The Russian's Dangerous Game (9 page)

She hid her irritation at his patronizing tone. “A person can only pretend for a limited amount of time. My plan is to interview your employees, to find out what you’re like behind closed doors.”

He chuckled and captured her green eyes with his golden ones. “You already know what I’m like behind closed doors. Would you like more information?”

She gasped, her eyes dropping from his
eyes to his mouth, her own going dry just at the thought of a repeat of the other night.

“Tempted?” he asked softly, his voice husky as he w
atched her body respond to the idea of sex with him. Damn! She was beautiful and responsive.

She shook her head. “Not at all,” she said and looked away, picking up her glass of juice and taking a long sip. “Regardless, my story has expanded. Not only am I going to reveal to the world that you aren’t as charming as you come across, but they’re also going to find out that you’re not the knight in shining armor that they all believe of you.”

He leaned back, the intensity of the moment broken. “Knight in shining armor, eh?” he chuckled. “I doubt anyone thinks that, but it is flattering, regardless.”

She was getting angry, both by his tone and the fact that he wasn’t riled, not in the least. “You’re going down, Mr. Antoniv.”

He threw back his head and laughed, delighted by her temper. “I believe, under the circumstances, that we are on a first name basis with each other, Brianna.”

She felt uncomfortable, because yes, she’d slept with him, but no, she didn’t feel like she had a personal connection with the man. Well, besides the obvious. “We’re not friends.”

He smiled again. “We will be,” he promised, giving her a heated look that told her he was speaking more about the intimate kind of friendship. “Regardless,” he said, breaking the tension that had been building up during their conversation, “since you and I are stuck here for a while, it looks like you are going to get to know me. Our time over the next few days will allow you to finish the story and figure out if you were completely off track.”

Her eyes glanced up to his, startled by the
statement. “What do you mean? What’s happening in the next few days?” She looked out the window at the snow that continued to fall. “And I’m not staying here. I have to go home.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he told her firmly.

She looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “I’ll definitely be going home. And there’s really no way to stop me.”

He smiled but it wasn’t a smile of amusement. Brianna’s stomach clenched at his current smile and
, at that moment, she knew she was in deep trouble.

“I’m sure there are ways I could convince you to stay with me.”

For a long moment, she couldn’t respond, her mind leaping right back to the heat and pleasure she knew he could deliver. She wanted him…but no! This wasn’t what she was here for!

She looked away and
squared her shoulders, her chin automatically jutting out as if she were about to take on a fight. “No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “We did that once, and that was enough for me.”

He laughed outright,
then his eyes captured her green ones again. “Ah, Brianna,” he said very softly, his voice like a soft caress just as his eyes traveled down her slender figure. “That was not a one night wonder, my dear. We will be together again. Don’t doubt that for a moment.” He let those words hang in the air, the tension gripping her even more tightly. “But as for your departure, I don’t even need to stop you. As I said earlier, the roads are completely impassable.”

She blinked at the abrupt change in topics and breathed a sigh of relief. Snow was an easy topic. She could handle snow.
Sex? She couldn’t handle that topic. “The snow clearing crews will be along soon and will clear everything off.”

He smiled again. “That would be true in other parts of the country perhaps. But you and I both know that the snow clearing capabilities of
rural roads are generally last on the priority list. The highways and major thoroughfares come first. And we’re up in the mountains where the possibility of a snow plow coming through before the end of the week is pretty slim.” He shook his head with that challenging look in his eyes that never failed to cause shivers of anticipation to run through her body. “No, I have no fear that you will try and leave my…stimulating…company too soon.”

She bit her lip, not sure what to do now
. There wasn’t a manual on how a serious journalist should react so she had to make things up as events occurred. Not her strength. She was a planner, organized and methodical.

“I can’t stay here,” she whispered, cringing only slightly when the words came out almost as a plea.

He took a sip of his orange juice, contemplating what he was about to suggest. He never let women into his personal domain. It was a hard and fast rule that he’d never ignored. But he couldn’t deny that he wanted this woman to stay here this weekend. Why that was the case, he had no idea. But he was following his gut on this issue. Besides, he needed to keep her out of the way and safe until his plan was finished. It was imperative that no one leak any information before everything was finished. Now that the pieces had been set in motion, any disturbance could result in violence.

“
The snow has trapped us here but I’m not worried. Feel free to stay here in warmth and relative comfort while you write either of your stories. I will give you whatever information I can, when it is appropriate to provide you with information. There are many pieces at play right now and I can’t jeopardize an ongoing project by giving you too much too soon. But never fear, your other goal, to prove that I’m an absolute ogre, is not an issue. You can do all the research you’d like and I will be your willing research subject,” he paused while his eyes lit up with the sexual innuendo, chuckling when her face predictably pinkened once again. “One of my staff members has already retrieved your personal things from your car but there weren’t any clothes. Just your computer and purse. But I’m sure there are some clothes around here you could borrow.”

She couldn’t believe this. “No, I really need to leave.
I can just walk to the hotel that’s about a mile or two down the street.” Her fingers were shaking at the idea of staying here in this man’s house, or more specifically, in his presence, for an extended period of time. Rocco was dangerous to her personally.

Rocco grimaced inwardly.
So much for the gentle approach. He’d have to lay down the law, something he hadn’t wanted to do if he could convince her to stay for another reason. “First of all, you are here in my care and I simply can’t let you go out in this snow. The hotel is too far and you don’t have the appropriate clothes to keep you warm enough in a snow storm. And even if you did, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay here regardless.”

