by Roxie Rivera
Dimitri's big hand closed over mine. He pushed my wallet back into my purse. "It was my treat."
I decided not to fight him on this one. He obviously took a great deal of pleasure in doing things like this. "Thank you, Dimitri. I really appreciate this."
His sexy grin warmed me through and through. "I have an idea or two how you can show that appreciation later tonight."
I giggled a bit nervously. "I'm sure you do."
He slid his hand along the back of my neck and lowered his mouth to mine. Our kiss left me tingling and aching for more. "I'll pick you up around seven. Ivan and Erin want us to join them for dinner at the Samovar. Have you ever been there?"
I shook my head. Feeling a bit sheepish, I admitted, "I'm not really a huge fan of Russian food."
Amusement glinted in his beautiful blue eyes. "Have you ever had Russian food?"
"Once, at this cultural expo thing at college."
He made an annoyed sound. "Well no wonder you didn't like it! That's like me going to one of the fast food chains, eating a taco and declaring that all Mexican food is bland and gross." He gave my hair a tug. "We both know that's not true."
"Fair enough."
"The food at Samovar is amazing. You let me order for you. I'll choose things you'll enjoy."
I don’t know why I found the idea of Dimitri ordering for me so hot but I did. "Okay."
He brushed that sinful mouth of his against mine. "You should go home and take a nap."
"Why?"
His hand drifted down my side to grip my bottom. Pulled against him, there was no mistaking the hard outline of his cock against my belly. "You're going to want to be well rested for the night I have in mind."
Quivering with excitement, I could only nod. He captured my lips in another deliciously sexy kiss before walking me to the driver's side. Rooted to the spot, he watched me back out of my parking space and onto the street.
I glanced in the rear view mirror to see him climbing into his truck. A pang of sadness reverberated in my chest. I didn't like being separated from him, even if only for a few hours. My sudden attachment to Dimitri worried me a little.
But maybe it wasn't so sudden? We'd known each other for five years and had been close friends for most of that time. What was happening between us now seemed to be happening so fast but unlike a lot of couples we weren't starting from scratch. We had five years of history behind us and a solid foundation of friendship.
Pondering that line of thought, I turned into my neighborhood and made the short drive to the house. For the second time today, I was stunned by what I saw. First a clean car and now a perfectly manicured front lawn!
After parking in the driveway, I took a moment to walk around the front yard and inspect the work. The flower beds had been weeded and the sidewalk edged so nicely. Now all I needed to do was buy new mulch and some pretty annuals to brighten up the front yard.
"Johnny?" I called out for him as I shut the door behind me. "I'm home."
As I dropped my keys in the bowl on the entryway table and my purse next to it, I heard him come out of his room. He appeared at the top of the stairs looking much better than when I'd seen him this morning. "Are you going out?"
"Yeah? Why?" He gave me attitude. "You want me to do the laundry and scrub the toilets and mop the floors now?"
I didn't understand why he was being so snippy with me. Was he baiting me for a fight? I decided to compliment him on a job well done. "Did you do the yard? It looks amazing! Thank you."
"Like I had a choice! Freaking Dimitri threatened to beat the crap out of me if I didn't do it!"
"What?" It took me a minute process what he'd said. "What do you mean? Dimitri threatened you?"
"Don’t act like you didn't know!"
Aghast, I insisted, "I didn't! I asked him not to get involved."
"Well he sure as hell doesn't listen!"
That makes two men in my life who don't listen to me, I thought crossly.
"Johnny, I'm sorry that things got ugly between the two of you. I'll talk to him."
"I guess I should get used to him pushing me around, huh? Since you two are together now," he added. "Maybe I should go ahead and move out."
"Don't be ridiculous. You're not moving anywhere."
"But we're selling the house."
My stomach knotted as I remembered our fight. "If that's what you want, yes."
"And the bakery?"
"Do I have a choice? This morning you made it sound like you were ready to sign the papers. I won't fight you, Johnny."
He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you giving in so easy all of a sudden? What's your game, Benny?"
"My game? What does that mean?"
