New Beginnings : A Novella (Men of Whiskey Row Book 2) Page 6

  Everywhere Vivienne went, people stopped what they were doing to stare at her. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was because of her skin color, but this town was too diverse for that. It was because she was the estranged wife of the richest man in town, and all of Tennessee: Alexei Romankov, the gorgeous giant who’d swept her off her feet all those years ago in San Francisco. His intensity, fierce passion, and dominant nature had consumed her, leaving Vivienne no choice but to fall for him. She could still remember the first time he’d declared himself to her.

  Alexei pulled her into his big, hard body, and Vivienne braced herself by placing her hands on his muscular chest. Her breath caught as his obscenely large manhood pressed tightly into her stomach. The desire raging in his heavy-lidded eyes caused a chain reaction within her, leaving her excited, trembling, and wet. So very, very wet for him.

  In his heavily-accented baritone, he spoke, “What do you want, Vivi? Tell me and you shall have it. I will do everything to make sure you get it. This is because I want you, and so it will be. You must try to make YOU happy too, da?”

  Vivienne shivered, still affected from that long ago memory. Sighing, she wondered if there would ever be a time when he didn’t have an affect on her.

  “Where is your coat, Vivi? It’s too cold out here for such flimsy attire.” Speak of the devil. Vivienne whirled around to face him.

  There he stood, so big, imposing, and good-looking in a black wool pea coat, jeans, and lumber boots; his thick dark hair blowing rakishly in the wind. Be still my beating heart, Vivienne told herself. From beneath her wide-brimmed fedora, she raised an elegant eyebrow and looked down at her charcoal-colored sweater cape. “I would hardly call this flimsy attire, Alexei.”

  Blue eyes twinkling with humor, he smiled solemnly. “Of course you wouldn’t, especially now that I’ve deemed it so. But that is neither here nor there. Let me take your packages.”

  Alexei attempted to take her bags, and Vivienne shifted them out of his reach. It never ceased to amaze her how well-spoken he now was. His vocabulary had broadened tremendously over the years, and he’d lost most of his beautiful accent, leaving only faint traces of the old Alexei behind. For some reason this saddened her. Smiling sweetly, she said, “No thank you. I fought hard to pay for these packages, so I shall hold onto the spoils of my victory.”

  His lips thinned in displeasure, and those gorgeous eyes narrowed dangerously. “As my wife, you do not pay for anything. I will speak to my secretary about this nonsense. She was instructed to notify all shop owners that your bills were to be sent to my accountant. Clearly there has been some sort of misunderstanding.”

  Coolly, Vivienne assessed him. “Yes, there has been, Alexei. No one pays for anything for me, but me. It’s been that way for a very long time now. Don’t be upset with her or anyone else in this town. With every shop I’ve visited, they’ve been adamant to the point of rudeness about refusing my money. Luckily for me, my memory is long, and I anticipated this situation. Before leaving D.C., I made a substantial withdrawal to get me through the holidays. I’ve had to practically throw my money at every one and run for the door.”

  “And as usual, it is unlucky for me that your memory is long,” Alexei sneered, stepping closer and invading her personal space. “Despite our misunderstandings and your cold, stubborn nature, I am happy to have you here. The reason? Because you are family. The same way my brother, mother, and our daughter are my family. You will get the same treatment that I extend to them, despite your churlishness.”

  Although Vivienne felt properly chastised, she refused to back down. She knew firsthand that if she gave an inch, he would take four miles, as that was part of his dominating nature. When they were married, she wore and ate whatever he liked and socialized with those who only met his approval. She’d fought hard for her friendship with Moira. In hindsight, looking back now, she could understand his reluctance to have her mixed up with the wife of such a volatile piece of shit.

  “Your generosity is truly appreciated, but unwarranted,” she murmured. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get going. There’s still plenty to do before dinner tonight.”

  Anxious to escape his presence, Vivienne smiled politely and attempted to go around him. Alexei blocked her path with a scowl of frustration. “Why are you always in such a hurry to leave or avoid me? As you are on vacation, surely you can afford to spare some of your precious time? Tell me, how are you enjoying your visit?”

  “It’s going well. I’m glad that I came,” she admitted reluctantly. “It’s not that I’m anxious to avoid you, it’s just that I don’t think we have anything to really say to each other.”

  Alexei’s eyes widened with disbelief. “We share a daughter, Vivienne. How could we not have anything to talk about? Tell me, will you stay mad at me for the rest of your life? I would like to move away from that unbearable time, so that we can at least try to be something more than what we have been for the past eighteen years.”

  “I just don’t think that’s possible,” Vivienne replied, again attempting to move around him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really must go.”

  “No, I don’t think I will,” Alexei stated unpleasantly, and Vivienne’s head snapped back in surprise. “You are here, as am I. Know this, Vivi; before you leave we will talk. There will be no more running and hiding. I’ve indulged you for far too long, and that will stop now. Do not make this unpleasant for yourself.”

  Their eyes clashed, neither willing to back down. Simmering between them, in a big cauldron like a recipe for disaster, were the feelings they couldn’t talk about; pain, anger, hurt, resentment and…awareness. Not only of each other physically, but of all the love, passion, and happiness they’d once shared, before things went horrendously wrong.

