Chapter 8

Yaroslav

“T his had better be good Vova,” I snap, irritated at the untimely interruption.

I’d been contemplating giving into my desires and taking Kimberly right there and then on the sofa when he’d knocked. Even looking tired, disheveled, and wearing sweatpants Kimberly is a knockout. The sweatpants she wore hung low on her hips and her tee was a little too tight, revealing her curves and a small sliver of skin that I wanted to run my tongue along between where the shirt ended, and her sweats began. Despite my proposition for her to stay with me not being entirely for platonic reasons, I meant it when I said that I have no intention of forcing her to do anything against her will, but something tells me she would be amenable to my advances.

“Sorry, Boss. I thought you’d want to know right away, we’ve had reports that Roman Sharkozi is in the US. He was spotted arriving at Miami airport,” Vova explains.

“Fuck,” I mutter, pacing the room and thinking through what his arrival could mean. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

If Roman Sharkozi is in the US, it means trouble. The Sharkozi and Volkov families have been rivals from conception. The Sharkozi empire is as ancient as my family’s. Back in the Soviet era, they dabbled in theft and murder to build their brutal reputation before switching to the more profitable drug trade in the nineties. It was then that they became a real powerhouse, gaining the support of several important government officials and integrating themselves into high-class Russian society.

The Sharkozis are always hungry for more and will stop at nothing to get it. When Roman discovered the extent of my father’s influence and that he had immeasurably valuable information on numerous influential figures, he set his sights on our family. He wanted either to ally with us or, ideally, take what was ours. My father Oleg, proved to be a more formidable adversary than he anticipated. I do not doubt that Roman decided to take him out because of this. Despite his efforts, the deaths of my parents and some of our best men did not end the wolf clan.

Though it did weaken us, and since my father’s death, Roman is even more powerful. I’ve long suspected that Roman was responsible for my parents’ murder, yet I’ve had insufficient proof or power to take my revenge yet.

Following my father’s untimely demise, Uncle Innokentiy ran our empire in Russia, guiding me until I was old enough and ready to take over control at eighteen. He remains the head of the Volkov Brotherhood’s financial sector and helps me to maintain control in Russia since I moved operations over to the US seven years ago.

“Did Innokentiy tell you this?” I ask Vova.

He shakes his head, “Nope, we’ve not had an update from him in over a week.”

This catches my attention, although I don’t speak with my uncle often, he is in regular contact with my men. I’m surprised Innokentiy didn’t inform us of Roman’s travel plans ahead of his arrival, he is usually the first to know this sort of information.

“Does anyone have eyes on him? Could someone have taken him out without our knowledge?” I ask, suddenly worried the situation could be far graver than I initially thought.

Vova shifts uncomfortably, “He’s fine. Our other contacts in Moscow have been updating us, we just haven’t heard from him directly.”

“Okay, good. I’ll try to get hold of him myself. I’m sure he’s just been preoccupied with the shipment and setting things up on his end,” I reply.

I don’t trust many people. But in my business, family is everything. Apart from my siblings, Innokentiy is the closest blood relative I have left. My younger brother has health issues, and my sister abandoned us not long after our parents died, to live a new life in England, we’re more or less estranged now, so my uncle is the only one involved in the family business. I know he always has the family’s best interests at heart.

Vova is standing patiently waiting for my orders, as one of my most trusted confidants, I trust he can handle the Sharkozi situation for now without me having to go to Miami or have too much involvement.

“I want round-the-clock surveillance on Roman Sharkozi and his associates, he doesn’t so much as take a shit without my knowledge. Understood?” I bark, feeling pissed off that the old bastard has dared come over to the States.

“Yes, Boss.”

The timing is too close to the biggest deal we’ve had in years, I don’t believe in coincidences. Somehow, Roman’s got wind of our plans and his being here can only mean he’s going to try to muscle his way in. The other thing this means is that we’ve got a mole.

“Get the first flight to Miami you can find, take Boris and Fedor with you too. Artem can stay here with the rest to help me. As well as watching Roman, I want you to look into anyone who knows about the porcelain shipment and the Gillihan deal. I don’t like the timing of this one bit,” I order.

“Nor do I boss,” Vova agrees before standing to attention and waiting for my permission to go.

“Alright, keep me posted,” I dismiss him, shaking his hand and pointing to the door.

He nods and leaves without uttering another word. I know I can trust him with this. I head over to my desk and sit down, pulling the secure phone from the drawer that’s reserved for making calls to my uncle.

The call rings out with no answer. Feeling pissed off, I leave a snarky voicemail. I’m not the kind of man whose calls you ignore. Admittedly, it’s late in Moscow, so he could be asleep, but he knows better than to be out of contact for so long. And I expect my men to answer my calls no matter what time it is.

“Uncle. Call me back when you get this. We need to talk,” I growl before hanging up the phone and stuffing it into my pocket in case he calls back.

I contemplate trying to do some work, but I know I won’t be able to focus. Not until I know more about the situation. What I need is a distraction.

Immediately my mind wanders to the beautiful woman I’ve now invited to stay in my home. I’ve no idea what compelled me to ask her to stay here—and for two weeks no less. Like I told her, she intrigues me. But it’s more than that. I don’t like unknown entities or coincidences, and Kimberly Walsh is both of those things.

It seems far too convenient that she’d crash into me right before a bomb exploded in my car, narrowly saving my life, and then, less than a week later, on the day that Roman Sharkozi arrives in the US, she’s calling me and asking for my help. I should never have offered her the favor, perhaps I’ve walked right into a trap. However, I’d rather keep her close so that I can keep an eye on her and figure out what involvement she has, if any, than think she’s a nobody and have that bite me in the ass.

No matter who Kimberly Walsh is and whatever she wants from me, I’ll find out. And if we end up having a little fun along the way, I can’t say I’ll complain about it.

Having decided that Kim could be the perfect distraction or at best that spending time with her could help unravel the mystery of Roman’s arrival, I head upstairs to shower and change. I can pick her brains and find out more over dinner together.

My bedroom is one of the two master suites in the house. The other mirrored suite sits at the opposite end of the house and it’s where I’ve decided to put Kim. I figured a nicer room would keep her sweet, and most of the other nine bedrooms are often occupied by my men. Plus, hers is one of the few that can be secured, should I need to keep in her in there against her will. Not that I’m planning to, but it pays to be prepared.

I briefly contemplate taking the left staircase and going straight to Kim’s room, just thinking of fucking her has my cock twitch in anticipation, but I decide against it. She’s made it clear she’s not the kind of girl to jump into bed right away for money. So, I take the right staircase up to my suite.

As I enter my room, I’m greeted by a wholly unexpected and very welcome sight. A fully naked Kimberly. Naked, she’s a goddess. Her caramel skin against the white of the bedsheets glows and looks buttery smooth. Her head is thrown back, eyes closed, and her kissable lips parted. Her full breasts are perky and her dark nipples are erect. Her back is arched, and I can see the slope of her round ass and flat stomach. With one hand she pulls on a nipple, biting her lip, her other hand explores the area between her thighs as she moves expertly in circular motions along her clit before moving her fingers in and out.

My cock immediately springs to action at the sight of her and I’m rooted to the spot, unable to take my eyes off her. I can only assume this show is for me, but she’s yet to acknowledge my presence.

An unbelievably sexy moan escapes her lips followed by one word, “Yaroslav.”