The Arrangement (21 page)

“So, both. Care to indulge me here?”

Embarrassment slipped through her emotions like a slow moving killer. “I didn’t—”

“It turns you on, doesn’t it? Admit it. Guns scare you. Me and a gun is a different story, however. Gets you hot and bothered like nothing else. I think I like that more than I should. Come on, Viviana, is that it?”

“Yes.”

Once more, a tender kiss touched down before his teeth nipped painfully sharp to the same spot, sending a jolt of need through every inch of her aching body. At the same time, his fingers slipped inside to wrap along the flattened end of the plug before it slipped out of her rear.

With the toy packed safely away and her dress fixed, Viviana found herself rotated beneath his hands, the small of her back pressing into the edge of Anton’s desk as he leaned over her form. Their kiss was slow and lazy, the heat of his mouth overtaking hers as his fingers curled around the small of her waist. Pulling away, her nose skimmed the strong line of his jaw and she watched his eyes close at the motion.

Closed doors gave her him, she knew. No matter where they were. Anton flipped his switch like nothing, but she always got the very best ones when they turned on her.

“Both,” she murmured, nipping tenderly at his bottom lip. Blue eyes opened at her voice, the striking gaze he leveled on her making Viviana’s heart speed up. The very sight made her feel weak and overcome all over again, so she lowered her head. “You were right, it’s both. But, it won’t happen again …”

“Good.”

“
Boss
.”

At the harsh intake of air, Viviana chanced a look up at him once more, only to see the hard swallow in his throat and hooded eyes. His fingers tightened almost painfully on her waist, but she didn’t mind a bit.

“Oh, baby. You’re playing with fire, now.”

Viviana pretended like he hadn’t said a thing. “So the dress is good then?”

“We’re back to coy, huh?”

“Anton …” she said, reaching up to tap his chin with one finger, “the dress?”

“I love this goddamn dress.”

That was good enough for her.

• • •

“Mr.—”

“Anton,” he corrected automatically as the intercom turned on. Viviana’s legs on his lap was keeping his attention semi-diverted from his work. “Just Anton.”

His earlier moment when he’d snapped at his favorite employee had clearly given her a frightening shock if she was reverting back to using his last name.

“Right … um, Richard is here,” Jen said quietly over the intercom.

Viviana’s finger poked his ribs. “Richard?”

“Great. Send him up.”

The office had been cleaned—all of the clothing, shoes, and accessories removed from the space in little to no time at all. At his order, one of Viviana’s bulls had taken what she wouldn’t be using for the night back to the safe house. And damn, he could barely keep his eyes off her sexy curves as she moved around his office with a comfortable ease in those heels and dress. Jen needed another raise for getting her to wear it; that was all he had to say about it.

That and he probably owed her an apology for acting like an ass earlier. The apology wouldn’t come, because Jen knew better than anyone to turn her cheek at his moods and odd visitors, but the bonus on her pay check always said more than he could, anyway.

Anton wasn’t expecting any other visitors besides his personal jeweler, so he spent most of the afternoon hidden in his office with Viviana by his side. Spreadsheets were a hell he tried to avoid at all costs. Having businesses that were on the legal side of things meant he had to do crap like this more often than he wanted to.

The loud knock on his office door had Viviana’s questioning gaze turning on him again. “Who’s Richard?”

The confusion in her voice was almost cute, considering he hadn’t given her any indication she would be a part of his dealings for the day. In all honestly, Anton just wanted to surprise her again, because the thunderstruck look it created on her face was quickly turning into something he lived for.

“A very good friend of mine,” Anton told her quietly, bringing up her left hand to kiss the suspiciously bare ring finger. “Come on in, Richard.”

The man who entered his office was sporting a smile, eyebrows lifting with a suggestive lift as Viviana attempted to move her legs from Anton’s lap without her dress rising up. In his late sixties, Richard was a gentleman through and through, averting his eyes until she cleared her throat. He’d been around the Bratva organization long enough to know he could expect just about any kind of scene when he opened a closed door.

