Russian Mafia Boss's Heir (26 page)

“Here’s your table, sir.” The hostess bowed him toward his usual table in the center of the room where it was possible to see everything going on.

“I’m meeting a companion,” he told her. “The woman’s name is Alexandra.”

“Of course, sir.” The hostess’s nostrils flared just slightly, the only sign of her disappointment. Then she smiled and excused herself.

 He had only minutes to wait for Alexandra to arrive. She moved through the restaurant with confidence and poise. There was no hostess leading the way and Vitaly hid a smile. He had a feeling Alexandra did things her own way quite often.

“Vitaly,” she purred. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

He stood and took her fingers in his. Lifting her hand to his lips, he brushed a kiss across her skin. The responding quiver made him smile. Whether she was a strong, independent woman or not, Alexandra’s body knew exactly what it wanted.

It took only seconds to pull out her chair and get settled at the table. A waiter appeared, bowing and looking quite eager to serve. Vitaly cocked his head, noticing that the server was male. Perhaps the first male server he had ever had at this—his very own—restaurant. He found that vastly amusing.

The waiter smiled at Alexandra. “May I start the lady off with a drink? Something from the bar perhaps?”

“I’ll have a vodka and cranberry juice.” Alexandra gave the man a smile.

Vitaly found he didn’t appreciate the way the waiter’s eyes lingered on Alexandra’s cleavage. Her dress was stunning—midnight blue and cut to frame her athletic, curvaceous figure.

“And bring me a shot of vodka and leave the bottle,” Vitaly said tersely.

“Have you been here before? I sort of imagined that you had since you chose it.” Alexandra asked, her eyes bright with wit and vivacity. “I haven’t, so I’ll have to bow to your expertise in ordering.”

“This is my restaurant.” He found he was actually saying this to get a specific reaction. How odd. He’d never felt the need to impress a woman before.

She sat back in her chair, all smiles and raised eyebrows. “Wow. Really? I bet running a restaurant is tons of work. Do you ever bartend when you need someone to fill in?”

“I have a time or two, yes.”

Vitaly placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. He stared at his dinner companion with curiosity. She had not struck him as the talkative type before. The change was disconcerting.

“I’m sorry, I’m talking really fast, aren’t I?” Alexandra blushed and her gaze dropped to her lap. “I do that when I’m very nervous.”

“And you’re nervous?” he mused. He still had the feeling she wasn’t being quite honest.

She finally looked back up and every bit of the self-possession and confidence he had so admired before was back in place. The change was breathtaking. “Well,” she began, “our last meeting was rather consuming, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely,” he managed to speak without choking on the word.

“It’s rather a lot to live up to.” She gave a delicate shrug of one bare shoulder. “Although I find I’m very willing to give the task my
full
attention.”

He did not miss the double entendre in her words. “Do you often engage in such tasks that require your full attention?”

“No. I do not.”

Vitaly felt blood rushing straight to his groin. He raised his hand to call the waiter. It was time to order their food, lest he be tempted to skip dinner altogether.

Chapter Eight

Alexandra wasn’t supposed to be having this much fun while having dinner with a known mafia boss. The problem was that Vitaly was just
likeable
. He was funny and charming. Even better, he seemed to be honestly interested in having more than just a physical connection with her.

“So Dimitri decides that it might be more fun to keep the wasp’s nest than to just throw it away,” Vitaly was saying. “Except he hadn’t actually considered whether or not there were still wasps inside it. By the time he set it on the kitchen table, there were a dozen or more angry wasps chasing his brothers around the table. Apparently Dimitri had gotten so much of the repellent on him that they were leaving him alone. So, helpful man that he is, he just laughed his ass off and let his brothers get stung repeatedly.”

Alexandra was laughing so hard she worried she might actually spray food across the table. She covered her mouth with a napkin and managed to swallow. “It sounds like these guys are more like your little brothers than your employees.”

“It’s a lot like that.” His eyes took on a faraway look. “Their father was like a second father to me after my own passed away.”

