From Russia With Claws (14 page)

He touched her bare arm, causing her flesh to prickle with sensation. “Galya,” he began.

“Looks like your date’s here,” she murmured, inclining her head to the atrium and her incoming family. She saw his genial mask slide in place and excused herself to go to the powder room.

She waited in the lounge area for a good ten minutes, listening to the gossip and chatter of the women who came and went. Galina checked her phone for messages, hoping for something to distract her but there were no new calls. Finally, when she couldn’t put it off any longer, she made her way to the base of the staircase and allowed Nik to escort her to the family’s box.

“Galya!” her father called, giving her a hug and a peck on each cheek when he saw her. She greeted everyone, even Alexei who acted like he hadn’t heard her, and then tried to disappear into the background, willing her phone to vibrate.

Maksim took her hand in his fingertips, kissing the air above her hand as if afraid to touch her more than he needed to. He was finally wearing something that fit him properly. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing a pinky ring. Galina glanced at Alexei, noting that he wore something similar.

“You look lovely,” Maksim told her, before turning to her sister. “As do you, Mrs. Volkov.” He sounded incredibly bored.

Irina nodded. “You are too kind.” She was wearing a grey Grecian style dress matched with a set of sapphire hair combs that Galina coveted.

The lights began to dim. Papa occupied his usual seat on the end of the first row, with the best view of the stage. Alexei nearly shoved Nikolai over the railing into the seats below in his hurry to sit at Papa’s right hand. Maksim moved to the chair next to Alexei. Nik sat, leaving only one seat left in the front row.

“Oh, you have to take this seat, Andrey,” Irina said, gesturing to the seat like it was a prize on a game show. “Papa always says the end seats have the best view of the stage.”

Papa looked at Alexei, raising his eyebrows but his oldest son ignored his unspoken signal. Maksim was speaking rapidly in her brother’s ear, probably telling him how much better the ballet boxes were in Russia.

“I’ll move,” Nik said, quickly, hopping up from his seat. Galina shook her head at her brother’s gallantry.

Andrey put a hand on her brother’s shoulder and pushed him back down. “No, no, you’re already seated,” he said. “I’ll sit in the second row.”

“I don’t mind sitting with Galina,” Irina assured him.

“But your father was just telling me how much you love the ballet,” Andrey protested, his gaze skipping to Galina. “I couldn’t let you miss
Swan Lake
. Really, I insist.” Oh good Lord, it was a gallant-off.

“But it would be rude to let a guest sit in the second row,” Papa protested, flushing red now that he realized his error. He couldn’t, in good manners, deny Andrey’s request that Nik sit in the front row, and he couldn’t ask a guest to move. As the host, it would look bad for him to sit anywhere but in the front row, near his guest. And they would need a backhoe to get Alexei out of that chair.

Irina shook her head. “I don’t mind. I’ve already seen this company’s performance of
Swan Lake
. And really, you see one evil wizard change a girl into a bird, you’ve seen them all.”

“I don’t mind, Papa,” Irina insisted. “I promise. And I’ll be sitting next to Galina, so it will be completely proper.”

“Yes, yes,” Galina urged, plopping into a seat in the second row. “We’re all in agreement. Everybody sit down.”

Irina slid into the seat on her right gracefully. “You okay?”

The curtain rose. Galina kept her eyes fixed on the stage, as she managed a not quite believable, “Fine.”

“Okay then,” Irina said, sounding irritated.

Galina felt bad for snapping at her sister, but it wasn’t like she could tell her sister what was making her cranky. Still, it wasn’t fair taking her temper out on Irina when her sister wanted to be at the ballet even less than Galina did. She vowed to keep her frustration in check.

Viktor and Konstantin stood sentinel—like living statues—at opposite sides of the box, each small movement pulling Galina’s focus from the stage.

“Would you two sit, you’re distracting me!” she said to the bodyguards. “It’s like watching ballet with a couple of gargoyles lurking in the shadows.”

