The Dark Duet by Kasonndra Leigh Page A

any common boss, but instead, the man who employs me has a plethora of companions and negotiators at his disposal .
    Burkenstein values his hide more than an idiot like Gash does. Picking up the phone, he enters Nikolai Belikov’s number.

CHAPTER 12
    ~ Alese~
    Inside the dream, I fall into a pit of darkness one last time before I’m finally able to wake myself up. A pair of strong arms envelop me, and I’m aware of someone stroking my hair. My eyelids flutter open and I take in my surroundings. Deep blue walls the color of the ocean surround me, and the soft, sensuous touch of silk caresses my body. I’m dressed in a gown, but don’t remember putting one on. A mahogany-colored dresser sits off to the left side of the bed, and a papasan chair with a furry blue pillow is on the right side. The scent of musk and a hint of an outdoorsy smell—a contrast of strength and the feminine mixed together—greets my nostrils, and right away I know exactly where I am, as well as the identity of the person holding me.
    Turning my head and focusing on the concerned pair of gray-blue eyes hovering above me, I awaken and stare up at Nikolai, tears clouding my eyes.
    “Hush now. I am here. You will be fine,” he says softly in that sexy Russian accent of his, wiping away my tears with his index finger. He’s the picture of contradiction, a man who can be as cold as a snow storm, but then can turn on this gentle side of him that makes me want to throw all caution to the wind, strip him naked, and screw him until we both pass out.
    Maybe that’s the one thing that finally causes me to break, seeing this side of the man who will turn me into a killer in order to keep my grandparents from suffering the same fate as my parents. Because, for some reason, sobs wrack through my body, and instead of crying, I begin to choke on them.
    I attempt to move out of his arms. Huge mistake. The room starts spinning and nausea stirs in my stomach, along with a rolling headache that feels as though it’s tearing through the back of my skull.
    “Easy, little dove. You don’t want to sit up too quickly,” he warns, massaging my shoulders.
    “We need to get back to rehearsal.”
    “Umm, we do not. Another day of rest will not hurt anything.”
    “Another day? How long have I been sleeping?” I ask, trying to keep my heaving breath under control.
    “Two days,” he answers.
    “Oh my God! I’ve missed practice. Please tell me I haven’t screwed everything up for everyone.” I move back the covers and attempt to get out of the bed ... Nikolai’s bed. Oh my God! I can’t believe he actually brought me back to his place. And did he change my clothing?
    “Wait. Hold on.” He gently grabs my arm, pulling me back down, and I let him guide me back onto the bed. “The nurse will kill me if I allow you to hurt yourself.”
    “What are you doing? We need to get going.”
    “No, we don’t. Rest, Alese. That’s all you need to worry over right now,” he says in a tender voice, stroking my hair while I wonder just what planet I’ve landed on and where in the hell the aliens hid the old Nikolai’s body. He sits up and pours me a glass of water from a pitcher on the table beside his bed. “Drink.”
    I sit up and do as he says, chugging the water because I’m dying of thirst. “Easy now. Not too fast.”
    I quickly finish all of the water and wind up with a brain freeze from drinking too fast. Nikolai takes the glass and I cradle my head, waiting for the ache to pass. “I told you to go slowly.”
    “Guess I don’t tend to listen very well,” I snap, feeling like an ass as soon as I do so. “I’m sorry. I just— It’s ... I’m going crazy.”
    “No, you are not,” Nikolai assures, his eyes filled with concern. For some reason, this attention he’s giving me makes me want to tell him everything. However, as soon as I open my mouth to speak, gasps and sobs come out instead, as images of my parents suddenly fill my head.
    “When I was