11. Briar
11
brIAR
THE PAST
W herever I want.
I like the sound of that.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll go let them know that I can’t stay for the rest of the night.”
“That’s not necessary,” he says.
“But they’ll be looking for me,” I say.
“I know Victoria,” he replies. “She’ll try to convince you to stay, even if that’s not what you want.”
“And I suppose that you know what I want?” I say.
“I never said that,” he says.
This man has a dark side. Tattoos and scars cover his body. His muscles flex with every movement he makes. His eyes have a dark glint like he’s a predator tracking his prey. His body is primed for death and destruction.
Yet I find him comforting.
It’s why I feel comfortable enough to challenge him. I feel comfortable enough to be myself around him.
Which is odd, because I only met him a few minutes ago.
“Be quick,” he says, taking a step back.
“I’ll take my time,” I reply.
He wraps his arm around my waist when I step away from him.
I forget how to breathe. My body creates a new heart, and it starts beating right underneath his palm.
The heat of his body wraps around me like a warm blanket.
I know in this moment that his touch will haunt me forever. When I return to my old life, I’ll think of him in the middle of the night while everyone else sleeps. The memory of this touch will keep me tossing and turning in my sheets.
“Take that pendant off first, solnishko ,” he growls.
“Why? I think it’s cute,” I say, touching the cool surface of the crystal.
“You wouldn’t think it’s cute if you knew the thoughts it elicits in men,” he says.
The heart in my stomach grows larger, beating and growing and beating and growing. It feels like a balloon that’s seconds from bursting.
“Give it to me,” he says.
“No,” I say. “It’s just a necklace.”
“Victoria said something to me today,” he says. “She said that people always want what they can’t have. And when you walk around with that pink pendant around your delicate neck, all they see is a succulent peach ripe for plucking.”
“I don’t see how that’s my problem,” I say.
We’re playing wicked games. I know it.
It feels like flirting but a thousand times more intense. And what startles me most is that I enjoy toying with this man. I love being a tease for him.
I know exactly what he’s implying, but I want to make him spell it out.
“ Briar .” His voice goes straight to my core, stirring everything up and leaving me restless.
“You can call me Bri,” I say, looking up at him. “It’s what my sisters call me.”
I gather all of my hair in my hands and lift it.
“Help me with the clasp,” I say.
“Good girl,” he says.
Good girl.
I don’t know why I like the sound of his approval so much.
When he touches the sensitive skin at the back of my neck, I nearly melt into his arms right there. He undoes the clasp and reaches forward to take the pendant.
I suck in a breath when his fingers brush against my breastbone.
He pockets the pendant. I turn around to look at him. He’s so tall that it takes my breath away all over again.
“I should probably return that necklace,” I say. “It doesn’t belong to me.”
“I think I’m going to keep it,” he says. “It’ll be my first souvenir of you.”
I can tell that he’s already made up his mind, so I head back inside the club.
Every thought in my head is about him.
This is probably risky and dangerous. I probably have zero survival skills. But something about Dimitri soothes my frazzled nerves. He’s intense, but he makes me feel safe.
I find Sophia speaking with a group of girls. I hover in the corner, waiting for her to finish talking.
“What’s the matter?” she asks when she spots me.
“I wanted to say goodbye in person,” I say.
“You’re leaving?” she asks.
“Yeah, is that okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay,” she says. “We’re not keeping you hostage.”
“Should I tell Victoria about it?” I ask.
“Don’t.” Sophia smiles. “You’re going to break her heart. I’ll tell her in the morning.”
I glance down at my clothes. “What about the outfit?”
“It’s yours if you want it,” she says.
She reaches into her purse and hands me a business card.
“In case you change your mind,” she says.
I take it from her hand and smile at her.
“Thank you for being so nice to me,” I say.
“So who was he?” she asks.
My eyes widen. “What?”
“You took off your crystal, too,” she says. “He must have claimed you as his.”
“Is he going to get into trouble for that?”