They acquiesced. Konstantin sat on the end next to Galina, while Viktor took the chair beside Irina. Galina hoped that Viktor had the presence of mind to keep his blood pumping to his brain rather than his dick. She sat with her arms crossed across her chest and tried to pay attention to the dancers onstage.

“Oh, this is so much fun,” Galina whispered to her sister. “I hope we can do this every Friday night.”

Irina surreptitiously gave her the finger, keeping her eyes on the stage. Konstantin snickered beside her. With a sigh, Galina pulled out her phone to check for messages and saw the blinking light that indicated she had voice mail. She stood, gathering her skirts in one hand and slid past Konstantin. Andrey and Nik turned around in their seats to see what the commotion was.

“I need to take a call,” she told them, excusing herself and leaving the box.

Galina found a quiet corner in the first floor atrium and returned Tol Aristov’s phone call. In ten minutes she had verbal confirmation of the agreed upon price, the delivery date and location, and an appointment for a face-to-face meeting. When she hung up, she felt immeasurably better.

Putting her phone back into her purse, Galina turned and slammed into a wall of tuxedo clad man-chest. She staggered in her heels, clutching at the arms that steadied her. Andrey.

Galina looked into his face, eyes locking on his mouth. “Did you follow me?” Not the smartest question she’d ever asked, sure, but she was still on a high from the phone call.

“I told them I needed to get some air.” He pulled her closer.

“Down boy.” She slapped at his shoulder with her clutch. “They bought that?”

He loosened his hold on her, but didn’t let her go. “Your father is really into the ballet.”

“I’m going back up,” she said, not wanting to get in the middle of anything else right now. She was barely tolerating this nightmare of an evening; she didn’t want complications. Galina just wanted to revel in her good news for a few more minutes.

“Come with me,” Andrey said, tucking her arm into his.

Galina looked around, seeing that there were a number of patrons milling around. Normally she wouldn’t have cared about causing a scene, but her father was here, as was Alexei. She needed to stay above reproach for the time being. So she strolled along with Andrey through the atrium as if they were simply a couple out for a special evening.

“I’m surprised Konstantin isn’t with you,” Galina observed, just to have something to say. “Doesn’t he follow you everywhere?”

“He wanted to stay in the box,” Andrey answered. “He likes being close to Nik.”

Galina felt like her eyes bug out of her head, then reminded herself that frog eyes weren’t a good look for her and blinked. Andrey used her shock to usher her into the room where the coats were checked. Did he know about Nik? And, more importantly, was he okay with it?

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said finally, pulling her arm from his. “You know Konstantin is gay?” Then she stared up at him in horror. “You know
Nik
is gay?”

“Konstantin is my best friend. Of course, I know he’s gay.” Andrey stalked over to her, backing her up against the wall. Galina put her hand against his chest, pushing back. “I don’t want to talk about Konstantin or your brother anymore.”

He lowered his head slowly to hers. Galina stared at him, shocked into stillness, feeling her nerves sing at his nearness. Andrey’s lips brushed hers lightly, a whisper of a kiss. She felt it sizzle through her, liquid heat pooling in her belly.

Galina pushed him back with both hands. It was a lot like trying to move a wall. “And what about my sister? Do you want to talk about why you’re here with her?”

Andrey stared down at her, his pale eyes dark with lust. She felt a pulse slide through her, feeling wetness between her thighs. That look in his eyes was for her and her alone, but that wasn’t an answer.

“I’m not with your sister right now.” Andrey leaned forward, sliding his hands down her waist to her hips, yanking her close to him. “I’m here with you.”

“You are.” They stared at each other, the tension between the two of them building until it had a kind of presence, filling up the confines of the room. Galina closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get her body under control. Everything inside of her ached for him. She wanted his kiss, his touch, his cock. Even if it was only for tonight. There was a hunger inside her that only he could sate.

“Oh, fuck it,” she said, opening her eyes. She locked her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers.

