From Russia With Claws Read online

  Papa looked at Alexei, raising his eyebrows but his oldest son ignored his unspoken signal. Maksim was speaking rapidly in her brother’s ear, probably telling him how much better the ballet boxes were in Russia.

  “I’ll move,” Nik said, quickly, hopping up from his seat. Galina shook her head at her brother’s gallantry.

  Andrey put a hand on her brother’s shoulder and pushed him back down. “No, no, you’re already seated,” he said. “I’ll sit in the second row.”

  “I don’t mind sitting with Galina,” Irina assured him.

  “But your father was just telling me how much you love the ballet,” Andrey protested, his gaze skipping to Galina. “I couldn’t let you miss Swan Lake. Really, I insist.” Oh good Lord, it was a gallant-off.

  “But it would be rude to let a guest sit in the second row,” Papa protested, flushing red now that he realized his error. He couldn’t, in good manners, deny Andrey’s request that Nik sit in the front row, and he couldn’t ask a guest to move. As the host, it would look bad for him to sit anywhere but in the front row, near his guest. And they would need a backhoe to get Alexei out of that chair.

  Irina shook her head. “I don’t mind. I’ve already seen this company’s performance of Swan Lake. And really, you see one evil wizard change a girl into a bird, you’ve seen them all.”

  “I don’t mind, Papa,” Irina insisted. “I promise. And I’ll be sitting next to Galina, so it will be completely proper.”

  “Yes, yes,” Galina urged, plopping into a seat in the second row. “We’re all in agreement. Everybody sit down.”

  Irina slid into the seat on her right gracefully. “You okay?”

  The curtain rose. Galina kept her eyes fixed on the stage, as she managed a not quite believable, “Fine.”

  “Okay then,” Irina said, sounding irritated.

  Galina felt bad for snapping at her sister, but it wasn’t like she could tell her sister what was making her cranky. Still, it wasn’t fair taking her temper out on Irina when her sister wanted to be at the ballet even less than Galina did. She vowed to keep her frustration in check.

  Viktor and Konstantin stood sentinel—like living statues—at opposite sides of the box, each small movement pulling Galina’s focus from the stage.

  “Would you two sit, you’re distracting me!” she said to the bodyguards. “It’s like watching ballet with a couple of gargoyles lurking in the shadows.”

  They acquiesced. Konstantin sat on the end next to Galina, while Viktor took the chair beside Irina. Galina hoped that Viktor had the presence of mind to keep his blood pumping to his brain rather than his dick. She sat with her arms crossed across her chest and tried to pay attention to the dancers onstage.

  “Oh, this is so much fun,” Galina whispered to her sister. “I hope we can do this every Friday night.”

  Irina surreptitiously gave her the finger, keeping her eyes on the stage. Konstantin snickered beside her. With a sigh, Galina pulled out her phone to check for messages and saw the blinking light that indicated she had voice mail. She stood, gathering her skirts in one hand and slid past Konstantin. Andrey and Nik turned around in their seats to see what the commotion was.

  “I need to take a call,” she told them, excusing herself and leaving the box.

  Galina found a quiet corner in the first floor atrium and returned Tol Aristov’s phone call. In ten minutes she had verbal confirmation of the agreed upon price, the delivery date and location, and an appointment for a face-to-face meeting. When she hung up, she felt immeasurably better.

  Putting her phone back into her purse, Galina turned and slammed into a wall of tuxedo clad man-chest. She staggered in her heels, clutching at the arms that steadied her. Andrey.

  Galina looked into his face, eyes locking on his mouth. “Did you follow me?” Not the smartest question she’d ever asked, sure, but she was still on a high from the phone call.

  “I told them I needed to get some air.” He pulled her closer.

  “Down boy.” She slapped at his shoulder with her clutch. “They bought that?”

  He loosened his hold on her, but didn’t let her go. “Your father is really into the ballet.”

  “I’m going back up,” she said, not wanting to get in the middle of anything else right now. She was barely tolerating this nightmare of an evening; she didn’t want complications. Galina just wanted to revel in her good news for a few more minutes.

  “Come with me,” Andrey said, tucking her arm into his.