“Normally, yes,” she says. “But since you haven’t filled out any of the paperwork yet, the same rules don’t apply to you.”
“Oh,” I say, tracing my finger along the edge of the business card.
“So who’s the mystery man?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell on you.”
“I don’t really know him yet,” I say, lifting a shoulder. “But I really like him.”
She purses her lips coyly. “A couple of men asked about you tonight.”
I blanch. “What?”
“There was the German businessman, the actor from South Africa, and this really good-looking Russian man.”
I blush.
“I’m guessing it’s one of those three,” she says. “And from what I remember, the German and the South African are currently in the VIP section, so I’m guessing it’s the Russian.”
She scrolls down on her iPad, pulling up Dimitri’s profile.
She grins. “Oh, and for the record, we never had this conversation. I’m not supposed to be talking about the clients at all.”
“Okay,” I say.
I’m still thinking about the fact that Dimitri asked Victoria about me. If he approached her before approaching me, it meant that he was interested in one thing—buying me.
If it were any other man, I would be scandalized. But strangely, because it’s Dimitri, I’m not.
“You’re so smitten already.” She shakes her head. “Just promise me you’ll be careful with your heart, okay?”
That hadn’t occurred to me at all.
All I have is tonight.
I haven’t thought about getting attached to a man like Dimitri.
I hug Sophia goodbye and head outside, where Dimitri is waiting for me. His eyes track me like a hunter’s.
“Ready?” he asks, offering his arm to me.
The gesture takes me by surprise.
“I didn’t know you could be such a gentleman,” I say.
“I can be a lot of things,” he says.
I take his arm. We walk toward the main entrance, where a black Ferrari is parked. He scans the surroundings, his body language alert.
“Sophia told me to be careful around men like you,” I say. “Should I be on my guard?”
“I don’t know who Sophia is, but she’s right,” he says.
“She is?” I ask.
“I’m not going to lie to you, solnishko . I’m a dangerous man. But it’s everyone else who should be on their guard, not you. Never you.”
I don’t know what to make of that.
I clear my throat. “You said that you were here on business. What kind of business do you do?”
“Exports,” he says. “Among other things.”
He opens the door of his Ferrari and helps me into the passenger seat. After he tips the valet, he gets into the driver’s seat.
“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” he asks.
Again, I’m caught off guard by the considerate question.
I haven’t thought of food all night, but I now realize I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.
“Yeah, I am kind of hungry,” I say.
“What are you in the mood for?” he asks.
My eyes light up. I can have absolutely anything I want. Mother puts a lot of restrictions on my diet.
“I would love a cheeseburger,” I say. “With fries. And a milkshake.”
“A cheeseburger, fries, and milkshake it is,” he says, turning the engine on.
The car comes to life.
I feel like I’m sitting on a powerful animal. The purr of the engine makes me shift in my seat. I can tell this car is pure speed.
The seat is comfortable, molding against my back.
Dimitri steps on the gas. I watch the golden lampposts as they pass by. A few seconds later, I turn to face Dimitri.
“Also, I’ve never had chocolate before,” I say.
His eyes flick to me. “Is that some sort of innuendo?”
“My mother is very strict,” I say. “She doesn’t allow any junk food inside the house. She thinks sugar is poison.”
Mother has been obsessed with her looks for as long as I’ve known. She has a whole harem of plastic surgeons and dermatologists on her payroll. She’s tried every treatment known to man to preserve her beauty.
She’s always been gorgeous, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happy.
“That’s no way to live,” Dimitri says. “What else is forbidden?”
“Cheeseburgers,” I say. “Completely forbidden.”
“Cheeseburgers and chocolate,” he says. “Anything else?”
I grin. “How long do you have?”
“The entire night,” he says.
We enter the open road now. We’re still cruising at a leisurely pace, and I have Dimitri’s undivided attention.
Being in an enclosed space with him elicits raw heat in my core.
My skin feels like it’s on fire. And I know in my soul that he’s the only one who can put it out.
