The Russian's Stubborn Lover (The Fedosov Family Series Book 1) Read online

  “I couldn’t agree more. One of the reasons I keep returning home to visit is for the food,” a deep voice said behind her.

  Julia whirled around to see Dmitry standing there in nothing but a pair of jeans and a light button up shirt. His feet were bare this morning and the incongruity of him not being fully dressed struck her as odd. She stared at his bare feet long enough, he cleared his throat to bring her eyes back up to his.

  “I trust you are feeling better this morning? You were missed at lunch and dinner yesterday.”

  Julia took the comment as it was intended. “I’m feeling much better. In fact, I believe I’ll do some sightseeing today. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go find Sergei.”

  Julia turned to leave, stopping when his voice called her back, “Wait.”

  Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she turned, “Yes?”

  “I will be your tour guide today.”

  “No, really, I wouldn’t want to bore you. Mrs. Rusnik provided me with a list of places to visit and I’ll be fine with Sergei chauffeuring me around.” Julia didn’t want to spend the day with him, being tempted to ignore her decision to stay away from him.

  “And if I insist?” Dmitry wondered aloud.

  Julia looked at him and then replied softly, “Don’t. Please, just leave me alone.”

  “I don’t know that I can. I know you feel it too.” Dmitry knew he should take her advice and leave well enough alone, but this morning he had hurried out of his rooms, not even stopping for shoes and socks. He wanted to see her and that went against everything he had decided beneath the tree the day before. She had him going in circles!

  “Julia…fine. I will speak to Sergei for you. I do not like the thought of you wandering around the city by yourself. If you go sightseeing, Sergei will accompany you.”

  Julia inclined her head, “Thank you.” She turned and wandered over to the coffee service, pouring herself a cup and deciding that she could handle being in the same room with him. She just needed to get her head on straight.

  Dmitry left to speak with Sergei, and much to Julia’s relief, did not return until Mrs. Padrov was walking through the door with breakfast. Dmitry held the door open for his mother as she entered and after greeting everyone, the three settled into a pleasant breakfast with a light discussion about the various places Julia must see. The atmosphere was much more relaxed and Julia was pleased that she had asserted herself and held her ground. She didn’t need the complication of a physical relationship with Dmitry, now or in the future. She was his employee and he was her boss. End of story.

  Chapter 13

  Monday came and Julia was happy to see that things were back to normal. She went to work at her normal time and came home in the evening. This pattern continued for three days and she was able to let her guard down and enjoy being in Russia once again.

  She rarely saw Dmitry, even though his office was only a few yards away from her own. Mrs. Rusnik went into his lair various times throughout the day, but he rarely came out.

  Julia had no idea what time he came or went, and by Thursday was finding that bothersome. She was sitting at her desk trying to figure out how to handle that when a new voice caught her attention.

  Walking to her office door she saw a younger version of Dmitry leaning against Mrs. Rusnik’s desk, flirting with her outrageously.

  She must have made some sound because she was suddenly the focus of all that attention. “Hellooo. You must be the exchange person from America.”

  When Julia nodded and smiled at him, he left Mrs. Rusnik’s desk and approached her, giving her body an appraising glance before returning his eyes to her face. Julia couldn’t help but respond to the enthusiasm and life she saw bubbling in his eyes. This man new how to have fun!

  “So, tell me, how do you like Russia so far?” Alexey leaned against the wall, watching the beautiful woman and immediately jumping on board with his mother’s plans. She had called him last evening in Moscow and asked him to come home and spend some time at the company.

  It seemed that Dmitry and the young American woman were dancing around their attraction for each other and his mother had asked him to come home and throw some fuel on the flames. Seeing the gorgeous woman in front of him made his task pleasant, rather than tedious.

  “Russia is fine. Who are you?” Julia asked.

  “Sorry,” he pushed off the wall, and with a small bow, offered, “I’m Alexey Fedosov, at your service, madam.” His voice had taken on a very prim and proper tone and Julia couldn’t help but laugh at his theatrics.