Fire blazed through her at the feel of his lips on hers. Her mouth opened, and she pushed her tongue into his, sliding it over his teeth, licking at the roof of his mouth. Her pussy spasmed, a greedy throb that drove her to the edge of wanting, pushing her into the realm of need.

Andrey’s mouth was everywhere: trailing along her throat, moving over the exposed flesh of her chest, nipping at her earlobes. She gasped, rubbing against the bulge in his pants. His hands scrabbled at the fabric of her skirt, pulling it up so his fingers could slip inside of her. Galina gasped as first one, then two fingers plunged inside of her, spreading her wetness over her folds. His thumb brushed her clit, the callous catching against the sensitive flesh and she bucked against him.

“You didn’t wear underwear,” he observed, a pleased grin on his face.

Her fingers dipped to his fly, unzipping his pants and reaching inside to wrap her hand around his cock. It throbbed against her palm as she began to move her hand along his shaft, running her thumb along the head of him. His breathing sped up, matching her panting breaths as his fingers stroked inside of her. Galina thought she might erupt like a volcano as she chased her orgasm, moving on his hand.

Andrey broke their kiss. “Lie down,” he ordered, ripping some furs down from the hangers around them. “On these.”

Galina moved to obey, dropping down on the coats that Andrey had spread on the floor. When she didn’t move fast enough, Andrey positioned her himself. He bent her knees, yanking the skirt of her dress up and pushing it around her waist. He looked like a man who’d just been offered a banquet.

She wanted to say something, anything, but then Andrey’s mouth was on her, lapping at her clit. Galina moaned softly, lifting her hips upward, wanting more. Andrey obliged, applying more pressure as his tongue licked over her sensitive flesh and sliding his fingers back inside her. She locked her hands in his hair, writhing against the furs as his fingers and tongue pushed her closer to the brink.

“You have the most perfect pussy,” Andrey murmured, lifting his head to watch her come undone. His fingers pumped into her, driving her mad with need. She cried out softly, a low keen rising in the back of her throat.

He lowered his head to her once more, sucking her clit into his mouth. Galina arched up, feeling like he’d just sent an electric current from her sex straight up the center of her spine and into her brain. All thought stopped as every muscle in her body clenched in delicious pleasure. She knew she was making noise, but she couldn’t help herself, didn’t want him to stop making her feel this way. And Andrey’s tongue was still stroking at her clit, not allowing her a chance to recover, to breathe. Shudders moved through her as his fingers sped up their rhythm, and Galina’s hips moved in time with his thrusts.

A horrified squeak pulled Galina from her pleasure. She levered herself up to look over Andrey’s back. Irina stared at them, a look of shock and surprise plastered all over her face. Galina waved at her, wearing what she was sure was a stupid grin. Andrey lifted his head and turned it toward the door, his fingers still deep inside of her. She made an outraged noise at him for stopping, then looked again at her sister still standing in the doorway.

Irina could pull up a chair and watch or get the hell out and let Andrey finish what he started. But she couldn’t just stand there with the door wide open, gaping like a landed fish. “Would you shut the fucking door already?” Galina growled.

“You two are—oh, my god, there are just some things I will never be able to un-see!” Irina slammed the door closed.

Galina couldn’t help but laugh at the outraged look on her sister’s face. Andrey’s deep chuckle joined hers and his steely eyes snapped with amusement.

Then Viktor stuck his head into the cloakroom. He muttered, “Oh, come on, Lupesco!” Galina and Andrey both snarled at him. He shut the door.

She tapped Andrey on the head, and said, “You’ve got a job to finish, mister.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And he lowered his mouth to her once more.

Galina arrived back at the box first, having stopped off in the powder room to check her hair and makeup and spray on some of the wolfsbane perfume she always carried. It would dull a werewolf’s keen sense of smell, helping to mask the scent of sex-and-Andrey that fairly enveloped her. She reapplied her lipstick, fluffed her hair, and rejoined her family.