softly. “Nyet, not unless she begs nicely for me to. Do you do that for your Nathan? Spread your pussy wide and plead for him to fuck you hard? To give you his cock as you scream his name and cry for his cum? If not, you should. It’s rather . . . inspiring.”
He’s trying to shock me with his crass words, but I can only hope that Maritziana is getting her version of a happily ever after. It’s not okay, but maybe it’s okay for them? I have to believe that.
I choke a bit on my own spit and shrink back behind Nathan, which makes Nikolai laugh again.
Nathan draws his attention back, his voice tight with barely repressed anger. “As you said, one-time passage to the caves and out safely in exchange for the pink diamonds for Mama Romanov.”
Nathan sets his pack down and digs into an interior pocket, pulling out a velvet satchel. He tosses it to Nikolai, whose eyes go huge as he catches it by reflex. “You had them with you the whole time.”
Nathan’s eyes gleam in triumph. “Insurance policy. You needed me to get them, and I would only give them as I’m leaving the country.”
Nikolai takes the satchel and pours a few into his hand, the small pink chunks of diamond gleaming in his hand. As he inspects them, Nathan asks, “We good?”
Nikolai takes a deep breath, and I’m nervous that this is his moment. He’s got it all now . . . the diamonds and us still in his territory. “Da. I do give you great condolences on the loss of your father. I hope you were able to do his wishes justice. Though fathers and sons may not always get along or agree, we do things for our families, simply because they are our family.” He nods sagely like that’s a great nugget of wisdom and then looks back at the Land Rover.
My eyes follow Nikolai’s, as do Caleb’s and Nathan’s.
There’s an older white-haired man sitting in the back, barely visible. But when he sees our eyes looking his way, he lifts a hand in a small salute.
“Travel safe, Nathan Stone,” Nikolai says, and it’s all the dismissal we need.
The flight back to the States feels different this time with Nathan beside me.
But shortly after take-off, the brothers start arguing lightly about me.
Again.
“Could’ve been dangerous,” Nathan says.
“Could’ve? It was fucking dangerous! But we did it anyway,” Caleb argues. “Would have been safer from the get-go if someone hadn’t been a stubborn ass about things.”
I interrupt, pulling the big stone out of Nathan’s bag and setting it on the table in front of me.
Instantly, their argument ceases and their attention is on the rock.
In some ways, it’s not as impressive as I thought it’d be. It’s smaller than a tennis ball, and rather flat as well, not even a half-inch thick.
On the other hand, the carvings etched into the face are repellent but also oddly attractive. Looking at them, whispers of dark things, darkly sexually disgusting things, filter through my mind.
I shiver, my stomach clenching as I turn away from the gem.
When Nathan had talked about the caves and had me do research on the people and artifacts, I hadn’t known why.
But then I’d read a myth about an ancient diamond believed to be hidden in the caves and I’d realized his intentions.
From what he’d shared about his dad, I’d known this was the reason for his trip to Brazil.
And then I’d known it was the reason for Nathan’s trip as well.
But regardless of the mythological powers, despite its making me feel anger and lust and rage and power all rolled up into one twisted lump, it’s still just a chunk of pretty rock.
It stops the argument immediately, the talismanic presence filling the small cabin.
“What are we going to do with it?” Caleb asks.
“Destroy it,” Nathan says immediately. “I know a guy with a hydraulic press, two hundred tons of pressure. Turn the damn thing into dust.”
“What would your dad have wanted to do with it?” I ask carefully, although Nathan’s vehemence seems to be unchangeable.
Nathan and Caleb lock eyes. “Do you remember?” they both ask at the same time.
They grin, and Nathan turns to me, explaining, “When Caleb and I were little, whenever Dad would have a successful trip, he’d come home so excited. We’d have a whole evening at least of him rambling so fast as he told us the story of how he came to possess This Great Thing or