  Vivienne licked her lips nervously, and Alexei’s eyes darkened in response. Her gaze dropped to slowly peruse his body. She knew that beneath the layers of clothing, was a body fit enough to rival most men half his age along with the stamina to go with it. She took in the fine lines in the corners of his eyes and the faint traces of silver in his hair and goatee that only made him even more attractive. Oh yes, the years had been extremely kind to Mr. Romankov, indeed.

  Alexei was busy doing his own ogling. Vivienne’s dark honey complexion was flawless and unlined. Her beautiful, vibrant face was home to a million different expressions. If he lived to be a hundred years old, Alexei would never tire of watching them flit across her face. He knew that underneath the fedora atop her head was hair so thick and silky it would drape like a luxurious, black waterfall to her shoulder blades. The cape hid a petite but extremely curvy dancer’s body; lean legs, peach-shaped ass, and succulent breasts that would barely fill his large hands.

  He watched her pretty, molasses eyes, so like their daughter’s, drift down his frame, linger on his crotch, and then slide back up. His cock hardened painfully in response. Alexei could still remember that pretty, little mouth wrapped around him as her head bobbed up and down on his dick, pleasing him like only she could; and that sweet, hot pussy milking him as she came over and over again, surrounding him in her hotness.

  Vivienne was doing her own reminiscing. He was her first and only lover; the expectation had been set way too high for her to think anyone else could exceed, let alone meet it. Alexei was the same in the bedroom as he was in the corporate world: ruthless, demanding, and intensely driven. It was nothing short of a passionately hostile takeover when he commandeered her body every chance he could. Then there was the way they used to do the newspaper crossword puzzles together, and he would make pancakes for breakfast. So many memories…

  “Vivi,” he murmured in a voice thick with longing, stepping even closer to her. She didn’t even feel the ache in her arms from her purchases as her body swayed towards his. The spicy-sweetness of their love was added to the cauldron, and the simmer turned into a boil as they recalled the endless pleasures found in each other’s arms. Then the spell was broken by the sound
of their beloved daughter’s voice.

  “It’s like the stare-down at the O.K. Corral, but way hotter because the Clanton Gang and The Earp brothers definitely weren’t digging each other like this,” Kat mused aloud.

  Alexei and Vivienne simultaneously turned to her and smiled, both drawn in by her bright light. Katerina Moira Romankov, in all her irresistible glory, was the one thing they’d done right. From her easy birth until now, she’d done nothing but give them joy. Kind, sweet, funny, and smart as a whip; she was very confident in who she was, and that was: the very best parts of both of them.

  “Hush, Kat!” Vivienne scolded, her face blazing hot with embarrassment. “Your father and I were just talking.”

  “Telepathically?” Kat asked innocently, unable to resist teasing her mother. “I didn’t know you guys were mind readers.” She received a haughty stare from her mother, while her father looked away, struggling not to laugh. Finally, the slightest smile lifted her mother’s lips.

  “Don’t, encourage her, Lex,” Vivienne said automatically and stiffened. Alexei froze upon hearing the nickname she’d given him so long ago slip out. Their eyes locked, and they were off drifting down memory lane again….

  “You need to soften up,” Vivienne gently reprimanded him. Alexei grunted as he shut the door to her apartment. He quickly strode past her, back to the bedroom. They had been sleeping peacefully before her landlord, Dell Sweeney, banged on her front door rudely. For his actions, he’d gotten a 9mm damn near shoved down his throat when Alexei opened the door. Sweeney almost shit his pants at the sight of the naked Russian behemoth, packing heat in more areas than one.

  Secretly, Vivienne was pleased with Alexei’s actions. Oily and pot-bellied, Dell gave her the creeps AND the heebie-jeebies, especially when he hovered too close to her and smelled her, licking his lips when he spoke. Her lease was up in one month, and she wasn’t planning on renewing it, thanks to his lewd behavior. Hopefully, Sweeney stayed hidden away in his cave until Vivienne’s moving day. So yes, she was glad for that instance, but what if it had been a member of her loud, boisterous family???

  “You are right. I will soften up. I will soften up that little man’s mouth and belly with my fists, should he come here again at this time of day,” he growled, getting back into bed. Vivienne stood in the doorway, arms crossed patiently waiting. Seeing that she would not be joining him until the conversation was resolved, he sat up, and leaned against the headboard.

  “Tell me what has made you full of anger,” Alexei said roughly, running his hands through his dark hair and then over his stubble covered jaw. “I will soon be leaving and would have this matter settled, so that I can taste your wetness on my tongue before then.”

  His words caused her body to throb uncontrollably because Vivienne wanted that as well. She vowed to remain firm until he saw the error of his ways. “This is MY home , Alexei. You can’t just be coming’ up in here and intimidating folks like that. Mr. Sweeney came to notify all the tenants that the police were on the lookout for a prowler in the area. It was not so serious that you had to put your gun in his face. He about had a heart attack!”