“So you said you’re Russian,” Alexandra said carefully. This was the perfect time to ease into getting him to talk about himself and divulge some valuable tidbits. “Were you actually born here?”

“No.” He took a drink of the wine the waiter had brought with their dinner. “I lived in Moscow until I was a teenager. When my father died, my mother came over here to look for a better life.”

“Like a mail-order bride?” The question just popped out. That bit of info hadn’t been in the FBI’s files on Vitaly Volkov. Alexandra slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that was really rude!”

“No, it’s all right.” He gave her such a soft smile that she felt everything in the vicinity of her heart go all mushy. “And yes. It was quite like a mail-order bride.”

“Did she fall in love with the man she came over to marry?” Alexandra couldn’t help but ask even though the question had zero bearing on her investigation.

Vitaly seemed to think this over. His expression grew introspective and he sat back in his chair in a very relaxed posture. “I believe so. She certainly seemed happy.”

“And now you’re a successful businessman,” she said eagerly. There. That was on topic. “Tell me, do you own more than one restaurant?”

“I have a restaurant and a lounge.” He sounded just a bit more guarded now.

Alexandra cast about for something to keep him talking. “That must keep you busy.” She gave a calculated pause, forcing her expression to remain demure. “I suppose that’s why you’re still single.”

“I’m still single for the same reason every other man is single.” He laughed. “I have yet to discover a woman that can tempt me to give up my freedom.”

“I suppose I’ll have to work on that,” she said coquettishly. “We can’t have you expiring from loneliness and boredom. You workaholic types are always so difficult to snare.”

“Is that what you’re trying to do?” He looked amused. Then he signaled the waiter for more wine. “Are you trying to snare me with the incredible chemistry between us, and the stimulating conversation?”

She put the tip of her index finger on her lips. “Oh no. I wasn’t thinking of myself at all. I was sitting here racking my brain to try and decide which of my friends would make you a good wife.”

Vitaly looked momentarily startled, and then he burst out into a belly laugh that rolled across the restaurant. Other diners turned to stare, and even the staff was looking at them. Alexandra didn’t care. She was sitting at the table with a totally sexy guy and she had just made him laugh like he meant it. For some reason that made her satisfied.

“And what do you do for a living, beautiful Alexandra?” Vitaly asked with a raised brow.

She watched him take another long drink of wine. Did he get drunk? That would have made her job so much easier. For now, she had to try and lie through her teeth. “I’m between jobs at the moment,” she said on a whim. “I was an administrative assistant at a bank. Then my boss got a little handsy and I decided I’d had enough.”

In was in her mind to wonder if she’d laid it on a little thick, but he seemed to take the bait immediately. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“It’s quite all right. What’s done is done and I’m over it,” she said quickly. Vitaly was starting to look a little murderous. How idiotic was it that his outrage over her supposed ill treatment made her feel good? Was she
that
desperate for validation in her life?

“I have a string of laundromats,” he said suddenly. “Or rather, I own them.”

Her brows shot straight up. “You do?”

Of course she already knew this, but it stunned her that he’d just made what was obviously an off-the-cuff comment that had resulted in giving her information he obviously hadn’t been going to share before.

“Yes. I do. I could speak to one of my managers and find you a suitable position there if you like.”

***

Vitaly could not fathom what had loosened his tongue to the degree that he had just divulged that much information to this woman over dinner. It was absolute folly.

Then he took a very long look at the beautiful woman sitting across the table.

“You would do that for me?” she asked, looking genuinely surprised.

He had to wonder what sort of life she led that she would ask such a simple, heartfelt question. “Of course.”

“That’s so unexpected,” she said. It was obvious that she was having difficulty finding words. “I mean, you have no reason to want to do anything for me. It’s not like you know me very well.” She blushed, looking quite fetching.

“Perhaps I don’t need to know you well.” He reached across the table and took her hand. Very gently, he traced the lines on her palm. “I’ve never enjoyed spending time with anyone quite as much as I have with you. In my book, that’s an important fact.”

“Including that first night?” There was something seductive in the way she formed a little pout with her mouth.

