The Cost of the Forbidden (Irresistible Russian Tycoons) Read online

  ‘Of course.’ Naomi nodded. ‘Have you done my reference?’

  ‘I’ll do it.’

  He’d been saying that all week. Yes, she may only have worked for him for a short while but Sev’s name on her résumé would open doors in her future.

  Not that she could stand to think of that now.

  Oh, she didn’t want to leave but neither could she bear working alongside him and running his love life for even a moment longer.

  ‘Good luck with your father tonight,’ Sev said. ‘Don’t build up your hopes.’

  And that was it.

  He headed to his desk.

  Naomi waited, just for a second. She had built up her hopes.

  She wanted something from him, something she could keep, just something to show she had mattered a little to him.

  He crushed them.

  No bunch of flowers appeared, no rummaging in his drawer for a gift.

  Sev was back to his computer and he didn’t even look up as she walked out of the office.

  It was a long and difficult drive through peak-hour traffic.

  She wasn’t expecting much from her father.

  Naomi hoped, though, for coffee and cake, they could keep the champagne, she just wanted a little glimpse of family life.

  It was Thanksgiving soon, and he and Judy had made no move to invite her.

  And then it was Christmas, and they hadn’t made any mention of that either.

  Naomi had already bought presents for all of them.

  They were wrapped and hidden in her wardrobe, though why she bothered to hide them Naomi didn’t know because her father had never been over.

  She was tired.

  After the cake she would drive back and then pack for Dubai and London.

  Naomi wasn’t even looking forward to going home.

  She’d texted her mother her dates and times and she hadn’t even replied.

  And as for Andrew...

  That hadn’t been love.

  Naomi had been, she now knew, in love with the idea of being in love, or rather someone loving her.

  Andrew hadn’t.

  He’d controlled.

  As for Sev...

  Naomi’s eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back. As she neared her father’s home there were cars everywhere so she parked a bit away and watched as a couple did the same and got out.

  They were holding a gift and walking towards the beach.

  So were a small family.

  ‘Anderson’s so lucky with the weather...’

  She just stood there.

  And then, when perhaps it would have been wiser just to get back into the car and drive, instead she followed the people heading for the dark beach.

  And there, on a cold clear night, were gas burners and music and a party happening.

  One she hadn’t been invited to.

  The seagulls would have the most wonderful feast because she dropped the cake on the sand and turned and ran.

  She just ran to her car and reversed it out and drove.

  A party and he hadn’t even invited his own daughter!

  Naomi was too hurt even to cry.

  What the hell was she even doing in New York?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  HOW HAD THINGS gone with Naomi and her father?

  As Sev reached over to turn off his alarm, it was the first thought on his mind.

  It was only because he knew, better than most, what she might be going through that he was concerned for her, Sev told himself.

  He lay for a moment before he got up, thinking about the days ahead. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to Dubai but he had put it off for a while.

  Allem was always asking him to come, not just to work but for a holiday. His first time there had been Sev’s big break and he hadn’t really known it at the time.

  He remembered getting his first itinerary and seeing that there would be a stopover in London.

  Daniil lived near London.

  He had written to Daniil and suggested that they meet outside Buckingham Palace on Nikolai’s anniversary. Daniil had been adopted by a rich family and now went by the name of Daniel Thomas. Sev had guessed, rightly as it had turned out, that he wouldn’t show up.

  Why did he still go to London each year?

  Why did he still hope that somehow Daniil might appear when logic dictated otherwise?

  Last year he had cancelled the flight but at the last minute had changed his mind.

  Literally the last minute.

  He had made it to Buckingham Palace on the stroke of midday.

  Of course his old friend wasn’t there.

  Sev thought of another flight he had made when the money had started to come in.

  He had returned to Russia full of hope at the thought of meeting his mother.

  The memory of that was not one he wanted to dwell on and rarely did. Certainly he never spoke about it with anyone else.

  That was why he had awoken thinking about Naomi, Sev decided as he hauled himself as he out of bed and into the shower.

  He knew exactly how it could be.

  Apart from the slight date mix-up with the Dubai-to-London dates, Naomi had arranged things well. All that he had to do was shower and dress. He chose black jeans and a top but couldn’t be bothered with shaving.

  It was one of those cold mornings that gave the first real indication of the harsh winter ahead and Sev sat in the back of the car and closed his eyes, waiting for Naomi to get in.

  Usually they met in the foyer but this morning she wasn’t there.

  ‘Where’s Naomi?’ he asked as his driver got in.

  ‘We just put a load in the trunk and they’re just bringing down the rest.’

  Sev didn’t give it too much thought at first as he was used to women having way too much luggage. When he stopped to think about it, though, it was unlike her.

  Like Sev, Naomi travelled light.

  Then he heard her voice and when he glanced out of the window she was speaking to the doorman and a lot more bags and cases were being put into the trunk. Not only that, there were some very large parcels with Christmas wrapping on a trolley that, from what Sev could make out, Naomi was leaving with the doorman.

  Then he watched as she handed over her keys and a large wad of cash.