  She curtsied in return and laughed, “Julia Thompson. So how come I haven’t seen you around before?”

  “Oh, I’ve been around, just not here,” he told her, lowering his voice as if it was a secret. “You should let me take you to dinner tonight.”

  Julia smiled, this man wasted no time! Shaking her head, she softened her refusal with a smile, “Can’t. I already have plans.”

  Alexey placed a hand over his heart, “You wound me. What could possibly be more important that having dinner with me?”

  She laughed, “I already promised to attend an art show with a friend.”

  “The one being held at the cathedral?” he questioned, having already made plans to stop in himself.

  Julia nodded her head, “I think so. Antonia is picking me up right after work.”

  Alexey had been made aware of the budding friendship between Mrs. Padrov’s sister and Julia. Unlike Mrs. Rusnik who even now was wearing a scowl of disapproval, Alexey thought spending time with Antonia was perfectly fine.

  “How about this? I will go see what brother dear wants, and then I will take you and Antonia to dinner before we view the exhibit. That way you keep your commitment to your friend, and I still get a dinner companion.”

  Julia knew when she was being manipulated, and found that in this case, she didn’t mind at all. Smiling at him, she nodded, “I’ll call and tell her the change of plans. Should she still meet us here?”

  “Certainly. She can leave her vehicle here and we’ll have my driver take us around.”

  “Alright. I guess I’ll see you after work,” Julia gave him another smile, ignoring the frown upon Mrs. Rusnik’s face. She turned and re-entered her office, not willing to listen to the censure or lecture she knew was coming. She was an adult who could make up her own mind. She knew Mrs. Rusnik didn’t approve of Antonia and she had yet to understand why.

  Shrugging her shoulders, she went back to work, finishing up a report on the new mine forecast and then emailing it off before shutting her computer down. She was just grabbing her purse when she heard voices in the reception area once again.

  Smiling, she opened her door and walked out to meet Alexey. He was standing outside his brother’s office, hands deep in his pockets and a smile upon his face as he saw her appear. “Are you ready to go?”

  Julia nodded, not missing the look of consternation on Dmitry’s face. “Going?” He looked at his watch, amazed to find it already five minutes after 5 o’clock.

  Alexey answered for her, “Yep. The beautiful woman has agreed to accompany me to dinner and then to the art show down at the cathedral this evening.” Alexey waggled his eyebrows at his brother as if there was something secretive taking place as well.

  Dmitry was furious! Julia watched the storm gather in his eyes and headed for the elevator, tossing over her shoulder, “I’ll just wait for you downstairs. I’m sure Antonia has already arrived.” Gratefully, the elevator opened and she was able to escape, but not before witnessing the anger Dmitry was unable to hide.

  Dmitry turned on his brother and snarled, “What are you doing?”

  Alexey took a step back, hands raised in front of him for defense, “What? Did you have a claim already staked on her?”

  Dmitry shook his head, “Stay away from her.”

  Alexey looked at his brother and grinned, “Nope. If you haven’t staked a claim, then she’s open game and I am to hunt.”

 
Dmitry felt like putting his fist through his brother’s face. “Leave her alone and don’t mess with her. She may seem like she’s up to speed with your games, but trust me, she isn’t. Now her friend Antonia, that is another story. Play with her all you want, but leave Julia alone.”

  “I can’t very well accomplish that when I’ve just agreed to take both her and her friend to dinner and the show, now can I?” Alexey was hoping Dmitry would take the bait and silently grinned as he saw the possibilities begin to take bloom in his brother’s eyes.

  Dmitry could easily join his brother which would solve the problem of wondering if Alexey was trying to sweet talk Julia into more than dinner. But he had work to do. Reports to look over. Plans to make. He had already put in a twelve hour day, but he had planned on working several more hours before calling it quits. You don’t have anything to do that can’t wait until tomorrow and you know it! A little voice inside his head wasn’t helping at all.

