Sinful Promise (Koslov Bratva #6)

22. Emily

22

EMILY

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I mutter under my breath as I walk into the restaurant behind Zara and Dimitri.

I had really hoped that Danil was joking when he said he was joining us for our family dinner with my parents, but it turns out he wasn’t.

Apparently, Dimitri invited him for extra protection, which I thought was bad enough in itself. But then my sister reminded me that this dinner is also serving as a blind date.

For me.

As if it isn’t humiliating enough being set up, the fact that my entire family, plus the guy I’m secretly hooking up with, are all going to be in attendance makes for one hell of an evening.

“If the ground would like to open up right about now, I would be eternally grateful.”

“Do this for Mom,” Zara hisses under her breath as we approach the table.

My parents are already here, and a huge smile breaks out on my mom’s face when she notices us.

She jumps to her feet and hurries around the table to give Dimitri a hug first.

“Looking lovely as always, Charlotte.” Dimitri kisses my mom on the cheek.

Mom’s face floods with color, and she waves her hand at the compliment. She’s wearing a sage green linen dress, and her shoulder-length blonde hair pulled back into a low twist.

“Watch it, son. She’s taken,” my father chimes in from his spot at the table.

I roll my eyes at the two founding members of the Dimitri Koslov fan club.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore my brother-in-law, but sometimes, I feel like they prefer him over their actual children.

I have to wait patiently for my mom to fuss over Zara until I finally get my turn.

“Hey, Mom.” I give her a hug.

Mom pulls back to look over my outfit. “That dress is a good choice. I think Tom likes girls in blue.”

“Great.” I groan inwardly and purposefully don’t look over to the table where my blind date is waiting for me.

She loops her arm through mine as she guides me over to the table. “Make sure to tell him what a good tennis player you are. Men like women who are athletic.”

“Noted.”

“And that you’re planning on studying for a master’s. It shows discipline.”

“When did I become a prized mare to be auctioned off?”

Zara looks over her shoulder at me and shoots me a glare.

“Be nice,” she mouths, and I scowl.

Mom guides me closer to the man in question. “Tom, I want you to meet my daughter, Emily.”

My eyes land on the unfamiliar man with floppy brown hair and glasses sitting beside my father, and I fight the urge to cringe.

He gets to his feet. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

He flashes me a smile, which shows every single one of his teeth, and I can’t help but notice that his checkered shirt is a little wrinkled.

He’s not the worst man I’ve ever seen, but he’s certainly no Danil.

“You too.”

I glance around the table and when I notice that he’s not here yet, I’m hit with a wave of disappointment.

I take a seat beside Tom. “Don’t suppose you’re going to let me have some wine, are you, Dad?”

“Are you twenty-one yet?” He gives me his signature look that silently lets me know not to push my luck with him tonight.

“So, Emily, your mother tells me you’re studying business at NYU.”

And so, the questions begin.

It’s not until I’m one glass of painfully non-alcohol sparkling water down and twenty questions deep with Tom that Danil finally makes an appearance.

It takes everything in me to stop my jaw from hitting the table as I observe him.

He looks drop-dead gorgeous in his crisp black shirt and slacks, and he’s freshly shaven, which makes his jawline even more prominent. A few strands of his dark hair fall slightly in his eyes, and he flashes us all his signature cheeky smile, which has me melting.

“Sorry I’m late everyone, there was a crisis at work.”

I try to stop myself from seeming pleased that Danil has arrived, but it’s hard to do when my body is so reactive to him.

It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I last saw him, but it feels like days.

When his eyes find mine, I beam at him, and he flashes me a wink that has me blushing like a teenager.

Mom smiles. “So nice of you to join us, Danil.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” Danil takes his seat beside Dimitri, which is directly opposite from me.

He catches my eye again, and I shake my head at him as I fight a smile.

I thought my feelings for Danil were locked in, but ever since we became physical with one another, they’ve only increased, and I can barely keep a hold on them.

I’m falling hard for this man, and it’s getting harder and harder to hide it.

Mom looks at me when our appetizers arrive. “Tell Tom about college, Emily.”

I have already told Tom all there is to know about my degree, but it seems my mother really wants to make sure he knows all of my best-selling points.

Danil looks like he’s trying his hardest not to laugh, and I scowl across the table at him before diving into another painful conversation about college.

When Tom eventually gets up to use the restroom after the appetizers are cleared away, my shoulders sag.

I lean over closer to my sister. “His cologne is suffocating. He smells like the entire perfume section of Sephora. I’m having to breathe through my mouth to stop myself from gagging.”

She smiles, shaking her head. “It’s sweet that he’s trying so hard.”

“Maybe you should go out with him, then.”

“Mom just wants you to be happy, Emily. Her heart is in the right place.”

“I’m perfectly happy already, thanks very much.”

I sneak a glance at Danil, who is deep in conversation with Dimitri, and my body melts as I watch him.

He’s more than just handsome. He’s breathtaking.

The moment Tom returns, Mom is right back on attack mode. “Tell Tom about the time that you went backpacking around Europe when you were eighteen.”

I reluctantly snap out of my Danil-induced daydream and turn my attention back to the man sitting beside me.

“You went to Europe? That’s fascinating!” Tom leans a little closer to me.

I force a smile and subtly adjust my seat to put more distance between us.