“I’ve never been allowed to kiss boys either,” I say.
He exhales slowly. “You really are going to be the death of me, aren’t you?”
I smile and look out the window.
“I like being in your car with you,” I say.
“I like having you in my car,” he says.
My heart thrashes against my throat now. I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’m more comfortable with a stranger than I am with my own family.
With Dimitri, it feels like I can be exactly who I am.
I don’t need to pretend to be someone I’m not.
I turn to look at his profile. He has the kind of beauty that sculptors try to capture in their art. He’s a picture of regal aristocracy.
“So,” I say. “Are you going to show me how fast this baby can go?”
The corner of his lips twitch. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“I was promised a night I’d never forget,” I say.
Without any warning, he floors the accelerator. Hard.
I’m thrown back, my back pressed up against the seat. Laughter tumbles out of my lips. It’s such a foreign sound, even to my ears.
I glance over at the speedometer. It keeps climbing and climbing.
Exhilaration courses through me, making me grin so hard that my face feels like it’s about to split in two.
“This is so much fun,” I squeal.
“Remind me to take you on a racetrack one day,” he says. We’re going so fast that the rest of the world seems like a blur.
He slows down a little.
“Do you race?” I ask, turning toward him.
“Forever ago,” he says. For the first time, he looks distracted, like he’s lost in time. “It was more my brother’s thing, though.”
“Where are you from?” I ask him.
“A small town in Russia,” he says.
“How long have you been in America?” I ask.
“Not long,” he says.
“You must miss home,” I say.
“What makes you say that?” he says.
“Your eyes,” I say. “They light up when you talk about home.”
“It had everything I ever loved,” he says.
“Had?” I ask, picking up on the past tense.
“Yes,” he says. “Everything keeps changing.”
He’s clutching the steering wheel so hard that it looks like he’s trying to break it in half. He doesn’t like talking about his family or his home. That’s something I can relate to.
“Music?” he asks.
I nod. “Sure.”
He turns the radio on. “Starboy” by The Weeknd starts playing—all heavy beat and seductive vocals.
I listen to the music as we cruise down roads I’ve never been on. I glance at the time to see that it’s almost two o’clock in the morning.
Time is flying tonight, even though I want nothing more than for it to remain frozen.
I want to remain frozen, too. Right here in this car. Right next to this man who makes me feel safe.
He glances over at me.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I was just thinking about how at peace I feel right now. It’s rare for me. My mind, it’s always on.”
“I know what that’s like,” he says.
“You do?” I ask.
“I was actually having a pretty shitty day until I saw you,” he says. “You were like a shot of espresso. You made everything better. Brighter, somehow.”
“Coffee,” I say.
“You’re joking,” he says, looking horrified.
“I’ve never had coffee either,” I say. “We have lots of herbal teas at home, though.”
“That’s a travesty,” he says. “We need to end that right away.”
I giggle. The very thought of this man introducing me to new things brings me so much joy.
“Do you have a bucket list?” he asks.
“What?”
“A list of things you want to do or places you want to visit.”
“I know what a bucket list is, Dimitri,” I say. “But I’ve never thought about making one.”
Free will is something I never had. I never imagined that I could make plans for my own future. I never let myself think about the things I wanted for myself.
“I always wanted to learn how to swim,” I say.
He grins. “We can do that.”
“Tonight?” I ask.
“I doubt you’d want to go for a swim right after having a cheeseburger and a milkshake,” he says. “But we can plan it for next time.”
“There’s going to be a next time?” I ask.
“And one after that,” he says.
I hug my arms around myself. “I think I would like that.”
We’re in the main part of town now. Most of the businesses are closed, but some dive bars and diners are still open at this time of the night. He stops in front of a diner.
I stare up at the neon lights.
Rustic Fig.
“Your cheeseburger awaits, princess,” he says.
In this moment, I swear I’m happier than all of the other moments in my life put together.
But I can’t help but wonder how long this will last.