  Alexey stood patiently by, watching his brother make up his mind. “Come on. Have dinner with us and relax for once. Besides, that’s the only way to ensure I don’t have my nefarious way with your little American.”

  “She’s not my little American,” Dmitry countered.

  “She’s not? Could have fooled me. You’re practically drooling over her and too stubborn to admit it. What happened, did she turn you down.”

  Alexey laughed when he saw the answer written across Dmitry’s face. “She did! She turned her down. What did you offer her? A weekend fling and then back to business as normal.”

  Dmitry had the grace to blush and slowly nodded her head, “I thought if we got each other out of our systems, then we could get back to work.”

  Alexey shook his head, “Brother, life’s about more than work. She is the girl from the states, right?”

  Dmitry looked shocked, “How did you know that?”

  “What? I don’t have eyes in my head? So, she changed her hair color and got rid of those awful glasses. She’s still a beautiful woman. Don’t tell me you didn’t recognize her.” He waited for a reply and when Dmitry nodded, he moaned, “You put your foot in it, didn’t you? Well, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to begin fixing it. And whatever you do, don’t offer her a short fling. You owe it to yourself and her to find out where this attraction might lead.”

  “The company…”

  “…will be fine.”

  “What about the directors?” Dmitry asked, not wanting to rock the boat and upset the group of men he had to work with.

  Alexey smiled, “If they think you are seriously pursuing her, they’ll be all for it. They need one of us to get married and settle down, and I vote you. I’m not ready to settle down just yet. There’s still so many things to see and do. You play the martyr really well.”

  Dmitry smiled for the first time since this conversation began. He and Alexey had spent many hours discussing the boards expectations of them and they had come to the conclusion that one of them needed to marry to put the board at ease. Dmitry was the oldest and the most focused of the pair and so it logically fell to him to settle down first.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I will accompany you to dinner and try to correct the damage I did over the weekend. I don’t believe she trusts me.”

  “Yeah, she’s just fighting her attraction to her. I say, storm the castle walls and don’t give her time to think. That should work well in this case.”

  Dmitry chuckled and then started planning. The cathedral was across town from his apartment, but that could be easily remedied with a car ride. He called Sergei and gave him the night off, informing him that he would be taking care of Miss Thompson this evening and laughed at the words of encouragement that echoed back across the line. It seemed that everyone was on board with he and Miss Thompson getting to know one another better. He would hate to disappoint them!

  Chapter 14

  Julia was laughing at something Antonia had just said when the elevator opened and Alexey, and Dmitry, got off. She sobered, wondering why Dmitry had come down and hoping that he wasn’t going to demand she return to the estate immediately.

  “Ladies, are you ready to go?” Alexey asked, seeing Julia’s sidelong glance at his brother. “Dmitry has agreed to join us this evening, isn’t that wonderful?”

  Antonia smiled at him and then nudged Julia to do the same, “Wonderful.”

  Dmitry smirked at her. He knew she was trying desperately for some excuse that would take her out of the equation, but he didn’t intend to let her out of his sight this evening. Placing his hand at the small of her back, he gestured towards the doors, “Shall we?”

  Julia barely managed to contain the shiver that raced up her spine as his hand touched her back. He was doing it again, unravelling her carefully formed defenses and stoking the fire within.

  Dmitry felt her shiver and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Cold, milaya moya?”

  “Stop calling me that!” she whispered in reply.

  Dmitry chuckled drawing the attention of both Alexey and Antonia for a moment before they went back to their own conversation. He helped her into the car, watching as Alexey did the same for Antonia, taking every opportunity to touch her.

  Antonia was responding perfectly and Dmitry decided to up his game and see how Julia responded. Reaching across her, he fastened the seatbelt, making sure his arms pressed against her breasts in the process.

  Julia’s small gasp gave him the answer he was seeking, and he settled back in his seat with a smile. She was definitely not immune to him. He could work with that!

