His Ward Read online

  As her parents passed on, Misha slipped in. He handled the funeral and moving arrangements all at the same time, and by the time Tionne’s father was laid to rest in his new home in Arlington Cemetery, Tionne had been moved into Misha’s home, along with two of the most overpaid, unnecessary au pairs, who’d watched over her despite her being at an age where she didn’t need a babysitter, let alone two. Despite how she’d pleaded, Misha would not be moved. He insisted it was the proper thing to do, and as with all things, what Misha wanted, Misha got.

  Even all these years later, he was still the self-appointed “boss of her.” Tionne worked in one of his many companies in a job specifically made for family members, where she did nothing of importance for an obscene salary. She lived in a condo he owned, drove a car he’d bought, and wore clothes purchased with funds he deposited monthly into a checking account, despite the fact she was employed.

  Misha did everything in his power to insure she wanted for nothing. And if she went to him with this small problem, Misha would make everything better. But in order to do that, she’d have to tell him what she’d done, and that, of course, was out of the question.

  There was no way on earth she wanted to explain to Misha that she’d chickened out of going through with her plan to lose her virginity. This was a disaster of her own making. She had no one to blame but herself, and no matter how easy Misha made it for her to run to him when she had a problem, she refused to get him involved. Tionne was a grown-up. It was about time she started acting like one.

  Resolved, she pressed the Off button on her cell phone, then dropped it over the side of the tub onto the bathmat. The sound of it thudding against the decorative rug rang nicely in her ears as she lay back. She could get through this on her own. The only question was how.

  Groaning, she closed her eyes and sank deeper under the water. As was her way when she was thinking, she tapped her fingers on her forehead. “What to do? What to do? What to do?”

  “The first thing I would suggest is to stop doing that.”

  Tionne opened her eyes and screamed at the unexpected voice. Her gaze landed directly on the very man she’d been debating calling not even a minute ago. Acting instinctively, she crossed her arms over her breasts and sat up so the sudsy water covered her lower half. Her fear quickly morphed into irritation as she focused on calming her pounding heart. “What the hell, Misha.”

  “Language,” he reprimanded calmly, as if him standing in her bathroom in the middle of the night was the norm.

  His audacity blew her away. “Seriously.” Tionne reached over the side of the tub with one hand while shielding her breasts with the other and yanked her towel from the floor. She pulled the thick material into the water and used the cloth to cover her body. “You barge into my bathroom, scare me half to death, and now you’re going to chastise me for saying hell.”

  Misha frowned. “You know I don’t like to hear you curse.”

  “Well, I don’t like being scared witless.”

  “I assure you, your wit seems fully intact.”

  To her surprise, Misha reached down and picked up her bathtub caddy. He moved it to the sink, then came back and took a seat as boldly as he pleased on the side of the tub. He was dressed as if he were on the way to a business meeting, immaculately clothed and not a sable hair out of place. He was as out of place in her bathroom in a suit as a baby would be in a bar, yet somehow he still seemed to fit in.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Besides this mini heart attack?”

  “Don’t deflect.” He reached out and ran the back of his knuckles against her cheek. Her resistance ebbed away, and she found herself leaning into his touch. “Tell me, moja draga.”

  My darling, his private nickname for her. Just like that, Tionne melted. This was why her first instinct was to turn to him. He was so gentle with her. “How do you always know?”

  He continued to move his hand, tenderly stroking her. “Know what?”

  If she were a cat, she would have purred. All the stress of the last few hours dissipated at his touch. “When I need you.”

  “Because you’re a part of me.” He framed her face with his hand and stared intently into her eyes. “You’re my responsibility.”

  His words were a brisk wake-up call. Even now, when she was sitting before him, covered by a soggy towel and nothing else, he still didn’t see her as a woman but as his ward. “I’m not.”

  “Not what?” A puzzled frown wrinkled his forehead. “A part of me? I beg to differ.”

  She grimaced and jerked away from him. “I’m not your responsibility. Not anymore.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” His eyes darkened alarmingly. He seemed as offended by her words as she’d been by his.

  “It means that it’s time for you to go. I need to get dressed and…”

  “You said you needed me,” he reminded her unnecessarily, his gaze intent on her face.

  “I’m fine now.”

  He studied her for a long moment, then shook his head. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I need to get dressed,” she said stubbornly. “You should go.”

  For a moment, she thought he would argue, but then he rose from his perch. “In the other room. You’re right.”

  “That’s not what I was saying.” He headed for the door before she’d even finished her sentence. His high-handed manner made him a shark in the corporate world but a pain the ass in every other situation. “I meant you should leave the condo.”

  “And as I said, I’ll wait in the other room. You and I have something to discuss.”

  “Misha, you can’t just barge in here and tell me what to do.”

  “I believe I just did.” He left without saying another word.

  Irritated, she climbed from the tub, leaving the wet towel behind her in the now draining tub. With a fierce tug, she yanked a dry towel from the rack, then used it to dry off, cursing under her breath the entire time. She made quick of working of putting on the clean underthings she’d brought into the bathroom, then slipped on her robe before going after him.