"You know what it means." Anger and mistrust flashed across his face. "I know what you're doing! You're going to let that big, stupid Russian bastard buy your half of the business! He's going to hold up my deal."
"Are you insane? I'm not letting Dimitri buy anything. He wanted to make you an offer for your share but you've already gotten cozy with those jerks at UpStreet so whatever, Johnny! Take this shitty deal and let's be done with it."
"What you mean? Why is it shitty?" He came down the stairs like a raging bull and bumped up against me. "Do you know something I don't? You think I'm so stupid you can go behind my back and get a better deal." He slammed his chest against me, knocking me into the wall. "Are you trying to cheat me?"
For the first time in my life, I shrank back with fear of my brother. I didn't know this version of Johnny. The trust between us shattered, I threw up my hands, no longer certain he wouldn't hit me. "Johnny! Please!"
He went rigid and blinked. With a visible gulp, he stepped back. For an excruciatingly uncomfortable moment, we stared at one another. Finally, he growled with frustration and snatched my keys out of the bowl. "I'm leaving."
Stunned by the turn of events, I could only watch him stomp away from me. At the door, he spun toward me and snarled, "Tell your boyfriend I want my gun back or he owes me three hundred bucks!"
The door slammed hard and I jumped. Unable to move, I kept my gaze fixed on the door and tried to make sense of what had just happened. In a split-second, Johnny had turned so frightening. I'd never been afraid of him but now I wondered who the hell he was.
Where was the brother who had been my best friend? Was this my fault? Had I done something wrong? What had I done to push him toward those thugs and monsters in the Hermanos crew?
Heartbroken and feeling depressed, I locked the front door. Johnny's parting shot rattled around in my head. "You mean you owe me three hundred bucks…"
* * *
When Dimitri pulled into Benny's driveway, he was pleasantly surprised to see the yard had been mowed. Johnny wasn't the lost cause he'd considered him. Hopefully some of the kind, sweet-natured kid he'd once been still existed under all that gangster wannabe bullshit. The idea of moving Benny and Johnny into a neighborhood like Ivan's bubbled to fruition. Johnny could make a clean break and start over in a better place.
While he waited for Benny to answer the door, Dimitri tried to picture what she would be wearing. He hoped it was short and curve-hugging. There was nothing he liked more than seeing her tight little ass and those luscious breasts. With all the dark corners of the VIP areas in Faze, he would have no trouble finding a secret spot to show her just how much he enjoyed her hot body.
The door opened but it wasn’t Benny's smiling face that greeted him. She seemed annoyed and upset. His inner alarm clanged. Proceed with extreme caution.
Even with that slight scowl on her face, she looked beautiful. He made sure to let her know. "Benny, you look amazing."
"Thanks." She waved him inside. "I have to put on my shoes and switch some things from my purse to my clutch. I'll be a few minutes."
"That's fine. We're in no hurry." He shut the door behind him and took advantage of the better lighting to enjoy the sight of her in that little black dress. Simple but sexy, it fit her perfectly. She'd styled her
dark hair half up and half down. His fingers itched to pluck free the pins so he could tangle his fingers in the long waves while she worked her lips up and down his cock.
Later, he reminded himself. They had the whole night ahead of them.
He noticed the way she roughly jammed makeup and her phone into her smaller purse. Finding his courage, he cleared his throat, "Is everything all right?"
Her hands went still. Slowly, she pivoted toward him. The expression on her face was a mix of pain and anger. "Did you threaten Johnny?"
Ah. Now he understood.
"After he pulled a gun on me and said something rude about you? Yes." There was no use denying it. "He could have shot me. He could have shot you if you'd been the one to wake him up."
Her eyes closed and it was clear she was fighting tears. When she opened them again, she blinked rapidly. "But why did you come here in the first place? I thought you were going to stay out of it."
"I was but I couldn't do it. I only came here to talk to him, to make him an offer on his portion of the business so you would be in the best position to negotiate with Jonah Krause. When I went upstairs to look for him, he pulled his gun on me and things…deteriorated rapidly."
