Genius at Heart

Dominic:

"Why do you have to come home with me tonight?"

He bit the fleshy side of his cheek to stop his smile. Instead of feeling irritated, he relished the idea of his detka getting impatient with him. It was infinitely better than her being too quiet. This passionate side of her, with expressive brown eyes spitting fire, was a turn on.

Damn! She was in a bad mood. His detka. Ever since they got inside the car, she scooted away from him, averted her gaze, and looked out the window. Her attention to the mundane scenery and her silent statement as loud as a thunderstorm. The fact they had spent the best part of the afternoon lolling in bed hadn't sweetened her prerogative.

He couldn't help it! He was addicted to her. She can't ever be out of his sight for far longer than five hours and she should get used to it. And that was inside the premises of his building where he could go see her anytime. She was fidgeting in her seat, lips bowed in a pout. He won't allow that. He had to make her happy.

Her small hands slapped his off to stop him from plucking her from her comfortable space.

He held her in place on his lap firmly, ignoring her curses and epithets. His eyes crinkled at the corners from her inventiveness. Who would dare call him an obnoxious Russian jackass?

Pressing his lips to keep from grinning, he murmured soothing endearments to his baby girl. Pressing kisses on her fragrant hair.

Some of the tension left her body and she sagged in his arms. That's better.

"Tell me what has upset you, baby? She kept her arms folded on her new dress. Reminding him of one of the reasons why she was giving him the cold shoulder. His Beau does not want him to buy her costly girl stuff. Why? All the women like it. Except, she is different from those women, moron.

Tsk. His conscience was right. He miscalculated once more.

Dominic stayed silent and waited patiently for her response.

"'Tis my last day of work. I gave you the complete report and I thought this is our last day of...of...affair." She whispered the last word and tilted her face away from him.

Affair? Had he not made his intentions clear?

-In bed you did, asshole.-

Oh, shit! "Why the hell would you think that?" His palm cupped her right cheek so he could gaze at her velvety brown depths. Mentally frowning at the seriousness reflected in her eyes. "Because that's true! This is mind-boggling sex and all but it's over." Beau replied in earnest. Truly believing her words. His scowl deepened.

"This is far from fucking over, detka. Never assume that." His voice was soft, octaves lowered. Lethal and uttered with finality.

She tried to suppress her shivers. He knew, nonetheless. It was not from fear of his dominance. It was from excitement. He should not gloat. Not in front of her. But he was a scoundrel, so he did. Her eyes narrowed and her hands clenched tightly.

What really amused him more was for the first time he found himself embroiled in a lover's quarrel. And he was enjoying it as fuck!

"This," she gestured to make her point. "This is not permanent, Dominic. We had our fun. It's over."

He blinked. Again, mentally shifting gears into place. Trying to plan his detka's surrender.

"And I beg to differ, moya lyubov. Even if I have to chain you to our bed and fuck sense into you, I'll do it. Actually, that's not a bad idea. We will get to it when we reach home." Yeah. A very sound and proven strategy. She was very complacent in bed. Why not take advantage of it.

She looked away from him once more and kept her mouth shut. He let her stew. They would be home soon. Then he could set his plans into motion. The thick block of ice surrounding her should have thawed a bit by then.

He hoped so.

***

"Why do you have a security detail all the time, Dom?" He sighed heavily when they stepped out of the car.

He nodded, thanking Alec while his detka smiled sweetly at his general. What the...

So much for hoping. He scowled.

Damn! This tiny woman drove him crazy. From lust and contentment to jealousy and blinding rage in a span of a few seconds.

"Dominic," she tugged at his sleeve, her face upturned, waiting for his reply. Glancing down, his eyes softened immediately. He had also known, right from the moment he set eyes on her that he was utterly and irrevocably fucked by this slip of a woman whose IQ was out of this world, who spoke several languages, and rocked his world in bed.

He would have preferred it if she had fallen asleep during the drive home. However, she was wide awake and in full battle mode.

If her aim was to kick him out, then she must prepare for war. Because the mafia king had always emerged victorious.

"That's for our protection. Let's go inside. We need to talk." He was getting impatient. This hurdle was killing him. He was prepared to smash it away and be done with this bullshit.

Beau nodded. Her eyes were serious and misty. She had a faraway distant look in her beautiful brown eyes. The last thing he wanted was to upset her. And she had never cried before, well except when she was cumming hard on his cock, so her attitude right now alarmed him.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Beau asked softly as soon as they entered her cottage.

Sprawled on her fabulous red sofa, he shook his head. Patting the space, he beckoned. "Sit beside me."

She settled to his right and faced him. "Please listen and don't interrupt."

"Go on." Rough hands swallowed her small and dainty ones. Hers was cold. He made sure to rub her palm to give her some heat.

Clearing her throat, she started to talk about her childhood. This surprised him, never expecting her to reveal so much about herself. Not that he was complaining. He was glad she was giving something more of herself, something much more intimate than sex.

As promised, he never interrupted. He listened when she told him about her past. Her life at the orphanage, her best friend, her older sister Lily, and the streetwise way she made money to support them both. How, at a young age, they discovered her high intelligence quotient.

She had kept it hidden. With good reason. The fucking government could have taken her. When her confession came to how she worked for cartels and mafias in secret, his ears perked up.

Ah, she was The Accountant who worked for the underground he reigned supreme. And they all thought the expert launderer was a He.

He was glad they had more in common than it seemed.

"That's why we can't...go on...I don't want to put you in danger. Those people...Sooner or later I'd be exposed, Dom. I need you safe. We could keep this affair a secret and meet somewhere...and...and...you'll be dragged into my mess...I just..." Again, the doubts in her voice were present. It was imploring, begging him to understand. He did. All of it.

To prove his point, he kissed her senselessly to stop her ramblings. No way he was leaving here. Leaving her. This was partly his fault she's like this. Should have told her sooner who he was. But he was way too distracted from their lust, it never occurred to him she needed stability in their new relationship. His arrogance failed her. She had no way to discern what was truly driving him to keep her.

This relationship was permanent. Make no mistake about it. He was keeping her forever.

Needing air, he raised his head to gaze at her closed eyes and dreamy expression. Her lips were moist and swollen, softened, and curved in a gentle smile and she was the fucking most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His woman. "Beauty Grace," her eyes opened in surprise. It was the first time he used her name. "I..." He saw a flash from the corner of his eye. "Get down!"

Then gunshots. And another. And more. Destroying everything it hit.

Fuck! He heard his men return fire. Shouts and curses everywhere. More gunfire reverberated on the property. They were under attack. His own handgun drawn, he glanced down.

His detka was on the floor with him, unconscious and soon he felt warm liquid on his chest. For the first time in his life, fear crept in.

The metallic smell of blood filled the air. It was not fucking his. Detka!

She was not moving. And she was pale as fuck.

Beau!