Brianna heard the words, but she couldn’t quite absorb their meaning. “Excuse me?” she prompted with wide, worried eyes.

“As I mentioned, I have several…delicate…issues happening right now. And I can’t have you leaving here. The possibility of information getting out would be too dangerous for too many people at this juncture of the project.”

The image of the letter she’d poorly taken came to mind and she bit the side of her mouth to keep herself from asking him about it. “What sort of delicate business dealings?” she
asked, her mind spinning as she tried to figure out what was going on.

He chuckled at the light that appeared in her eyes and shook his head. “Everything will be revealed to you soon.”

She thought about her cell phone, wanting to read the letter again before she called the police or someone else who might be able to help her out of the situation.

He could almost see the wheels turning.
“You’re cell phone has been put in a safe place,” he told her, reading her mind. It wasn’t hard, he thought with amusement. Everything she was thinking was right there on her beautiful face.

Her eyes snapped up to his again and her stomach clenched in fear. “Why would you do that?”

“So you can’t call one of your reporter friends and ask them to look up information about what’s happening in the foreign markets,” he told her, purposely giving her a clue. If she wanted to be a reporter, he’d give her the clues. And the whole damn story at the end of the weekend. But right now, he couldn’t let her have access to the outside world.

He leaned forward and picked up his fork.
“But never fear. There is something big going down. Stay with me this weekend, without any problems, and I’ll give you clues about what’s happening.” He took a bite of his omelet, looking down at hers as if she should eat as well.

They both ate in silence for several minutes while Brianna mulled over his words. There was definitely
a story here, not to mention the fact that the man was practically kidnapping her which she suspected was a story in itself. She ignored the fact that she’d snuck into his barn which might be considered breaking and entering…oh, and he’d mentioned trespassing could be added to her list of crimes. But surely kidnapping trumped anything she’d done. And there was the mysterious “things happening” that she could try and figure out.

Clearly
he wasn’t so dangerous to her personally that she couldn’t stay here with him. The house was big enough and he’d probably just work in his office somewhere. She might not even need to see him except when she was sneaking around his house, trying to discover whatever it was he was trying to hide.

Hmmm…was that another crime she’d have to confess to when al
l of this was over? The legal aspects of reporting were definitely getting to be a difficult mine field to maneuver through.

“Besides keeping me out of the way and away from electronic communication devices so I don’t mess things up for you, why woul
d you help me with either story? Surely you don’t want your ogre side revealed to the world and whatever criminal activities you’re up to, I’m guessing you want those to remain a secret. What am I missing?” She was feeling a little awkward because all of this seemed too good to be true. She didn’t trust him. Not one little bit.

Despite her skepticism, h
is amusement and confidence didn’t waver at all. “Any incentive to keep you here willingly, in the house or with me where you won’t cause any problems, will help me out.”

She bit her lower lip, contemplating the whole situation. Stay here?
With this man?

He didn’t add in that he wanted her here, in his bed. He figured that would send her out of his house, frantically trying to claw her way towards her car and freedom from the terrifying feelings they stirred within each other. Her distrust of him, her wariness and determination to prove he was a bad person explained so much. Including why she’d rushed out of his house the other night. Her staying here with him would allow him to get to know her, to prove that he wasn’t the bad guy and ma
ybe, once he got those fears out of the way, they could continue with their relationship. An intimacy he was determined to win back. One night with this lovely lady was definitely not enough.

Brianna
thought about it long and hard, unaware that she’d finished off her entire omelet as well as all the fruit he’d piled onto her plate. She was now working her way through one of the blueberry muffins while she sorted through the whole scenario. She looked over at him, her mind noting his warm golden eyes, the dark hair with that sexy lock that fell over his forehead. He was too big, she thought nervously. She’d held this man in her arms, had felt his body move…

She blushed and looked away, not wanting to remember the things his incredible body had done to her.

“What just went through your head,” he asked her softly, sipping his coffee and enjoying the way her facial features moved ever so slightly while she contemplated all the issues facing her over the next few days.

Brianna looked up at him, startled. She hadn’t heard him end his call and
had thought he hadn’t been paying attention to her. She swallowed the blueberry muffin that was suddenly caught in her throat. “Um….” She couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse fast enough and his eyes changed from curious, to knowing. Darn him, he’d known exactly what she’d been thinking about. Could he really read her mind so easily?

No,
staying here, in this house with him, wasn’t a good idea. She might really get to know him, but she…well, she just ….it wasn’t a good idea. She wasn’t going to tell him that though. She didn’t know him and wasn’t sure if he might force her to stay. It was better to lure him into a false sense of security where her motives were concerned. She could sneak out of the house at some point. The man couldn’t watch her all the time, she reassured herself.

On the other hand,
the thought of a good story, one that would show the rest of the world that she was a serious reporter, was an interesting temptation. Was he serious? Would he really give her a good story? Or was this all a complicated ruse? The devil was in the details. “How long do I have to stay? And what kinds of clues will you give me?” she asked, thinking of the picture on her cell phone.

“There are many moving parts. So as each part is completed, I’ll let you know about it. It will be up to you to connect all the dots.”
He wasn’t sure how long everything would take to play out. That was determined by the players and he had no control over how quickly they discovered his plan. But he didn’t tell her that, correctly assuming she might back out with any indefinite time period.