Chapter 9
Sienna
What the hell was that idiot doing here, for fuck’s sake? He was going to find out everything, about me, about Kenji, about Vassili. Would it really be so bad if it finally happened?
Yes. For Valentina. For the missing Stars. For… me.
He would never look at me the same way again, not the way he had earlier.
I would be filthy in his eyes. Maybe even a traitor for having worked for Vassili.
The second dance came to an end, and my gaze drifted for the thousandth time toward the table where Kenji, Ganesh, and Sasha were sitting, an image I would never have imagined.
What the hell could they be talking about?
I knew perfectly well that neither Kenji nor Ganesh would say anything I didn’t want revealed, but that didn’t stop the knot of worry tightening in my chest. Sasha Ivanov was an intelligent man—an attorney with an unmatched sense of deduction.
One word would be enough for him to connect the dots and uncover everything.
“Sienna!” a voice suddenly called out near me, and my eyes found Anjali’s anxious gaze.
“Are you okay? You seemed somewhere else during the dance,” she said, placing her hand on my arm but I shook my head.
“Don’t mind me, Anji. Focus on your evening,” I told her, resting my hand over hers.
“Just a last-minute problem that came up”.
I breathed out, glancing once more toward the table, and my eyes locked onto Sasha’s blue ones. Cold. Peace.
His gaze never left my face as mine slid down to his throat, I saw him swallow.
Then my eyes drifted to his arm resting on the table, the way his fist was clenched tight, my gaze returned to his, the desire I read there made me swallow in turn.
I felt myself blush, my already warm body heating further, turning almost feverish.
It felt as though lava was flowing through my veins instead of blood.
Suddenly, Anjali gasped beside me. “Is that Sasha Ivanov? THE Sasha Ivanov?” she exclaimed as I stared at her, confused.
“THE Sasha Ivanov? What do you mean?” she grinned.
“Well, the Sasha Ivanov who managed to melt your icy heart,” she giggled, nudging my shoulder with hers, “I can’t wait to call Esme and the other girls to…
” I clapped my hand over her mouth, shooting her a warning look.
She laughed behind my palm. “Don’t even think about it,” I growled.
She raised her hands in surrender, but I knew perfectly well that before the night was over, the information, and photos would definitely end up in the girls’ group chat.
Damn it. One of her cousins called her over, and she joined her with a wink thrown my way.
Yes. Photos. Definitely before midnight.
I sighed and turned toward the table where the three men were sitting in conversation, forcing an annoyed expression as fear tightened around my throat.
“I hope I’m not interrupting your patriarchal discussion,” I said as I sat down on the chair Sasha pulled out beside him, his fingers brushing my arm.
I could have sat next to Ganesh, but the idiot was already tense enough, no need to provoke him further by sitting near someone he clearly viewed as a threat.
Not today. I lifted my gaze and plunged it into his, he was still leaning toward me, and everything else disappeared.
His scent of sandalwood filled my lungs, his warmth seeping into my damp, shivering skin as the cool night breeze swept over it and he noticed.
He stood, removed his jacket, and draped it over my naked shoulders.
I accepted it in silence, adjusting it so it wouldn’t slip, as he sat back down.
“Come now, Chhori,” Ganesh said with a smile.
“Without you, there can be no patriarchal discussion” he chuckled as I rolled my eyes.
Kamal suddenly appeared beside me with a glass of water, ever attentive to others.
I accepted it with a quiet thank you, under Sasha’s sharp gaze, and drank slowly, avoiding eye contact while his eyes traced my profile.
“You can swallow the whole glass, moya malen’kaya gadyuka, but we will talk eventually,” he said casually making me I choked on my last sip.
A coughing fit seized me as I set the glass down, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kamal raise a hand toward my back in concern but suddenly my chair slid, my thigh pressing against Sasha’s.
He began rubbing my back, leaning in, his breath brushing my neck.
“Breathe, Sienna,” he murmured against my ear.
“My hand isn’t around your throat yet”. I froze, lifting my shocked gaze to his.
Our noses brushed against each other as he didn't move his gaze, sliding it down to my lips, through which my breath escaped.
"You can't," I whispered, gradually catching my breath.
"You promised not to touch me anymore” I reminded him, trying to pull away, but his hand wrapped firmly behind my neck, his gaze more intense than ever.
"That was before I saw you dancing with the niece of one of the most dangerous men in our world…no offense, Ganesh,” he added without looking away from me. “None taken,” Ganesh snorted behind me.
Our stare-down lasted several seconds. Neither of us had any intention of backing down, we were equally stubborn, equally foolish.
That was always how it was with Sasha. At the club, no one dared challenge me, knowing I never let go.
Even Kenji never pushed, unwilling to waste energy against my obstinacy.
But with Sasha, it was different. Like everything else.
He never retreated. He met me blow for blow, pushed just as hard as I did. With him, I was Sienna, not Stella, not Enna, not the Sienna who had survived the last eight years. I was the Sienna from before, the Sienna… who was alive.
Feeling the weight of eyes on us, I finally broke eye contact, crossing my arms in surprise to everyone.
Not out of submission, but to avoid drawing attention.
He sighed and leaned back in turn knowing this wasn’t a victory.
“Now,” he growled, removing his hand from my neck but draping his arm over the back of my chair, “tell me how you became friends with the Indian mafia, Sienna.”
I saw him glance over my head, I turned to see what had caught his dark gaze and spotted a group of young men seated several tables away. Seriously?
I straightened, adjusting his jacket over my shoulders, and looked in turn at Kenji and Ganesh.
They said nothing. They were letting me choose, tell him the truth or keep hiding it.
I lifted my gaze to his. I wanted to tell him the truth, but I had to find Valentina and the other women first. I was close.
I knew it. Just a little more patience, and I would tell him everything.
And then it would all be over. Definitively.
“I am not friends with the Indian mafia,” I said with a shrug. “But with Anjali, who happens to be the niece of the head of the Indian mafia.” The three men stared at me. “We met at a party, and that’s it.”
“And that’s it,” Sasha repeated, rubbing his chin, his jaw tight, a bad sign.
“Tell me, Ganesh, do you treat all of your niece’s friends this warmly?
” I grimaced, seeing he would get nothing more from me, he was turning to Ganesh, and I hated putting him in that position.
Ganesh smiled, tapping the floor lightly with his cane, “I won’t lie to you, Ivanov, Sienna is special to me,” he said, looking at me with a warm gaze and I pressed my lips together.
“When I met her for the first time, she immediately reminded me of my daughter.”
The memory of our first meeting made me smile and suddenly tears welled up.
Damn it. This old man always found a way to make me cry.
Often, a few words were enough.“I know that if my little Isha were still alive, she would be exactly like Sienna,” he said with a soft smile, extending his hand across the table.
I took it without hesitation. “So I don’t know about my niece’s other friends,” he continued, turning to Sasha.
“But Sienna is like my daughter, Ivanov. My family.” His gaze darkened, and it was clear these weren’t empty words.
He was sending a message, one that warmed my heart.
“Sienna already has a family,” Sasha shot back, his voice low, his fingers brushing my nape, I slowly turned my face toward him, toward his profile, while he kept his eyes on Ganesh.
“She has her sisters, her nephews, her niece, her brothers,” he went on, speaking of Selina and Rafael, and of all the Ivanovs.
Then his gaze plunged into mine, his thumb stroking my jaw, a gentle warmth spreading through my body.
“Me,” he finished, breathing in deeply. I swallowed at the intensity of his stare.
A family? With him? Could I even dare to dream of it? No. Because I knew something he didn’t. He and I could never be a family. I could not be any man’s family.