  Galina looked around, seeing that there were a number of patrons milling around. Normally she wouldn’t have cared about causing a scene, but her father was here, as was Alexei. She needed to stay above reproach for the time being. So she strolled along with Andrey through the atrium as if they were simply a couple out for a special evening.

  “I’m surprised Konstantin isn’t with you,” Galina observed, just to have something to say. “Doesn’t he follow you everywhere?”

  “He wanted to stay in the box,” Andrey answered. “He likes being close to Nik.”

  Galina felt like her eyes bug out of her head, then reminded herself that frog eyes weren’t a good look for her and blinked. Andrey used her shock to usher her into the room where the coats were checked. Did he know about Nik? And, more importantly, was he okay with it?

  “Wait, wait, wait,” she said finally, pulling her arm from his. “You know Konstantin is gay?” Then she stared up at him in horror. “You know Nik is gay?”

  “Konstantin is my best friend. Of course, I know he’s gay.” Andrey stalked over to her, backing her up against the wall. Galina put her hand against his chest, pushing back. “I don’t want to talk about Konstantin or your brother anymore.”

  He lowered his head slowly to hers. Galina stared at him, shocked into stillness, feeling her nerves sing at his nearness. Andrey’s lips brushed hers lightly, a whisper of a kiss. She felt it sizzle through her, liquid heat pooling in her belly.

  Galina pushed him back with both hands. It was a lot like trying to move a wall. “And what about my sister? Do you want to talk about why you’re here with her?”

  Andrey stared down at her, his pale eyes dark with lust. She felt a pulse slide through her, feeling wetness between her thighs. That look in his eyes was for her and her alone, but that wasn’t an answer.

  “I’m not with your sister right now.” Andrey leaned forward, sliding his hands down her waist to her hips, yanking her close to him. “I’m here with you.”

  “You are.” They stared at each other, the tension between the two of them building until it had a kind of presence, filling up the confines of the room. Galina closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get her body under control. Everything inside of her ached for him. She wanted his kiss, his touch, his cock. Even if it was only for tonight. There was a hunger inside her that only he could sate.

  “Oh, fuck it,” she said, opening her eyes. She locked her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers.

  Fire blazed through her at the feel of his lips on hers. Her mouth opened, and she pushed her tongue into his, sliding it over his teeth, licking at the roof of his mouth. Her pussy spasmed, a greedy throb that drove her to the edge of wanting, pushing her into the realm of need.

  Andrey’s mouth was everywhere: trailing along her throat, moving over the exposed flesh of her chest, nipping at her earlobes. She gasped, rubbing against the bulge in his pants. His hands scrabbled at the fabric of her skirt, pulling it up so his fingers could slip inside of her. Galina gasped as first one, then two fingers plunged inside of her, spreading her wetness over her folds. His thumb brushed her clit, the callous catching against the sensitive flesh and she bucked against him.

  “You didn’t wear underwear,” he observed, a pleased grin on his face.

  Her fingers dipped to his fly, unzipping his pants and reaching inside to wrap her hand around his cock. It throbbed against her palm as she began to move her hand along his shaft, running her thumb along the head of h
im. His breathing sped up, matching her panting breaths as his fingers stroked inside of her. Galina thought she might erupt like a volcano as she chased her orgasm, moving on his hand.

  Andrey broke their kiss. “Lie down,” he ordered, ripping some furs down from the hangers around them. “On these.”

  Galina moved to obey, dropping down on the coats that Andrey had spread on the floor. When she didn’t move fast enough, Andrey positioned her himself. He bent her knees, yanking the skirt of her dress up and pushing it around her waist. He looked like a man who’d just been offered a banquet.

  She wanted to say something, anything, but then Andrey’s mouth was on her, lapping at her clit. Galina moaned softly, lifting her hips upward, wanting more. Andrey obliged, applying more pressure as his tongue licked over her sensitive flesh and sliding his fingers back inside her. She locked her hands in his hair, writhing against the furs as his fingers and tongue pushed her closer to the brink.

  “You have the most perfect pussy,” Andrey murmured, lifting his head to watch her come undone. His fingers pumped into her, driving her mad with need. She cried out softly, a low keen rising in the back of her throat.