By the time the main courses arrive, I’m suitably irritated, not that Tom seems to notice. It also doesn’t help that Danil seems to be enjoying my pain as every time I catch him looking over at Tom and me, I see him holding back his laughter.

“Emily, tell Tom about…”

I’m no longer listening to my mother.

I look to Zara for backup, but my sister only shrugs.

“It’s nice that the attention isn’t on me for once.”

“Perhaps you could tell them about the little bun you have in the oven? It would take the heat off me,” I mutter under my breath.

“Nice try, but we’re not telling anyone until we reach the twelve-week mark, just to be safe.”

There goes my one get-out-of-jail free card. Unless, of course, I decide to come clean to my family, and Tom, about Danil.

My mother loves him already, and I’m sure Zara and Dimitri would be happy about us eventually. But my sister has made it perfectly clear that being a Koslov is not always easy, and I know she wants me to be safe.

But I want Danil, and if that means having a target on my back for the rest of my life, then so be it.

He’s worth the risk.

Thankfully, Tom seems to have found his voice as he starts chatting to me about his own college degree as I tuck into my food. He drones on about how he graduated a couple of years ago and landed a job at some advertising agency in the city.

I nod and smile at the right places, if only to keep him distracted from the fact that I keep looking over at Danil.

I blink when I see him glaring at Tom.

I quickly look at Tom and notice he quickly averts his gaze away from my chest to his food.

I may have worn a dress that was perhaps a little too low cut, so I can’t really blame the guy for looking. But I didn’t wear it for his benefit.

If anything, I wanted to secretly entice Danil, but it seems to have had a different effect.

From the look that Danil is giving Tom, it’s clear he’s jealous, and he’s not exactly being subtle about it.

Tom moves the fork, spearing a morsel of food. “I ended up pouring the champagne all down the waiter in front of all the investors.”

I can’t remember what he was talking about, but it’s clear from the pause that he’s waiting for me to react. So, I throw my head back and laugh and put my hand on my chest.

Tom’s eyes flick to where my hand is, and when I take my hand off and stop laughing, a faint pink tinge starts to creep along his cheeks.

Tom dives into another story, so I used the opportunity to look over at Danil and notice how tense he is. The muscle in his jaw is ticking, and his body is rigid as he glares at Tom.

Though jealous Danil is hot, he knows he doesn’t need to worry, doesn’t he? This is just a show for my parents, nothing more.

I’d much rather be talking to Danil than drowning in Tom’s cologne like I am now.

Tom drones on and on. “So then, my father ended up throwing the fish back into the lake, and we went without dinner.”

I force a smile. “Oh, that’s terrible!”

“My older brother had to drive an hour to the nearest gas station to pick us up some beef jerky and chips for dinner. It’s safe to say we never went camping again.”

I laugh, and Tom smiles at me as if he can’t quite believe I’m giving him the time of day. I feel bad for misleading him, I really do.

My mother should have known better than to set me up with someone, so if anyone is to blame here, it’s her.

By the time our main courses are being cleared away, I feel like I’m being suffocated by Tom’s cologne.

It’s clear he’s really trying to make an effort for tonight, which is sweet and all, but my heart already belongs to someone else.

And he’s sitting directly across the table from me.

Danil doesn’t need to try hard to keep my attention. All he has to do is smile and I turn into a human puddle. He’s effortlessly sexy and sitting across from him and not being able to touch him is driving me crazy.

I get to my feet. “I, uh… I need to use the ladies’ room.”

The table is too crowded, and I need some air that isn’t tainted with cheap cologne.

“I’ll order you some dessert,” Tom offers, and it takes all of my energy to nod and smile.

This night is exhausting, and I doubt my mother will let it end until Tom is down on one knee.

I hastily make my way into the restrooms and sigh when I discover that they’re individual rooms with a vanity table and a separate cubicle. At least I can have some peace and quiet, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

As I step into the restroom, hands land on my waist and a warm, hard body presses up against me. Before I have a chance to scream, I’m being spun around and backed against the door by Danil.

“Are you trying to make me jealous?” he practically growls as he reaches around me to lock the door.

My breath catches in my throat as I stare up at him.

I’m really not, but god, jealousy suits him.

“Is it working?” My voice comes out a little breathless.

Danil’s eyes darken, and a shiver runs down my spine as his eyes flick to my chest.

My dress is perhaps a little low cut for a family dinner, but I chose it because I thought it would drive Danil crazy all night. And from the hunger in his eyes as he stares down at my breasts, it’s doing its job very well.

“He’s been staring at your breasts all fucking night.”

“Oh?”

Danil’s hands roam up my waist until he’s cupping my breasts, and I swallow a moan as his thumbs circle my nipples.

“You seem to be enjoying the attention.” He leans in and takes my earlobe between his teeth.

A rush of pleasure surges through my body, and I arch into his touch.

My eyes flutter closed as he bites down at the same time that he pinches my nipples.

I never realized how sensitive my body could be, but the slightest touch from Danil has me growing slick between my thighs, and the constant ache between them is insatiable.

“Do I need to remind you who you belong to?” He steps between my thighs and presses his hardness against me.

This possessive side of Danil is something I’ve not seen before, but I’m liking it a lot.

I sink my fingers into his shirt. “Yes.”

“Then I suggest you turn around and bend over.”