control shattered and he let go.
Coming back into his own head took some time, and they were quiet as Eva smoothed her hands over his shoulders and down his back, lazily kissing his jaw and neck. When he eventually came up on his elbows, the movement had him sliding out of her body. She bit her bottom lip, her drowsy eyes meeting his.
“That feels sexy,” she whispered.
His sound of agreement was cut off by his phone, the ringtone dentist-drill grating.
“You have to get that, huh?”
“I should.”
The sated smile resting on her face didn’t change as she kissed him then slipped out from underneath him. After tossing him his phone, she gathered her clothes, her movements relaxed and loose, and disappeared into the ensuite.
When Gabriel finished explaining to Markus that he and Alek were taking few days, he cleaned up, dressed, and had just entered the main room when a hard rap hit the suite’s door.
Not willing to take any chances, even though they were well guarded, Gabriel looked through the peephole—
Straight into Vasily Tarasov’s cool navy eyes.
TWENTY-ONE
Without hesitating, his feelings mixed, Gabriel threw open the door. He was relieved his dear friend had made it back from Russia safe and unharmed. He was also filled with trepidation over what was coming.
“Son.” Vasily bestowed the usual greeting.
Were the backslaps different?
The kisses less than affectionate?
Or was that just Gabriel’s interpretation because guilt was suddenly an acid bath he was drowning in?
Christ. He and Eva had just had sex—actually, no. That hadn’t been sex. What they’d shared had been something else entirely.
Nodding to Dmitri and Aron—the Pakhan’s private guards who were standing with Micha and Jak—Gabriel closed the door.
“I hear you’ve been a busy man,” Vasily commented. “Must be why I haven’t heard from you. Is she here?”
“In the bathroom.” He took a slow breath, hopefully not his last, and tried not feel like he was seven in the face of that steady stare. And, yeah, fuck this. He’d never been comfortable playing the role of coward. “Vasily, I have to beg your forgiveness. I know it goes against—”
A tattooed hand came up to cut him off. Fuck. He wanted to get it over with now. Last thing they needed was for Eva to walk out and trip over his goddamn corpse.
“I asked you to watch over my daughter. I believe I mentioned that was only until I could get back to do it myself.”
Gabriel opened his mouth to…continue apologizing?
No.
To defend himself?
Not really. How could he possibly? He’d wanted Eva, and he’d taken her.
But now he had to try to explain what she was coming to mean to him. How did he do that without labeling it? Something he wouldn’t do in case he was forced to walk away.
Which was another thing he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do at this point. Especially now that he’d compromised Eva’s safety. He’d successfully taken away her ability to live her life freely and without fear by exposing her to a world no one as innocent and soft-hearted as she was should even be aware existed.
And yet, she was flourishing, he thought again, his chest filling with pride.
Vasily made an impatient sound and turned away. “Go get my daughter, Gabriel. We’ll discuss this unexpected development later.”
As the Pakhan strode into the main room, Gabriel drew in a slow, steady breath. No matter who Vasily was to him, being dismissed in such a way didn’t go down easily.
But he lubed the shit and swallowed it down while following the command because he knew damn well he deserved so much worse.
† † †
Dressed once more, Eva hung up the towel she’d used to dry off and wished she could shake the feeling that what she and Gabriel had just shared was the most intimate of goodbyes.
Their desires aside, her father would arrive soon. How would he feel about this new relationship between her and Gabriel? Would he approve? Be angry? Because of who these men were, would he feel he’d been disrespected?
Or maybe he wouldn’t care at all, she thought, having a hard time picturing a Putin-like man waving a finger up at Gabriel for deflowering his daughter…
“You’re an idiot,” she muttered as she faced her reflection in the mirror. “A real idiot,” she repeated, her thoughts going back to what she and Gabriel had just shared.
She knew very well she’d shown her desperation. It had been hard to hide it after that stressful lunch that she’d left fearing for her life. For her friends’ lives. For