The Russian's Dangerous Game (7 page)

Brianna pulled the rough, wool blanket closer around her, wishing she hadn’t had such a ridiculous plan. She hated attending parties, but she found that she hated waiting outside of a party, especially in a relatively cold, damp, uncomfortable barn, even more. She’d discovered a well-kept stable behind Rocco’s house and had hunkered down until she found an opportunity to get inside the house. But she hadn’t anticipated the cold weather which was dropping down below freezing tonight as a cold front moved into the area, banishing all the abnormally warm temperatures they’d been experiencing lately. And she also hadn’t counted on the night being so spooky. It was late October and most of the leaves were already on the ground. This meant that every animal that walked by caused crunching or squirming sounds, which were reminiscent of several horror movies she’d watched as a kid. She also hadn’t remembered how big the spiders got in the fall. They’d had all summer to get big and fat, just in time to crawl into her hiding space and scare her half to death. She’d killed two already and her eyes were wide as she scanned the dimly lit area for more.

Darn it, this was a stupid plan! She’d thought it would be so easy to sneak into the house while the guests were arriving, find the man’s office and sift through his papers. But she hadn’t counted on the tight security that was everywhere. There were even guards strolling
around the perimeter of the house!

So she’d thought that it might be easier to sneak in while the guests were leaving.
Mentally, she’d argued that security would be more lax when there weren’t so many people trying to get in. But no one was leaving! She had no idea how long these fancy parties lasted, but she refused to look at her watch again. The last time she’d looked, only five minutes had passed.

Was this really what hard-
core reporters did to get a story? She felt like an idiot. A cold, uncomfortable idiot!

Rocco looked around at all the glittering guests and his irritation grew. When he caught sight of Stu, he excused himself and moved in that direction. He didn’t want to be entertaining, he wanted to find Brianna. Why this woman had gotten under his skin so quickly was a mystery, but Stu hadn’t be
en able to locate her at either her office or her apartment and now Rocco was worried. He’d known she was a gentle soul the night he’d held her in his arms but when she’d disappeared, he’d banished that possibility, thinking that she was just manipulating him like all the other women he’d been with. But she hadn’t contacted him. And she’d disappeared. She’d left work earlier today but hadn’t returned to her apartment. Now he wasn’t thinking she was being manipulative. He was worried about her safety.

“Have you found her?” he asked abruptly.

Stu nodded his head. “She’s here,” he told Rocco.

Rocco was startled, not sure what his head security man was saying.
He looked at the room filled with people, trying to see around the glittering guests to find the woman he’d wanted for the past two days. “What do you mean? She’s here where?”

Rocco looked
down at Stu and realized that the always serious man was trying not to smile. “She’s out in the barn, sir. She’s been there for the past two hours.”

Rocco blinked and shook his head. “She’s in the barn? Why the hell would she be out there? It’s freezing outside.”

Stu nodded sagely. “Remember her job, sir. She’s a reporter.”

That still didn’t make sense.
“She writes about weddings and fluff things.”

Stu shrugged his big shoulders, looking up at his boss. “What if she’s trying to break out of that area? Perhaps she’s found something more interesting to report on.”

Rocco’s startled eyes looked down at Stu’s. They both knew what was at stake here.

“You don’t think she found out…”

Stu’s face looked blank. “I can’t be sure. You met her at Tombe Coeur. Perhaps it wasn’t such a coincidence.”

Rocco’s mind was
already moving in the same direction. She hadn’t been trying to meet him though. So what had she been doing?

Besides, h
er reactions to his touch had been too honest, he reminded himself. He knew women. He knew when they were faking reactions and Brianna had not been faking anything. He’d stake his entire personal wealth on that belief.

And
then the realization hit him: Brianna was here! At least on his property. He smiled, thinking of her wide, green eyes filled with confusion that night and almost laughed out loud. So the pretty woman was trying to get into more adventurous reporting, eh? He could understand challenging one’s self, trying to break into new areas of expertise. He might even admire the woman if it weren’t for the danger she’d put herself in with this newest story.

Regardless, he w
ould enjoy having the slender beauty in his house so he could keep her away from computers and newspaper deadlines for a while. And keep her safe. She might be adventurous, but there were certain things happening over the next few days that could get someone killed if they looked in the wrong direction.

With a grin of victory, he smiled down at his head of security. “I guess she’ll just have to stay here with me while things play out.”

Stu’s eyes shined with his agreement. “Should I bring her inside?” he asked.

Rocco was already shaking his head. “When does the snow start tonight?”

“About two hours ago.”

That was news, but Rocco looked out one of the back windows. Sure enough, there was a heavy layer of snow already on the ground. Not enough to cause his guests to become worried, but enough that their
trek home would be slightly more adventurous than normal.

“At this rate, the snow will be at least a foot by morning.”

“Probably more than that, sir.”

He
was delighted at all the possibilities. “I’ll go out and invite our unexpected guest inside in about an hour.” He figured a little while longer out in the cold wouldn’t hurt her. “Make sure she has warm blankets though.”

“Will do,” Stu replied and turned to make sure that the woman in question didn’t leave and she had some warmth to get her through the next hour.

The party wound down quickly when the guests realized that it was snowing so heavily outside. After profuse apologies for not staying later, one by one, the guests made their way out of the house toward their cars. Rocco closed the door on the last guest about forty-five minutes after his conversation with Stu. He ignored the catering staff as they hurriedly cleaned up the dishes from the party while he made his way towards the kitchens.

“I need some hot chocolate,” he told his housekeeper.

