Chapter 6
Six
AMARA
I watched from my bedroom window when Luka pulled into the circle drive. I was hidden by the curtain. He wore a dark suit. Fitted. From this far away, he still looked edible. I took a full inhale. The doorbell rang, but I didn’t budge. It wasn’t long before Bella knocked on my door.
“Ms. Amato, your guest has arrived,” she announced, and I pretended I wasn’t aware that the air was twenty degrees warmer since he walked through the front door.
“Thank you, Bella. Tell him I’ll be down in a minute.” I was dressed. I stepped into the high black heels that added inches to my height. I hesitated in front of my vanity. I flipped open the marble box and pressed the button underneath the velvet shelf. The tiny door popped, and I retrieved the necklace. It was a bold statement. I touched the pearl against my skin once the clasp was fastened. It was a night for surprises.
I took one step down, and I saw him. I swallowed, wondering if I should call off the date. The man waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase looked like a wolf ready to draw in his prey. Was it the Luka I knew, or was it a new version that had let in more darkness than light? What had the years in France done to him?
I took a second step and then a third until my hand was in his.
“You look gorgeous.” He leaned to kiss me on the cheek.
“Thank you.”
I looked into his eyes.
“You must have changed your eyes about tonight, kotyonok.”
I swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“Your dress. It’s black.”
I was afraid to breathe. Afraid he would see the way my legs wobbled slightly. “Yes?” I lifted my chin toward him with defiance.
“Go change.” His voice filled my ear and coasted down my body.
I blinked. Every part of me was charged. Tingling. Coursing with want and need.
I shook my head. “No.” Despite my words, my nipples hardened as if they were calling to him.
He tilted his head to the side. “I’ll wait. Go.”
My chest heaved with faster breaths. “This dress is designer, Luka. I chose it for tonight.” My voice cracked.
“And I told you to choose the red if you wanted me to take it off. I meant every fucking word.”
If I hesitated now I would lose all the nerve I had. I turned and climbed the sprawling staircase to the second floor. The red dress was hanging on the outside of my closet door. I knew I would wear it tonight. However, I let myself believe I was strong enough to deny the Pakhan.
I stepped out of the black silk and studied my reflection in the mirror. My body was waking up again. It had been asleep to pleasure for five years. I reached for the red dress on the hanger and carefully stepped into it, before zipping it to the lowest point on my back.
I almost gasped when I saw myself in the red. There she was. The woman I had been with Luka. I pulled my shoulders back and walked through the bedroom door.
He met my gaze at the top of the stairs. It was a collision of hunger, devotion, and instinct. The moment he saw me standing there in the red dress he knew everything about the night ahead of us.
He extended his hand as I trembled through each carefully placed foothold on the steps. The silk of the dress caught along my thighs. Every sense was heightened. I could smell his cologne from a few steps away. My palm slid against his and the touch sparked and electrified a deep craving still awakening inside me. The need to be touched only the way Luka could touch me. I wanted the friction of his body rubbing against mine. Heating me. Burning me.
“You decided to change?” he teased. He brought my knuckles to his lips, grazing over the top of my fist.
“Yes.” I wanted my voice to be stronger, but he was slowly unraveling all the walls and fortresses I had spent five years constructing. The longing for him had been cruel and ruthless.
“You made the right decision. You’re breathtaking, Amara.”
“You approve?” I whispered, feeling the heat of his gaze rake over my exposed skin. He twirled me slowly in the foyer taking in every dip of fabric, every curve of my body. All I could think about was his promise if I wore the dress.
“Red suits you,” he admired.
I straightened the lapel of his suit jacket and flattened his tie. There were no wrinkles and nothing out of place, but I felt as if it tipped the scales slightly if I could adjust a part of his clothing. To distract myself from how he had laid claim to my body by ordering me into the red dress. I brushed the edges of the jacket covering his broad shoulders.
“Am I presentable?” he taunted. The corners of his gorgeous mouth turned upward in a smirk.
I nodded. “You are quite handsome, Luka.”
He offered his arm. “Are you ready?”
“I am.” My phone was tucked in my small purse. I had silenced it.
He escorted us past Bella, who waited for us to exit while she held the heavy front door open. We stepped outside and I was reminded there was a world outside of the bubble Luka and I created whenever we were near each other.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I have a full evening planned. You’ll see.” He led me to his car. No driver. Just the two of us.
“Marguerite’s?” I guessed. I had been to visit her a few times after Luka’s move to France. She knew I missed him. But eventually, even that became too difficult for me. And my life too busy for café wine nights.
He chuckled. “Even better. Trust me.” He closed the door behind me as I slid into the passenger seat, dragging the red silk with me safely.
I expected Luka to drive us out to the bayou. He liked the places on the road less traveled. The anonymity that came with dive bars and local haunts. As we turned through more downtown streets, I had a sinking feeling. It felt off.
He pulled along the curb as the valet hurried to the driver’s side of the car. He parked and turned off the engine.
My eyes cut to him. “Is this a joke? Do you think this is funny?”
“Is there something wrong with the food here? I heard it was the best in the city. Now.” There was no humor in his eyes. They were dark and unbothered.
The curly French writing scrawled on the marquee lit behind his head. We had arrived at the Vieux Carre.
When I didn’t answer he quieted the music in the car. “It’s a little ironic. I thought it would be a good place to start our truce.”
“That’s the truth?” I questioned. “You want us to eat at the Viuex Carre?”
“It seemed like the only place to start. You can show me around your hotel. But we do have reservations that start in five minutes. I could cancel?”
“No. No.” I shook my head. Everything I thought this night could be and should be evaporated. I had imagined a scenario where Luka wanted to bring the past to us. I realized we were no longer those people from five years ago. I certainly wasn’t the na?ve girl he had met in the pool house. But there was still disappointment that I wouldn’t experience some of it again.
The door swung open, and the valet’s eyes bulged when he realized who I was. “Ms. Amato.”
“Good evening.” I smiled sweetly.
There would be no nostalgia. No reliving the past. I had to shift my mind to embrace any possibility for the rest of the night. This might be my hotel, but Luka had managed to throw me off balance. He brought me to a place where I should have the upper hand, but the way my belly flipped when he rounded the car meant I was once again at his mercy.
Luka nodded at me. “I knew we’d have excellent service at least.” He offered his hand as I stepped on the curb. “Everyone says this is the best. Exquisite.”
“Ahh, I see. You’re here for the service.” I needed a few beats and breaths to gain my footing again.
He chuckled. “I just want to see where the night takes us.” His hand slid to my waist. I gasped at the provocative way he applied pressure as his fingers dug into my hip. He guided me into the hotel. “Although we know since you chose the red dress, what you desire most, Amara.” His breath whispered over my neck and the words flooded my thoughts.
I felt a lump in my throat. I was wearing the dress he ordered me to wear. It was my first act of submission to the Pakhan. Instead of anger or embarrassment, I was turned on. I gave in to his request and it thrilled me. Did the power lie with him or me? I knew what this dress did to him. His eyes hadn’t stopped fucking me since I descended the stairs.
“Is that so?” I tilted my eyes upward. “I guess we will see where the night takes us.”
I wasn’t sure if this was a date or psychological warfare.