  He lowered his head to her once more, sucking her clit into his mouth. Galina arched up, feeling like he’d just sent an electric current from her sex straight up the center of her spine and into her brain. All thought stopped as every muscle in her body clenched in delicious pleasure. She knew she was making noise, but she couldn’t help herself, didn’t want him to stop making her feel this way. And Andrey’s tongue was still stroking at her clit, not allowing her a chance to recover, to breathe. Shudders moved through her as his fingers sped up their rhythm, and Galina’s hips moved in time with his thrusts.

  A horrified squeak pulled Galina from her pleasure. She levered herself up to look over Andrey’s back. Irina stared at them, a look of shock and surprise plastered all over her face. Galina waved at her, wearing what she was sure was a stupid grin. Andrey lifted his head and turned it toward the door, his fingers still deep inside of her. She made an outraged noise at him for stopping, then looked again at her sister still standing in the doorway.

  Irina could pull up a chair and watch or get the hell out and let Andrey finish what he started. But she couldn’t just stand there with the door wide open, gaping like a landed fish. “Would you shut the fucking door already?” Galina growled.

  “You two are—oh, my god, there are just some things I will never be able to un-see!” Irina slammed the door closed.

  Galina couldn’t help but laugh at the outraged look on her sister’s face. Andrey’s deep chuckle joined hers and his steely eyes snapped with amusement.

  Then Viktor stuck his head into the cloakroom. He muttered, “Oh, come on, Lupesco!” Galina and Andrey both snarled at him. He shut the door.

  She tapped Andrey on the head, and said, “You’ve got a job to finish, mister.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” And he lowered his mouth to her once more.

  Galina arrived back at the box first, having stopped off in the powder room to check her hair and makeup and spray on some of the wolfsbane perfume she always carried. It would dull a werewolf’s keen sense of smell, helping to mask the scent of sex-and-Andrey that fairly enveloped her. She reapplied her lipstick, fluffed her hair, and rejoined her family.

  Irina leaned over to hiss in her ear as soon as she sat down. “I am going to murder you.”

  Galina ignored her sister’s threat and turned her attention to the dancers on the stage. She felt much more relaxed now that she’d had an orgasm or five. She heard the door to the box open, forcing herself not to react when Andrey ran warm fingers down her shoulder. Konstantin returned to his seat behind her a few minutes later. She wasn’t quite sure where Nik had gone.

  Alexei and Papa were asleep in their seats. It figured. Papa spent a ridiculous amount of money on the box seats and then slept through most of the performance. Why Alexei even bothered to come, she’d never know. Maksim had disappeared. She wondered if he had hightailed it to the bar when the snoring started.

  The curtain lowered and Galina stood smoothly, clapping for the ballet she hadn’t bothered to pay attention to. Papa and Alexei awoke from their expensive nap at the applause and rose to their feet. Papa shouted, “Brava, brava!” as if he’d been awake for the whole show. Galina stifled a chuckle behind her clutch. Alexei blinked sleepily and stumbled out of the box as Papa clapped Andrey on the shoulder and interrogated him on his favorite parts of the ballet. Galina caught Andrey’s wink at her sister and had to smother her grin behind her purse. She waited while he and Papa left, taking the time to fluff her blond hair and reapply her lipstick.

  “You—” Irina pointed at her, a dire look on her face. “We’re going to have a talk.”

  Galina gave her a placid look. “About what, dearest sister?”

  “You know, you have a little carpet fuzz on your dress,” Viktor told her, waving his hand at her skirt.

  Galina stuck out her tongue at Viktor, then took Irina’s wrist and led her out of the box, speaking low so only Irina could hear. “Consider it payback for finding you in the funeral home after you rode Viktor’s hand to happy land.” She grinned when her sister looked offended.

  “That is hardly the same situation at all!” Irina exclaimed as they carefully navigated the sweeping staircase.

  Andrey helped Irina on with her wrap, to Alexei’s obvious dismay, while Konstantin did the same for Galina. Papa returned with Maksim and Petyr in tow. The two had become friends at the bar as they waited out the second act together, drinking vodka and swapping tales of their beloved Russia. Maksim was swaying a little on his feet. Galina felt a bit sorry for him. No one but Papa could keep up with Uncle Petyr.

