He heard her beginning to follow him before she stopped and called out. “Nico,” she said excitedly, waiving to the lieutenant near Mikhail’s car. “I didn’t know you went out of town as well.”
Nico was holding the door open for Mikhail when he gave a visible sigh. Knowing it was useless to try and ignore her, Nico gave her a tired smirk of acknowledgment. Roman and Mikhail paused. Roman watched as she began to make her way over to the lieutenant and felt a sudden insatiable urge to grab her by that long black ponytail and pull her back.
Mikhail’s eyes met with his with an understanding that only further pissed Roman off. Stepping forward to stand next to Nico, Mikhail removed his shades and focused his ice blue stare at his lieutenant.
“And how do you two know each other?” The question was loud enough for them all to hear, but it was aimed directly in Nico who stiffened immediately.
Still a couple of paces ahead of him, Roman watched Rahina hook both of her thumbs into her jean back pockets and rock on her heels. He could see the profile of her mischievous smile. “That’s a secret,” she sang out.
Nico blanched as he looked from Mikhail and to Roman’s growing deadly smile from behind her.
“It’s not a secret at all,” Nico explained quickly. “Dimitri put me in touch with her a days ago about her booking Vital for a party.”
Vital, was one of Mikhail’s nightclubs he owned in Boston. Looking to Mosca, Roman watched the young lieutenant give him a small shake of his head telling him, he didn’t even know about this.
“Nico, my God!” Rahina drew back in shock looking from Nico to Mikhail. “I thought there was a level of discretion in this organization?” Shaking her head, she gave Nico a playful scowl before thrusting out her hand in a chipper greeting towards Mikhail. “Hi, I’m Rahina.”
Stepping closer to her, Roman felt as if he was dealing with a runaway train. It was as if she was determined to meet every member of their organization. If it was anyone else, Roman what I thought they were a spy.
Taking her hand, Mikhail shook it. “My name is Mikhail.”
“Nice to meet you, Mikhail, do you…”
Deciding he had heard enough, Roman interrupted. “What party?”
Turning to look at him, she gave him a heavy sigh and dramatically slumped her shoulders. “Well I was going to surprise you with an invite,” she flung a pointed look over her shoulder at Nico, who looked unapologetic. “Every year I throw myself a big party, and this year I needed a bigger space for all of my friends. I had asked Dimitri if he knew of a place last week and he got me in contact with Nico. But Nico here is being difficult and wants me to pay for some expensive insurance, and I’m honestly way too cheap for that.” Grinning she looked back to Nico. “I’m going to call you tonight to resume our negotiations.”
“You can have your party at Vital, Nico will take care of the details,” Mikhail intervened.
Rahina looked to all three with narrowed eyes. “What’s the catch?”
“Now you show caution,” Roman mumbled.
Mikhail just gave her a cool smirk. “Just that we’re all invited.”
Excitement lifted her to her toes at her triumphant win. Leaning forward, her arms came up to hug Mikhail. “Of course, you can, thank you so much…”
Slipping his arm around her front, Roman barred her attempt to hug Mikhail and pulled her back flush against his chest.
Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, inhaling the clean scent of her hair. “You got what you wanted now get in the damn car.”
Roman could feel her stiffen in surprise against him and reluctantly released her as she leapt forward and dashed towards the car in surprising obedience.
“Thanks again, bye!” She called to Mikhail and Nico.
Complete amusement glittered in Mikhail’s normally cold eyes. “I will make sure to invite Alexie.”
Ignoring the man’s obvious enjoyment, Roman turned and climbed into the SUV. The vehicle was custom-made to his specifications. The back seats resembled a limo, with both benches facing one another and a privacy partition that could be rolled up with the press of a button to separate the front seats from the back. Sitting on the bench that put her back to the front, Roman nearly laughed at the nervousness visible in her eyes as he sat down across from her. Mosca needed no command, the lieutenant started driving immediately.
“You are sitting all the way over there,” Roman observed, finally for the first time since meeting the girl he recognized the familiar apprehension he was used to in people. Smiling, he tilted his head. “Are you afraid of what I might do?”
Rahina looked down at her feet before looking back up, the previous bold energy she had dampened a bit by nervousness. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit wary of your reaction to me showing up today,” she admitted softly. Looking away again from his silent stare, her eyes perked back up, and she pointed to the neatly folded white bag on the far end of his seat in sudden remembrance. “I did bring you lunch.”
Quicker than she could mentally process, he grabbed her extended arm with a firm grasp.
“Come here,” he commanded, pulling at the slender arm in his hand gently.
Shock mingled with curiosity in her dark eyes as she was forced to crawl across the divide between them and sat next to him. Roman didn’t let go of her wrist.
She was close now, closer than she had ever been to him and he knew she realized it too. Apprehension replaced shock as he watched her react to his nearness. There it was, finally some sensible fear at the situation she was in, and as much as he found it comforting to know she wasn’t impervious to him, he couldn’t help but acknowledge a bit of disappointment at that fact.
His smile broadened.
The fear suddenly left her eyes as if she realized something. Holding up her hand, Roman stilled as he felt the warm tips of her fingers glide down his cheek, her eyes settling on his lips. Her words stunned him. “I think you probably have the most wonderful smile I have ever seen.”