With the two silver security briefcases placed safely to the floor, Richard crossed the room and leaned down to place a kiss on Anton’s cheek as the younger man patted the back of his neck in response. It was a common sign of respect, one he knew Viviana would have seen before with her father, but not one she had gotten to witness properly played out with him.

Richard cocked a brow, meeting Anton’s gaze as the paperwork was tossed aside. “Are you slacking again, boy?” The thickness in his accent hung off every syllable. More often than not, he’d use Russian to speak to Anton, but because of Viviana’s presence, he chose to use a language she would understand, too. “Nicoli would be in a terrible fit seeing his little prince slumming it in the office with his fiancée instead of doing actual work.”

“I am working …”

“
Sure
.”

“On more important things,” Anton finished with a smirk.

“Ah, well, at least your priorities are getting straightened out. I can assume that’s because of this pretty little thing, here? It’s Viviana, yes?”

“That’s me.”

Richard’s steel-grey eyes turned on the woman who had crossed her legs and kept quiet while the Bratva boss was greeted. For a single moment, Anton knew what the older man was doing. Searching those eyes and features like he had done so many times before, looking for the clue that gave away who she really was behind the Italian name and mob boss father. Being the friend that Richard had been to Nicoli for all those years, he knew his step-grandfather wouldn’t have held back that secret from him.

The quiet exhale of Richard’s breath as he straightened was enough for Anton. The lump in his throat disappeared. “Very pleased to meet you, sweetheart. You’ve had this lazy prince here making me run for three weeks.”

Viviana glanced at Anton out of the corner of her eye as he brushed her wavy hair off her shoulder. “Three weeks?”

“This …” he said, waving at Richard with a smug grin, “is my jeweler, Viviana. And I do believe he has only the best for you, right, Richard?”

“Absolutely.”

The slight drop in her jaw had him chuckling. “You didn’t.”

“I did, baby. I thought I was clear when I said I had things planned for you today.”

“It’s
your
birthday,” she said pointedly.

Anton hummed, shrugging as he lifted himself off the couch. “Yeah, but making you smile is my greatest gift. Come, it’s time to pick out a ring for me to put on that finger of yours.”

One of the silver briefcases was propped up on the oak desk and opened with a set of keys. Viviana’s soft gasp whispered in Anton’s ears. He didn’t blame her a bit. The engagement rings Richard had brought along certainly outdid just about any he could have personally picked. There hadn’t been many requests from Anton regarding the rings, and he’d left the rest up to the older man to decide. And decide he had. Ranging from simplistic designs to some of the most intricately laid pieces he’d ever seen, Anton was quite literally struck quiet, too.

Twenty rings sat resting in black velvet, the shimmer of light reflecting off the carefully cut diamonds and gems. Between the rows, a particular piece caught Anton’s eye. In the middle of a white gold band sat a blue sapphire, five carat princess cut gem, encased with a solid crown of clear diamonds. He hadn’t asked for color, but there was something about that ring that drew his attention above the others.

“Very nice,” he appraised quietly. “I quite like these.”

Richard’s hand hit the spot between Anton’s shoulder blades and the older man laughed. “I hoped you would.”

“Never failed me before,” Anton replied. Viviana made a sound under her breath, almost turning into a skittish deer at the sight of so many jewels. “See anything you like?”

“Um …”

“Pardon me, Vine?”

“
Yes
. Oh, they’re beautiful.”

That awed look had replaced her initial shock as her fingers hesitantly danced over the sides of the case, but never once coming near any of the rings.

“You can touch them, sweetheart,” Richard said gently. “They are meant for you to wear, or at least one of them, anyway. All sized specifically for you, so you needn’t worry about that. Take your time if you need to.”

Once more, Viviana looked back at Anton, and he could see the battle warring there. It was quite a selection, and if he had to guess, she was probably wondering which ring he wanted to see on her finger.

“I really wanted you to choose without my input,” Anton murmured, hoping she’d understand. “Sometimes it might seem like you have so little control on everyday things, and you have to wear this ring, not me. If you want something small, go with that. If you want something that looks fit to be on a queen, go ahead. It’s all on you, Vine.”

