Her Rogue Russian(6)

Maxim shrugged. "It's what would be expected." Before Savannah could ask for clarity on whose expectations they would be living up to, the Russian lifted his arm to check the face of his watch. "Break's over. You'll have to come back some other time to discuss, but right now I need to get back to work."

 

"Fine. Just know that Sergey's murderer probably doesn't give a shit about your work schedule," Savannah whispered fiercely as she followed him back inside the garage. "And the longer this takes, the better chance he or she has of escaping scot-free. The trail's already gone cold on our investigation, and that's why we need to inject someone like you into the proceedings to relight the fire. If I wanted to spend time pulling teeth, I would have become a fucking dentist."

 

Maxim's face remained a steely, impassioned mask throughout her heated diatribe; she had no way of knowing if she had hit a nerve, not until they both reentered the receptionist's office and found Travis and Rebecca poring over a datebook together.

 

"Savannah and I were just discussing the possibility of …  a double date," Maxim said without segue, as if he hadn't quite remembered the name for it until the last minute.

 

Rebecca exchanged a delighted look with Travis. "Perfect timing!" she said cheerily. "The two of us just came available tonight."

 

"It wouldn't hurt business for the three of us to close up shop on Saturday," Travis mused as he leaned over his wife's shoulder. "Sorry, four," he amended quickly, as if afraid he might have insulted Savannah by already excluding her.

 

"He's not used to counting that high," Rebecca apologized. "It's always just been the three of us. Oh, this will be so much fun!"

 

Savannah was feeling quite differently about things on the inside. In one fell swoop, Maxim had both managed to submit to her demands and completely upend them by inviting two others along. Are you testing me? She fixed her eyes on the tall Russian without trying to appear too much like she was glaring. Not that she cared about being graded, but it would certainly make things difficult moving forward if the Hammersmiths didn't approve of Maxim's new "relationship." The Karev was a loner since he had broken with his family, and it was clear his circle of friendships didn't extend far-and that was the way he liked it. At the same time, it made getting to know and endear herself to those closest to him all the more imperative.

 

"Where should we go?" Rebecca wondered out loud as she revolved in her chair to face her computer screen. She poised her hand over the mouse, ready to employ her behind-the-desk powers for the greater good. "Any happenin' happy hours tonight? Or did you guys already have an idea?"

 

"How about Paint and Pint?" Savannah interjected suddenly. Rebecca's eyes lit up instantly as the men exchanged uncertain glances.

 

"What?" Maxim asked the two of them.

 

"Paint and Pint," Rebecca stressed. "It's like one of those adult painting classes where they serve wine, only this place caters more toward mixed-sex company by offering beer as well. I think it's a great idea," she added, shooting a quick look Savannah's way. Clearly she understood who her ally was in that moment.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

"I'm down," Travis offered. "Sounds like a blast."

 

"I would say we have ourselves a date, then!" Savannah confirmed. She grinned and looped her arms around Maxim's bicep, going for instinctive and informal, and was mildly surprised when he didn't pull away from her. Her surprise was compounded when she felt her heartbeat speed a little in her chest, its arrhythmic pounding drumming against the trunk of the Russian's arm, which she had nestled between her breasts. He glanced down at her, disguising his own surprise with a veiled look of amusement …  or so Savannah suspected.

 

He couldn't feel the racing of her pulse like she could, right? Maybe she was only imagining or misattributing the look. This was their first outward display of affection, after all, and she personally thought they totally nailed it-especially when she heard Rebecca's little lamentation of, "Aw."

 

"I'd pick you up, but my taillight's still broken," Maxim said, effectively killing the moment between them. "You don't mind calling a cab, do you?"

 

"Not at all," Savannah replied, coolly extracting herself from around his arm. "You don't mind showering up first, do you? Looks like you've been working hard today."