My eyelids flutter open as Shane stirs beside me. “Hey, Hacker,” he says in the low, smooth tone he has that turns my internal organs to melted chocolate.
“Hey. What time is it?” I purr as I stretch like a cat.
“Four am. You were talking in your sleep,” he says as he raises one eyebrow at me. “Who is Volk?”
That name is like a knife through my heart. I realize I’m staring at him with my mouth open when his face pulls into a frown.
“Who is it?” he snaps.
“Volk is Russian for Wolf,” I reply before drawing in a long, shaky breath. I don’t remember dreaming about him. Why was I calling his name?
“Are you okay?” he asks as he reaches out and dusts the back of his knuckles across my cheek.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“I’m used to people shouting in their sleep around here,” he says softly. “I’ve never heard you do it before, though. You sure everything is okay?” he stares at me with such concern in his eyes that it makes me want to cry.
“I’ve been thinking about things since the day at the bar,” I say with a shrug.
He sits up and looks down at me. “What things?”
“My family. The Wolf,” I shake my head. “I saw something on Dmitriy’s computer. It was a file titled Romanov. When I opened it, there was a marriage certificate.”
“Was is something to do with your family?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t think so anyway. The names were unfamiliar. I didn’t recognize them. Alexei Ivanov and Nataliya Vasiliev. But Nataliya had the same birthday as my mother. A different year, but same month and day.”
Shane narrows his eyes at me. “Was it a recent document?”
“No. It was from twenty-eight years ago.”
“So, you didn’t think it was anything to do with your family? But now you do?”
“I’m not sure.” I look at him and swallow. “Why was it kept in a file marked Romanov?”
“Romanov is a common name, right”’ he asks.
I nod. “Yeah. But there’s something else. When that guy came into the room… he was about to make a grab for me, but then he stopped. And then he called me Nataliya. Like he recognized me. So, maybe I’m related to this Nataliya in some way?”
“Did your parents have any siblings?”
I shake my head. “Not that I know of, anyway. They told me they were only children.”
“Perhaps it’s their marriage certificate? And they changed their names?”
“But my parents married when I was three. I was there. That document is dated two years before I was born.”
“Why didn’t you tell us any of this before?”
“With everything else that happened, I didn’t get the chance. Besides, I was still trying to work it out myself. It could be a coincidence, couldn’t it? That I see that on Dmitriy’s computer right before one of his men calls me Nataliya?” I look up into his beautiful green eyes, hoping that he’ll tell me that of course it is, because if it’s not that I might not know who my parents were at all.
“Do you look like your mother?” he asks instead.
“Yes,” I swallow. “Who is Dmitriy, Shane?”
He shakes his head. “No-one of note. He used to work for the Semenovs. He was running a gambling racket in Brooklyn, though. That’s why I was interested in him.”
“So, why did he even have that document on his computer?”
“I don’t know. But, I don’t have the time for a war with the Russian right now.”
“I know. I won’t do anything stupid. I have enough information to start a new search. And it could be a coincidence. I’ve been chasing these leads for eight years, Shane, and they all lead me down the same dead end road. This could be nothing at all,” I insist, although I don’t quite believe it myself.
“Okay,” he nods. “But it might also mean that your mother or your father aren’t who you think they were. And that could be the reason your family were killed. You shouldn’t have kept this from me. You promised me no more lies.”
“Shane!” Reaching out my hand, I take hold of his. “I didn’t try to hide this from you, I swear. To be honest, I wasn’t sure…” I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Wasn’t sure of what?”
“I wasn’t sure that you would be interested. You’re only interested in one part of me. Remember?”
His jaw tenses. “If there is any threat to you, then there is a potential threat to me and my brothers too. Don’t you understand that?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “I’ve been used to only looking out for myself for so long, I swear I didn’t think of how this might affect you all too. I was going to tell you as soon as I figured out what there was to tell.”
“So, what are you planning on doing now that you have this information?”
“I’ll look into Nataliya and Alexei and see where to go from there.”
“Do not do anything to draw any more attention to us right now,” he warns.
“I won’t. I’ll do it all from the comfort of my laptop. Promise.”
“You are going to be my downfall one day, Hacker. I can already feel it,” he whispers as he crawls over me.
“I won’t. Because we’re only about one thing, you and me. Aren’t we?” I bite my lower lip as I stare up at him, trying my best to be completely irresistible and seductive.
“Yes, we are! Would you like me to remind you again just what that is?” he growls before bending his head and sinking his teeth into my neck.
“Shane!” I half squeal, half groan, and he chuckles against my skin.
“You want my mouth on you?” he breathes as his head sinks lower.
“Yes!” I pant as the tingling between my thighs skyrockets.
“You have such a sweet tasting cunt, I don’t know how any of us get any fucking work done around here anymore.”
“Well, it’s a good job there’s four of you!” I groan as his lips skate over my breasts and my stomach until his head is settled between my thighs.
“Only I can make you squirt though, can’t I?” he growls as his lips are pressed against my skin and his words reverberate throughout my entire body.
“Stop talking and put that hot mouth of yours to work,” I say with a wicked grin. If this is all we are, then I might as well embrace it.
He laughs again, and his hot breath dances over my slick folds, making me writhe beneath him. Then his magical tongue licks me from my opening to my clit, where he settles his mouth and begins to suck gently while rimming either side of the tender nub of flesh. I push my hips further against him as he tortures me with his incredible oral skills. This man is a magician with his tongue. And as my orgasm builds and threatens to wash over me, he pushes two fingers inside me, causing me to almost shoot off the bed.
“Shane!” I cry out and he continues his relentless pace until I’m screaming his name. I haven’t recovered from the earth shattering orgasm when he’s moving back up the bed and pressing his hands against the inside of my thighs, until they are flat against the mattress.
I reach out for him, clawing at his neck as he drives his huge cock deep inside me. “Fucking you is like my kryptonite, Hacker. This sweet cunt gets you anything you want, doesn’t it?”
I close my eyes and try and ignore the hurt from his words. He is intent on pushing me away. Instead, I concentrate on the feel of his hard body on mine. The flex of his muscles as he takes exactly what he wants from me.
