Page 17 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

My double entendre isn’t lost on Belle. Her attention snaps to me.

“We met on the plane.” She grits out the explanation unwillingly, worried I’ll offer a more colorful one.

“Oh, yes. I’m well acquainted with Belle now.”With every part of her.

The memory of her bent over in front of me has been replaying in my mind all morning. Her ass, red from my hands. The way she bit her bottom lip and frowned as she came around my dick.

Turns out there are some benefits of flying first class occasionally instead of private.

“Then I guess introductions aren’t in order,” Arnold says.

“Actually, a refresher might be a good idea. We didn’t do much talking.” I stand up and hold out my hand in Belle’s direction. “I’m Nikolai. Nikolai Zhukova.”

Her nostrils flare, and I can tell Arnold is trying to suppress a laugh. Belle, however, looks pale. Worse than she did on the plane.

"You failed to mention your last name on the flight,” she says icily.

She's doing her best to remain professional. It's admirable, really. The way she thinks she can control this interaction.

“It didn’t seem necessary. I assumed we were on a first-name basis considering we—”

“Did you know I was going to be the one doing your audit?” she interrupts. “When we met on the flight… did you know?”

Arnold is still watching our verbal volley with obvious joy. All he needs is a bucket of popcorn and he’d be set. But as much as I’d like to continue toying with Belle, I do need to talk to her.

“Leave us, Arnold,” I say, waving my hand lazily towards the door. “Ms. Dowan and I have unfinished business to discuss.”

He slumps with disappointment, but hurries out of the room. He knows all too well that I expect my orders to be obeyed without question.

The moment the door is closed, Belle steps closer to my desk. “What kind of sick game is this?” she hisses.

“Game?” I lean back in my chair, enjoying the view. The woman really is stunning. I’ve always admired pretty things.

“This,” she snaps. “This… place. First, your… yourhenchmanasks me to lie to cover his embezzling ass, and now, you…”

She says “embezzling” like it’s a dirty word. It might be the worst crime she can imagine, given her profession.

She has no idea what she’s truly walked into.

Her voice trails off. I jump at the opportunity. “And now, I what?”

“You know.”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” I stand up and walk around the desk. I don’t miss the way Belle pulls back, trying to keep some distance between us. As if I haven’t already seen her lust. Heard it. Tasted it.

“This,” she says again, blushing. “You brought me here, and… This is a trick.”

“What’s a trick? Are you talking about how we fucked on a plane when you didn’t even know my last name?” I ponder. “Or that we fucked and you didn’t know where I worked? Or maybe you’re talking about when I made you come twice in an airplane bathroom, mere steps away from all the other passengers—including your sister. That was kind of a trick, I suppose. Were you talking about that?”

If Belle’s face was any redder, she could be mistaken for a stop sign. She’s breathing heavily, and with each inhale, I catch the faint outline of her peaked nipples.

“I’m talking about making a fool out of me in front of everyone,” she spits. “The trick where you get me to have sex with you and then blackmail me into… into whatever you have going on here.”

It isn’t often I get to play with my food before I eat it. Not these days, anyway.

I plan to make it last.

I lean back on the edge of my desk and cross my ankles. “So, let me get this straight: you think I learned who your company was sending to audit me, tracked your flight information, flew to the godforsaken shithole that is the Oklahoma City airport so I could catch the same early morning flight you were getting on, seduced you mid-flight by convincing the flight attendant to ‘accidentally’ shove you into my lap during turbulence—which I also must have arranged—and then fucked you silly in the bathroom… all so I could have leverage over you to force you not to report any discrepancies in our audit?” I tilt my head to the side. “Did I get all of that?”

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