When her trembling fingers ghosted over the case once more, Anton sighed, moving to her side. An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close as his lips met her temple and he added, “We’ll leave you to go at it.”

“What? No, you can’t let me choose alone, Anton.”

“I’ve already chosen the bands. They’ll arrive next week. Just … do this for me, okay? It’ll make me incredibly happy, and that way, I know the ring you’ll wear is one you truly love.”

Viviana didn’t say a word, simply shook her head and glanced down with an audible swallow. The second, unopened case was passed into Anton’s grasp before the men left the office. When the door was shut, Richard laughed a low sound when another one of those quiet, disbelieving noises came from inside the office.

“You’ll spoil that girl if you keep up with all this sweet nonsense,” he said with a joking spirit. “Doesn’t she have the slightest clue of the kind of man you are beneath the charm, Anton?”

“She does, not that it matters. Couldn’t hurt her if I tried.”

“Ah, I see. Knowing Nicoli like I did, well … That makes me a very happy old man.”

“The sapphire band, you chose that one for its likeness to this, hmm?” Anton asked, lifting the silver case in his hand. What lay inside was a gift that had been held in the jeweler’s trust for many years, under instructions Anton hadn’t been privy to other than the basics of when he was to give it to Viviana, and why. The older man didn’t deny his claim about the similarity statement. “And you placed it just so, I think, hoping it would catch my eye first.”

“Not just yours,” Richard said, smiling slyly. “If I know women like I think I do, she will pick that band because it was where your gaze traveled first. She will pick it because when her hand touches your face, the piece will compliment your eyes. And, it is more than appropriate enough in style, size, and design to be worn on the hand of your wife, Anton.”

“A ring that by extension compliments me. I hadn’t even considered that.”

Richard nodded, expression darkening with pensiveness before his words turned to Russian. “But her eyes, my boy, they’re all his.”

His suddenly shaking fists hid inside his pockets. “I know.”

“What is this?”

Anton smiled at the confusion in his lover’s voice as the car slid to a slow stop in a paved driveway. “My …
our
home.”

“It is?”

“Yep. I tried to buy it not long after I turned twenty, but Nicoli ended up giving it to me instead. This was his gift, I suppose.” That, and a dozen other things he wasn’t about to mention. “The locale is perfect.”

That surprised look was back on her face, cheeks sweetening with a touch of pink behind the carefully applied makeup. Anton couldn’t exactly blame her. The two level, modern house in the gated Brighton Beach community of Oceana was quite a sight. It was bigger than most on the block. A stone wall fence kept the corner property from having unwanted guests walking over the manicured grass, and not only was the location beautiful, and expensive, but it was also smart. Given the large bay windows on the top floors, Anton could see just about anybody coming for miles.

On the lower floor, windows were suited with triple latched locks. Only two entrances donned the home, also equipped with high tech alarms and locks, making it that much more difficult for an intruder, or police, to get in without him knowing in plenty of time to make whatever move he needed.

For all intents and purposes, the safe house located right in the heart of Brooklyn had been the perfect residence and spot for the Bratva boss to do his business and keep Viviana as safe as possible. But with the danger slowly beginning to ebb and his desire to return to his own home rising, the draw of their pseudo-home was starting to fade. She had yet to see where they would be living after the wedding, and considering they had a couple of hours before they needed to return to the club for his birthday party, he figured now was as good of a time to show her as any.

“I need to change my shirt. It doesn’t match your shoes,” he said, glancing down at the heels in question. They still had his body and mind in all kinds of turmoil, so just as quickly, he looked away. “And I didn’t want to drive all the way back to the safe house. Come on, Vine.”

The hand that touched his wrist stopped Anton from exiting the vehicle. Sunlight caught the glittering blue of the sapphire ring she now wore. It reflected a dance of light across his shirt. He’d kissed her deeply as he slid that band down her finger. His nerves only grew as he realized his hand had been trembling. But damn, doing that, and then seeing it, hadn’t been at all what he was expecting. It was so much more.

Now, the torn expression she sported had his heart beating into a worried frenzy.

“What is it?”