Chapter 12 - Igor

I don't want to force myself on Arina, especially if she regrets sleeping with me the first time. I need her to come around on her own and decide on her own. That doesn't mean that seeing her doesn't drive me wild. I've lost count of the number of times I've jerked off in the shower to the thought of her. It's insane that I have this sexy woman who shares my bed, but then it feels like miles between us. I don't touch her in bed. I don't caress her or hold her. Not even in my sleep.

Even though I want to.

There is work to be done, and I muddle through my meetings day by day, knowing she is in the house, most likely talking to Yvonne. Matvey continues to have his suspicions about her, but I think she's fitting in slowly but surely.

Sitting in my office, I wait for my various managers to come in for a morning meeting before I can officially start my day. Bigger and bigger problems have been cropping up, and I need them dealt with. But this is what underlings are for—to manage the dirty jobs.

Once all five of them are in my office, including Matvey, I look at them, leaning on my elbows and resting my chin on my interlaced fingers.

"First of all, the supply run from Russia has been interrupted. Someone keeps raiding our ships, and for that to happen, someone is leaking information on which path our ships are taking. I want feedback on who is interrupting the supply run, who is aiding them, and what you plan to do to stop it."

I look from Sven to Jameson. "I need new managers at the resort. Now that Liam and Christopher have been exposed and dealt with, I want you to find someone I can trust and put them in charge of making sure that the resort runs smoothly. Tourist season is upon us, and the more guests we have coming through, the more money we can launder through the resort."

Sven and Jameson both leave, and I look at Matvey. I'm about to speak when I hear splashing and giggling. It sounds like Yvonne and Arina are having fun. The thought of Arina being wet in my pool drives me to distraction.

"Igor?" Matvey asks.

I look back at him. "Follow up on the paperwork for the acquisition of Matthew's resort and theme park. I'm not paying a cent until they have signed over the deeds. I don't trust them further than I can throw them, and that's not far."

Matvey leaves, and I turn to Harry. I switch positions, leaning back in my chair, running my fingers through my hair, and brushing the strands back. "When is our next shipment due? Have you settled the fuel bill yet?"

"No, boss, I'm doing that tomorrow. The next shipment is the day after," Harry says.

"You better hurry the fuck up. If we don't have fuel, the trucks can't move the goods." I sigh. "Do I have to do everything myself?"

Harry shakes his head. "No, sir, I'll settle it by the end of the day."

"See that you do." I lean forward once more as Harry leaves, and I look at Storm. "What have you got to say?"

"We've put our feelers out for people who are looking for a bigger slice of the pie, more than what the Milovs can offer them. So far, we've picked up a few hard-working guys, but from what I can tell, the Milovs compensate well, so a lot of people are loyal."

"Then we bring in more of our people from Russia. Have Kiara arrange flights for some of our people back home and their families. If we can't find workers here, we'll bring in our own."

I hear the splashing again and laughter, and I wave Harry off.

I get up and move to the window, and I look out. Yvonne is getting out of the pool and wrapping a towel around herself while Arina gets up on an inflatable and rests back on it.

I look at my guards. "That's all for today. I'm going to take a break now."

"Yes, sir," they chorus.

I go up to my bedroom and change into some swimming trunks. I grab a towel and head downstairs. I don't see Yvonne when I walk out, but Arina is floating comfortably on the water.

I frown. Her bikini is small, a little too small, and the pants are more like a g-string that barely covers anything.

I wade into the water. "Enjoying yourself?"

"The sun is nice on my skin," she murmurs, her eyes still closed.

"Do you like showing your body off to other men?" I ask testily.

"What are you talking about?" she asks, opening her eyes and shielding them from the sun to look at me. "What other men?"

"There are guards around. Anyone can see you in what I assume you think is a bikini." I wade over to her and lean on the inflatable. She slides off the other end.

"You're being paranoid." She reaches the end of the pool and picks up her cocktail, sipping it.

I push the inflatable away and swim toward her. "Am I?" I ask, putting a hand on the edge of the pool, either side of her.

"You're barely wearing anything at all," I growl.

She turns to face me, her eyes rebellious and bright. "I'm wearing a bikini in a pool."

"You need to dress appropriately. You are my wife," I hiss. I slide my hand into the string of the backside of her bikini and run my hand down her ass, lightly touching her.

She looks up at me with heavy-lidded eyes and puts her hands on my chest. "Igor…"

I move my hand away and float back a little. "I'm not just going to give you sex," I say.

She quirks an eyebrow. "You're not?"

