Chapter 7 #2
His words should not make me blush, but they do.
I admire the way his jeans accentuate his narrow, trim waist, and the way his T-shirt hugs him like a second skin while he continues to throw the ball for the dogs.
When he starts cooking the steaks, the dogs line up in front of the grill, tongues hanging out and tails wagging.
He doesn’t cook theirs long, and as soon as they’re cool enough, he drops one in each of their bowls.
They obediently wait, staring up at him like he’s their god, and as soon as he gives the command, they dig in.
I laugh at their excitement while he finishes cooking our steaks.
When it’s all ready, we sit at the table outside and eat under the stars.
“Thanks, Volodya. This is really delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“You’re from Moscow, right?” I ask, watching him closely to see if my question annoys him. He’s not the most talkative man in the world, and I’m guessing he’s also not the type to appreciate a ton of questions.
“I am.”
“What’s it like? Do you miss it?”
“It’s busy.” He spreads his arms and looks up at the night sky. “I like this better.”
“I bet your parents miss you,” I say, in a very transparent attempt to get more info.
He gives me a slight smirk, clearly onto my game, and says, “My dad was murdered several years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” I quickly say, cursing my curiosity.
“It happens in this line of work.” He takes a drink and adds, “It nearly killed my mom, though. She’s a different person now. We lost both parents that night.”
After a few minutes of silence, he looks at me and adds, “It’s dangerous to bring someone else into this kind of life.”
I know exactly what he’s trying to tell me, but I don’t want to hear it. “Your parents were in love?”
“Very much so,” he says. “And that love nearly killed her.”
“I’m guessing she would tell you it was worth it.”
“Maybe.” He sits back in his chair, scrubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw. “But was it really? She’s miserable and life is just something she endures now. She’s broken, unable to move on, and stuck in a headful of memories that will never be her reality again.”
“But you three are here because of that love. That’s got to be worth something.”
He scoffs at that. “Yeah, I’m not so sure the world is a better place because we’re in it, kiska.”
“Agree to disagree,” I tell him, making his lip quirk up a bit.
“You really hate giving out full smiles, don’t you?”
Before he can answer, his phone buzzes on the table. He checks the incoming message and sighs. “We need to go somewhere tonight.”
“We do?”
“Yeah, Scott and some of his friends showed up at Inferno. I need you to come with me to see if you recognize that guy you told me about.”
I look down at my leggings and T-shirt. “Okay, let me just hurry up and change.”
“Wear pants,” he yells after me. Running to my room, I hurry up and switch out my clothes for a pair of jeans and a black halter top that ties around my neck, leaving my back and arms exposed.
Throwing on a bit of makeup so I don’t look completely washed out, I run a brush through my hair, throw on some cute black ankle boots and a spritz of perfume before running back downstairs.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I tell him. His eyes run over me, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking.
I start to second-guess my outfit and am just about to change when he grabs my arm and leads me to the door.
In the garage, I start to walk to his car, but he hands me a helmet instead.
“Oh,” I say, eyeing the motorcycle he’d looked sexy as fuck riding when he’d followed me around town like a psycho.
“Yeah, I’m not so sure about this, Volodya. ”
“Scared?” he taunts, pulling his own helmet on.
His face is quickly hidden from me, and why the hell does that turn me on so much?
He tilts his head a bit to the side, and I start to fidget, shifting my weight from foot to foot.
I hear his muffled laugh before he reaches out to put my helmet on.
He tightens the strap, making sure it’s secure, and then hikes one long leg over and motions for me to get on.
“Don’t let go,” he says, pulling my arms tightly around him so I’m forced to mold my body to his.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I tell him, hugging him even tighter. Every part of him is hard muscle, and it’s damn tempting to let my hands wander, but I behave myself, mainly because I don’t want to die in a flaming crash on the side of the road.
He waves to whatever guard is at the gate tonight, and when he starts to speed up, I let out a squeal of fright and cling to him like a spider monkey.
I don’t hear him laugh, but I feel the vibrations of it.
He reaches back to give my thigh a comforting squeeze, and that one gesture is enough to help me relax.