“Right away, sir,” she said. A few minutes later, he had a thermos filled with the hot liquid and he pulled on his coat while tossing his tuxedo tie onto the back of a chair. With a smile of triumph, he walked out towards the barn.

Brianna huddled down into the soft, warm blankets. She couldn’t believe her luck when the man had come in. With the lights coming on, she’d thought she’d be discovered for sure, but when he only put out a stack of blankets on the table and then switched the light back off before heading out again, she’d breathed a sigh of relief.

She was now snuggled under the downy warmth of several blankets, feeling quite warm and content. Sleepy too, she thought. But that was to be expected since she hadn’t had much sleep in the past two nights.

Brianna pushed
the memories of her night with Rocco out of her mind. That had been a colossal mistake on her part, never to be repeated again. There was no reason she needed to ever see Rocco Antoniv again except when he was brought out in handcuffs after being arrested. She smiled as the image formed in her mind and she pulled the down-filled blanket around her head more securely.

When her eyes closed again, she s
napped them open once again as she realized that she was about to fall asleep. “Keep it together,” she whispered to herself. “This is not the time to be weak.”

She leaned her head back and sighed, happy to have the warmth but maybe it wasn’t so good. After last night’s lack of sleep, not to mention the unexpected physical activity, plus the painfully cold night, her body wa
s shutting down, falling asleep too easily.

Brianna tried to tell herself to get up and walk around, get chilled again, but she couldn’t get her eyes to open long enough to accomplish her command.

A few minutes after Brianna’s eyes gave up the fight for awareness, Rocco walked into his stable and found the woman bundled up in about four of the down blankets he’d sent down to the barn. She looked so comfortable and cute, he almost didn’t want to disturb her. But the horses shuffling in their stalls caused him to change his mind. Well, and the fact that he wanted her inside, in his bed.

Hmm…maybe not in his bed tonight. He was
suddenly realizing that he had some morals left. His mind wouldn’t let him put her into his bed and crawl in beside her without her consent. He discovered that he didn’t want anything less than what they’d shared the last time they’d been together. No half-hearted sexual encounters would work after he’d experienced her amazing passion. He wanted the real thing.

As he carried her into the house, she snuggled deeper into his embrace. He had to grit his teeth when her cold nose nuzzled his neck and she sighed with contentment.
He walked up the stairs with her in his arms and settled her into the large bed in the room next to his.

He looked down at her as she stretched in the large, comfortable bed and something uncurled inside of him. She looked like an angel but he had to remind himself that women were always after something more.
What this beauty was after, he couldn’t figure out. But he would. Eventually, he would know everything there was to know about her.

As he watched, she sighed in her sleep and his body hardened with the need to have her again. Turning away, he forced his feet to leave the bedroom, closing the door firmly. Until he knew her angle, it was best to keep things in perspective.

Brianna woke up the following morning to cloudy skies and yet another unknown bed. She pushed the blankets off of her and sat up, trying to figure out where she was. This was the second time in three days when she’d woken up in a stranger’s room and it was more than a little disconcerting.

She pushed her hair
away from her eyes and looked outside, startled to see that it was snowing. And not just a light dusting, but a full out heavy snowfall.

“What in the world has happened?” she asked out loud.

“You fell asleep in my barn,” a deep voice said from behind her.

Brianna gasped and spun around, her hands gripping the beautiful
comforter as her eyes drank in the sight of Rocco Antoniv standing in front of her, looking fabulous in a pair of jeans and a thick, cream woolen sweater. “What are you doing here?” she asked, not sure what was going on. “I told myself I wasn’t going to see you again unless you were in handcuffs.”

Rocco’s eyebrows went upwards with that bold statement. He knew he should be insulted, but the look on her face was just too perfect. “I might like that,” he said softly, moving closer. And then he burst out laughing when he saw the rose color suffuse her face. “
That’s quite enchanting, my dear.” He moved forward, chuckling when she backed away from him. “Maybe it will be me putting the handcuffs on you for trespassing.” He let that sink in before he lifted her wrist in his hand. “Then again, I wouldn’t want anything to mar this perfect skin.” And he lifted her hand, kissing her wrist, causing her heart rate to race from the caress. “Perhaps silk ties would be a better option?” he teased and laughed deeply when her face suffused with that incredible color once again.

She pulled her hand out of his grasp
angrily and scooted back on the bed. “What happened last night?” she asked. Her heart was racing but she wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or anticipation. Either was unacceptable, she told herself firmly.

He leaned closer, a smile still on his face. “Please tell me you’re not asking if we had sex last night.”

Brianna gasped and bit her lower lip. She thought frantically, trying to figure out what might have happened. The previous morning, she’d felt tender after their night together. Everywhere! But she didn’t feel that way today. She was stiff, probably from falling asleep while sitting up in the barn. “No,” she replied, her chin going up defiantly. “I know you didn’t touch me last night.” She was proud of how confident her voice sounded even though she didn’t feel quite so strong. “So what did happen?”

He chuckled, impressed with her bravado if not her methods. “You fell asleep before I could even give you the delicious hot chocolate m
y housekeeper made for you. I brought you up here so you could sleep more comfortably.”

The idea of rich
hot chocolate made her mouth water but she ignored the thought. “I appreciate your consideration,” she told him stiffly, feeling like a fool all over again. “I should get out of your way.”

She
slipped off of the bed, grateful to still be wearing her clothes even if they looked shockingly rumpled after a night sleeping in them. She started to walk out of the bedroom but he shook his head, stepping into her path. “I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he told her without a hint of regret.