YURI (Her Russian Protector #3) (30 page)

He grinned evilly. "It's a damn good way for me to ensure you'll be thinking of me all evening."

She smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that. I'm sure that with one quick phone call I could have a dozen crewmen lined up at that door begging to give me a little one-on-one service."

He knew she was playing but the pang of jealousy twisting his gut was real. "The first man who touches you had better be a damn good swimmer because I'll throw his ass overboard myself."

She rolled her eyes and patted his chest. "There's that alpha caveman again."

"I didn't hear you complaining about this alpha caveman when we were on the balcony last night." He let his hand drift down her bare belly to the seam of her thighs. When she kept them squeezed tightly together, he raised an eyebrow. "Am I being shut-down?"

Her sexy little smile sent his heart racing. She reached down and grasped his erection through his pants. "You said we didn't have time to finish what you'd started. I'd rather wait here in breathless anticipation until you have the time to do it right."

He bit back a groan. "This game had better not go until sunrise."

Abandoning his throbbing cock, she reached up and straightened the collar of his shirt. "You know I'm going to have Johnny spy on you, right?"

He chuckled. "I assumed. Have you had a chance to speak with him?"

She shook her head. "He's supposed to stop by later so we can discuss Benny's wedding. Erin emailed me a list of, like, thirty things I'm supposed to take care including measuring him for his tuxedo."

"She's taking this wedding planning rather seriously."

Lena shrugged and slipped off the vanity. "She's always been good at that kind of thing. You've been to some of the dinner parties and barbecues she's thrown at Ivan's house. She's like a Martha Stewart clone."

He took one last look at Lena's gorgeous curves before heading into the closet for his shoes. "Why didn't Erin go into event planning instead of accounting?"

"Job security, I guess."

Yuri slipped on his shoes and wiggled his toes. "But she got laid off from the firm right around the time she moved in with Ivan, yes?"

"Yes."

"So much for job security," he grumbled.

"I'm not sure that exists anymore. Most of the people I graduated college with are already on their second or third jobs. That's kind of crazy when you consider that most of us are still under twenty-five."

Yuri kissed her cheek on the way out of the bathroom. "All the more reason for you to work for yourself. Don't let someone else decide if you're getting a paycheck next week."

He caught her rolling her eyes in the mirror's reflection as she followed him. "Says the billionaire."

"Says the billionaire who started with nothing but a loan from an old man who believed in him," Yuri reminded her.

"Old man?" The penny dropped. "Feodor?"

He nodded. "After I paid back the loan and interest, he refused to take another dime from me unless he was employed by me. I even tried to get him to invest but he was happy living his comfortable, quiet life."

She leaned against the door frame. "I need to find me an old man with cash to loan."

Smiling, Yuri trapped her right there and brushed his mouth against hers. "You've already got an old man right here willing to loan you whatever you need."

Her eyes widened. "Yuri, I was joking."

"I wasn't."

"But—"

"We'll discuss it later. Once you've made up your mind about what you want to do with your future," he amended.

"Yes, we'll definitely discuss it later." She seemed to understand there was no winning this round.

As far as Yuri was concerned, there would be no discussion. When she was ready to strike out on her own, he would be the one funding her new venture. The last thing he wanted was for Lena to start her new business with the weight of all that debt on her shoulders. There was no doubt in his mind she'd make a success out of whatever she attempted so he considered the risk minimal. Not that any amount of risk would have stopped him from supporting her.

"And you are not an old man." She ran her thumb across his mouth. "Older? Yes. Old? No."

"I'm staring forty in the face."

"Wow. Could you be a bit more dramatic?"

"Probably."

She patted his chest. "Why don't you haul your creaky old behind upstairs and win that painting?"

He smiled indulgently. "Yes dear."

* * *

"Well?" I ambushed Johnny when he appeared at the door for the second time that night.

He slipped inside the master suite and shut the door behind him. His tight expression told me everything. "It's not going so well for Yuri but the other Russian dude? He's got a good hand, I think."

"Crap."

"Don't worry. Yuri will come through for you. The guy didn't even
know
me but he saved me damn life by getting me out of Houston. If he'd do that for me just to help out Dimitri, you've got nothing to worry about, Lena."

Johnny had a point. Feeling calmer, I motioned for him to follow me into the suite. "Tatiana brought me a measuring tape while you were running down there to spy on the game. Let's get you measured so Erin will get off my case."

He laughed. "Benny keeps texting me, too."

I picked up the small leather notebook I kept in my purse and opened it to the page I'd scribbled together according to Erin's instructions. Measuring tape in hand, I started at his shoulders and worked my way down while we chatted. "So do you like working on the yachts?"

"It's only been a couple of months but I'm starting to really enjoy it. I'm visiting places I never imagined I would ever see and learning useful stuff." Dropping his voice a few notches, he admitted, "I've been talking to the captain about going to a maritime academy."

"Really? That's great."

"It looks like the police aren't going to file any charges against me so I'm legally clear." He shifted his arms so I could measure him properly. "Sometimes I can't believe how damn lucky I was to escape that car alive and without ending up in jail."

"I'm sure it helped that the men who shot up you and your friends got caught red-handed attacking your sister and Dimitri and burning down the bakery. From what Benny's told me, they all flipped on one another and tried to make deals. It's one of the reasons Jonah Krause was so screwed."