I’ve never been on a motorcycle, and, yeah, it’s kind of scary to think about how much damage the road could do to my skin if I were to skid across it, but it’s also exciting and sexy as fuck to be hanging onto his powerful body while we speed down the highway.
I let out a laugh of pure joy when he speeds up even faster and passes a car, weaving in and out of traffic in a way that feels completely controlled and safe.
He’s not some dumbass on a motorcycle who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing.
Volodya knows exactly how to handle this bike.
By the time he pulls in front of Inferno, I’m starting to squirm against the seat.
My senses are on overload from the feel of his body against mine.
The hard peaks and grooves of his abs and the vibrations from the seat are combining to make one hell of a cocktail that I’m quickly becoming drunk on.
He parks the bike near the entrance, not seeming to care that it’s not actually a parking spot.
The line of people waiting to get in extends the entire length of the building and then some.
Most of the women are wearing far less clothes than I am, and I swear they all give a collective sigh when Volodya pulls his helmet off.
I quickly undo mine, trying to hide how badly my fingers are shaking, and then pull mine off, too.
The move isn’t nearly as sexy when I do it, and it leaves me with my hair sticking up all over the place.
He steps closer and runs his hands over my head, taming the wild strands.
He’s guarding his emotions, and I can’t tell what the hell he’s thinking. I hate it when he does that.
“Please tell me we don’t have to wait in line. I mean, there’s got to be perks to being a Bratva boss, right?”
I get a tiny smile as he takes my helmet and leaves it with the bike.
When he starts for the door, I have to speed walk to catch up because I know it’ll be embarrassing as fuck if I walk in a few steps behind him.
I just know the bouncer will block my way and kick me to the end of the line.
God, that’ll be so humiliating to have to walk past all those women who just saw me ride up with him and then watched as he quickly forgot I was even here.
I’m so caught up in my imagined nightmare that I don’t realize he’s stopped.
I barrel into him, hitting the wall of muscle and nearly knocking myself on my ass.
His hands are on me in an instant, keeping me upright as he leans closer to get a good look at me.
His whiskey eyes are definitely lit up with amusement now.
“You okay, kiska?”
“Yes. I just got distracted.”
“I guess I’d better keep you close so that doesn’t happen again.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond, just wraps an arm around me and pulls me against his body. The bouncer steps aside for us, giving Volodya a respectful nod and a “Nice to see you again, Mr. Medvedev,” as we pass by. Damn, being a Bratva boss definitely has perks.
I’ve never been inside Inferno before, like most of the really cool, popular places in the city, and it feels like sensory overload when we walk in.
The music is loud and thumping, the lights low, and bodies are everywhere.
The bar that lines the wall is lit up with neon lights that run the length of it like a beacon for all the intoxicated people to follow so they can get more booze.
Based on the amount of people over there and the three bartenders who are constantly in motion, it’s pretty damn effective.
I try to take it all in as Volodya leads me through the crowd.
We pass by a packed dance floor, and I can’t be certain, but I swear I spot a couple that I think might actually be having sex.
Lucky girl, I think, watching her throw her head back in pure ecstasy.
When I pull my eyes away, Volodya is staring at me with that same unreadable expression.
I swear I see a glimpse of anger, but it’s gone so quickly I can’t be sure if I just imagined it or not.
The moment is forgotten when he leads me to the VIP section.
The woman standing by the roped-off area looks like she should be on the beach posing for bikini shots.
She’s tall with long, auburn hair that’s falling in soft waves.
Her eyes are big and green, and she has the kind of breasts that I’d be willing to pay good money for.
I feel like the universe wanted to show me the exact opposite of myself, and it’s so nice that it’s happening right in front of my insanely hot boss who I’d very much like to fuck.
He feels me start to pull away when the woman gives him a smile, revealing a perfect set of bleached teeth.
Tightening his grip on me, he keeps me close, refusing to let me go.
Barely looking at the woman, he walks us into the VIP area, leading me to a table in the back.
I recognize Ilya, Valeri, and Nikolai, but there’s another man with them that I’ve never met.
Volodya motions for me to sit down and then waves at the man I don’t know. “This is Andrei.”