Dark Desire by Lauren Smith (7 ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Leo went into the lobby to check in, while Maxim and Nicholas watched over Elena in the first car. Leo had already accessed their Wi-Fi system and set up his facial-recognition-blocking software to filter out any pictures of their group that might surface, including footage on security cameras.

Elena found the silence a little unsettling. Maxim hadn’t said a single word since she had told him about his sister back at the lodge in Utah. Nicholas had tried once or twice to start a conversation before giving up. Now he was just as broody as Maxim. “So . . . What will be the first lesson in my self-defense classes?”

“Hiding,” the men replied in unison.

“Hiding? Are you kidding me?” She snorted. “That’s not a defense.”

“Of course it is,” Nicholas said. “The best defense is avoiding a fight entirely.”

Elena smirked. “I thought the best defense was a good offense.”

“An American attitude if there ever was one,” Maxim said without inflection. “When combat is inevitable, then yes. But when the question is one of survival, avoiding contact with the enemy is always preferable. There is no shame in hiding.”

Nicholas leaned around the seat to stare back at her. “Actually, you did that part pretty well in Utah with the riverbank.”

“I wish I could claim credit for that. Dimitri told me where to hide.”

“But you left the hiding place and managed to get behind us before we even realized you were there.” Nicholas grinned. “You don’t know us well enough yet, but I assure you, that was impressive.”

“Nick is right,” Maxim said. “Now we have to teach you to improve those skills. Hiding is not just about staying still. Eventually, you will be found. It is about finding an unlikely place, leaving little to no trail, and knowing when to move to a new hiding place without being discovered.”

Elena thought back to that night. She had faced the choice of running and hiding again, or holding the gun on men she didn’t know to help Dimitri. She would not admit it to Maxim or Nicholas, but she knew she wouldn’t run if Dimitri was in danger.

“Okay, so what’s after hiding lessons?”

“Stopping an attack in progress,” Nicholas said.

“Not preventing an attack?” She had thought that would be the next logical step.

“Normally, yes. But the threats you are facing are above average. Chances are they will be on you before you see them. You need to know how to escape a chokehold or lower your body’s center of gravity to throw a man off his feet.”

That was something Elena wanted to learn. There had been so many times when she had been pinned down, unable to get free . . .

The car door opened, giving Elena a start. Dimitri motioned for Nicholas to return to the second car with Leo.

“We’re all checked in,” he said. “You and I are still Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Maxim is Mr. Black, Leo is Mr. Brown, and Nicholas is Mr. Gray, in case anyone asks.”

Elena nodded in understanding. “Eye color, got it.”

“What?” Maxim turned to look at her too.

“Your aliases. Dimitri made them to match your eye colors,” Elena explained. A blush crept up her cheeks.

“She’s right,” Dimitri chuckled. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Maxim frowned. “My eyes are brown.”

“Yes,” Elena agreed. “But they are such a dark brown that in the evening they look almost black. Leo’s are lighter and more clearly brown.”

Maxim shrugged and fell into silence again. Dimitri drove the vehicle away from the main resort and up the hill along the side of the mountain. Every quarter of a mile, there was an entrance to a cabin. Dimitri kept passing them until they reached the eighth one. He turned up a private drive and entered a code into a gate.

Up ahead, built into the side of the mountain, was a large cabin. It was even bigger than the lodge in the park in Utah. It sat at the end of a road lined with fir trees. It was made of hand-hewn logs and reclaimed timbers. Despite its impressive build, the house was as subdued as the breeze in the treetops that towered above it.

“How many bedrooms does it have?” Elena asked.

“Only seven,” Dimitri said. “It also has a hot tub, exercise room, and a few other rooms.”

“Oh, is that all? As a grand duchess, I expected more,” Elena joked. She was definitely overwhelmed by the epic-looking cabin that looked more the size of a manor house. She’d guessed they would be staying in some small, cozy little cabin. This looked like it should be featured in Architectural Digest.

Dimitri parked the car in the circle drive. Leo did the same with the second Range Rover. Everyone helped unpack and quickly moved inside.

Leo waved Elena off when she started hefting one of the suitcases deeper into the house. “Just leave the luggage in the hall—we’ll see to it.”

Elena set the bag down by the doorway and moved into a vast great room that was illuminated with winter sunlight through a series of high windows that offered a floor-to-ceiling view of the mountains.

She studied the massive two-story native rock fireplace that overlooked the central seating area. The collected stones had been placed so perfectly that they looked as though the fireplace had tumbled down from a mountainside into a perfectly flat wall of rocks.

“Whoa . . .” Elena walked deeper into the living room and ran her palm over the buttery-soft leather sofa and chairs. Buckskin-colored plaster walls warmed the room with earth tones. Despite the snow outside, this vast cabin felt warm and homey.

Dimitri joined her by the windows. “What do you think?” He slid his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest. With anyone else, she would have felt uncomfortable and pulled away, but with Dimitri she was far from feeling scared.

“Feels wonderful. It’s so peaceful here.”

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came