Read Online The Russian Seduction by Nikki Navarre - Free Book Online Page B

of power, and her meteoric rise through the ranks had been her life for the past ten years. That, and the colossal disaster of her marriage, which she probably would never have muddled into, if not for her father’s enthusiasm.
    Was she going to throw it all away now, for a few hours or weeks of passion with a mystery man she knew she could never trust? Of course not. Starting today, she had her priorities back in order. When Victor Kostenko tried contacting her again—which, inevitably, he must—she’d delegate the meeting to her deputy, a perfectly competent woman ten years older than Alexis, who wanted Alexis’s job too badly to make mistakes. She’d demonstrate decisively to the Russians, her new boss, and everyone else that her hand hadn’t slipped from the tiller.
    And a year from now, when her assignment was over, Alexis would move on to another post and start strategizing for her next promotion. She’d be satisfied and content with her professional success and the glamorous lifestyle that went with it. Her aching loneliness and that terrifying sense of entrapment would remain firmly hidden—even from herself—behind her Minister-Counselor’s façade. And she’d thank her lucky stars for the self-control that had kept her out of Victor Kostenko’s bed.
    With a determined nod, Alexis snapped her handbag closed and opened the bathroom door a few cautious inches. No sign of either Geoff or Kostenko, which of course she was grateful for. Taking a deep breath, she headed down the corridor toward the elevators.
    An electrifying whiff of tobacco—distinctive in the Embassy’s sterile atmosphere—kicked her pulse into high gear. Too late to react, she glimpsed the tall blond shadow filling the doorway to the conference room.
    He had to know she’d follow him in there. No doubt he’d figured out that the mere sight of him, alone and unescorted within the Embassy’s secure perimeter, would obligate her to collect him for security reasons.
    Projecting self-assurance, she strode into the conference room, though she gripped her handbag like a weapon. “I’m afraid the party’s confined to the Winter Garden, Captain Kostenko. Can I help you find something?”
    Behind him, the sluggish gray light of a Moscow afternoon ebbed through the window, bathing the vacant table and chairs where weekly staff meetings were held. The light played in the burnished depths of the captain’s hair, edged his uniform in golden dazzle, made his narrowed eyes glitter like the diamonds she’d just been fiddling with.
    “ Privyet, Alexis,” he murmured, making the casual greeting as intimate as a lover’s caress. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve found what I’m searching for.”
    He filled the room’s pedestrian confines with crackling energy, like a live electrical wire arcing on a public street. Powerful and dangerous, drawing her closer even when she knew she should keep away.
    “There’s nothing here to interest you,” she countered, fighting to speak steadily through the clench of nerves that gripped her chest. “It’s not even a secure room.”
    As if to prove her a liar, the weighted door thudded closed behind her, sealing the two of them in together. And he’d probably engineered the situation to fall out just that way.
    This was it, then. Her chance to recapture the initiative, to inform him firmly that she wasn’t interested in him either romantically or sexually, then usher him back to the public gathering. And make her own escape.
    “Unfortunately I don’t have time to chat today,” she said crisply, deploying her most professional demeanor. “I have an appointment in five minutes with someone else.”
    “Then break it,” he growled, advancing on her.
    She needed to shepherd him out of here, back to the safety of the herd. But, with that damn erotic dream still fresh in her mind, she wasn’t prepared to initiate physical contact with him in order to steer him out.
    She glanced through the window