  The look Alexei gave her was fierce. “I would do that and more to the fool stupid enough to think he could be so disrespectful to MY woman! I have eyes, Vivi; I see the way HIS follow your every move. So yes, my putting gun in his face was necessary and satisfying.”

  Pleasure hummed through her at being called his woman so early in their relationship. “Men can look, but I only have eyes for you, Lex.”

  His own eyes turned heavy with lust at her pet name for him. It was what she always called him in the heat of the moment. Her smoky voice rising several decibels like an opera singer as he attempted to satisfy his insatiable craving for her.

  “I like this name you have given me. Perhaps if you call me this, I will be better in mood all the time.” His hot gaze trailed down her modestly-covered form, and she clutched the robe tighter around her. The feral look in his eye sent fissions of alarm down her spine, but not enough for her to want to heed the obvious warning. Alexei was the big, bad wolf, looking to devour her; and oh how she wanted to be eaten by him.

  “For now, come back to bed and let me be your Lex,” he commanded, smiling in triumph as she eagerly obeyed.

  “Everyone’s starin’ at y’all,” Kat reminded them softly, but they ignored her. A shrill ringing sound finally interrupted the moment. Vivienne jerked back and shifted her bags to get her phone out of her purse. The name on the caller I.D. was Stuart Royce.

  Alexei frowned upon seeing it, demanding to know, “Why is Congressman Royce calling you at this hour? Is he not aware you are on vacation?”

  Vivienne gave him a slight frown, “The firm is taking him on as a client. Both of you, please excuse me. I’ll see you at dinner this evening. Bye, baby.”

  Alexei wasn’t fool enough to think she was talking to him. Scowling, he watched her hurry off, laughing into her phone and looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. Or an itch that needed to be scratched. He sighed, knowing it was too much to hope that she would want to act on the feelings he’d seen swirling in the depths of her lovely eyes.

  “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have gone my whole life thinking I was a test tube baby,” Kat muttered with a pensive frown.

  Alexei looked down at her, snorting rudely. “Your jokes are questionable, my dear.”

  She turned to him, and he was surprised to see that her eyes were misted over. “How could you let her leave if you still have strong feelings for her? I saw the way you were looking at Mama! To my knowledge, you’ve never looked at another woman like that. Why wouldn’t you fight for her? Tell her the truth of why you let her go. If you could tell me, then why not explain to her? Do you not think she is worthy of knowing it? Does she even know about your health scare last year?”

  Alexei’s thunderous expression warned her that she was treading on thin ice, but Kat refused to stay quiet. “Do you know Mr. Royce is interested in her? He sent her four dozen roses, his way of saying thank you to her. FOUR. DOZEN. I read the card when she wasn’t looking. It said, ‘What would I do without you? Thanks, for everything’. What man sends that many roses as a damn thank you?”

  “Enough!” Alexei hissed savagely, taking no pleasure in her recoil from him. It pained him beyond belief to have her judge him. She was and always would be his little girl who thought highly of him, but it was his form of self-preservation to become only what he knew best. They were talking about things that were too complex for her young heart to understand. To the corporate world and his estranged wife, he was a ruthless bastard. Fine, he’d take the title and own it. The only place he wanted to be more than in Vivienne’s bed was in her heart. His ache for her ran bone deep and festered viciously like an unattended wound. “You speak of things you know nothing about and that do not concern you. Heed my warning, Katerina; it is the only one you will get.”

  Eyes wide with shock, Kat slowly backed away from her father. She felt like she didn’t know the man standing in front of her. He dressed and smelled like her Papa, but the fury and pain etched deep in his face made him look like a scary caricature of himself.

  “I will heed your warning, Papa. In return, perhaps you should heed mine as well: The right man will move mountains to be with Mama, not hide behind them in Whiskey Row,” she said pityingly, and Alexei was forced to watch the other half of his heart leave him as well.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘you’ll catch more flies with honey, than vinegar’, have you?” Ian asked drolly from behind him.

  Without turning around, Alexei growled, “Not now, Ian.”

  “If not now, then when? You’ve had more than enough time to come up with a game plan. All this pussy-footing around…what I wouldn’t give for one more moment with Harvey...I sure as hell wouldn’t spend our time together moping,” Ian fired back. Alexei turned around to face him and, Ian’s heart went out to his friend
who was clearly suffering in his self-made purgatory.

  “You don’t understand. There are things that she doesn’t know…it’s complicated,” Alexei admitted.

  “Define the level of complication. Trying to stop global warming? Quantum physics? Preventing the Jackson family from having more plastic surgery?” Ian politely inquired with thinly veiled sarcasm. “Or basically you’ve hidden your balls so well, you just can’t remember where you placed them? Love and life aren’t complicated; it’s people who make it so. Do you remember how hard it was for me and Harvey to come out? Not only were we gay, but we were an interracial couple as well. Free yourself of the complications, and once you do, you’ll embrace the liberating sense of emptiness,” Ian advised.

  “And why would being empty make me happy?” Alexei asked dubiously as he eyed his longtime friend. They’d first met years ago through Vivi, and even though he and his wife had been estranged for years; Ian had still proven to be a good friend to him. “That sounds truly depressing.”