The Russian's Dangerous Game (10 page)

Her fingernails drummed a rhythm on the table beside her plate as she contemplated his statement.
“And how long do I have to stay?”

She was smart as well as beautiful, he thought with a smile. Needing to give her some time frame, even if it wasn’t accurate, he said,
“Everything should be finished by the end of the weekend, middle of next week at the latest if everything goes according to my plans.”

She debated with herself long and hard, but in the end, it wasn’t really a question. Of course she would stay here.
Or maybe she could mentally prepare to stay here just as long as he followed through on his end of the bargain. If she thought he was just stringing her along, she’d be out of here! “How do I know I’ll be the first reporter to get the story?”

He laughed, loving the sparkle in her eyes and the rosy flush of
excited color in her cheeks. “I can’t guarantee that you will be the first, but I can ensure that you’ll have the most thorough story, if I have your cooperation to stay here until everything is finished. The other reporters will only be getting the parts. I promise, you’ll get the big picture.”

As she contemplated his offer, she was unaware of her tongue poking out the side of her mouth or the way her head tilted, giving him a tempting view of her full breasts.
“And if you end up in jail because of my report?”

Rocco threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll even let you film the handcuffs being put on.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Is this one of those too-good-to-be-true situations that I should be running from?”

He smiled and nodded his
head. “Probably.”

She sat back in her chair, something not calculating properly. He seemed too open to the idea and it worried her. But wasn’t this what a good reporter would do? Take the risks? Dive into the story with both feet?

“Fine,” she stated firmly and was rewarded by something bursting in his eyes that she couldn’t quite define, but that made her feel all warm and gooey inside. “After you’re arrested, I want a jail cell interview as well.”

He leaned forward and poured her more coffee. “I’ll agree to that, as long as I get to use the handcuffs as well
when it is my turn.”

She blushed painfully with his words and ignored the
sexual innuendo.

It occurred to her that the man was astoundingly calm for someone who might be facing jail time. But then she realized that
Rocco Antoniv man had international contacts. He might be out of the country by the time she put everything together.

She picked up her coffee cup, staring at him over the edge.
“So you’re going to continue to be cavalier about this?” she asked, wiggling in her seat in discomfort despite the fact that that was exactly what he wanted her to feel. She fought against it, but in the end, she was just too embarrassed by the mention of handcuffs. She wasn’t even completely sure what one would do with handcuffs but she was fairly certain she didn’t want to find out.

“I don’t think there’s any other option,” he said and leaned back against his chair. “Since you’re going to be staying here with me, what would you like to do today?”

Brianna almost choked on her orange juice. “With you?”

“Of course.”
He looked at her with that amusement that never failed to irritate her. “I’m your host. I am here to entertain you.”

She shook her head. “Why don’t you just go about your business like I’m not even
here?”

He chuckled. “What kind of a host would I be if I ignored you?” he asked, leaning forward. He reached out and, before she knew what he was going to do, pulled a lock of hair away from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. The gesture would probably be sweet and kind if anyone else had done it, but when he did it, she felt all those terrifying tingles
in her cheek that quickly radiated outwards towards every part of her body. Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t breathe for a long time.

“I know what I’d like to do,” he said softly, his eyes holding hers, captured and not relinquishing his hold.

She felt his words, and the intention behind them, all the way down to her toes. “Not that,” she whispered back, telling herself to look away, but she couldn’t move. She felt stranded, gasping for air while he controlled her somehow.

He smiled wickedly. “I know you’ll like what I’m going to suggest.”

“Not that,” she repeated and somehow, deep within her, she found the will to pull her eyes away. “I’ll never do that again with you.”

He watched her as she pushed
the remnants of her omelet on her plate back and forth, finding her nervousness very telling. She was startlingly beautiful in the morning light. She didn’t have any makeup on and her eyes were bright with anxiety. He almost wished he could ease her concern, but he didn’t know what was bothering her so much. Well, besides the fact that she thought she was consorting with a criminal. He couldn’t help but enjoy the irony of that idea but focused on the day ahead.

“I was only going to suggest a game of chess,” he said and almost laughed out loud at the surprise in her eyes. “What did you think I was going to suggest?” he asked, already knowing the answer but wanting her to tell him. He wanted to see if she would actually say the words out loud.

And he was right. She looked down, still playing with the food on her china plate. “Chess would be lovely,” she finally got out, the telltale blush moving up her neck and flaring into her cheeks.

“Excellent. Are you any good at chess?” he asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

She leaned back, taking a sip of her coffee so she could hide behind her coffee cup. “Not at all,” she lied.

He chuckled and finished off his coffee. “Good.
More lying. I’m glad to know that you’re consistent at least. Let’s me know where you stand.”

He stood up and
Brianna downed the rest of the coffee as fast as she could. “Why do you think I’m lying?” she asked, knowing she should feel affronted, but somehow, she was only intrigued.

“Come along,” he told her but didn’t wait for
her reply as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her seat. She almost choked on her coffee but was able to put it back down on the delicate saucer before she was launched out of her chair.

“I guess we’re playing chess now?” she asked, but it wasn’t really a question since he was leading her down a very long hallway covered in black and white tiles. She’d always wanted a room with black and white tiles but they were surprisingly hard to find lately. She would have done her entire kitchen in the tiles. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to admire the décor since the illustrious and suspicious Rocco Antoniv was dragging her through the doorway and into a smaller room. She was about to sit down in the chair when he stopped her and pulled her around. She was startle
d when his arms moved around her, holding her close to his hard physique. “What…?” she was about to say, pushing her palms against his chest, trying to hold him away if not push him away so there was more space between them. As it was, they were connected from knees to stomach and the feeling was not so much disturbing as…terrifying.