“Especially the night we met.” He nearly groaned out loud as the memory came rushing back. “I’ve never had another woman respond the way you did. It was exhilarating.”

“I thought so too,” she whispered. “I don’t usually do that sort of thing, you know. I just wanted you to know that.”

He lifted her hand to his mouth and let his lips whisper over her knuckles. “I had already guessed that to be true. You simply don’t seem the type to run about seeking one-night stands.”

“You were just so…” Two lines appeared between her brows as she sought an explanation. “I suppose it was that I felt things with you I’ve never felt with anyone else before. And dancing with you was…”

“Erotic?” he suggested.

“Yes. Exactly that.” Her voice was husky, and he could tell that even the memory was turning her on. “Believe me, I like to think of myself as an independent woman. But having you take the lead like that was such a turn-on, I think I was ready to rip off my clothes on the dance floor.”

Her frankness pleased him. “I’ve never met anyone so honest,” he whispered. “Your body doesn’t lie. And you aren’t afraid of your own sensuality.”

Something odd moved behind her gaze. It was there for just a second before disappearing altogether. He might have taken a step back to consider that strangeness, but she chose that moment to tug his hand closer to her. Then she pressed her lips to
his
knuckles and very gently began to kiss her way over the roughness of his skin. Seconds later she was using the tip of her tongue to lightly trace a pattern over the back of his hand. If he had been capable of thought before, he no longer was. Every bit of his focus was zeroed in on the way it felt to have her touch him. He had taken the lead before. Perhaps this time
she
would show him her passion and eagerness firsthand.

“I want you so badly, Alexandra,” he murmured. “My cock is so hard, I don’t think I can get up from the table without the whole restaurant knowing.”

“Do you think I care if they know that you’re mine for the night?” she teased.

Her words lit a fire in him. Vitaly half rose from his seat and leaned over the table. He cupped the back of her head in his hand and threaded his fingers through her long loose hair. Then he settled his mouth on top of hers and kissed her until he could feel her yield to his dominance.

Her lips parted on a sigh and he swept his tongue into her mouth to taste the wild flavor of her. She moaned a little, questing back and meeting him halfway with her kisses. The rhythm of their contact mimicked the love play that had been so utterly fulfilling the night they’d met. Vitaly wanted more. He wanted everything. And he wanted it badly enough to consider bending her over the table and taking her right there in front of the entire restaurant.

Pulling back gently, Vitaly was amused to see her looking a little punch-drunk after their kiss. She sank into her seat like a wilting flower and her sigh was almost juvenile. He lightly touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Come home with me tonight. Stay with me. I want to make you mine.”

For just a moment she looked indecisive. Then she looked at him from beneath her lashes in a way that made his cock throb with the need to be inside her. “I don’t know that I feel ready to stay the night. But I would love to come back to your place for a drink and maybe something extra.”

It was all Vitaly could do to stay cool. He was ready to leap out of his chair and do a fist pump to tell the world that Alexandra was coming home with him. She thought she was going to go home before morning. It would be his pleasure to convince her otherwise.

He stood up from the table and held out his hand. She rose and gently took it. He tucked her fingers into the crook of his elbow and began walking her out of The Samovar. Never had he been so eager to get home for the night.

Chapter Nine

Alexandra tried to hang on to her composure, but being this close to Vitaly was giving her some rather decadent and naughty thoughts that had nothing to do with her FBI investigation and everything to do with how much she’d enjoyed having sex with Vitaly on that first night they’d met.

She kept stealing glances at him in the car. She thought she was being discreet until he turned his head and gave her a knowing smile. “Do you like what you see?”

Why was his arrogance so charming instead of asinine? If any other guy asked that question, Alexandra would have knocked his block off. Instead, she could actually feel the dopey grin on her face. “I do like it, actually. You’re very handsome.”

He pulled up to the Maximov mansion. Alexandra tried to remember that she wasn’t supposed to know anything about the place. She had no idea who he was. He’d never given her his last name, and she’d never given him hers.