didn’t look at her as he climbed off the bed and stripped off the condom. He tied it quickly, then dropped it in the nearby trash container.
Disoriented and confused, dazed by the powerful climax both men had brought her to, Sasha could barely put two thoughts into a cohesive pattern. All she wanted to do was stop the racket in her head, curl up on her side, and pass out. Sort everything through in the morning when her body didn’t feel like liquid and her brain didn’t resemble burnt toast.
She hadn’t said his name, had she? She’d swear it only ricocheted through her mind. She wouldn’t be that foolish. Alexei was a dead man here.
The thick tension that had descended over the room set off great big gongs of alarm. She lifted to her elbows, watching the way Alexei casually made his way toward his pile of clothes.
Saeed already wore his pants, and he eased into a shirt. But as hishead popped through, his stare tracked Alexei. Predatory hunger glinted in those usually warm dark eyes.
Just like that, she knew. She hadn’t merely called out to Alexei in her head. She’d said his name. And Saeed had heard.
Shit!
Sasha scrambled to her knees, modesty kicking in and forcing her to clutch the sheets to her breasts. Alexei’s sharp gaze cut to her. The directive was clear:
Not another fucking word.
Shit, shit, shit!
He’d come back to her, and she’d issued an order for execution.
“Sasha, go into your bathroom. Fill the tub. I will join you in a moment.” Saeed never took his eyes off Alexei. “
Vasily
is leaving now.”
In all the time she’d spent with Saeed, not once had she heard such malice in his voice. Low and deadly, it blanketed the room. Alexei sensed it too. Halfway to his pile of clothing, he froze, shoulders at attention, spine stiff. Alert.
He hesitated only a second, before he slowly turned around. Light green eyes skimmed over Saeed, landed on her, then locked back on the other man’s malevolent glare. “
Sasha
will stay put.”
This was going from bad to worse by the second. Like two lions facing off over territorial rights, Saeed and Alexei stared at each other. Waiting for one to move, so the other could counter. Neither particularly interested in what, specifically, she did, but both attuned to her presence.
She had to do something before one of them made a foolish mistake. What though? The only guns around here were on Saeed’s security. She certainly didn’t own one. Even if she did, who exactly would she turn it on? Saeed, who would destroy Alexei in a heartbeat, or Alexei, who was here…
Why the hell was he here?
She shook off her hesitation and squinted at Alexei. But as she opened her mouth to voice the obvious question, the room erupted in chaos.
Saeed lunged for the telephone on the long table near the door. Alexei dove over a silk-covered divan, clearing the rest of the short distance to his clothes. As he thumped against the ground, Saeed barked into the phone.
“Hanif, send—”
Like dynamite going off in a cave, a gunshot echoed through the room. The sound ripped through Sasha, tearing a scream from her lungs. She doubled over, waiting for the burn, waiting for physical pain to connect with her subconscious reasoning. She’d been shot. The
Bratva
finally found her and she was at last paying the price.
But nothing happened. No fire invaded her veins, no warm languor threatened to pull her under into the realm of the dead. She lifted her head as Saeed sagged down the wall to the marble floor, leaving a wide streak of crimson against the peach-colored paint.
“Saeed!” His name exploded off her lips, and she bolted from the bed, nearly tripping in the tangle of covers. “Saeed!”
No, no, this wasn’t happening. Not Saeed. Not the man who’d given her life.
She hit her knees at his side and gathered his head in her lap. Dark eyes that had always held so much pleasure in the world around him stared up lifelessly. Empty. No longer able to laugh at her
Disoriented and confused, dazed by the powerful climax both men had brought her to, Sasha could barely put two thoughts into a cohesive pattern. All she wanted to do was stop the racket in her head, curl up on her side, and pass out. Sort everything through in the morning when her body didn’t feel like liquid and her brain didn’t resemble burnt toast.
She hadn’t said his name, had she? She’d swear it only ricocheted through her mind. She wouldn’t be that foolish. Alexei was a dead man here.
The thick tension that had descended over the room set off great big gongs of alarm. She lifted to her elbows, watching the way Alexei casually made his way toward his pile of clothes.
Saeed already wore his pants, and he eased into a shirt. But as hishead popped through, his stare tracked Alexei. Predatory hunger glinted in those usually warm dark eyes.
Just like that, she knew. She hadn’t merely called out to Alexei in her head. She’d said his name. And Saeed had heard.
Shit!
Sasha scrambled to her knees, modesty kicking in and forcing her to clutch the sheets to her breasts. Alexei’s sharp gaze cut to her. The directive was clear:
Not another fucking word.
Shit, shit, shit!
He’d come back to her, and she’d issued an order for execution.
“Sasha, go into your bathroom. Fill the tub. I will join you in a moment.” Saeed never took his eyes off Alexei. “
Vasily
is leaving now.”
In all the time she’d spent with Saeed, not once had she heard such malice in his voice. Low and deadly, it blanketed the room. Alexei sensed it too. Halfway to his pile of clothing, he froze, shoulders at attention, spine stiff. Alert.
He hesitated only a second, before he slowly turned around. Light green eyes skimmed over Saeed, landed on her, then locked back on the other man’s malevolent glare. “
Sasha
will stay put.”
This was going from bad to worse by the second. Like two lions facing off over territorial rights, Saeed and Alexei stared at each other. Waiting for one to move, so the other could counter. Neither particularly interested in what, specifically, she did, but both attuned to her presence.
She had to do something before one of them made a foolish mistake. What though? The only guns around here were on Saeed’s security. She certainly didn’t own one. Even if she did, who exactly would she turn it on? Saeed, who would destroy Alexei in a heartbeat, or Alexei, who was here…
Why the hell was he here?
She shook off her hesitation and squinted at Alexei. But as she opened her mouth to voice the obvious question, the room erupted in chaos.
Saeed lunged for the telephone on the long table near the door. Alexei dove over a silk-covered divan, clearing the rest of the short distance to his clothes. As he thumped against the ground, Saeed barked into the phone.
“Hanif, send—”
Like dynamite going off in a cave, a gunshot echoed through the room. The sound ripped through Sasha, tearing a scream from her lungs. She doubled over, waiting for the burn, waiting for physical pain to connect with her subconscious reasoning. She’d been shot. The
Bratva
finally found her and she was at last paying the price.
But nothing happened. No fire invaded her veins, no warm languor threatened to pull her under into the realm of the dead. She lifted her head as Saeed sagged down the wall to the marble floor, leaving a wide streak of crimson against the peach-colored paint.
“Saeed!” His name exploded off her lips, and she bolted from the bed, nearly tripping in the tangle of covers. “Saeed!”
No, no, this wasn’t happening. Not Saeed. Not the man who’d given her life.
She hit her knees at his side and gathered his head in her lap. Dark eyes that had always held so much pleasure in the world around him stared up lifelessly. Empty. No longer able to laugh at her
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