Dimitri (18 page)

With his arms guarding her, Dimitri expertly
guided her through the sea of hot, gyrating bodies. The loud,
thumping music reverberated off the walls. It was nearing ten and
the place was on fire. The waving ocean of bodies throbbed with
sexual tension and drink-induced lust. He didn't envy the security
team tonight. They'd be earning their salaries for sure with this
excited crowd.

Gauzy partitions and frosted glass marked off
the VIP areas on the second floor. Yuri held court from the largest
section, his hands on the iron railing as he stared out over his
dancing, drinking clientele. He might have made his billions
through ruthless acquisitions and sales of mining operations and
oil and gas deposits but his first love had always been
this.

Even when they were kids, he'd dreamed of
owning an entertainment empire. Now with clubs in Moscow, London,
New York City, Los Angeles and Houston he was doing just that. Yuri
wanted to expand into other European cities and Asia but he'd take
it slowly. Always cautious, he never over-extended himself and gave
careful, deliberate consideration to every business move. Dimitri
deeply respected Yuri's intellect and shrewd financial
sense.

As they climbed the stairs up to the second
level, Dimitri let his hand slide from Benny's lower back to her
plump bottom. She glanced over her shoulder at him but didn't try
to push away his hand. He gave her butt a little pat and winked at
her. Her lips curved under as she tried not to grin but there was
no way she could deny her reaction to his playful
groping.

At the top of the stairs, he dragged her back
against him and lowered his mouth to her neck. He placed a noisy
kiss in the spot where her vein jumped wildly and touched his lips
to her ear.

"Promise me one hour. If you're not
having a good time, I'll take you home." He gently caressed her
lower belly through the soft fabric of her dress. She shivered
slightly and turned into his seeking kiss. "Then I'll make sure you
have a
very
good
time."

Chapter
Ten

"So how are things between the two of you?"
Erin slid closer to me on the sleek white couch so we could talk
without shouting. Ivan, Dimitri and Yuri had moved to the other end
of the VIP area right after Nikolai had arrived. Heads together,
they seemed to be talking about something serious. The nosy side of
me really wanted to know what it was.

Feeling totally comfortable with Erin, I
confessed, "Dimitri told me he loved me tonight."

Excitement crossed her face. "Oh my gosh!
That's wonderful. What did you say?"

"That I love him."

She threw her arms around me and gave me a hug.
"I'm so happy for you. This has been a long time coming from what I
understand."

"Apparently," I said a little sheepishly. "I
didn't realize Dimitri felt that way about me and he didn't realize
I was practically dying for him either. Talk about a hot mess of
confusion!"

Erin giggled. "Sometimes relationships go that
way." She glanced back at Ivan and smiled. "Sometimes they happen
hot and fast, and there's nothing to do but grab on tight and hang
on for the ride."

"Do you ever worry that things happened too
quickly? Even though I've known Dimitri for years, I keep
second-guessing myself."

"Ivan and I happened fast. Probably too fast,"
she admitted, "but when you know, you know. I wouldn't change a
thing. Is it always rainbows and ponies? No. We have our arguments
but we love each other so we figure out a way to make it work." She
squeezed my hand. "You love Dimitri. He loves you. Just communicate
and compromise and you'll be fine."

From what I'd seen of her relationship with
Ivan, they were totally open with one another. It seemed like good
advice and I tucked it away for later.

"So…um…about your brother," Erin said
nervously. "What are you going to do about that?"

I exhaled slowly. "God, I don't even
know."

"You think he's making a mistake selling out
his share?"

I played with the hem of my dress. "No.
Honestly, he's the smart one in that situation. He's not letting
his emotions drag him deeper into the shit. He wants his money
while there's still money to be had. I don't blame him for that—but
I worry. Constantly. I worry that he's going to do something really
stupid with this money or that he's going to sign some ridiculous
deal with that developer and lose everything."

"It's not easy when you have to assume a parent
role with a sibling. Believe me." She rolled her eyes. "Ruby and I
have gone around and around for years. At a certain point, though,
you just have to stand back and say enough. You've made mistakes.
I've made mistakes. We survived and we learned from them. Johnny
will do the same."

Like Dimitri, she offered wise counsel. It was
just so hard to think about stepping back from Johnny and letting
him make his own decisions. I wanted to spare him all the hardships
possible but maybe he needed to experience them.

"How is your sister?"

Erin made a face. "She's struggling with
sobriety. I mean, you'd think being in jail would make sobriety
easy, right?" With a sad shake of her head, she said, "I never
realized how damn easy it is to get drugs in jail. She's been able
to hold off so far but I'm really worried about what will happen
when they move her out of the treatment area of the jail to the
general population."

"I'm sorry, Erin."

She shrugged. "There's not much I can do but
let her know I love her and support her. This is a battle she has
to face on her own. I just pray every night that she stays strong
and remembers why she's trying to stay clean. She has a whole life
ahead of her, if she can just kick the pills."

Something startled Erin. She reached for her
purse and withdrew her vibrating phone. She glanced at the screen
and signed dramatically. "It's Vivian. Lena is outside but refusing
to come in now that she's here." She rose and patted my arm. "I'll
be right back. I have to go diffuse this situation."

Laughing, I reached for my drink. I'd had some
wine at the restaurant and didn't feel like having a cocktail here.
I'm sure the waitress thought I was nuts to turn down all the free
top-shelf liquor at my fingertips in lieu of a cold, crisp lemon
lime soda but whatever.

