control. I was even home schooled. He carefully supervised my education.” She grinned as she said, “He never knew all of the books my tutors snuck in for me. I learned French and Spanish, in addition to English.”

  “All self-taught?” he asked, impressed.

  “Of course! My mother and I would study at night or when he’d go out for the evening. And since he left us alone for long periods of time with only guards to watch over us, guards who rarely were interested in what we were doing as long as they knew we were in the house, they didn’t ever look at what we were studying. Beside,” she continued with another casual shrug. “The guards knew that I was studying. They didn’t care what the subject was. Even if they cared to investigate, my father never would have confided to them on his desired curriculum. He didn’t think it was their place so he didn’t share. So I could pretty much study anything I wanted, as long as my tutors were able to sneak in the subject matter.”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “So you taught yourself languages. What else?”

  “Math. Computer programming. History, philosophy, logistics…just about anything my tutors could bring in, I would read. I wasn’t allowed to be on the Internet, but books were good because I always looked like I was studying something, which made my father think everything was as he wanted it. I learned to stay out of his way too. That was the key. The only reason he stepped in and acknowledged me was if I drew his attention.” She waved her fork in the air. “Never a good thing to get his attention.”

  “So how far in school did you go?”

  She shook her head. “No idea. I wasn’t ever tested by the state exams, so I have no idea what my education level might be. I could be around the eighth grade level, or I might have the equivalent of a graduate degree.”

  His eyebrows shot up with her explanation. “And you never bothered to find out?”

  Katia laughed. “What would be the point? I…worked at the coffee shop,” she said, excluding the fact that she actually owned the shop, as well as the apartment building she’d “rented” space from. “I moved from town to town and had adequate income when I needed it. A degree is only useful when applying for jobs within a company. I couldn’t work for a company because I’d need a social security number. I had one,” she admitted dismissively, “but it was fake.”

  His admiration for this woman just increased tenfold. “You didn’t just work at the coffee shop, Katia,” he corrected softly. “I know that you own the shop and several other places you worked in over the years. Your assets are spread across three countries and seven states. Very impressive investing, by the way.”

  She stilled for a moment and he understood what had just gone through her mind. Leaning forward, he covered her cold fingers with his own. “Katia, I won’t put you in danger. You did a very good job of hiding your trail. It was just a fluke of luck that I figured out where you were.”

  He watched her nervous breathing ease and the panic slowly subside from her beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry to scare you like that,” he commented.

  She looked down at her plate and he worried that she was pulling back. “Don’t,” he cautioned.

  Those beautiful brown eyes looked at him, still wide with fear, and he squeezed her hand comfortingly. “Don’t pull back,” he urged. “I enjoy your company. Let’s trust each other and have confidence that we’ll accomplish this mission together.”

  She sighed and he hoped that meant she was pushing back her fear. “I know you’ve lived with the fear of your father finding you for a long time now. Being out in the open is going to be hard for you after six years of being on the run and hiding your identity and actions.” He squeezed her hand one more time, then released her. “I’ll be open with you about everything that’s going on, all the overlapping security precautions that I have in place.” He paused for a long moment before he continued. “I can’t guarantee that everything will go according to my plan, but I have contingencies in place for just about every possible outcome I c
ould think of. If your father is going to hit back, which he will try to do, then I’m ready for him.”

  She inhaled, then slowly let her breath out. “Okay. But please don’t ask me to trust you completely. We barely know each other.”

  “Fair enough. Keep your secrets.” He looked at her as she forked some of the spicy casserole. “For now.” When she looked up at him, he winked at her, causing her to laugh out loud. It sounded good. Strong and feminine. He liked that about her. She trusted, but only so far. He’d have to truly earn her trust before she would release all of her secrets to him.

  A challenge. Good! He preferred a woman of mystery. He respected her more because she made him work for her trust.

  After lunch, they cleared the dishes, leaving them in the sink for the housekeeping service to clean up. She tried to wash them herself, not used to having assistance, but he simply grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door.

  Chapter 8

  Katia breathed in the sea air, loving the amazing breezes as the boat smoothly sliced through the water. “This is really nice,” she admitted to Sergei who was sitting next to her. They were lounging on a small yacht that was taking them through the ocean towards…whatever was out there. At this particular moment, she didn’t really care. She was too relaxed with the Caribbean sun shining down, warming her skin and a gorgeous, kind man next to her.

  For the first time in a long time, she didn’t have to worry about her father or his goons coming around a corner to catch her and bring her back to his house. And that was simply because there weren’t any corners! It was just blue ocean and soft breezes.

  “You look more relaxed than I’ve ever seen you,” Sergei commented, handing her a cool, fruity drink that he’d just gotten from the bar. The yacht was fully staffed, including a chef who had come to them as soon as they’d boarded and offered menu suggestions.

  Katia lifted her face up to the sunshine, feeling the heat. “I think I am more relaxed. This is lovely!”

  “I’m glad you approve.”

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “Swimming with the stingrays.”

  She’d been about to take a sip of her drink but his words stopped her. She slowly turned her head to look at him. “I thought you were teasing me earlier.”

  He slowly turned his head around, his sunglasses still hiding his eyes but the smile slowly curved those fascinating lips. “We’re swimming with stingrays. You’re going to touch them and swim with them and, if you’re feeling brave, feed one or two.”

  She swallowed hard. “Sergei…”

  “Trust, right?”

  She wanted to trust him but…stingrays?

  He threw back his head and laughed, taking her hand and lifting it to his lips. With a gentle tug, he kissed her fingers, sending sparks of awareness throughout her whole body.

  “You have to stop doing that,” she whispered, pulling her hand away from his mouth.

  “Stop doing what?” he asked, leaning slightly towards her.