  Sev said nothing as she got into the car.

  She was dressed in a smart black dress with black boots and a neat coat and had a small case, no doubt with a change of clothes for Dubai. She had even put on lipstick, yet she was also terribly white with dark rings under her eyes and on the very verge of tears—so he knew her father must have hurt her and badly.

  Bastard!

  He felt like telling his driver to take them to Long Island where he could happily haul Anderson Anderson out of his bed but, Sev knew, that wasn’t going to help matters.

  ‘How was last night?’ he asked instead.

  She flashed him a look and then shook her head.

  ‘What’s going on, Naomi?’ Sev asked. ‘Why all the cases?’

  ‘You can take any excess baggage out of my wages,’ Naomi snapped.

  ‘Naomi?’

  ‘I’m not coming back here,’ Naomi said.

  ‘What the hell happened last night?’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘Tough!’ Sev said, but then he decided it might be best to leave it for now. She really did look terrible and, despite the heating in the car, she was shivering. He wanted to pull out a rug and wrap her in it, or to open the bar and pour her a brandy but he could just imagine her comment if he did so at this time of the morning.

  Sev also had the strong feeling that if he pushed Naomi to speak too soon she might just get out of the car at the next set of lights and not even come with him to Dubai.

  It would be warmer there.

  It was another illogical thought but suddenly he wanted her to be warm and lying in the sun.

  They would talk on the plane, Sev decided.


  She couldn’t avoid him there.

  One of the very many plusses of owning your own jet was that there were no queues or lines to deal with. Instead they were driven straight onto the tarmac and there stood Jason, the captain and co-pilot, along with Shannon and another flight attendant.

  They boarded and the captain briefed him about flying times. Sev nodded and took off his coat and handed it to Shannon.

  Naomi did the same but unlike Sev, who went straight to his seat, Naomi still had some work to do—touching base with his flight crew.

  ‘Come and sit down,’ Sev called.

  ‘I shan’t be long.’

  ‘I said come and sit down.’

  They sat face-to-face in heavy leather seats. The engines were already going and the cabin crew were preparing for take-off.

  Sev had declined a coffee, he would have one once they were in the air. He looked at Naomi, who was staring out of the window. There was no point trying to talk to her now, Sev decided, so he took out his book.

  He couldn’t concentrate, though, and looked over at her.

  Naomi could feel his eyes on her as she looked out at the dark sky. They hurtled along the tarmac and then the plane lifted.

  She didn’t care if he could see the tears filling in her eyes as she looked down at the Manhattan skyline and remembered her first flight here and all the hope that had filled her heart when she had arrived at eighteen, only to be let down.

  The same hope had been present the second time around.

  What a fool she had been, Naomi thought.

  ‘You will be back,’ Sev said.

  ‘For what?’ Naomi asked.

  Another round of rejection was the last thing she needed.

  Coffee was served—white and sweet for Naomi and a long black for Sev with no sugar today.

  There were pastries also and Sev was on his second while Naomi was still nibbling the edge of her first and he could wait no longer to find out.

  ‘What happened last night?’

  ‘I’ve already told you,’ Naomi answered. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘Well, I’m sorry to pull rank but, given you’re leaving the apartment with no notice, I think I have every right to know, and furthermore—’

  ‘I have given you notice,’ Naomi interrupted him. ‘The only thing that has changed is that I shan’t be returning to New York after London. And if you’re worried about the apartment, that’s already been taken care of,’ Naomi said. ‘I’ve brought what I could with me and the rest I’m having shipped home. I’ve cleaned up as best I can behind me and I’ve left money for it to be serviced.’

  They both knew he couldn’t give a damn about all that.

  ‘What about the Christmas presents?’

  Naomi closed her eyes.

  ‘It’s not even December,’ Sev pointed out. He couldn’t fathom why she’d had them bought, wrapped and ready.

  ‘I like to be organised.’

  ‘You didn’t have to get me so many.’ He gave her foot a little kick and Naomi gave a pale smile.

  He knew they were for her half-sisters.

  ‘Do you want me get someone to deliver them?’

  ‘Please,’ Naomi said. ‘If my dad or Judy doesn’t come and collect them.’

  They wouldn’t. Sev was quite sure of that.

  ‘Well, your mum will be pleased to see you.’

  He watched those lips stretch and not into a smile. They pushed downwards to suppress tears. He wasn’t being a bastard, he was trying to gauge her.

  ‘What happened last night?’ Sev asked again.

  Still she didn’t answer him. Instead she went into her bag and took out two headache tablets and swallowed them down. He could see her hand was shaking as she lifted her glass of water.

  ‘Did you get any sleep?’ Sev asked.

  Naomi shook head. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll have a doze while you’re asleep and I’ll be fine by the time we get to Dubai.’

  ‘Go to bed,’ Sev said.

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  There was only one bedroom on the plane and she wasn’t in the mood for sharing.

  ‘Go to bed,’ Sev said again. ‘We’re going to hit the ground running once we get to Dubai and right now you look like death warmed up. You represent me, remember.’

