Chapter 2 #2
“While inspiration can come from fascinating sources, evidently none.” His expression of pleasure had returned, a crackle of electricity sparking between us.
But as he rubbed his chin, I was allowed the enjoyment of studying the move.
His stubbled jawline was like a matte finish, rough enough to light a spark. “I’ve lost my touch.”
“Well, then. I guess I need to assist you in breaking your losing streak.”
His smile was genuine, the look brightening the darkness I’d seen before. “Then allow me to guide the way.” He didn’t ask and I didn’t argue when he clasped his hand over mine, rubbing the tip of his index finger across my knuckle before taking the handle of my rolling luggage from me.
There was a sense of chivalry that surprised me as much as the strong connection. In a sea of gorgeous men for days, none had awakened even a hint of desire within me.
We walked through the crowd with slow and easy steps while almost everyone else in the airport hurried to their destinations.
“Would it be against the rules if I asked your name?” His question brought a laugh.
“I didn’t know we had rules.”
He took several additional long strides before stopping just in front of the door. “I’ll confess a little secret. I almost never follow rules. They are far too confining.”
The man was as charming as he was disarming, but I had a strong feeling he wasn’t lying to me. “Well said. Perhaps for tonight I’ll forgo my usual rules as well. But since we’ll never see each other again, why not keep it simple and the illusion of mystery intact by using first names only? Vivian.”
With a slight nod, he opened the door, immediately retrieving his wallet. “Kirill.” With everything automatic, he was simply required to wave a thick black card in front of a scanner. However, an attendant was close by, immediately greeting us.
“Welcome back, Mister?—”
He stopped her by placing a finger across his lips and she smiled.
“Why do I have a feeling you’ve played this game before and the lovely blonde is well aware of your tactics?”
His chuckle sent a single well-defined shiver down my spine. “In truth, I’ve been inside this airport once. However, Tiffany did ensure my time spent at the club was pleasant enough. Although I must say, given I’m used to traveling privately, all this takes some getting used to.”
He didn’t ask where I’d prefer sitting, instead guiding us to a table for two with a spectacular view of the runway with the city as a picturesque background.
The chairs were soft leather, the setting relaxing with low lights and candles on the tables. While it was still the afternoon, I’d been dropped off early so I could avoid missing my flight. I was on a tight upcoming schedule with no room for error.
As a plane began rolling down the long runway, I cringed and hadn’t realized I’d done so audibly, my moans catching me off guard.
“You don’t like flying,” Kirill offered. There was no need for him to pull a chair out for me, but he waited to sit down until I was comfortable, a move that surprised me.
“Flying is fine. Crashing isn’t on my bucket list for this century or any other.”
“You do realize?—”
I threw my hand out. “I know the statistics. My cousin sent me every aviation report in the world, so I’d agree to fly to Rome with her.”
“Did it work?” He was more than remotely amused, but I wasn’t angry, merely annoyed with myself. When I gave him a look as if to ask if he was kidding, he laughed. “Obviously I have the most incredible woman sitting across from me, so were you able to shove aside your fear?”
“Please don’t call the terror irrational or I’ll ask the waiter for a steak knife from the restaurant.”
“To cut out my heart?” Every word dripping from his mouth was sensual. He could read the phone book and women would fall at his feet begging for more.
“More like your eyes, although they are your best feature.”
“I’m not certain whether to take that as a compliment or a criticism.”
“Perhaps both,” I teased. “It’s very true that eyes are windows to a man’s soul, but they can often wear dark shades over them, distorting reality in a way that leaves you uncertain if what you’re seeing and experiencing is truth or fantasy.”
“Very deep. I suppose I should feel flattered you believe me capable of hiding behind any mask.”
“We can all hide behind a mask. The only differences are in for how long and for what intent,” I said with no real inflection, but it was the truth. That much I’d learned since the incident in Hawaii. “Kirill. Russian.”
When he finally eased into the chair, he did so with confidence. However, I noticed that just as he’d done when we were walking through the terminal, he was scanning the area, reading everyone in proximity.
Perhaps ensuring his safety or to determine if anyone was a threat. Maybe he was a spy or an assassin. The ridiculous thought forced me to stifle a smile.
“Yes, Vivian. American?”
“What gave me away, my inability to toss out biting Italian words or the crappy little suitcase that I borrowed from my cousin for the trip?”
He burst into laughter, the sound booming into the room, yet it didn’t seem to go anywhere.
The walls were padded, creating an aura of privacy.
With the tables placed several feet apart, private and very alluring conversations could be held.
“I daresay I’ve yet to find any woman in either Russia or all of Italy quite so beautiful.
” He leaned across the table, his gaze slowly falling down my face, daring to pause at the deep V in the bodice of my dress.
With his nostrils flaring, he lifted his head, his eyes now piercing mine.
“Does that line work?”
“Also very American, straight and to the point. I find myself incapable of how do you say, putting one over on you.”
