was now there, right at the top and clashing with his almost lifelong desire to avenge his family and expose ICE.
‘Do you not want success, Bianca? Do you not want the bracelet you so obviously covet?’
She moved against him, catlike in the way her body seemed to curl against his, pushing his wayward thoughts further over the edge. If she wasn’t careful she’d find herself being marched from the room to somewhere private where they could finish what she was so very intentionally starting.
‘In some ways we are very similar,’ she said softly, and he watched as she paused to sip the champagne. ‘You will stop at nothing to get what you want—but remember, Liev, neither will I.’
He caught hold of her chin, more firmly than he’d done before, and watched as her eyes darkened to that sexy deep blue. He brushed his lips over hers, enjoying the exhilarating challenge she offered. ‘I will remember that.’
BIANCA COULDN’T HELP but feel pleased as the party drew to a close in the small hours. She and Liev had been in demand much of the evening. Her job was almost done, which would mean very soon their engagement could be dropped. She’d get the bracelet and he would have the acceptance he required. She wouldn’t have to spend such evenings with the man who’d turned her into the kind of woman she’d never imagined she could be.
She enjoyed sparring with him, and the thought of not seeing much more of Liev saddened her. He’d infiltrated her life, become a part of it, filling her mind when he wasn’t around and infusing her body with a kind of awareness she was beginning to accept came from being with a man she was genuinely attracted to. Although there could be no future in such notions, not after the way he’d used her, and that was something she had to keep in her mind to prevent those fairy-tale ideas of love getting a hold.
She didn’t try to persuade Liev that he didn’t need to walk her to her door as he had done on each of their previous dates. It might be the early hours of the morning, but she wasn’t ready to say goodnight yet. Being with him was becoming comfortable, perhaps a little too comfortable.
As she stopped outside her front door, key in hand, she looked up at him. It was as if her resistance was lowering, cast aside by a man she found infuriating and attractive.
‘I’ve enjoyed this evening.’ Were those soft words really from her?
His eyes, suddenly much darker, searched her face. ‘As have I.’
Before she could understand what was happening, he’d brushed stray hair from her face. The heat of his fingers on her skin made her pulse leap wildly, but she couldn’t do anything. She was being drawn in by a sensation so new, so intense, she was powerless to resist.
He spoke in Russian, his voice husky as he moved closer to her, their bodies almost touching. She had no idea what he’d said. All she knew was that he was going to kiss her. Every instinct in her body told her that. And she wanted him to.
‘Liev,’ she whispered as his lips brushed briefly against hers, testing her reaction, her acceptance.
‘We are still in public and you are not yet in the safety of your apartment, so your role still needs to be played. Besides, I want to kiss you, Bianca. Really kiss you.’
Her body hummed with anticipation and tingled with warmth. He desired her. He wanted her not because it was part of the deal or part of the show they had to put on, but because he wanted her.
Could she trust him? Could she trust herself? Last night’s encounter at this very door told her she couldn’t trust him—or herself.
‘It will only complicate things.’ She forced herself away, to turn and put her key in the door and open it, hoping he would leave.
‘Only if we allow it to.’ His breathing seemed deeper and the image he created as he stood there in the glory of that after-party look twisted her heart and she knew it was already too late. For her, at least, things were already complicated.
‘Bianca, can you honestly deny there is something between us? Something that needs exploring?’
‘I can’t.’ She backed away from him, into the safety of her apartment. She should just close the door on him, but she couldn’t. That would be like shutting herself away and she was tired of doing that. Tired of looking for the hidden agenda each time a man paid her a compliment.
‘But you want to.’ Those husky tones sent a shiver down her spine, a tremor of anticipation.
‘Yes.’ She couldn’t help herself any more—not after what she’d sampled last night.
She’d never known what it was like to be kissed, really kissed, as he’d said. She could see the raw desire in his eyes and it terrified her, in an exciting kind of way. But still that night of her prom haunted her.
‘But I can’t.’ She stepped back into her apartment and he came in after her. She’d as good as invited him in.
‘Can’t or won’t?’
‘I won’t. We are not in a relationship. This is just a deal, Liev, and only requires perfunctory kisses in public. It does not warrant behind-closed-doors passion.’
For a moment, she thought she saw him flinch, but she had to bring their deal into it. If only to remind him of what she’d claimed last night and to remind herself this wasn’t what she wanted—or needed.
‘My apologies.’ His words were velvet smooth but still that sizzle burned in his eyes. ‘You are so very beautiful, it is hard to remember the terms of our agreement.’
Now it was her turn to flinch. He was reminding her of his power over her—and it had nothing to do with their deal and everything to do with the man himself. ‘You may have blackmailed me in order to get me to represent your company and the acceptance from society you crave, but you will never have anything more of me.’
‘Ah, I see. Saving yourself for Mr Right?’ His words were light and flirtatious, not a hint of anything that suggested any kind of malice. But what he’d said had struck a chord. What would he say if he knew she was a virgin, that she had hardly been kissed? What would he do if she told him just how much she wanted to be kissed by him? A real kiss.
‘Something like that, yes.’ She couldn’t help but goad him as embarrassment made her brash, and was rewarded with the surprised rise of his brows. ‘Goodnight, Liev.’
* * *
As Liev got out of the taxi the next afternoon, he wondered if he had the right address. Everything about the neighbourhood brought back his past. Then he saw Bianca, looking like a flower in the desert as she walked towards him.
‘Why are we here?’ he asked, trying to ignore the fire of desire which rushed through him just from seeing her as it mixed with thoughts of his own youth in an area not dissimilar to this deprived street.
‘The interview.’ Her delicate brows drew together and she looked at him suspiciously. ‘I’ve arranged for it to happen here at the shelter.’
‘Shelter?’ This was all getting too close to his past for comfort. Had she any idea what she was doing? What she was unlocking and forcing him to face?
‘Yes. Bluebird Family Shelter.’
Anger brewed furiously. She really was intent on bringing out his past and exposing it to the world. He was about to tell her no, that this was a mistake, when a young man joined them.
‘Good of you to agree to this, Mr Dragunov. I’m Nick. I run the shelter.’
Liev shook his hand. There was no way out now and he consoled himself that by doing this he’d be highlighting the plight of youngsters without homes. ‘My pleasure.’
‘Great. Let’s go and meet some of the lads.’
Aware they were also