Chapter Thirty Sarah
As I fought with the zipper on my dress, my phone buzzed. I knew it was Maksim telling me he was here to pick me up. “Oomph,” I muttered as I finally slid the zipper home. Of course it wanted to get stuck at my boobs and make me be a contortionist to get it zipped.
After grabbing my phone, I sent Maksim a quick text to let him know I was on my way down.
Although butterflies bounced around in my stomach, I was ridiculously excited to be going out on a real date with Maksim.
While we might’ve had dinner out together, this was a whole new level–a night on the town with a risqué black dress for me and new heels.
When I came out of the elevator, Maksim was waiting for me.
Holy. Fucking. Shit. He had a white shirt and coal grey pants on.
While that part was mildly alluring, it was the fact the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up the elbows, showing off his arm porn.
Those veiny forearms with their colorful ink would be my undoing.
As I walked over to him, his hungry gaze roamed over my body. If eye-fucking was an Olympic sport, Maksim would bring home the gold. When I reached him, he didn’t say hello. Instead, he grabbed me by the waist and jerked me against him.
“Hello to you, too,” I murmured breathlessly.
His mouth crashed against mine. His lips moved relentlessly against my own. Just when I feared I would lose consciousness from the sensory overload, he pulled away.
As his nose trailed up my jugular, he growled, “You look g-good enough to eat.”
“I guess the dress is a hit, huh?”
“Oh yeah.”
When I realized people were staring, I quickly extricated myself from his embrace. “Come on. I don’t want to make your brothers and partners hate me for making you late.”
With a reluctant grunt, Maksim moved his body away from mine. I couldn’t help feeling his loss. But I knew if we didn’t get a hold of ourselves, we were going to fuck right there in the middle of the lobby, and I really didn’t want to have to find a new place to live.
Taking my hand in his, Maksim started leading me outside. As usual, a blacked out SUV waited for us. Once we got inside, I turned to Maksim. “You haven’t told me a lot about this club you’re building.”
“It’s going to b-be your average club with a few upgrades.”
“What kind of upgrades?”
He wagged his brows. “Naughty ones.”
“Oh,” I murmured.
Maksim eyed me curiously. “Does that b-bother you?”
“Seriously? You know I attended primal play hunts.”
“Then why the judgey response?”
I rolled my eyes. “I see even Russian men can be as dense as American men.”
“Maybe b-because I’m Russian-American.”
Turning in my seat to face him, I said, “Maybe I don’t like the thought of my boyfriend being constantly surrounded by beautiful women in a sexually fueled environment.”
Heat flared in his dark eyes. “You’re jealous?”
“Of course I am.”
An erotic growl rumbled through his chest that sent heat straight to my core. “I love it when you’re jealous.”
“Yeah, I’m not a fan.”
“Sarah,” Maksim practically purred.
When I didn’t respond, he undid his seatbelt so he could slide closer to me on the bench seat. “Whose being dense now?”
“Excuse me?”
“T-There is no other woman for me.”
“You say that now, but it’s hard saying no to stray pussy when it’s shoved in your face,” I snapped.
“Mmm, there’s t-that delicious fire I love.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He grabbed my chin in his hand and turned my face to his. “For the record, I’m an investor in the club. Leandro is the one who will oversee the day to day operations. T-That means I won’t b-be seeing any stray pussy.”
“That makes me feel slightly better.”
“Even if I was going to b-be there everyday, you still don’t have anything t-to worry about. I swear on my life”
If it was any other man, I might have doubted him. But this was Maksim. The trust I had for him was unbreakable. He’d proven himself to be so many times. “All right.”
“So we’re g-good?”
I leaned over and kissed his lips. “Yes, we are.”
The SUV slowed to a stop then. Turning my head, I gazed out the window. Two huge tents were set up like you’d see at a wedding reception. They were encrusted in twinkling lights.
I threw Maksim a grin over my shoulder. “Why did I just expect there to be a big pile of dirt and shovels?”
He chuckled. “I’m so g-glad I won't disappoint you since there are shovels and d-dirt. They’re just on the other side with a ribbon to be cut.”
“Are you going to wear a hard hat, too?”
As he cut his eyes over to me, I laughed. “There you go giving me that Slavic Side-eye.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s this look I can only chalk up to being Russian. Like how you guys have no tolerance for teasing.”
“T-That’s not true.”
“You’re just like my German great-grandmother.”
Maksim’s eyes bulged. “You never t-told me you’re German.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Yep. Russians hate Germans and vice versa. G-Guess we’re through.”
I grinned at him. “You are a terrible liar, Mr. Bratva.”