“Well, I have seen or experienced just about every ridiculous come-on. But I will give you points for effort.” I also leaned forward, close enough our faces and our lips were mere inches apart.
The subtle yet powerful method of flirtation was easy with him, which in turn allowed my entire body to tingle without reservation.
His expression, a promise of dark, filthy passion, gave way to another alluring smile. This time as if he had something up his sleeve. Or maybe because we were approached by a waiter who spoke in fluid Italian, which in turn Kirill did as well.
“What would the lady prefer?” the handsome Russian asked.
“Bordeaux.”
The way his eyebrows lifted meant he approved. Mine did as well when he ordered a bottle of nineteen eighty-two Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, the selection something I’d always wanted to taste.
However, the rich French wine was completely out of my paygrade. In fact, other than the upper echelon of society, out of everyone’s price range, typically costing close to ten thousand dollars per bottle.
“That’s on the complimentary menu?” I tossed the question out without thinking, revealing I was living and breathing in an entirely different world than he was.
I could tell by the eighty-thousand-dollar watch he was wearing and the tailored clothes that obviously had been hand designed for him that he had could easily afford the wine. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t taken aback by his determination to take control. That wasn’t my personality.
While Kirill’s Italian was flawless, the words spoken with an alluring flair, I caught more than half of what he’d ordered. Including appetizers. I had to admit the morning bagel was long gone.
“I’m generally unimpressed with anything offered as a complimentary resource. In my years on this planet, I’ve determined that the things sweetest to catch and enjoy are worth the time, money, and effort spent on the hunt.”
His words created another slow-moving shiver. He was definitely a predator. “Do you always insist you get your way?” I pressed.
“Yes.” The single word was said with no inflection, but there was clear amusement returning in his eyes.
“The wine is… a little overdone and very pricey.”
“Do you not believe a woman should be treated to the finer things in life?” His question seemed rhetorical, but I could sense he was waiting for an answer.
Our lips remained close, his scent infusing with mine to unleash a torrent of desires that were both confusing and deliriously taunting.
I dared inch just a touch closer so our vision was stilted, yet I could see every line on the sides of his eyes, the texturing adding another layer of character to a man who needed nothing else to exude sensuality.
“I believe women deserve anything and everything they crave. Often the sweetest success is found after forging a path themselves.”
“Fascinating,” he murmured, his hot breath once again cascading across my skin. “Does that include you as well?”
“That depends on the offer.”
Kirill seemed genuinely surprised at my answer, pulling away and raking his gaze down my face to my lips. In turn, I dragged my tongue across the plumpest portion of the center of my mouth while inhaling his toxic aroma.
Toxic in that I could lose myself and while I enjoyed the heavy flirtation, anything else was unacceptable.
But he was tempting. Very tempting.
He took a deep breath and, in a surprising move, curled his fingers and provided his own daring move, although my guess was that everything Kirill did was completely calculated. He rolled his knuckles under my chin and in doing so created a wave of excitement that I’d never experienced. Not once.
Subtle yet so powerful.
With my core throbbing, sizzling with excessive heat, I squeezed my thighs together. Already my panties were damp, yet my mouth was dry, which happened when someone or something made me very nervous.
“Krasivyye zhenshchiny zasluzhivayut kazhdoy laski, i kazhdyy muzhchina dolzhen risknut’ vsem, chto u nego yest’, chtoby ispolnit’ yeyo zhelaniya.”
His words spoken in Russian were completely guttural, the tone low yet demanding, his eyes burning into mine and for a few seconds, I was lost in a stunning haze.
But I managed to find my path to sanity, offering a more salacious smile. “You do have me at a disadvantage. What the lady desires is to know what was said. I don’t like secrets or lies.”
Every smile he offered brightened his face.
Except for this time.
He was deeply entrenched in his own yearning, which left me dangerously close to longing to surrender to whatever needs were furrowing in his mind.
“A lady as intelligent as she is beautiful, and perhaps as cunning as well.”
“That is definitely possible, but you aren’t allowed off the hook no matter how tempting your compliments.” I pulled away, breaking the touch and folding my arms while I held my glare. How long had it been since I’d enjoyed toying with a man this way?
“Then I suppose I shouldn’t disappoint the lady. Beautiful women are deserving of every morsel they crave and every man should risk all that he has to obtain her desires.”
He was gauging my reaction, one side of his upper lip curling.
“Are you suggesting your words are profound?”
“Hardly,” he said in his deep register, but the tone had already dipped into a darker, more commanding level. “Simply a fact as told by someone close to me.”
In movies, there was a moment when the hero and heroine peered into each other’s eyes and everything else faded away.
While I couldn’t claim that’s what was happening, especially since the waiter had returned with the very expensive bottle of wine, I could easily admit I was allowed a brief moment of feeling truly sinful and far removed from the respectable woman I’d molded myself into.
That in itself was far more dangerous than the man sitting in front of me.
However, I knew instinctively Kirill was someone I should stay far away from.
Yet my willpower was slipping away.