"No." I lean forward, our lips close. "You're going to have to beg me for it next time."

She watches me curiously before she leans back against the wall, using her elbows to hang onto the wall and stay in place. It perks her breasts out.

"You know, I wouldn't be swimming in the pool half naked if I had something to do," she says with a smile.

"Like what?" I ask. "Getting revenge on your family?"

She shrugs. "That too."

"And what was your original plan to get revenge, just out of curiosity?" I ask.

She lets go of the wall and floats a little closer to me. "I was busy selling them shitty real estate that would cost them money. The buildings had all kinds of problems that would take millions to resolve, and then I planned on reporting them for all the violations before they could fix them, costing them even more in fines."

"That's it?" I ask. "Costing them money?"

"Hit them where it seems to hurt the most… their wallet." She dips under the water and comes up, her hair slicked back. She wipes the water off her face and smiles at me. "Why? Do you have a better idea in mind?"

"I would kill them. That's one option." I can see the question in her eyes, and I shrug. "I owe Kervyn a beating from when we were children in Russia."

"So, you've known him most of your life?" she asks.

"I've known him my whole life. I know him and Danil better than I do the other two brothers. The one was a baby when they left, and the youngest one was born here. But I have many memories of Kervyn and Danil Milov to fuel my hate for all four of them."

I swim to the side, finding my footing and standing on the floor of the pool.

She swims toward me. "What else?"

"Well, for one thing, I'd love to shut some of their casinos down. From what I've learned, that's where they make a lot of their money, and they launder it through some laundromats throughout the city. Those are run by Arseny, the third brother." She swims a little closer, and I watch her perky breasts under the water. "If not, I'll have the baby brother's illegal drag racing shut down. That's bound to cost them a penny."

"But if you could, you would rather kill them?"

I turn away and start wading to the stairs of the pool before I climb out and start towel drying myself off. "It's dinner time."

"Would you kill them?" she asks again as she wades over to the stairs as well.

"Given the option, if I could do it without waging a war, then yes. But we're new to the area and don't have enough soldiers yet for that kind of attack, so right now, it's a battle in a business sense. Take what matters to them, which is their money, and make more for us." I wrap the towel around my waist as I reach for her towel and hold it open.

She lifts her arms, and I wrap it around her, my hand briefly brushing against her stiff nipple.

"It's getting cold," she shivers.

"It's just the wind. It's still a warm evening," I look around. "Let's go eat dinner."

"What about what we spoke about? About me having something to do?" She looks up at me. "Or I can spend every day here in the pool swimming around in various states of undress."

A growl escapes me. "Like fuck you will."

"I'm bored," she says. "Let me do something business-like to pass the time. I've already proved I can handle it."

She flutters her eyelashes at me, and I chuckle. "You have, I guess. Fine, you can work for Yvonne at the luxury resort. But if you mess this up, you stay home and fully dressed."

She nods. "Deal."

She holds out her hand, and I shake it, pulling her to me. "We seal deals with a kiss." I don't wait for her reply. I swoop down and capture her lips with mine. I don't know why I torture myself like this. I'm trying to get her to beg me for sex, but dammit, she drives me wild.

I break the kiss and turn away. "I'm going to get changed for dinner."

"I'll be right in," she says.

I go upstairs and rinse off in the shower before walking into my room naked. She's standing there, about to pull a shirt on, and she stares at me.

I smirk as I cross to the walk-in closet and slide into a pair of grey sweatpants and a T-shirt. I put some socks and trainers on as well.

When I come out, she's already dressed, but her face is red. I think she's forgotten just how much I can pleasure her. I look forward to reminding her.

I lead her downstairs and sit at the dining room table where Yvonne is waiting.

"I see you also had a swim."

"Just to cool off," I tell her. "Yvonne, Arina is going to come to work with you at the resort. She can assist with the deals you're setting up. She seems to know her way around and wants to be put to use." I sit back as a bowl is placed in front of me.

"Paella. Something I've come to love." I look at Arina. "Have you ever had it? Do you like seafood?"

"I haven't had it, but I love seafood, and it looks great." She picks up her knife and fork. "Is it spicy?"

"A little. I don't like my food too spicy, but a little on the Cajun side never hurts." I wait for Yvonne to receive her food. They wait for me to start eating before they tuck into their food.

There's something about Arina tonight. She looks different. I can't place my finger on it, though.

By the time I finish my bowl, I'm over-stuffed and groan. "I'm going to go watch TV." I get up and pause, kissing Arina on the head. "I'll see you later."