Erin made her way to Ivan's side and ran her
hand up and down his beefy arm. He lowered his head so she could
speak to him. With a laugh, he slid off his barstool and followed
her out of the VIP area. Like Dimitri, he could be terribly
overprotective. Of course, after what the pair had survived, I
couldn't blame him.

Though I was totally fine sitting alone and
enjoying the sultry ambience of the closed-off section of the club,
I didn't mind when Yuri joined me. The sinfully sexy billionaire
had an easy-going smile and friendly air.

"I realize I'm no substitute for Dimitri but
he's a little busy at the moment with Nikolai. You're having a nice
time?"

"Yes. Very."

"This is probably very forward of me but I
wanted to let you know that I’m simply a phone call or email away
if you ever have any questions about your business."

My jaw dropped at his incredible offer. This
man, one of the world's wealthiest, shrewdest businessmen, was
extending a huge helping hand. "I don’t know what to say, Yuri.
Thank you."

"I'm happy to help. I remember what it was like
to be thrown into my first business without very much experience. I
made so many mistakes. I went bankrupt, actually. Did you know
that?"

"No."

"Well I did. It was quite a humbling experience
but it taught me something. What you're experiencing now? This
contraction of the business and the cash flow issues?" He shrugged
as if it was nothing. "It happens. You'll survive this dry spell
and come out stronger."

"I wish I had your confidence."

He grinned. "You will someday."

Feeling more at ease with him, I gestured
around the place. "You're quite the renaissance man, Yuri. Oil,
gas, minerals and night clubs? That's a very impressive array of
interests."

He smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm
not really that hands-on with any of my ventures anymore. I'm more
of a project manager these days. What I truly excel at is hiring
the best and the brightest to join my team. That's how you find
real success."

I remembered Lena telling me all about her
superior at the PR firm who stole her work and used it to get a job
with Yuri. "I bet you have a lot of people try underhanded tricks
to get on your payroll."

"Unfortunately," he agreed. "I don't often
misjudge a person's character but it happens. Lately, though, I
seem cursed when it comes to acquiring real talent. Take your
friend, Lena, for example."

I narrowed my eyes, silently warning him to
watch his step where she was concerned. "What about
her?"

"I hired her old manager not long ago. He tried
to work with the team I'd assembled but they don't gel. Apparently,
he needs Lena at his side. She was his sounding board for coming up
with brilliant, innovative ideas." He slid a little closer. "What
do you think it would take for me to persuade her to come join
me?"

"Yuri," I said his name carefully. "I don't
think I'm the right person to ask about that, but if you want Lena
so badly, you'll want to start off with an apology."

"For what?" He looked taken aback. "Did I
offend her in some way?"

He seemed so genuinely distressed. I figured
Lena would be upset with me, but knowing how hurt she was by the
betrayal of her coworker, I decided to get in a little retribution
for her.

"Yuri, don't you think it's a little
strange that this PR guy you hired came to you with all these
amazing ideas but hasn't been able to produce anything new since he
joined your team? Did you ever wonder why he wanted you to hire
Lena specifically? I mean, come on! His
sounding board
?"

Yuri's cheek tensed. "What are you saying,
Benny?"

"You know exactly what I'm saying. You're a
smart man, Yuri." Spelling it out for him, I explained, "That guy
stole her ideas, the ideas she'd put together for 716 to keep them
competitive with your new club, and brought them to you. He wanted
to jump ship and he used Lena's hard work to get him
there."

Yuri sat back and gazed at the far wall.
Eventually, he said, "Have I really become that out of touch?" He
swore in Russian. "No wonder she told me to go fuck myself when I
offered her a job!" He cringed. "And then I really stepped in it by
inviting her out for a trip on my yacht for the
weekend."

I made a sympathetic face. "Yeah, she was
pretty upset about that."

"Shit." He wiped a hand down his face. "You
probably won't believe this but I panicked when she declined my job
offer. I thought I could entice her to join the team if I showed
her the perks of being in my employ." He grimaced. "Instead of
treating her like the brilliant professional I know her to be, I
fell back on my usual game. I tried to win her over by flashing
money."

His body language spoke volumes. He seemed
really disgusted with himself.

Touching his arm, I drew his attention. "Yuri,
maybe you shouldn't try so hard."

His brow knitted. "What do you
mean?"

"The yacht, the wining and the dining," I
clarified. "That might impress a lot of women but it won't impress
Lena. If anything, it's going to make her wary and suspicious.
Where she comes from, men offer big, fancy gifts when they want one
thing and one thing only."

"
Shit
."

"Look, you two come from very similar
backgrounds. Why not start there?"

Yuri considered me for a moment before nodding.
"But first I owe her an apology." His gaze skipped to the entrance
of the VIP area where Vivian and Lena had appeared with Ivan and
Erin. "And I think this is my chance. If you'll excuse
me?"

I shot him an encouraging smile. "Good
luck."

Sitting back, I watched Yuri greet them. He
cautiously approached Lena and extended his hand. She reluctantly
shook his hand but jerked back a little when he lowered his mouth
to her ear. Still holding her hand, Yuri kept her from retreating.
Her scowl slowly faded. When she pulled back and gazed up at him, I
watched her expression soften. She nodded and Yuri gestured to a
private area where they could talk.

"What in the world is that about?" Vivian
wondered as she slid onto the couch next to me.

"I think Benny has been playing matchmaker,"
Erin said with a laugh.

"No!" I spread my hands out in front of me.
"Not matchmaker in the romantic sense. There was a disagreement of
the business variety between them and I helped smooth it out.
That's all."

"Sure," Erin replied teasingly. She glanced
over at the pair, now deep in discussion. "They wouldn't be a bad
couple."

"Definitely not," I agreed.