"Deteriorated?" She scoffed loudly. "Yeah, well, now Johnny is convinced we're trying to rip him off. He came at me in a rage and—"
"He what?" Fury burned through him at the thought of that little bastard coming at Benny. He moved closer and looked her over for any signs of bruising. "Did he hit you?"
"No."
"Benny."
"No. He didn't hit me." Her gaze fell to the floor. "There was a second there where I thought he might but he got control and it was okay."
"Okay? Okay?" Dimitri swore a nasty streak in his mother tongue. With a slash of his hand through the air, he commanded, "You're moving in with me. Tonight."
"Don't be so dramatic, Dimitri!"
"Dramatic? Johnny shoved a loaded gun in my face this morning because I woke him up. He came at you because you pissed him off. Do you really want to see what he's going to do next?" He couldn't believe how blasé she was being about all this. "Benny, I'm not going to stand by and watch him treat you like this."
Irritated, she shouted, "Why do you care so much?"
"Because I love you!"
She rocked back on her heels at his unexpected outburst. He swallowed hard at the realization that his secret was out and there was no taking it back, even if it was too soon to tell her such a thing.
Nervousness made his voice quake but he repeated what he'd said. "I love you, Benny. When I see you hurting, it hurts me."
"You love me?"
"Yes."
"Me?"
His brow furrowed. "Yes. You. I love you."
"But…I mean…I'm just me."
"Just you?" Shaking his head, he tried to find the right words. "Benny, you're amazing. You're beautiful and funny. You're the kindest, sweetest woman I've ever met. Every time I hear you laugh, my stomach somersaults. Every time you smile at me, I feel like I can't breathe." He steeled himself for rejection. "Maybe I'm not the kind of man you can love but—"
"You are," she interrupted softly. With a timid smile, she confessed, "Dimitri, I think I've been in love with you since I was eighteen years old. From the first day you walked into our bakery holding that classified ad in your hand, I had the biggest crush on you."
He grinned. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Why didn't you?"
"It never seemed like the right time."
Blushing, she admitted, "I thought you didn't see me."
"Oh, I saw you, Benny." He wrapped his arms around her and drew her into his embrace. "I've been watching you and waiting for you so long."
When their lips met this time, the kiss was tender and full of such emotion. The rush of happiness that surged through him threatened to knock him off his feet. Benny pressed against him, winding her arms around his waist and flicking her tongue against his. She tempted him to drag her to the couch and make love to her but he muscled down those primal urges. He'd promised her a relaxed evening with friends and intended to give her just that.
They finally broke their lingering kiss. She smiled up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. There was no mistaking the depth of her love for him. He could only hope that she could read the same in his expression.
He ran his thumb across her silky pout. She playfully nibbled the tip of it. Laughing, he said, "Come. Let's celebrate."
Chapter Nine
"Are we ready for some dessert?" Smiling sweetly, Vivi refilled my glass of iced tea and Erin's water. She stood at the edge of our table and waited for an answer. I had to hand it to her. She was one hell of a waitress. Earlier, when Dimitri had been ordering for me, she'd carefully steered him away from an entrée featuring cabbage with the tiniest, almost imperceptible twitch of her nose. For sparing me that cruciferous fate, I was ready to give her a huge tip.
Dimitri ran his hand along my shoulder. "Would you like some dessert?"
Normally, I would say no, but tonight's meal had been such a good experience, I wanted to try something from the sweet side of the menu. "Yes." I glanced up at Vivian. "What do you recommend?"
"For you? Our Lady of Pastry?" Eyes glinting with mischief, she considered for a moment. "There's this really delicious sponge cake with layers of fluffy vanilla cream and apricots and raisins. It's so yummy!"
"You've sold me. I'll have that."
"Great." She glanced at Dimitri. "And for you?"
He gave a shake of his head. "Nothing for me."
Vivi turned to Ivan and Erin who sat across from us. The hulking fighter had an arm on the back of Erin's chair and gazed at her with such tender affection. For such a big, intimidating man, he showed incredible softness toward Erin.