  It was the only way he might get her to comply.

  Shannon came to ask what they would like for breakfast but even the quarter of a pastry she’d had already had Naomi’s stomach turning.

  She really was exhausted to her very bones. Not only had she spent last night packing and cleaning up the apartment, the previous one she’d had little sleep, nervous, not just because she would be turning up at her father’s but that it was her last day in the office.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Sev’s voice was irritated as Naomi pulled out her tablet, clearly about to start work.

  ‘I’m just going through last night’s emails for you.’

  Sev answered the questions the emails posed with a clipped yes or no. But finally she gave up pretending that she was okay.

  ‘I might actually lie down, if you’re sure.’

  ‘Please do,’ Sev agreed. ‘You’re so white you’ve got me starting to believe in ghosts.’

  Her smile was equally pale as she stood. ‘I’m sorry about all of this.’

  ‘I doubt you have anything to be sorry about regarding last night,’ Sev said. ‘Surely you know me well enough to—’

  ‘Know you!’ Naomi angrily interrupted. She wasn’t cross with Sev, she knew that, but he was human, he was close and unwittingly perhaps he had hurt her too and so he got a glimpse of what she was holding inside. ‘I don’t know the first thing about you.’

  ‘What the hell do you mean? You’ve been running my life for the last three months.’

  ‘Oh, I might know your schedule and your pillow preference for hotels but I know nothing about you, Sev. You tell me precisely nothing, so don’t expect me to pour my heart out. You have no idea what I’m going through.’

  ‘You don’t know that.’

  ‘What would you know about families? You don’t even send your mother flowers for Mother’s Day...’

  ‘Hey! Hey!’ Sev reared.

  ‘Well, it’s true—I’ve been trying to sort out your diary to hand over. You care about no one, Sev, so don’t go offering advice.’ She couldn’t go on...she had said too much already. She turned and headed to the bedroom, deciding she would apologise to Sev later. Right now she was too spent to feel embarrassed or apologetic.

  Again.

  She looked around the bedroom. It really was amazing. The trim was ebony, like his bedroom at home, and there was a shower and everything. She could be in a luxurious five-star hotel right now rather than miles up in the sky.

  Naomi stripped off her clothes and headed for the shower, though more to see if it would warm her up.

  It didn’t.

  Shivering, she wondered what she should wear to get into bed, but was too tired to work it out so instead she climbed naked into the luxurious sheets and lay there, listening to the hum of the engines and willing sleep to come.

  She would love to roll over and bury her face in the pillow and sob but, given Sev was outside, that would just have to wait until she was safely in a hotel room.

  So for now she lay and stared up into the darkness, dizzy from being so tired and watching fragments of her heart floating in the air and wondering how to put them all back into one piece.

  How to start over again, knowing that her father really wanted nothing to do with her.

  That wasn’t all of it.

  How did she move on, knowing that after Dubai she would never see Sev again?

  * * *

  Sev took one look at the lovely breakfast Shannon served him and pushed the plate away.

  He had a large cognac instead.

  The colour of sad brown eyes.

  He should leave her and let her sleep, Sev thought.

  He couldn
’t.

  Sev was quite sure that on the other side of the door she was crying.

  He reclined the leather lounger and closed his eyes but, no, he couldn’t leave her alone.

  Naomi heard a knock at the door but he didn’t wait for an answer. She turned and looked at his outline as he stood in the doorway.

  ‘I thought the deal was I got to sleep...’

  ‘I just wanted to check if you were okay.’

  ‘I was almost asleep,’ Naomi lied.

  ‘Can we talk? Sev asked.

  ‘No,’ Naomi said. Then she hesitated. ‘I’m sorry for what I said about Mother’s Day.’

  ‘You were wrong.’ Sev spoke from the doorway. ‘I do send flowers. Mother’s Day in Russia is at the end of November but I take care of the delivery myself.’

  She just lay there.

  ‘Are you blushing?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ve run out of blushes.’

  ‘Come on, Naomi,’ Sev said. ‘What happened last night?’

  She looked at his outline in the doorway and decided it was easier to admit what had happened when she couldn’t see his reaction. And so she told him.

  ‘I wanted to find out how he felt about me and if there was anything to build on.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Now I know.’

  Those three little words told him enough so he went over and sat on the edge of the bed. Naomi felt the matress’s indent and was about to tell Sev that if he didn’t get out of the bedroom she would, but then he took her hand.

  ‘I know how you feel.’

  ‘Believe me, you don’t.’

  ‘Ashamed, unwanted, a mistake...’

  He’d picked her top three.

  Now she cried.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Sev said, and his other hand held her shoulder.

  She didn’t think the tears would ever stop.

  And she felt embarrassed.

  So, so embarrassed.

  Not with Sev, not that she’d broken down; she felt embarrassed for her big fat face eagerly smiling at her father. Embarrassed at the secrets they had gone to such lengths to keep, just to keep her away. And ashamed by the looks her father and Judy had given each other as they’d worked out ways to keep her locked out of their lives. ‘I thought that when he got to know me...’

  ‘I know.’