  “Kissing me. Touching me.”

  There was a long moment of tense silence as they both stared at each other. “Why?” he finally asked.

  Her heart pounded even harder. “Because…” she said, feeling ridiculous because she couldn’t tell him why. She already felt ridiculous for feeling such things for a man who obviously had other issues on his mind. But he was just so potent, so powerfully male. And she had never been drawn to a man like she was with Sergei. There was just something about him that made him…irresistible. And that was saying a lot since she’d been able to resist every man that had crossed her path over the past six years. No male had really interested her. Perhaps because no male had ever made her feel quite the away Sergei did with every touch, every look, and every sound out of his mouth. Even his voice made her feel sexy and feminine, fully aware of him as a man and herself as a female who was starved for male attention.

  No, that wasn’t completely true. She wasn’t starved for male attention. She’d had that over the years. She’d even casually dated several men. But none had so completely captured her attention, her imagination, as Sergei had in only a few days.

  “That’s not really a good enough reason, Katia,” he sighed, his accent more pronounced.

  “We have arrived, sir,” a steward announced, interrupting the tension that had been increasing ever since this morning.

  She jerked out of her chair, almost spilling the fruit juice. Her actions caused both men to look at her as if she’d been doing something naughty. The steward’s face remained blank, but Sergei’s, of course, was amused. Oh, the man knew exactly what she’d been thinking. He’d probably even been pushing her towards that line of thought!

  Pulling her eyes away from his, she looked around. “Um…where are we?” she asked. “Looks like we’re out in the middle of the ocean.” Although, in the distance, she could see land.

  “Look in the water,” he directed and took her hand, leading her over towards the railing of the yacht.

  Looking down, she jerked backwards when an enormous, grey stingray broke the surface of the choppy water. “What was that?!” she gasped.

  “That’s our swimming companion,” he explained and reached behind him, pulling the tee shirt over his head, dumping it onto one of the deck chairs. “We’re going to jump in and swim around with these guys.”

  Katia looked down into the water again, then back up at him. Was he kidding? There were dozens of those creatures swarming in the water at the moment! “We are not!” she asserted, and looked up at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  He laughed, but turned to nod at the steward who immediately disappeared. When they were alone again, he took her hands in both of his. “Katia, do you trust me?”

  “Nope!” she said, shaking her head, unaware of how her dark curls danced around her shoulders. “If it means getting in that water with those giant, swimming things with the pointy stabbers, then nope. I’m not going to trust you!”

  He laughed as he placed his hands on her hips. “Even if I promise that it is safe?”

  She peered over the railing once again, seeing even more rays swimming around. Almost swarming! “Nope.”

  He laughed as he pulled her into his arms and she felt his warmth right down to her soul. But she still wasn’t getting in that water. Pushing against his shoulders, she tried to step out of the circle of his arms. “You go in. I’ll just sit here and enjoy the sunshine and this delicious drink that the nice man made for me.”

  That strong hand with the interesting calluses smoothed up and down her back. It wasn’t helping that he was no longer wearing that tee shirt so whatever protection she’d had against all of those interesting muscles was gone. Gone and she was weak. At least, weak where this man was concerned.

  “They are actually very gentle creatures, Katia. I promise, they won’t hurt you.”

  “Prove it,” she challenged.

  He shifted slightly and she looked up at him.

  “If I hold your hand through the whole experience, then will you get in with me?”

  “Nope.”

  He chuckled. “Now you’re just being stubborn.”

  “Maybe,” she replied, as she peered over the side. There were several more giant grey monsters swimming around. Even as she watched, more appeared, breaking the surface as if they were begging for food. “Are there more of them?”

  He shrugged. “Probably. They know that they are going to get fed when a boat appears near this area. So they come searching for food.”

  They looked kind of cute, if he was telling the truth. It was like a bunch of dogs that were barking, trying to get their master’s attention and get the first nibble. She just didn’t want to be that first nibble for any of them.

  “I’ll just watch,” she demurred, pulling back and shaking her head again.

  Apparently, Sergei wasn’t going to allow that. His hands slid under her tee shirt and, with nimble fingers, he had the button undone on her sho
rts before she even knew what he was doing. “You’re coming in with me. And I’m going to prove to you how much fun this is.”

  “I can just watch,” she said, grabbing his wrists when he tried to pull off her shirt. “It will be very enjoyable to watch.”

  “Nope. More fun to experience,” he insisted and those agile hands slid under her tee shirt, lifting it higher. Before she could really put up a solid defense, her shirt was up and over her head, tossed on top of his on the chair beside them.

  “What do you think you’re doing?!” she demanded, standing there in the tiny bikini. Finally, he stopped and she looked up, trying to figure out why he was complacent all of a sudden. He was standing there staring at her.

  Her body froze with the heat in his eyes as he drank in the vision of her figure in the skimpy bikini. She was frozen and then…and then she wasn’t! The heat in his eyes warmed her up, making her feel crazy hot!

  “Stop,” she whispered, her arms moving up to try to cover all the showing skin. When he continued to stare at her, his eyes moving over her curves, the swells of her breasts and lower, skimming along the curve of her stomach and legs…she stepped back.

  Sergei almost cursed out loud when he took in her voluptuous body filling out that bathing suit. Yes, he’d told her that he’d been with women in the past who had been wearing less. But they hadn’t been Katia. Her body…those curves…they were…amazing! No other woman could match the sensual image standing before him.

  Stepping closer, he took her hands and pulled them away from her figure. “Don’t hide from me, Katia,” he purred, realizing that the husky quality of his voice told her everything she needed to know about how her standing here in that black bikini was affecting him. He didn’t give a damn! She was lovely and sexy…like a sensuous goddess put on this earth to entice him.