  Papa suggested an outing to a gentleman’s club, intending to spend some quality time with a bottle of Stoli, insisting that Maksim, Andrey and Alexei join him. Alexei agreed immediately, followed quickly by Maksim. Andrey begged off, pleading morning meetings.

  “I’ll get Mrs. Volkov home safely,” Viktor told Papa. Galina kept her face conveniently blank.

  Papa beamed at Viktor and patted him shoulder. Alexei’s face went red as he realized that he’d missed the opportunity to take Irina home himself and tried to hedge his way out of late-night drinks at the club. “Well, maybe I should take Irina home. I don’t know if I trust Viktor to keep her safe.”

  Galina practically snorted in amusement. After the incident with him shredding Irina’s clothes, he was delusion if he thought he was fooling anyone. He was so transparent that he made glass look opaque.

  “Viktor has my complete trust,” Papa announced, making even Andrey’s eyebrows rise. Irina clutched at Galina’s hand, her eyes wide. Galina watched her father thoughtfully. This was the first time she could remember Papa contradicting Alexei in public since they were children. Could this mean that their father’s “eldest is the only option” mind-set was finally changing? Could her continuous questioning be undermining Papa’s stubborn confidence in Alexei’s ability to lead? She certainly hoped so.

  Maksim pulled Alexei aside, already talking about his plans for expanding the import business. Alexei had no choice but to drop his argument.

  Viktor inclined his head and fell in step behind Irina. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Then Konstantin should go with Nik, and Andrey can escort Galina since Viktor will be coming with me,” Irina offered, a knowing look in her eyes.

  Galina frowned, certain she was missing something, especially when Nik wouldn’t look at her. Had something happened while she and Andrey had been busy in the cloak room? Irina looked positively giddy. She was definitely going to need to speak to her sister tomorrow.

  Andrey’s lips twitched as he said, “That’s fine. I can see Miss Sudenko home.”

  “I can see my own self home, thank you very much,” she said tartly. “I did make my way here all by myself, after all.” She batted her eyelashes at everyone.

  “Of course,” Irina
said, just as sweetly, shooting her an evil smile. “But I would feel more comfortable if you had an escort.”

  Galina wanted to reach out and shake her sister until her teeth rattled. What the hell was she playing at with this? She felt Andrey move closer. She wished she wasn’t so attuned to his presence. He was getting to be a constant distraction. A pleasant distraction certainly, but a distraction nonetheless.

  She shot her sister a pointed glare. “Fine.”

  “Fine, fine,” Papa said dismissively, and cuffed their brother on the shoulder. “Come, Alexei, Maksim, join the men at the club. We have many things to talk about.”

  Papa dragged a reluctant Alexei toward the door. Alexei kept shooting poisonous looks at Viktor. Galina couldn’t help but grin. “I wish I could have recorded that and posted it on YouTube,” she said, laughing when Alexei was out of sight. “Alexei knows he got tricked but he’s not sure how. The gears in his head are smoking.”

  “Well, I can’t look at any of you right now, so we’re going to go,” Irina said, taking Viktor’s arm. “Galina, if you’re not at my house at nine a.m. sharp, I will bring a tranq gun and a net to yours.”

  Galina sighed. “You are so dramatic sometimes.” She laughed as Irina dragged Viktor off.

  “You could have sounded a bit more pleased with the outcome,” Andrey whispered, his breath fanning the hair at her neck. “I don’t bite.”

  “Maybe that’s the problem,” Galina murmured without thinking. When she realized what she’d just implied, she felt a flush creep across her face. Had she just really insinuated the mating bite? Really? Was she an idiot? She had no interest in tying herself to Andrey permanently; he was just a great bit of fun. Especially since it looked like Papa was serious about pairing him with Irina. To want more than that was ridiculous.

  She felt his hand at the small of her back. “I’ve got an early morning, so I’m going to call it a night.” She was ready to be out of the eyes of her family and back in her apartment where she could berate herself in private. She said her good-byes to Nik and Konstantin and walked to where the Maybach waited, not bothering to see if Andrey followed.