He winked. “Only with you.”
The moment the car door was opened I realized the groundbreaking for Three Kings was way more of a happening event than I’d expected. Flashbulbs had started going off the moment we exited the SUV.
As we started for the tent, I said to Maksim, “I feel like I am dating a Hollywood actor rather than a Bratva boss.”
He chuckled. “Well, Leandro and I are two of Philly’s p-prominent businessmen, so it makes sense.”
“Hmm, I would think the fact you’re hot, rich, and single doesn’t hurt.”
“I’m not single.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I might not be married, b-but I’m off the market.” He winked. “And the p-photos taken tonight will show that.”
His words sent my heart beating erratically in my chest. As a tall, dark-haired man motioned him over, Maksim’s mood shifted into business mode. “Quite a turn out,” the man mused.
“I agree.”
With a wink, the man said, “I called in a few favors to editors who owe me.”
Maksim snorted. “Why am I not surprised?” He then turned to me. “Sarah, this is Leandro Neretti, one of my business partners.”
I extended my hand to shake with him, but he shocked me by grabbing me by the shoulders. After placing a kiss on my left and right cheeks, he said, “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Sarah.”
“Same to you.”
Leandro then clapped Maksim on the back. “Well, the wifey is beckoning me. Gotta go before she has my balls.”
With a chuckle, Maksim said, “See you at the ribbon cutting in half an hour.”
As I watched Leandro’s retreating form, I said, “He seems like a fun guy.”
“He is.”
When Leandro got to a dark-haired beauty, he kissed the frown from her face. “Italian men are so passionate,” I mused.
Maksim scowled at me. “Russians are just as passionate if not more.”
“Seriously? Since when have you ever heard the same phrases about Russian men that you do Italians?”
“I could kiss the p-panties right off you.”
With a smile, I said, “I’ll hold you to that later.”
***
After the ribbon cutting and symbolic shoveling of the foundation by Leandro, Callum, and Maksim, we stood around making small talk, sipping champagne, and eating hors d'oeuvres.
Another hour passed and the small talk was getting to me, so I excused myself from the women I was talking to to go to the bathroom. I was washing my hands when my phone dinged with a text.
It was Maksim.
Where r u??
As I bit down on my lip, I decided to shake things up a little bit. I knew he didn’t take part in hunts, but he had mentioned he liked being dominant and taking control.
Come find me.
I don’t think you want to do that.
Why?
Bc I’ll fuck you if I find you.
Then hurry up.
After peeking my head out of the bathroom, I looked both left and right before slipping out. Thankfully, there was a large enough crowd that Maksim wouldn’t notice me right away.
I decided to head back to the SUV. At least if he caught me, we could get the hell out of there and get down to business. When I saw him in the distance, I quickly dipped into a side alley and hid behind a garbage dumpster.
After a few moments, I started to tiptoe out when Maksim swept me into his arms. “G-Got ya.”
I scowled at him. “How did you find me so fast?”
He shot me a wicked grin. “I have a GPS on your p-hone, and I followed the tracker.”
“No fair,” I pouted.
“I t-thought you would’ve been happy since I was g-going to fuck you.”
With a grin, I said, “I am. I just wanted to make you work for it a little more.”
An erotic growl rumbled through Maksim’s chest as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. “Is this necessary?”
“Yes.”
I responded by smacking his ass. Hard. My actions caused Maksim to crack his palm against my ass cheek. I cried out at the pain and the pleasure. “Are you g-going to do t-that again?”
Biting on my lip, I hit his opposite cheek. At his grunt, I knew I was in trouble. When he started to hit me again, I said, “I’m pretty sure I haven’t signed any contract tonight, sir.”
“A contract?”
Right. He wasn’t in the lifestyle, so he didn’t get it. “Um, it’s a hunt thing.”
Maksim froze. Slowly, he eased me down onto my feet. Staring intently into my face, he asked, “Is t-that what you want t-this to be?”
I hadn’t had regular vanilla sex in over a year. That was the last time I’d been in somewhat of a relationship. I hadn’t desired it in a long time.
But there was something about being with Maksim that made me crave it. Even though it was far too early, I found myself wanting him to make love to me. We had to work up to that point.
“No. I don’t want contracts or safe words or NDA’s.” I placed my hand over his heart. “I just want you.”
A shudder ran through his body. “And I just want you.”
With a smile, I brought my hands to his face and tilted his head to where I could kiss him. Our gentle lip-lock quickly turned into mauling each other with our tongues while our hands slid over each others’ bodies.
Pulling away, I panted. “Let’s get to the car.”