3. Kat

3

I struggle to stifle a sigh as I attempt to untangle myself from the gorgeous hunk of a man holding me in his arms.

The universe has a perverse sense of humor. There is no other plausible explanation for why it would drop this tall drink of water in my lap right now at the worst possible time.

It's unfair, especially considering how often I find myself parched nowadays. To no one's surprise, being at the stronzo's beck and call doesn't leave me much time for dating.

On any other day and at any other time, nothing would delight me more than spending the evening getting to know a man this handsome better. Sadly, the museum's gardens are not the right place to entertain this idea, and tonight most definitely isn't the right time.

Sooner or later, someone is bound to notice that a certain red diamond is missing. I have no intention of sticking around to see that unfold.

Still grasping my upper arms, the man in question looks into my eyes for a moment before allowing his gaze to examine the rest of me. He towers over me even though I'm wearing my favorite four-inch high heels.

As discreetly as possible in my current circumstances, I take in the rest of him. I find no faults—from his luscious dark hair to his prohibitively expensive Italian leather shoes.

Of course, I can't help letting my eyes linger here and there during my thorough examination of him. That's how I notice his eyes are a brown as deep and dark as his gorgeous hair. They sparkle with undisguised intelligence and with a hint of humor. His broad shoulders and powerful hands are truly the stuff of dreams.

Unable to stop myself, I stare at his mouth, mesmerized by the way his lips, framed by his dark facial hair, twitch with barely contained amusement before he smiles at me.

Sexy, sexy mouth.

He seems exceedingly pleased with himself, and I have no problem admitting that it is a good look on him.

All at once, I am aware of the delicious feel of the roughened calluses on his hands as they graze the skin of my arms, where he still touches me.

Life is so unfair.

"Forgive me," he says. His voice makes me want to moan with pleasure. It's deep and yet almost melodic. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No harm, no foul. Thanks for catching me," I say. As soon as the words leave my lips, I have to resist the urge to groan. No harm, no foul? That's my witty comeback?

He smiles again, and heat pools low in my abdomen. It's the best and the worst feeling in the world. What I wouldn't give for the chance to stay and maybe kiss those lips…

Not the Flame of Mir. And definitely not A.J.'s life. Or my freedom, for that matter.

"Anytime," he says, that panty-dropper smirk still front-and-center on his gorgeous face. "I'm Nikolai, by the way."

Still unable to pry my eyes from his mesmerizing mouth, I sigh loudly.

"Well, Nik—you don't mind if I call you Nik, do you? It's truly my pleasure to meet you. No. Really. Trust me."

My reply seems to amuse him. His smirk melts into a full-on grin. Frankly, it's some breathtaking stuff.

Sweet baby Jesus. I'm doomed.

"Won't you tell me your name?" Nikolai asks. He blatantly ignores my attempts to remove myself from his arms.

I detect a slight accent. Slavic? Russian, maybe? Whatever it is, I can't get enough of it. It's as sweet as honey. I could spend the rest of the night listening to him talk about nothing at all. Of course, that's precisely why I have to leave—right now.

"Sorry, Nik. But no, I won't. Meeting you has been lovely, but I must go. I'd love to stay and get to know you better, but I'm afraid that won't be possible. Places to go, people to see, yada yada yada. You know how it is."

I try to extricate myself from him again, intending to show him I mean business. Nikolai lets go of my arms, and I simultaneously feel relief and disappointment. It's a short-lived rush of emotions since he almost immediately grabs my right hand with his left one. He caresses my knuckles with his thumb as the palm of his hand brushes against mine.

"Well, you must stay a little longer. I insist," he says. "The night's still young, after all. I hear there'll be fireworks later. You wouldn't want to miss the show."

Nikolai brings my hand to his lips, staring into my eyes.

I can hardly breathe as he, boldly maintaining eye contact, brushes his lips against my fingers. The moment is almost hypnotic. Even with a slight shake of my head, I struggle to clear the sudden haze overtaking my brain, unable to suppress another sigh.