Her surprised eyes moved warily upwards.
“I want to know why you left my place the other night,” he demanded.

Brianna blinked and looked
straight ahead at the enormous chest in front of her, feeling vulnerable with his directness. She wasn’t used to people asking such blatant questions. In her world, people moved around the issue, prodded it, looked at it curiously but they never just blurted out their direct questions as if the issue was as easy as answering if it were night or day. Well, except for Nikki and Rachel. Those two stepped in where others feared to go, asking, demanding, cajoling.

She tried to be casual, tried to pretend like it
had been just a fun night. “We had sex,” she said, choking on the last word. “It was very nice but we can’t let it happen again.”

He smiled slightly, still holding her close. “
Oh, it’s definitely going to happen again,” he promised. “The question is, when will you be brave enough to allow yourself the pleasure?”

She tried to breathe, but her eyes looked up, stopped when she
saw the intense, burning heat in his eyes. And the absolute conviction of his words. She swallowed, trying to figure out what to say. “I…”

“No, don’t say anything,” he told her. “I won’t believe them and it will simply draw my eyes to those lovely lips of yours.”

He released her with those words and moved over to a beautiful chess table surrounded by two large, comfortable wingback chairs set by the window. It was a lovely view where they could play chess and still watch the snow fall outside. Brianna fought the idea that this was an enchanting scene and took the offered seat, wondering how she was going to fight her attraction to the man. She would have thought it was banished from her mind, knowing what she knew about this man now. But there was still something about him that drew her, lured her closer. She didn’t like that about herself. She wanted to be oblivious to his masculinity.

“You may have the first move,” he said kindly, leaning back against the chair, watching her carefully but with an odd look in his eyes.

Brianna moved closer, surveying the board and trying to anticipate his strategy. But since nothing on the board had moved, she shifted her pawn forward two steps.

“Brave move,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes, not interested in having him mock her. She might not be able to take on a chess expert, but she could hold her own in a game of chess.

“Just make your move and forget all the witty repartee,
” she told him firmly.

“Don’t like being distracted?” he asked her, pushing his own piece into position.

“I don’t like someone thinking I’m an idiot, which is exactly what you are doing.” She moved another pawn, forming her line.

“On the contrary,” he countered, moving his bishop. “I think you’re supremely competent.”

“Now you’re just setting me up, thinking I’m not an adequate player.”

For the next hour, they shifted their pieces, taunting each other with superbly
executed strategy. By the end of the game, she was actually laughing at his verbal taunts even while he put her in checkmate.

“Okay, I concede defeat,” she said as she leaned back in the chair, smothering another chuckle. “Where did you learn to play so well?” she asked, thinking back to her lessons at the community center. It was the one place where she’d felt safe. She
, Rachel and Nikki would spend hours there, hiding from the people on the street who were out to hurt any pedestrians in order to increase their credibility with the others. It was all a matter of survival. Whoever was the toughest on the street was able to walk down the sidewalks with relative ease.

Rocco leaned back in his chair, admiring her skill and beauty.
“A kid down the street from me used to challenge me all the time. He beat me once and wanted to play again and again. Unfortunately for him, he never beat me afterwards although he tried many times.”

“Who taught you?” she asked, thinking of all the books she’d read on strategy.

“I taught myself,” he came right back. “So what would you like to eat for lunch?” he asked.

She shook her head and stood up, stretching slightly as she backed away. “I’m not really hungry,” she said.

He stood up as well and came closer, his finger touching the dark circles under her eyes. “Would you like to rest for a little while?” he asked, sensing her fatigue.

She didn’t want to admit any weakness around this man, but she also couldn’t deny that she was bone tired. She’d been able to ignore it while playing but only because he
’d challenged her mentally. He’d never allowed her a moment to relax which was what she’d needed. Even now that he was close to her, her body was remembering just how incredible it felt when he touched her, kissed her. She’d been on fire, was even now feeling the heat of him.

She took a quick step back
, flustered at how much he could affect her. “Thank you. That would be extremely nice,” she told herself. She thought about the idea of getting away from here as well.

“I’ll
walk you back to the guest room,” he said and led her out of the room and up the grand, curving staircase.

As she walked, she tried to peek into each of the rooms. She’d seen pictures of houses like this in the newspaper and online many times, but she’d never had the opportunity to actually be inside one. It was astounding how much space one man needed in his country home.

“Why do you have so many rooms?” she asked when they were walking down the hallway. They’d already passed by at least six bedrooms and were heading towards the wide, double doors at the end. A thought struck her and she was suddenly afraid that he was about to bring her into the master suite. She’d never be able to sleep if she were in his room, nor would she even enter it. She’d done that once and the results had been disastrous. She couldn’t do that to her self-esteem again. Not with this man.

Thankfully, he opened the door next to the double doors and she breathed a sigh of relief. And then she gasped in delight as she saw the lovely room done in soft lavender with a fluffy white comforter, sheer curtains
tied back at the four corners of the bed that went all the way up to the ceiling. There were probably ten or more pillows on the bed, making it look warm and inviting. “That’s a lot of pillows for a man’s house.”