Summer Storm (Broken Circles Book 1), page 15
Going back into the bar to Irina was annoying, I didn’t have the head for her. Sitting down, I texted Sandir asking where the fuck he was and for him to come get me. I’d drank too much to drive anyway, which I thought was most likely Irina’s plan. Get me drunk, then take advantage, though what advantage she thought she could take I had no idea. I snorted out loud thinking how disappointed she was going to be.
“You have someone to pick you up?”
“You’re not coming back to the house?”
“No.” She didn’t need an explanation. Fuck her.
“Yan, you need to stop this nonsense, it’s getting beyond ridiculous.”
Gritting my teeth, I snapped at her. “What is ridiculous is you trying to hang onto something that never was. Stop it.”
Irina scanned the bar. “Who is she?”
“For God’s sake, there isn’t anyone,” I lied. Lied through my goddamn teeth until they hurt. “I want done with you, done with this life that should never have been mine in the first place.”
“Then you shouldn’t have killed your brother.”
“Fuck you, Irina. You really are a reprehensible bitch and deserve everything you get.” I was thankful we were in public, never had Irina been so brazen in pointing the finger at me. If we’d been at home, I would have squeezed my fingers around her throat hard enough to make sure another word never came from her mouth. “Thank your lucky stars you’re sitting in my bar.”
“Is that a threat, Yannick?” Irina glared at me, venom and contempt rife in her facial expression.
“How many do I need to issue before you get the hint? I will fucking hurt you if you keep pushing my buttons.”
Irina
Yannick was lying to me. Did he not realise by now I didn’t button up the back and could smell his bullshit a mile away? His poker face had always been terrible around me. There was someone in this bar that kept him coming back and I was going to find out exactly who the little whore was.
He’d been careful, hadn’t paid attention to any one woman in particular and I had to give him credit for being clever. I could squeeze Bill, the man was easy to manipulate though loyal to Yan so it might have been tricky, but waiting was a game I played well, and I’d always loved a game of cat of mouse. The only problem was, this situation with Yannick wasn’t going away anytime soon and he would likely snap if I pushed too far. I needed help. I could no longer ignore the time had come to wake the sleeping bear, a thing I took absolutely no comfort in because Lev was as shrewd as Yannick and I had never found the courage to go against his wishes.
“Get Sandir to take me home.”
Gulping down the last of my vodka tonic, I slipped my arms into my coat, grabbed my purse and walked from the bar. The sheep would soon follow.
Sandir was already waiting at the kerb, the car idling. He didn’t bother getting out to open the door like he once would have, another sign I was losing my grip on these men. Inside the car, I gave a sugary smile and waited for Yannick to haul arse. When he got into the passenger seat, slamming the door, the atmosphere tumbled decidedly toward arctic temperatures.
“Where to?”
“We’re taking Irina home.”
Yannick refused to talk or even look at me the entire way back to the house which suited me fine, I had other things on my mind. When Sandir pulled up outside the door, I glared at the back of my husband’s head, waiting.
“No. Get the fuck out.”
Sandir let out a noise that sounded almost like a gasp and all I could do was concede and let Yannick win this one. “Your choice.” I stormed from the car, unimpressed with Yannick’s attitude, and left them to it.
Inside the empty and cavernous building, the click of my heels echoed on the tiled floor of the foyer. Ostentatious sprang to mind, gaudy was how it looked. I’d loved this house once upon a time, but without Yannick, the sheen had worn off and the memories were blurring. There was no constant chatter of Yannick’s men, no comings and goings, the place a lonely shell of what it had once been. Maybe he had the right idea by getting the fuck out. Everything about us had been a lie from start to finish.
Tossing and turning the whole night did nothing for my mood the next morning and it took a long hour before I hauled in a breath and made a phone call I really didn’t want to because I was all out of options, and Lev my last chance at reeling Yannick back in. If anyone could, it was him. No one said boo to Lev Rafikov, his word was law and Yannick had followed it to the letter for years.
There wasn’t much I feared in life, but I did the man who’d taught me everything I knew about shady dealings and how to wield a blade without making a mess of my own hand. Before he’d slinked off to live the life of a recluse, my grandfather had been the most frightening man I’d ever know. Such was still the case, and I needed his help more than ever.
Jolie
Seeing Yannick up close and personal had set me on edge, the insult of a business card thrust at me, blazing with anger. When I returned to the bar, both him and his wife were gone from their table and it went a long way to calming me down. His wife was gorgeous, in that cold, calculating, look don’t touch kind of way. I would never compare to a woman like her and I really didn’t want to. Though if I stomped my feet a little harder and cut my words a little harsher, who was to know? Good riddance was all I could think.
I didn’t care to know the rules of the games they played. Entertainment of their type was not for me, I didn’t have it in my nature to mess with people for fun. Simple, I wanted simple, and maybe now I could find it. No responsibilities, no anxiety. Just me. I liked the sound of that very much. I rarely indulged in loneliness, I had plenty to occupy me and cold sheets at night had never bothered me before. They wouldn’t now - hot water bottles and electric blankets were substitutes of worth.