  Julia made it through dinner, but barely. Dmitry couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Every opportunity that arrived found his hands touching her, smoothing her napkin over her thighs, wiping a bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth, letting his fingers play across the low part of her back as he escorted her through the restaurant.

  The last hour and a half had been like really drawn out foreplay. Julia was on fire, something that was abnormal for her, except when Dmitry was around. The feelings coursing through her body promised even greater delights if she was willing to give in to them.

  As they entered the cathedral, Julia held back, not trusting that she wouldn’t be looking at more erotic art. Antonia had told her that would not be the case, and Julia wanted to believe her, but wasn’t sure if she could stand to look at such pieces with Dmitry’s hands all over her.

  Dmitry sensed her hesitancy and pulled her forward, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and leaning down to speak softly in her ear, “This is not like the last show. I promise. You will enjoy this exhibit.”

  Julia looked up at him and became lost in his gaze. She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from him. Dmitry moved them out of the main pathway, holding her gaze and stroking his hand down her cheek, “Milaya moya, why are you fighting this attraction?”

  Julia felt tears pool in her eyes and spill over to run down her cheeks, “I don’t know. I…”

  Dmitry was alarmed when she started to cry, and wiped her tears away with his thumbs, “Shush. Don’t cry. I don’t want to cause you pain. Only pleasure.”

  Julia smiled through her tears, “I don’t know why I’m crying.” She sniffed back her tears and took a step closer to him, “I’ve never felt this way before. It’s a little scary.”

  Dmitry kissed her forehead, pulling her into his chest and wrapping himself around her body. “It will be okay, I promise. Come, let’s look at the art so we can leave.”

  Julia nodded her head against his chest, not wanting to move away from his warmth and comfort. Finally, she picked her head up to tell him she was ready, but as she lifted her chin, he captured her lips in a kiss that started out gentle, but soon was a roaring river of need.

  Julia gave herself over to the kiss, letting Dmitry take and give at his will. She met his tongue thrust for thrust, nipping at his bottom lip several times and loving the small growl of pleasure that erupted from deep within him.

&nb
sp; Dmitry was losing it, and in public as well. Gaining control of the situation, he broke the kiss and pulled her along behind him. They quickly walked through the exhibit, neither one of them focused on the art pieces, but just on reaching the end so they could leave and pick up where they had left off.

  Dmitry’s driver was waiting just outside for them and he hustled her inside. After the vehicle started moving, he pulled her onto his lap, facing him and began kissing her again.

  He let his hands skim up and down her fabric covered back, anxious to reach his home and feel her bare skin beneath his palms.

  Julia was floating on the emotions and feelings Dmitry stirred within her. She never wanted him to stop kissing her, and all other concerns faded away.

  As the car pulled to a stop, Dmitry exited the vehicle, pulling Julia along with him before scooping her up in his arms. “Put me down, I’m too heavy,” she protested, having never been carried before.

  “Shush, you weigh nothing. Stop squirming, I don’t want to drop you.”

  Julia stopped squirming and relaxed in his arms, being carried was its own sort of pleasure and she felt cherished and cared for with that one simple act.

  Dmitry managed to keep from ravaging her in the elevator, content with kissing her lips and mimicking with his tongue what he wanted to soon be doing with other parts of his anatomy. He exited the elevator into his penthouse suite and headed straight for the bedroom.

  Stopping just before the bed, he lowered her to her feet and began unbuttoning her blouse. “Undress me,” he commanded her when she made no move to help him. He was desperate to feel her touch.

  Julia began slipping the buttons from his shirt, revealing smooth muscle underneath. She leaned in and placed kissed upon each newly exposed piece of skin, loving how his muscles contracted and the breath hissed from between his teeth.

  Dmitry pushed her shirt off her shoulders, deftly unhooking the back clasp of her bra and pushing it down and off her arms as well. Palming her breasts in his big hands, he smiled at the gasp of pleasure that came forth, squeezing and molding them at her continued verbal response.