Ivan also shook his head but Erin studied the menu. "Which one is the marshmallow cake with the chocolate? Bird's milk something…"
Ivan's lips twitched with amusement. He rubbed his thumb along the side of her neck. "Ptchiye moloko."
Erin glanced up at Vivi. "Um…yeah. That one."
Laughing, Vivian nodded and backed away from the table. Erin turned to Ivan and bit her lower lip before trying to say the words he'd just spoken. She butchered them twice before getting pretty close to pronouncing it right. Ivan's eyes glowed with such love. He leaned over and pressed a sweet kiss to her mouth. "Good enough, angel."
He said angel with that thick Russian accent and Erin practically melted into a puddle of goo right in front of us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone approaching. Nikolai Kalasnikov slowly crossed the restaurant. Dressed in that stark black suit and white shirt, he exuded such incredible power. His eyes weren't the pale blue of Dimitri or Ivan's but a stranger, greener shade. Unlike Dimitri's straw blond, slightly unkempt and careless hair, Nikolai's darker, nearly brown hair was neatly combed. Like Ivan, he had harsh tattoos on his knuckles and the backs of his hands. No doubt his clothing hid multitudes more.
There weren't many people who could wield that kind of quiet, disconcerting power but Nikolai did it with such ease. My heart started to race as he drew near our table. I'd been in his presence only a handful times and only very briefly, usually quick run-ins as he visited Dimitri. I knew he had nothing but friendship toward our small party but I'd heard enough rumors about him to know I never wanted to be on his bad side.
He stopped at the empty seat next to me and smiled at his two friends. They exchanged greetings in Russian and Dimitri motioned to the chair on my right. Nikolai dipped down to brush a quick kiss against Erin's cheek before turning toward me. He grinned warmly before softly pecking my cheek.
"It's good to see you again, Benita." He smiled knowingly at Dimitri. "Especially in these circumstances." Nikolai took his seat. "It's your first time at Samovar?"
"Yes."
"I hope you've enjoyed yourself tonight."
"Good." Nikolai sat back and shot a playful smile Erin's way. "How are the Russian lessons coming along, Erin?"
"Vivi is quite the taskmaster. She'll have me fluent by Christmas."
Nikolai laughed. "I have no doubt."
His gaze skipped to just over Ivan's shoulder. I noticed the briefest glimmer in his green eyes as Vivi approached the table with a big tray balancing on her palm. Curious, I sneaked stealthy glances at his face as Vivi placed my dessert plate and Erin's on the table.
While she set down shot glasses in front of each man and a bottle of chilled vodka in front of Nikolai, he reached into the inner pocket of his tailored suit jacket and retrieved a lighter and pack of cigarettes. I was a little surprised to see them. I didn't even know if it was still legal to smoke inside an establishment.
Before he could light up, Vivian deftly swept the cigarette from his tattooed fingers and the gleaming silver lighter from the other hand. She shot him a look of consternation and dropped the contraband into the front pocket of her starched white apron.
I held my breath in fear for her. She'd just taken something from the most dangerous man I'd ever met. As if proving the point Lena had sort of jokingly alluded to last night while we drank wine and chatted, Nikolai simply pursed his lips and let it go.
With a satisfied smile, Vivi turned to the rest of the table. "Can I get anything else for you? No? Okay. I'll be back in a bit if you change your minds."
Nikolai poured the chilled vodka into Dimitri's glass and then Ivan's before filling his own. The men shared a traditional Russian toast before tossing back the fiery contents of their shot glasses.
"So, Benny, Dimitri tells me you're considering a new location for the bakery." He touched the table near my hand. "Is it all right if I call you Benny?"
"All of my friends call me Benny and I hope we'll be friends so yes." I picked up the dessert fork on the edge of my plate. "And, yes, I'm probably going to be forced into relocating."
Nikolai shot Dimitri a meaningful look. "That Jonah Krause is a slippery man." His gaze fell on me again. "You should make sure you have a good lawyer before you sit down with him to negotiate. I'm sure Yuri can recommend someone."