Still, the cheeky prick stole every spare thought I had through the rest of my shift until I ended up sick of myself all over again. A fucking business card! The cheek of it was like a slap in the face and a reminder a shag was just a shag. His bedside manner needed some serious polishing if he thought a laminated card absolved him of anything.
With the bar empty and clean up done, I got changed, said goodnight, and relished the fact I’d be home in a few Tube stops with not a switch in sight. Yeah, just me, I was totally fine with that.
Coming out of the side door and onto the street, I took a few steps, then groaned when I saw Yannick’s car at the kerb. Taking a closer look, I saw it wasn’t Yannick, but Sandir, in the driver’s seat. The man himself was standing at the back of the car and when he noticed me, he quickly made his way over.
“Jolie, let me apologise, please?”
“It’s been a long night. I need to get home.” He could save his breath, I wasn’t interested in getting into it with him in the street. Yannick thwarted my intention to stalk off when his hand closed around my wrist.
“Please. I handled this all wrong.”
“Listen, Yannick,” I sighed. “No apologies required, seriously. You don’t need to salve my ego and make me feel better about being a notch on your belt while you piss off your wife. Leave me alone.”
“Fuck. I can’t.”
“Go home to Mrs Ischmova.” I glanced back at Sandir who was smirking, and it just pissed me off even more.
“Just a coffee, please?”
“I’ve nothing to say to you. A coffee would be a waste of my time and your money.”
He let go of my wrist, stepping away, straightening up. “What are you so afraid of?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe falling into a pit of snakes.”
Nodding, Yannick looked around the street, then back to me. “I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”
It was a strange thing to say, he’d gone from not letting himself hurt me to not letting anyone else hurt me and that made me even more wary. Until he stepped back in front of me and wrapped an arm around my waist, swooping down to kiss me. Every argument I had fell to the wayside as I pushed closer to him and reciprocated, eager to feel him worship me with his mouth exactly like he had in the hotel room. I was crazy, this was not how this was meant to go, not where my mind should stray, yet all I could think of was the way he’d masterfully played my body like he’d already mapped every inch and would worship forever. Fickle, I was so damn fickle, I couldn’t make up my mind and stick to it.
When we pulled apart, he swore softly. “Shit. I shouldn’t have done that out here. Could we go for a coffee? I just want to talk to you, that’s all.”
“Can you take me home?” I didn’t want coffee but maybe twenty minutes in the car was enough time to smooth things over and for us both to be on our separate ways. I’d never been one to hold grudges, they made me lose sleep, and I’d lost enough over him.
“Come on.” With a hand to my back, he ushered me into the rear of the car, climbing in beside me.
Sandir turned in his seat and grinned. “Hey, Bunny. Where’s all your lovely pink hair, darling?”
“Fancied a change,” I shrugged, unwilling to get into the why of it. I liked Sandir, always respectful, and it had never crossed my mind to be concerned he could probably crush me with one hand if he had a mind to. He was a dangerous sight, yet he didn’t pose a threat to me.
“Where to, beautiful?” When I rattled off the address, he quirked an eyebrow at me. “Acton? You moved?”
“Nicer area, closer to work too.”
“Good. Didn’t much like you on those Tubes. Bemerton’s a rough place.” Oh, he was a softie for sure.
Very little time passed before we were outside my block of flats, Yannick chewing on his lip as Sandir pulled in to park. “Would it be all right if Sandir came up too? Saves him sitting in the car.” I saw no harm in it, agreeing. “It’s all right, this new place?”
“Better,” was all I commented, not quite mellowed enough toward him yet.
“Really shit thing that happened with your mother, Bunny. Sorry, girl.”
“Yeah, well. She was an alcoholic, they don’t end up anything other than a sob story, right?”
Once up the communal stairs, I let the men in and waved them in the direction of the living area while I switched on a couple of lamps. Stepping out of my trainers, both men shrugged out of their jackets, Sandir taking a seat on my tiny couch, Yannick standing at the balcony door and gazing out into the night.
“Right, coffee.”
“You need a hand, Bunny?”
“No. Make yourselves at home.”
I found a tray and loaded it with mugs, sugar and milk while the kettle boiled, then poured a pot of coffee. I balanced the tray and walked to where the living area opened up, hefting it onto the small table opposite the sofa.
“Help yourselves.”
Yannick joined us, sitting gingerly next to Sandir, the two of them taking up so much space it was almost comical. I loaded sugar into my mug, waiting until both had poured theirs before fixing my own, then sat cross-legged on the floor wondering who was going to speak first. Turned out Yannick did, and he wasn’t shy airing his laundry in front of Sandir.
“Irina was penance for something I did when I was in my early twenties. I’m in the process of dissolving our business contract, she was my wife in name only. I swear to you, I wasn’t playing games with you, Jolie.”
“Well, it really didn’t feel that way.”
“I know. Maybe we should have had this conversation earlier, so we were clear with one another.”
“It was one night. Nothing that changed our lives. Thank you for trying to explain, but really, there’s no need. What’s done is done.”