"I wish I could stay. But I happen to know my carriage will turn into a pumpkin at midnight. So, you see, I really have to get going. You understand, I'm sure."

"A pumpkin carriage, huh? Should I call you Cinderella, then? I'm a little rusty on my fairytales, but I'm pretty sure even she stayed long enough for a dance."

"Oh! Are you saying you are my Prince Charming, and we are to live happily ever after?" I breathlessly ask him, pressing my free hand to my chest. Maybe my mock eagerness will scare him off so I can finally depart.

"Stay with me tonight, milaya, and I'll be anything you want me to be."

His intensity and self-assuredness take me by surprise, giving me pause. "You're dangerous," I say. I don't even bother hiding how deeply affected I feel by our encounter.

Strangely enough, Nikolai seems to consider my words earnestly. "Not to you. Not tonight," he says a few heartbeats later. His tone is more serious than I expected. His statement once again catches me off guard.

I really look at him. The man is obviously blessed with devastating good looks. He's also too charming for his own good—or mine, I suppose. Clearly, he's very aware of his talents and won't hesitate to use them.

To make matters worse, his dogged determination not to let me leave shows me he feels as drawn to me as I do to him. Even now, his gaze scorchingly caresses my lips, neck, and body as he looks his fill.

Once again, I stifle a sigh. The only thing more irresistible than a distractingly attractive man is a distractingly attractive man who wants me badly.

Something outside of his compelling magnetic field makes me uneasy. After glancing around, I groan in frustration when I notice a few people nearby peeking at us and whispering. The last thing I want or need is to attract undue attention.

Nikolai must be someone important or famous to have earned an invitation to this glitzy event. His bespoke tuxedo alone must have cost him a small fortune. He also looks like he belongs in this star-studded gala, surrounded by people I often spot on magazine covers or television. Besides, I can't fathom why else these men and women now staring at us would feel moved to gossip in such an indiscreet fashion.

Nikolai realizes that our back-and-forth is making many of the guests quite curious. He raises an eyebrow and makes eye contact with a few of them. To my immense amusement and surprise, they quickly glance away.

Fascinating.

I look into Nikolai's eyes once again. He tightens his hold on my hand and an extraordinary amount of excitement bubbles up inside me.

"Very well," I say. "One dance, Charming. No more."

Or so I fervently hope for my sake.

Nikolai smiles at me, pulling me closer, and my legs threaten to turn into jelly.

No man should look this hot. It simply isn't fair to womenfolk everywhere.

Without another word, he wraps his arm around my waist, guiding me towards where the orchestra just finished a lively song I don't recognize.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. If the mere weight of his arm on my back feels this intoxicating, I dread to imagine how it will feel if he holds me closer to his body during our dance. Or underneath it, in a different type of dance altogether.

Nikolai glances at me as he leads me to a darkened corner of the dance floor, secluded from the other couples enjoying the music.

The band shifts gears into the first notes of a slow melody I'm too preoccupied to identify, and he leans in closer to whisper in my ear. "What will it take to get you to tell me your name?"

As his sensual lips graze my ear lobe, I catch a whiff of his scent, and I'm in heaven. Like the man it belongs to, it's intensely masculine, sophisticated, and impossibly sexy. He smells of man, whiskey, and sin.

I rise on my toes, unable to resist the urge to allow my lips to flutter against his ear as I say, "Nothing you have."

Nikolai glances at me appreciatively. Too late, I realize he's not the kind of man to walk away from a challenge like the one I just brazenly offered to him.

"I don't know about that, milaya. I'm a pretty resourceful guy." He pulls me closer as we sway to the tune played by the orchestra.

"What does that word mean? Milaya?" I ask.

