30. Lev
Fuck, she looks stunning.
That dress. Those curves. Christ, I’ve got a serious case of blue balls as it is, and now she’s sitting beside me with all that exposed skin and without a clue of what she does to me. It’s driving me fucking insane.
My hands ball into fists on my knees.
I need to do something about it. I’ve jerked off more times than I care to admit in the last two days, and I’m still aching to fuck her.
“So tell me about tonight,” she says.
“It’s a charity auction for The Dementia Foundation, and since ZeeMed is working on a new dementia medication, we’ve been invited.”
That and the fact that I spill money at these things like blood.
She looks at me with her big brown eyes and then gives me a thoughtful hmph.
“Hmph?” I ask, wondering if I should dare ask. “Care to elaborate?”
She shrugs. “I guess I’m just surprised, is all. You’re a busy man. A CEO and the pakhan. I guess I didn’t picture this side of you. I mean, why come to something like this when you could just send a check?”
It’s a fair question.
“To move freely in society, you need trust. These events earn me that trust.”
“But I would think you would prefer people to fear you, not trust you.”
“I live in two worlds, zayka. One of them requires me to earn the trust of those around me so I don’t draw attention to the fact that I do, in fact, have another much darker side. The other requires me to earn fear from those around me just to survive.”
“Sounds tiresome,” she says, playing with the owl charm on her bracelet. “Don’t you ever just want to say fuck it and go on a vacation?”
I can’t help but laugh. “I can’t tell you the last time I went on a vacation.”
“You should. You might be less grumpy if you did.”
“Did you really just call me grumpy?”
“Don’t deny it.”
“I’m not grumpy.”
In the front seat, Igor coughs. It might be a dry throat, but it sounds suspiciously like he just agreed with her.
What the fuck?
I narrow my eyes at him in the rearview mirror, but he doesn’t show me any reaction.
Brooke, on the other hand, is smiling smugly. And I have a sudden urge to bend her over my knee and turn her luscious butt pink with my handprint.
“Has everyone forgotten I’m the pakhan?” I mutter as we arrive at the venue.
Brooke taps me on the arm. “Oh, lighten up.”
Igor pulls up at the front. I climb out and walk around to open Brooke’s door.
“You look stunning, by the way,” I say as I help her out of the car.
“You like it?”
“Very much.” My gaze meets hers. “I might decide to keep you.”
She lifts her chin to face me. “Don’t hold your breath, monster. You only have me until Wilson returns and then I’m out of here.”
I look down into her beautiful face. Those big eyes filled with surprising affection. Those sweet lips begging to be kissed, even if not intentionally.
But I don’t want to ruin the peace between us by trying to kiss her.
Or by telling her Wilson isn’t coming back.