“You know, Bunny,” Sandir waded in. “You’re talking a lot of horseshit there.”
I gaped at him for being so blunt, then laughed. “You don’t mince your words, I see.”
“Not at all. I call it like I see it.” He gulped down his coffee, then abruptly stood. “Listen, this is none of my business but he’s trying. Hear him out, yeah?”
“You got a lady waiting at home for you?”
Smirking at me, he said, “Ain’t no one hung around long enough to put up with my shit.” He gave a look to Yannick I couldn’t decipher.
“I should let you get some sleep.” Yannick’s eyes tracked around the room, smiling when he fixed his gaze on a photograph of me and Carol behind the bar at Caulder’s. Sandir took a step closer to the wall, smiling too.
“Great picture,” he motioned with his hand. It was, I loved Caulder’s and the people I worked with.
Sandir didn’t hang around for much longer, sweeping down to kiss the top of my head in a display of affection usually reserved for friends, and leaving Yannick looking awkward as he sat there. He had something to say, but it looked like he was deciding whether or not it was the right thing. Eventually he sighed, looking away.
“If you want to get a hold of me, ask Bill. He’ll know where to find me. I’m going to leave the ball in your court here while I go sort my shit out.” Pushing up from the sofa, he stalked toward me and this time, the kiss was sweet and gentle, a promise perhaps, yet he didn’t push. “Our night was not a mistake, not a notch in my belt, not getting back on the train. I’ll see you again. I just hope you can see what I told you was the truth. You’re worth far more than a fumble in a hotel room, Jolie. Believe me.”
I stood in my front room long after both men had left and wondered what it would be like to have that man, to truly have him. The thought was terrifying, but not so much I couldn’t imagine it, and maybe I would see him again, on what premise I didn’t like to guess. I just hoped it was on better terms and we could leave our past encounters where they belonged.
Irina
Hands clasped behind his back, Neil held his frame exquisitely. His chef whites weren’t particularly appealing, but I was well acquainted with what was underneath despite his young features, and the clothes would be gone soon enough to reveal all the man I desired.
“You hungry?” I asked.
“It would depend what for, Mrs Ischmova.”
He was such a quick study, played into the game so effortlessly, which was why he’d lasted so long and hadn’t been fired within a month. A man I could easily bend to my will, unlike my husband.
“I’m a little hungry myself.”
“For what?”
“You’re not that dumb, surely?”
“No, Ma’am.” He grinned, his eyes still zeroed in on the floor. “Now?”
Studying my fingernails, I feigned boredom and made him wait a few more minutes before asking him to look at me. “Get out of those goddamn awful whites.”
“Here?”
“Yes, right here.” I pointed at him.
The chef wasn’t shy, submissive, definitely not shy. While he stripped off, I strolled around him, circling my prey. “I’m hungry for something…”
“Clearly.”
“On the table.” I shivered watching those lithe limbs climbing up on to the kitchen table. When he lay on his back, already painfully hard for me, my nipples tightened to rock hard points. Just looking at him laid out like a feast had me thrumming for some friction.
“You know the rules.”
“I do, Mrs Ischmova.”
“Good boy.” I didn’t stop to bother undressing, wearing only a nightgown and a robe, both barely hitting my knees. “Hold on to the edge.”
He did, his fingers circling around the smooth curve of the table. Wasting little time, I climbed up and shifted onto his body, knees either side of his hips. “You make me come, I’ll reward you for it.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Oh, he’d make me come all right, the incentive did no harm in making sure he was eager to please.
Lifting on my knees, I slid into place with practiced ease, I’d been having sex this way as long as I could remember. I never touched cock and the way his was pointing, it was easy to sit on him and take the glorious inches he had, then fuck myself off.
Rocking back and forth, the pleasure built fast, and I watched fascinated as he lay beneath me without moving, only his chest beginning to labour as his breaths shortened.
“Plant your feet and fuck upwards, let me feel you.”
I ground down as he bucked, giving the rubbing my clit needed to make me come. I hadn’t had an orgasm in a while; I wasn’t far from one now. When he grunted, a suppressed moan from my chest escaped, an addictive flush of electricity and warmth humming through my veins.
“Oh, yes,” I whispered. “Make me come.”
Planting my hands on his chest, I screwed against him harder and faster until I careened over and snapped, my pulse threatening to beat through my skin.
A slow clap from the doorway interrupted the euphoric melody I was singing, and I let out a snarl as I pushed my nails into Neil’s chest. He wailed, his clammy hands coming around my wrists and throwing me off to the side. Through blurry eyes and hazy comprehension, the blood dribbling down his chest plummeted me back down to earth in an instant.
“What the fuck?” I drowned in blood when I was on the warpath but the sight of it on my lover’s body was too much and made me feel sick. I didn’t subscribe to that kind of kink and it disgusted me almost as much as the man who’d had the gall to intrude.
Tayte stood just inside the kitchen door, one foot crossed over the other, arms folded across his chest and leaning against the doorjamb. He didn’t look the slightest bit happy, in fact, he was downright scornful, glaring at the man who’d just given me half an orgasm.
“We eat off that table, Irina.”