"Do you think he'll go to prison for what he did?"

"Yes, but I doubt it will be for very long or in a very tough place. He knows a lot of people in the right places."

"Yeah. I guess."

"Hold this end of the tape measure." I handed it to him and gestured to his inseam. "I'm not about to put my hand anywhere near my friend's brother's junk."

Johnny laughed and held the tape firmly in place. "I don't want your hand there either. Seriously, Yuri would kick my ass out into the ocean if he found out about it."

I snorted and took the measurement. "He talks big but I doubt he'd actually throw you overboard."

Johnny tilted his head. "He's not the kind of guy who makes empty threats—and I'm not about to find out. I'm an okay swimmer but I'm not good enough to make it to the beach."

Laughing, I finished his measurements and jotted down his shoe size. "Erin says she'll handle everything. All you have to do is show up with the yacht."

"I can do that." He hesitated. "Um—you know my sister is…" He pointed to his stomach.

I nodded. "She hasn’t made it public knowledge yet. Yuri doesn't seem to know yet. I only know because I was there when she realized she was pregnant."

"Is she okay? I mean—is she healthy and all that?"

"She seems fine. Tired and nauseated but that's normal." I rubbed his shoulder. "Dimitri will take care of her. You don’t have to worry."

"She's all the family I've got left. I'm going to worry. But I know what you mean about Dimitri. There's no other guy I trust to really take care of her. Hell—he's taken better care of her than I ever did."

I was sure agreeing with him would only make him feel worse. Instead, I said, "Dimitri loves her so much and she really loves him. They're going to have a wonderful life together."

"They both deserve it."

I thought about how hard it must have been for Johnny to be halfway around the world from his sister. The two siblings had a rocky history but it was clear they loved one another.

"You know, maybe in a year or so, all of this Hermanos bullshit will be water under the bridge and you can go back to Houston for longer visits."

"I hope so." He handed the tape back to me. "Are we done?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to keep updating you tonight?"

I glanced at the clock and shook my head. "It's already really late. You should go to bed. Your day starts a lot earlier than mine."

Johnny nodded and headed to the door. "Thanks for measuring me. I'll see you around, Lena."

"Night, Johnny."

Alone in the suite, I decided to take a glass of wine onto the balcony and enjoy the sea breeze. As I got comfy on the chaise, I had flashbacks to the sinfully sexy memories of Yuri ravishing me. The things he did to me!

A sound from the master suite interrupted my steamy thoughts. I held still and listened. Was that the door closing?

Setting aside my glass of wine, I stood and made my way to the open sliding door. I glanced around the spacious room but didn't see anyone. "Yuri?"

When I stepped into the bedroom, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge. I could
feel
someone's presence in the space. Gulping nervously, I took another step into the room. "Hello?"

There was no answer.

I made my way to the phone, fully intent on calling for one of the bodyguards to come up and check out the room. As I reached for the phone, a large brown envelope on the bed caught my eye. My name was printed on the front in bright red Cyrillic letters.
Where the hell did that come from
?

Now I knew someone had been in here—and it creeped me the hell out.

I picked up the phone and dialed the extension for the security team. One ring later, a gruff male voice answered. "Yes?"

"Kelly, will you please come up to our room?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Um—I'm not sure. Just—hurry."

The line went dead. I dropped the handset into its cradle and gingerly picked up the envelope. I was still staring at the damn thing when there was an insistent knock at the suite's door. I raced to the door and yanked it open.

His face a mask of concern, Kelly rushed inside. He gripped my shoulders. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

I closed the door and waved the envelope at him. "I went out on the balcony to have a drink and I heard a noise. Like someone was in here. When I came to investigate, I found this envelope on the bed."

He tapped the front. "What does that say?"

"It's my name."

"Did you open it?"

"No."

"Are you going to open it?"

"Maybe."

"Someone was willing to risk being caught to put it in here. They obviously wanted you to read it."

"Who would do that?"

"I don't know," Kelly admitted. "It's got my alarm bells ringing. After someone tried to shoot you in Yuri's backyard, I'm not thrilled by the idea that someone was able to get this close to you."

"It had to be someone in the crew." I glanced at him as another terrifying thought struck. "Or one of you security guards."

Shock turned his expression slack. "You don't think—I mean, no fucking way. Vasya and I have been together all day and all evening in a different section of the ship."

I chewed my lower lip. I hated to even go there but I had to ask. "And Derek and Jake?"

"Derek was handling the arrival of the poker guests and Jake's been playing liaison with the guards that follow the other VIPs." Kelly slashed the air. "There's no way it's one of us."

"Who else is onboard?"

"There are a five people from Yuri's firm in the guest section. They're the ones you were working with over lunch, the PR crew and the pipeline guys."

"Have they been moving around the ship tonight?"

"Not in this section," Kelly said confidently. "The only way to access this area is with a keycard or a thumbprint. Everyone who comes into this private section is logged into the security system."

"That's a good place to start."

"Unless someone stole a keycard," he warned. "I'm not going to accuse someone unless I have real proof." He glanced around the room. "Let me check the rest of the suite. Maybe there is some other evidence."

While Kelly started snooping around the suite, I sat down on the edge of the bed and examined the folder. It was flat and light. My curiosity got the better of me. Carefully, I opened the folder and retrieved the single sheet of paper and a glossy photograph from inside.