  “Has anyone ever told you what a ginormous ass you can be whe—” She rounded the corner, then came to a complete stop inside the doorway. To her utter surprise, Misha wasn’t alone in her living room. He was accompanied by his cousin as well as two very large and imposing bodyguards. “Really, all this just because I used your driver?”

  “And here I thought you’d be proud because I only brought two guards,” Misha replied. “Gentlemen, turn around, please.” Nicholi along with the two guards accompanying them wasted no time turning their backs to her, reminding her instantaneously of what she was wearing and how little of it there was.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks as she glanced down at the peach thigh-high robe barely covering her. She had grabbed the first thing she saw to put on, but that was before she knew she had a room full of company. “I’m a little underdressed, it seems. Don’t suppose any of you has an extra trench coat I could borrow?” Her attempt at humor failed to garner even the slightest smile from Misha.

  “They don’t. Care to change?”

  Instead of bowing to his wishes, she crossed her arms over her breasts. This was her house, and they were uninvited. “Care to tell me what you’re doing here?”

  Nicholi tried to cover his laughter with a cough, but she wasn’t fooled. Misha’s cousin was definitely the easier going of the two, and if she hadn’t already been head over heels in love with Misha, she might have fallen hard for the tall brunet. But her heart was a loyal one, and it had set its sight on Misha when she was fourteen years old and hadn’t looked away yet. But being in love with him didn’t mean she was going to let him walk all over her.

  Misha arched a brow. “Do I need an invitation? I do own it and everything in it, after all.”

  His haughty tone set her nerves on edge. “Not everything.”

  “Is that so?” His words were a challenge she wasn’t quite sure she understood the rules to.
So to be safe, she kept quiet. “Since you prefer to remain unclothed, gentlemen, please wait outside.”

  As one, the men began to make their way toward her front door. Even though the door only led to the hallway, Tionne didn’t feel right forcing them out of the apartment over something as silly as her clothing. She didn’t have a problem changing; she just had an issue with the way he insisted she do as told. Despite her desire to rebel against him, it just wasn’t in her to put others out. “Misha, they don’t have to do that.”

  “I disagree.”

  “The neighbors already think I’m connected to the mob. Having them stand point outside the door isn’t going to help me.”

  “Then maybe you should put some clothes on.”

  “Are you telling me that it’s perfectly okay for you to sneak into my bathroom when I’m undressed, but it’s somehow unseemly for them to see me in a robe even though I’m fully covered?”

  “I didn’t sneak, and yes,” he said firmly. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

  “You are such a bully.”

  “The decision is yours, Tionne,” he said in a calm and reasonable tone. “You can remain comfortably clothed, or they can stand outside. Whatever you desire.”

  Tionne wasn’t a fool. It was barely a choice. “Fine. I’ll be back.”

  He nodded solemnly. “As you wish.”

  Irritated, she flipped Misha off, earning a scowl from him for her effort. As far as comebacks went, she knew it was a weak one, but damn, it felt good.

  Chapter Two

  She was keeping something from him. Misha knew that as surely as he knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west, and he didn’t like it. Not one little bit. Things had changed between them. He didn’t know when, and he didn’t know why, but they had, and it wasn’t for the better. Far from it. There was a time when she’d come to him for everything. Now he couldn’t get her to answer a simple question.

  The fact that she said she wasn’t his responsibility didn’t sit well with him at all. It was utter nonsense. The debt he owed her father could never be repaid, not in this lifetime or the next. Making sure Tionne had everything she needed and everything she wanted was not only his responsibility but also his honor. And the fact that she said otherwise bothered him more than he cared to admit.

  “What do you know?” Nicholi asked the second the pretty African-American woman was out of sight.

  Misha held up one finger, then glanced at his bodyguards. “Gentlemen, please wait outside.” Without a single word being uttered the two men turned and filed out into the hallway. As soon as the door closed behind the last guard, Misha lowered his hand and his voice. “Not a damn thing,” Misha replied, answering his cousin’s question. “She refused to tell me what had upset her.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “Get answers.” Now the only question was how. “I think I saw her phone on the floor in the bathroom.”

  Nicholi nodded thoughtfully. “Good place to start.”

  “Very.” Even if she hadn’t left her phone in there, they could still use her cell to get information. The plan was in his name. It would take only a few minutes to pull up her call and text history.

  “But before we start snooping, let’s talk about the obvious. She doesn’t look hurt. If we take this step and invade her privacy, there’s no going back. Are you sure you want that on your conscience?”

  He stared blankly at his cousin. “What conscience?”

  Nicholi smiled. “Okay, good point. I’m just saying if Tionne finds out about this—and she’s a woman, so that pretty much means she will—are you going to be fine with the fallout?”

  “Her anger I can handle. Doing nothing when I could have done something, I cannot.” Misha glanced in the direction Tionne had gone. “Something happened tonight, and whatever it is, she’s keeping it from me. I can feel it.”

  “Don’t you think Tionne would ask for help if she needed it?”

  “Before tonight I would have said yes.”

