Her Rogue Russian(10)

 

"Of course I'm single," Savannah replied. She immediately wished she hadn't taken the fact on as a contentious point of pride, but she held fast to it. "You think any man in their right mind would be comfortable letting me run around with a former Russian thug?"

 

"I would guess not," Maxim agreed, dark eyes drinking her in for what must have been the hundredth time that evening. The only difference now was he wasn't doing it for show with an audience present. "Not a woman like you, anyway. If you were mine, I don't think I'd ever let you out of my sight."  

 

"Yeah, well … " She was struggling to come up with something clever to say to that. "As much as we both may hate it, I'm going to need you to start thinking of me like I'm yours."

 

"I haven't completely dismissed the idea," Maxim said. "Just like I haven't dismissed the memory of asking you who the last man who had you was."

 

"He didn't have me," Savannah argued. "We graduated from the academy together. Both made it into the bureau, and one thing led to another … " She raised the empty glass, staring at the streaks of leftover beer foam with dismay. How many had she had? Three? Four? She could definitely go for one more. "It was good while it lasted, but it ended pretty quickly when I beat him out for a position on the Blood Diamond Task Force. Haven't seen much of him since."

 

"He couldn't handle you," Maxim surmised. His diagnosis of her past relationship surprised Savannah; she had half-expected some snide remark on her own faults, not the faults of the man she had left behind. "He couldn't handle seeing a good thing come your way at the expense of his own happiness."

 

"That's … " Maybe she had been wrong-maybe all those pints weren't working in her favor, because Savannah found she couldn't think of a proper response to Maxim's words. "Well, I wouldn't know about that," she settled on finally. She cracked a grin and detached from the wall to thrust her finger in against his chest like she had earlier in the day, just to see if he would let her. "At least he never tried to throw me off a mission. I think in that regard you've got him beat."

 

"Who says I was trying to throw you off?" Maxim asked.

 

"Oh, come on." Savannah tucked the empty pint into her apron's front pocket and fastened her hands on her hips. "You were coming on strong all evening. I assume once we get back out there it'll be more of the same. So, what is it? Are you a method actor, Maxim Karev? Because that certainly wasn't in your file."

 

"I may tell lies about myself to suit this stupid cover story, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hold myself back when I'm around a beautiful woman," the Russian growled. "You want to be my so-called girlfriend, you better get used to all the things I say and do to you, and that involves touching you as much as I want. You sure you're ready for it, Casillero?" He took a step nearer, until Savannah could feel the press of the glass in her front pocket digging into her thigh. "Because if you think a little G-rated grab-ass was enough to 'throw' you, then I'm not sure you're prepared for what I-"

 

Savannah grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar and dragged Maxim down to her level, crushing her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Maybe this wasn't the head butt she had been envisioning all along, but it was certainly enough to set sparks off of any color behind the eyes of the infuriating Russian.

 

And her own, if she was being honest.

 

Savannah slanted her eyes open slightly, if only to avoid the fireworks, and realized Maxim had closed his own upon colliding with her. He wasn't wearing the startled expression she had been expecting, not at all, but she had surprised him enough that he was allowing her to take full charge of the proceedings now. Her fingers constricted in the fabric of his shirt, forcing him down harder, renewing the sweet, aggressive pressure, and he slanted his lips against her own. She felt his hands sweep from his pockets and close in around her, cupping the curve of her neck and cementing against the small of her back. She tilted her chin, and he moved his, giving ground as she slid her full lower lip within reach of his teeth.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

Maxim rumbled a low growl in his chest, and the animalistic sound inflamed something in her. Savannah wrapped her arms around his neck, confident she was still in full control of the proceedings, as she allowed her eyes to fall shut once more. And maybe, just maybe, she allowed herself to be lost in the sensation of kissing Maxim, relishing the way he refused to give way completely beneath her, the way he stood grounded and strong enough to hold them both upright if he needed to. Crashing back into the wall wasn't even an option with the statuesque Karev standing in the way.