“As long as you’re not pressuring her into sleeping with you by holding the job, or our protection, over her head as leverage or something skeevy like that…”
“You think I’d do that?” Tavish’s chin tucked down as if the thought alone was distasteful. It was to Legend too. They’d never had to resort to blackmail to lure a woman into their bed.
Jordan shrugged. “I’m not a micromanager. Nor am I your dad.”
“If you end up screwing around with her, you better make it good and don’t pull any stupid shit.” James crossed his arms. “If you scare her away, you’ll be cleaning every inch of this place on your days off.”
Tavish chuckled. “I hate to break it to you, James, but she’s seriously a shit housekeeper. I hope you have a plan B.”
3
Karolena dried her hands on a rag as she appraised the kitchen. Okay, so it had taken her five times as long as it should have even without the Great Bubble Debacle, but she thought she’d done a pretty terrific job of making everything sparkle. It turned out that obsessing about whether or not she was about to be discovered and fired was perfect motivation for cleaning. She hated to admit it, but her tasks had turned out to be kind of cathartic.
Burning off anxiety by turning her worries into motion and progress wasn’t the worst way to settle herself. She could think of only oneor twobetter methods…
Damn it, why did Legend and Tavish appeal to her so much? And what would they do if they realized she was practically drooling over them both? Was it simply because for most of her life she hadn’t had a choice of who to be with that the first men she met, she craved? Or because the man she’d been sold to was such a ruthless bastard?
Compared to Vladimir, anyone would look good.
Okay, so then why hadn’t she latched onto James or Jordan or any of the men she’d been introduced to the day before? Well, most of them were taken, sure, and she wasn’t the kind of woman to poach someone else’s partner.
Even though she’d hated Vladimir, it had still wounded her when he’d slept around. The first time and the thousands of times later, after she’d realized her life would be so much better if he found other women attractive enough to leave her alone entirely.
She’d never gotten that lucky. But neither had he been interested in monogamy.
Of course, that didn’t seem popular among the Shields either. Karolena’s eyes had practically popped out of her skull when James had pointed to the photos of his husbandandhis wife in his office during her interview. Then the stream of people in polyamorous relationships Tavish had introduced her to at the party the night before had made it clear James wasn’t the only one in Middletown who took the sayingthe more the merrierto heart.
Did Tavish and Legend? Intuition screamed yes.
Karolena had caught several of the looks they’d exchanged, communicating silently. Familiarity could be a benefit of their partnership in the security firm, but really, did patrolling the mall or bodyguard duties for local celebrities at the county fair—or whatever it was they did in this sleepy Midwestern town—forge that kind of bond?
Doubtful. But she’d bet she knew what kind of intense experience might.
The sort that involved setting the sheets on fire with each other and a very lucky woman between them.
Karolena had only ever really enjoyed sex a few times, in the early days of her relationship with Vladimir, before she’d discovered how he’d become so wealthy and powerful and fully comprehended the horrors she’d ultimately endure while at his side. In the very beginning, she’d been foolish, trying to make the best of a terrible situation, gullible enough to believe him when he said he’d offered her father what he needed in exchange for her hand in marriage because he’d cared and not because he was a selfish prick who only gave a shit about his own desires and the easiest way to fulfill them.
She’d quickly realized how stupid she’d been to put faith in a single word that came out of his lying mouth. That had been a long time ago. More than a decade.
In that time she’d learned that most people, men especially, didn’t put any significance in a quick fuck. So maybe it was time to take what she’d seen so many others enjoy.
This was a new life, and a new her, after all. Maybe she could become the sort of woman who sought her own pleasure, made sure to score several orgasms strong enough to actually relax her, then walked away without entanglements. Powerful, confident, and beholden to no one.
Karolena snorted at that. It had been less than a week since she’d slipped through Vladimir’s clutches and used the phony papers Levin had supplied to get to the United States. She’d intentionally picked a place she’d never heard of in the heart of the country, then taken a bus to her new home. Cash hadn’t been too much of a problem in the short-term. She had an entire backpack full. Plenty to reserve a hotel room and buy a few days to hunt for work.
It had happened so fast it was dizzying.
And there she was, in the middle of a beautiful apartment owned by two smoking hot men, daydreaming that somehow they would act on whatever flickers of desire she’d imagined had sparked between them earlier. That she had actually discovered people who wanted her for herself and not for her ties to Vladimir.
She’d better be careful or soon she’d have as big a head as her ex.
Karolena had transformed herself from the crown princess of the Russian mafia into a simple maid. And as she looked around at her handiwork, she thought that might not be so bad after all. She packed her supplies onto the cart and was wheeling it toward the door when Tavish and Legend returned from their meeting.
She beamed. “I took care of the…situation. Does everything look okay?”
“Damn, Karolena.” Tavish glanced over her shoulder. “The place looks great. Did you even clean the windows?”
“Yes. There was glass spray here. I promise I checked the directions first. It said it was fine to use even if there was tint to block the sun.” Their view was glorious. It featured the town surrounding the Shields headquarters, which gave way to lush fields, then finally wooded mountains with lakes that dotted the foothills in the distance.