The next morning, I headed into my father’s office to handle business. I was rested, ready to face today’s problems. And I knew I had that gorgeous blonde to thank for helping me get my head clear like this. Sex was an excellent stress-reliever, but something about her tempted me to smile even this much later after I saw her go.
Women begged me to fuck them. And they were always appreciative of how good I made them feel. Something about that blonde last night put a whole new spin on the words thank you. She’d offered to show me her gratitude with a dance, but she blew my mind with how much more she’d wanted. How much more she could take.
“You look way too happy to be dealing with this bullshit,” Nik said as he entered our father’s office.
I blanked my expression, not wanting to explain that it was a memory of the beautiful stripper that had me smiling. No woman ever lingered. The morning after getting some, no lasting impressions remained. Sex was just sex. Every pussy was ultimately the same.
But not her. I had to stop thinking about how good she’d felt. It wasn’t like I’d revisit her. I hadn’t gotten her name, but before I left that club, I ordered my soldier to stay at the party and ensure that no one bothered her. It was the least I could do after she rode me so well.
“Who says I’m happy?” I replied to my younger brother as he dropped photos and papers onto Father’s desk. While Grigory was back, having returned from Miami in the middle of the morning, he was sleeping in a while yet, leaving business to us.
“You’re smiling,” Nik observed, watching me closely.
I shrugged and picked up my cup. “What can I say? The coffee is exceptionally strong today.”
He arched one brow and lifted his head slightly to toss his too-long hair back. “Whatever. What do you make of this?” He gestured at the documents he’d tossed onto the table.
I had been informed of the issues at one of the Ivanov-owned bars. Nik received word of the problems with a motorcycle gang causing trouble there late last night, but while the bodies had been removed after the brawl and the witnesses were questioned, I was sleeping off the pleasure from that blonde.
I bet she slept well too. With a graceful and athletic body like hers, she had to be used to the strenuous activity of dancing. And fucking like that. Without any conscious effort, I recalled how good she looked draped over me. How perfectly she’d rode me, her tits bouncing, her ass so plump and ripe for me to hold on to. Still, after we both came and she eased off my lap, I saw how shaky she’d been on her legs, as if the orgasm I gave her had rocked her world. When I took off the condom I’d hurriedly slipped on before penetrating her, I smiled at her holding on to the wall to steady her steps.
“Maxim?” Nik peered at me closely. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I shook my head, annoyed now that the stripper was so stuck in my thoughts. “Nothing.”
“You’re not paying attention.” He sat and watched me pick up the papers. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“You said you were going to that Gemini event last night.”
I nodded, trying to focus on the pictures of the bloodbath that happened last night at our bar. “I did.”
“Did something happen there?”
“No.” Yes. I found the hottest stripper and enjoyed giving her a chance to fuck me hard. Now was the time to shove her out of my mind, though. Facing Nik, I cleared my throat and held up a photo that one of the soldiers had taken when they went to handle the cleanup. “Do you think it’s related to anyone we know?”
Nik shrugged, not seeming convinced that I was concentrating. “Hugo looked at those already, and he seems to think the brawl or that gang are connected to the Romanos or the Kozlovs.”
“I agree.” Tapping my finger on one of our men, I scowled. “But this fucker is a dead man walking.”
My brother didn’t argue that fact. He cracked his neck from side to side to get rid of the kinks. “Damon’s got him in the basement now.”
That was the fate awaiting any Ivanov soldier who decided to turn traitor. If it weren’t for that fucker practically inviting this motorcycle gang into the bar, all that death wouldn’t have happened. Violence was a given in our lives, but we never wanted too many fights or deaths on our hands to the point that the cops and Feds would interfere.
Nik and I spoke a little further about last night’s incident, but he didn’t stay for long, claiming that he had other things to follow up on and look into.
Once he left, I tidied up a few things in this office and headed out as well. We all had our own “jurisdictions” to oversee in the Ivanov empire, but I didn’t have anything pressing to tend to. I checked in with Damon, unbothered by how gruesome he looked, like a monster paused from torturing those in the dungeon. I met up with Saul, too, to check out some properties he thought we could acquire. And later, I sat through meetings with our investors to discuss the movement of significant funds from one project to another.
All in all, I wasn’t bored. I had things to do and people to see and talk to. Idleness wasn’t my preference, and I did have a full day.
However, I could not get that blonde stripper out of my head. Each time I relaxed and tried to stay focused on what someone was saying, I was lured to think about her again. How she felt gloving me. How she sounded when she came. How she trapped me under a wicked spell of desire to stare back at her and wonder how she could be such an irresistible challenge.
I couldn’t surrender or lose this high from having her like that last night, and I wanted to be confident that last night was all I needed. A random woman who wasn’t afraid for a quick, hard fuck. A stranger I’d never see again, one who wouldn’t shackle me down with expectations of commitment.
Throughout the day, when I realized I couldn’t forget about her, I recognized that it was a first. Normally, I couldn’t be bothered to dwell on or remember a one-night stand with a random woman at a strip club. That was how unattached I kept myself.
But that wasn’t the case with her.
So, what?
Returning to the house that evening, I shook my head and dismissed this being an issue.
So, she was slightly unforgettable. That didn’t mean anything. It only proved how fucking hot she was, how sexy she looked, and how skilled she was at getting me off with her tight cunt. I’d seen my share of strippers and dancers, and she had moves like no other.
It wasn’t like she’d be the last stripper or dancer I’d ever be near.
That was a fact.
Of course, a woman like her made an impression.
I would’ve had to have been blind and impotent to not be affected by someone like her.
But that doesn’t mean it’ll be a lasting impression.
No matter how good she felt, there was no way in hell I’d change my mind about not wanting to commit and make something long-term with her. One hot night wouldn’t force me to give up on not trusting women in my life. That was part of what made her so tempting—the fact that she knew nothing about me and couldn’t have any part of me to exploit at all.
Fuck it. I looked up as I entered the house and sighed from the long day. Give it a little more time and she’ll be forgotten like all the others.
Just like she was supposed to be.
No woman would ever be able to keep a grip on me for long.
Not even the wife I’d need to find someday—the woman who’d serve no other purpose but to give me an heir.