He leads us through a slow dance, and I savor the feel of his right hand enveloping mine while his left one rests dangerously low on my bare back. Helpless to stop myself, I touch the hair on the back of his neck. It's surprisingly soft. His eyes grow heavy-lidded. It shouldn't please me this much that my touch brings him great satisfaction, but it does.

"Give me your name, and I will tell you," he says with a small smile.

"My name isn't important. What's in a name, anyway? You know what they say, Nik. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

"Cute, but I bet even Shakespeare's Juliet couldn't have smelled as sweet as you."

"Oh, you smooth talker, you. Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Funny you should say that. As it happens, I have a specific place in mind."

Smoothly, he brings my body flush against his. I can feel almost every inch of his deliciously masculine frame. It's a heady and inebriating feeling.

As a self-admittedly fun-loving, hedonistic creature at heart, the mere thought of being physically apart from him is unnecessarily unpleasant. He's my type—strong, powerful, and larger-than-life. There's this aura of invincibility about him that is particularly impossible to resist.

I smooth my hand down his muscular chest. "Really? Well, don't leave me hanging. It's rude not to share with the class."

"I'd rather show you," he says, his eyes ablaze. "After all, if all you will give me is one dance, then I have to insist we move it somewhere private."

Nikolai's hand moves to my hip without a trace of hesitation, and I love every second of it. It's no surprise. Even from a young age, I took pride in appreciating life's finest things. In my experience, few things are as fine as a gorgeous man who would like nothing better than to show me a good time.

I always make sure to enjoy a healthy, varied diet of vigorous, red-hot, no-strings-attached sex. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time or energy to pursue this hobby for the past few months. Predictably, managing the stronzo's demands has been an all-consuming affair. My needy libido hasn't exactly been a priority when A.J.'s life is still at risk.

As the band plays on and Nik's firm body brushes against mine, my misgivings and concerns start to sound terribly inconsequential. The Flame of Mir is mine, which means I won. Yes, the stronzo will get his prize—for now. But after tonight, A.J. will get a reprieve. I deserve to catch a break, too.

Since the work is done, why shouldn't I allow myself to celebrate a little? To let off some steam? God knows I need it after the trying months I have had recently. I have certainly earned it.

Nikolai's idea to take me somewhere we can be alone works just fine with my plan to escape this party and its nosy guests as soon as possible. In the grand scheme of things, as long as I'm departing the premises, does it matter if I do it by my lonesome self or with the man who undresses me with his eyes whenever he glances at me? Isn't it in my best interest to have someone who would vouch for me if one of the museum's guards notices the diamond is missing?

What an alibi.

As I gaze into Nik's warm brown eyes, I struggle to remember why giving in to him is such a bad idea. In fact, running into him tonight seems very serendipitous, and I'm never one to go against fate.

"Let's say I let you whisk me away," I say. I study his expression as I run my fingernails over the back of his neck. "Once you have me all to yourself, what's your plan?"

Nikolai seems to struggle to suppress a groan, drawing my body even closer to his. His mouthwatering scent envelopes me, and my body almost vibrates with pleasure when I feel a distractingly large bulge press against my stomach.

"I can think of a thing or two. Come with me, and I'll gladly demonstrate," he rasps against my skin.

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that. I won't lie to you, Nik, I'm tempted. You drive a hard bargain." I punctuate my words by slowly shimmying my hips against his to the languid rhythm of the song we are dancing to. He inhales sharply, and I smile in response. "But I'm afraid I'm still unconvinced. You might have to sweeten the deal."

"All you have to do is tell me what you desire, milaya, and I'll happily give it to you."

"Anything I want?"

"Anything," he says without hesitation.

His confidence in his power to provide me with anything I desire is a powerful aphrodisiac. Of course, he doesn't know how demanding and imaginative I can be when it comes to what I want, but it doesn't matter.

In the end, nothing else matters because with the Flame of Mir secured against my body, there is only one other thing I am craving.

Incapable of denying myself any longer, I brush his lips with mine before whispering, "Kiss me, Nik. Kiss me, and I'm yours."