  “What’s changed?”

  Misha faced his cousin once more. “That is exactly what I plan to find out.”

  “Okay, I’m dressed,” Tionne said as she came back in the room. She held her arms out to her side and did a one-eighty, allowing him to get a good look at the University of Alabama Crimson Tide black tank shirt and matching capri pants she was wearing. She’d left her dark hair up in a messy bun yet it nevertheless seemed sexy and stylish.

  Misha wasn’t sure how she could look so innocent and young yet still so jaw-droppingly sensual all at the same time and while he was pleased she’d changed her clothing, he would be lying if he said he didn’t like the other outfit more. But that was a thought path he couldn’t go down, wouldn’t go down for the sake of them both. Instead he kept his voice steady and held his gaze directly on her face. Anything else would lead to nothing but trouble. “Better.”

  “I’m so happy you appro—” Her words instantly grinded to a halt as her gaze swept the semideserted room. “Where did they go?”

  “They’re waiting in the hall.”

  She glowered at him. “What the hell? I went and changed.”

  The exasperation in her voice amused him. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to change into something better or worse. I thought it wise to play it safe.”

  “And yet”—she waved her hand in his cousin’s direction—“Nicholi is still here.”

  “I would have closed my eyes really, really tight if it were worse,” his cousin deadpanned.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Nicholi grinned. “Here to help.”

  “Well, that makes one of you,” she said as she glared at Misha.

  “What?” He feigned innocence. “I’m here to help too.”

  “No, you’re here to be a…” Tionne stopped midsentence and tilted her head to the side. “Wait, why are you here?”

  “Because you needed me. Isn’t that what you said in the tub?” Misha reminded her. They were her words, after all.

  “It was the wine speaking.”

  He didn’t believe that for a second. “Then have another drink.”

  “You can be so freaking annoying.”

  He acknowledged the truth with a nod. “Yes, I can, but the quicker you answer me, the faster I’ll leave. What happened tonight?”

  “Nothing. I needed a ride. I’m sorry if I inconvenienced you.”

  Misha’s brow wrinkled as he frowned. Is that what she thinks she is to me? It couldn’t have been further from the truth. “When have you ever been an inconvenience?”

  “Tonight, obviously.”

  “You weren’t. You never have been. Ever.” He stressed the word so she would understand the importance of it. “You worried me, though. Why did you need a ride? Did your car break down?”

  Tionne shook her head. “No.”

  “Then why did you need the car?”

  “Long story short. I was on a date, I didn’t drive, the date took a turn for the worse, and I wanted to come home.”

  He stiffened. The very idea of Tionne seeing someone didn’t sit well with him at all. “With whom did you have this date?”

  “No one you know,” she said offhandedly.

  It better not have been with anyone he was acquainted with. None of the men he knew were good enough for her. “Why did it take a turn for the worse?”

  “Basically everything,” she replied in a dry manner.

  The flippant answer only served to annoy him more. “You’re telling me nothing.”

  “I’m telling you what you need to know. Which is nothing. It was just one date. It ended. I came home. What else do you want to know, Your Majesty?”

  He let the dig slide and fired off a question of his own. “Was it a first date?”

  “No.”

  Misha arched an eyebrow. “Second?”

  “No.”

  “Third?” He would do this all night until she told him what he wanted to hear.

  “
Oh my God.” Exasperation filled her voice. “We’ve been out several times, okay?”

  Several? What the hell had he missed? They spoke all the time, had dinner together at least three times a week, and yet she hadn’t mentioned she was seeing anyone. Not once. Irritated, he took a step closer to her. “Why is it the first I’m hearing of this?”

  Her expression stilled and grew serious. “Because my social life isn’t your business.”

  “Everything about you is my business. Everything,” he countered in a cold but barely controlled manner.

  A heavy, thick silence filled the room as Misha stared at her, daring her to refute his claim. She was his business because she was his world. And if she didn’t grasp that after all these years, then he was more than capable of showing her.

  “What do you want from me?” she said after a moment.

  “The truth.”

  “Then let me repeat it to you.” She held up a single finger. “One more time. I had a bad date. I decided I didn’t want him to see me home. I called for a ride. The end.”

  Misha narrowed his gaze. That wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning. “And that’s the entire thing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Nothing else I need to know?” he asked, giving her one more chance to do this the easy way.

  “Not a thing. Will you leave now?”

  Fine, if she wanted to play it this way, they would. “In a second. Come here.”

  “Why?” Her tone was wary, her dark brown eyes untrusting.

  “Because I requested you do so.”

  “No, you told me to.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Tired of all the pussyfooting around, Misha crossed the room to her. Tionne’s eyes widened, and she took a step back, but it was too little, too late. Misha reached her before she could react. He grabbed her shoulders and held her still. “Listen to me carefully, because I’m only going to ask once.”

  “Once.” Tionne jerked, trying to free herself. “What are you doing? Let me go, you big bully.”

  “Wallace said you winced when you sat back. So before I spin you around and pull your pants down to check for myself, I’m going to ask you. Are. You. Hurt?”

  “Misha.”