Looking down at her, Roman could feel the pulse of her wrist, still trapped in his hand, beat steadily under his fingers. This was exactly why he could not pull the trigger on this maddening girl. Every time he came close to calling his men at the gate to bar her entrance, he hesitated. Each time he thought to kick her out of his life, he stopped himself. All that vibrant energy just suddenly disappearing— the thought always gave him pause.
She was an unwanted distraction; he had reminded himself of that daily. Roman still had too many enemies waiting in the shadows of his life to pull her into a dangerous spotlight. He couldn’t afford to take any chances, not with her. But those wide tempting brown eyes practically clawed at the gates of his resolve. She thought she was tempting a beast to come out and play, but she had no idea she was dealing with the devil himself.
Her fingers fell from his cheek when he made no reaction. Unsure of his mood, she lowered her head in thought before looking back up with renewed force.
“How about coming to see me next week, we’re done with our short break, and the show is coming back on. It’s Amarandi’s version of Swan Lake, it’s more focused on the relationship between Odette and Odile. You can already guess who I am,” she gave him slow dramatic blinks with the tilted her head, and Roman could easily picture her in the black feathered costume of Odile.
He knew what she was trying to do, and it wouldn’t work. She wanted to escape this moment, to retreat back into her humor and away from her nervousness. He would not let her. Sliding his hand around her neck, he let his fingers flex against the heat of her skin as he pulled her closer, pressing her soft chest against his. Seeing his own reflection in her wide eyes as her pulse picked up against his hand, satisfied him greatly.
“Keep pestering me, and I will make it, so you dance to an empty audience for the next month.”
Leaning into his hands, her eyes fluttered closed. “As long as you’re there to watch me, I wouldn’t care.”
Her pulse was steadily
increasing, and her skin felt searing to the touch. The girl was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Never in his life had he ever been chased by someone like this, to actually feel a woman’s desire to be near him at all costs and crackle like lightning in the air was mystifying.
His smile faded as he looked at her intensely, trying his best to figure her out. “What do I need to do to convince you that pursuing me is a mistake?”
“Why, are you going to hurt me if I don’t stop?”
Smiling, he leaned in closer until her forehead nearly touched his. “I have yet to decide.”
Chapter 5
Laying on her bed, Rahina let her wet hair hang off the edge as she held her phone over her face. The contact’s screen glowed in the dim light of her room. Hovering her finger over the green button she chewed her bottom lip with nervous excitement and pressed the button. The other end of the line rang twice and went silent. Confused, she pulled back her phone and checked the screen before giving a tentative, “hello?”
“What do you want Rahina?” Roman’s phone voice was deeper than she expected which only made her grin like a fool.
Kicking her feet in excitement, she stared up at the ceiling, imagining his short dark hair, strong jaw line, and his wide creepy smile. “God your voice sounds so good on the phone,” she squealed into the phone. “What’s that sound in the background?”
There was an occasional clanking sound on his end of the line.
“I’m working out,” his clipped reply was followed by a heavier clang. Rahina could picture a heavy barbell being set back on at the rack.
“Dear God,” her voice shuddered at the power of the mental image that evoked. “Please send me a picture.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“No, no, no, don’t hang up I’m sorry,” she replied quickly. Holding out her hand into the air as if to somehow stop him from where she was. “I knew it was too good to ask for, I should just be happy that you even picked up the phone.” Hearing that he didn’t hang up, she smiled in relief. “Okay, so at least let me ask, how many times a week do you work out?”
“How many times a week do you work out?” He threw back at her, his heavy accent rolling over the words.
With a smug smile, she lifted one of her bare legs from the bed and admired the defined muscles in her thighs. “I work out every day of the week, but I do have hard days and light days. On my light days I do yoga.”
He gave a slight sound of approval before answering. “I work out one day less than you,”
“God, that is sexy,” she groaned. Turning over, she hugged one of her pillows with one arm as her mind tried to conjure the image of him shirtless. “I would be willing to pay you for a shirtless photo, name your price.”
“To never see you again. Want to make that deal?” She could hear his evil smile through the phone.
Sighing, she propped herself up onto her elbows, letting her wet hair fall over her face as she spoke. “You know I can’t do that and it hurts that you would even dangle something so tempting in front of me for such an unholy price.”
She could swear she heard him laugh but couldn’t be sure. Since the day she surprised Roman at the airport, Rahina couldn’t get the memory of his touch off her mind. There had been a level of fear intertwined in her fascination she did not expect to feel. He was right, in that moment she felt completely out of her depth with him. Everything he did was so unpredictable when she thought he was going to yell at her, she found herself being pulled next to him. And when he stared at her lips as if to kiss her, he only mumbled about the indecision to strangle her before pushing her away from him. The scrape of his calluses against her neck reminded Rahina just exactly what type of man she was recklessly chasing. Her imagination conjured images of him ruthlessly using his hands to dole out bloody and brutal punishments all the while grinning madly. She should not be thinking of this man yet alone forcing herself into his world. Roman Mashir was a hard-indomitable man. A man that froze a mask of worried fear on her father’s and Riaz’s faces at a single visit. He was a man with a personality so deep and so dark she could never hope to reach the bottom to understand him. But despite it all, she wanted him. There was something in those slate gray eyes that glimmered when he looked at her, promising her every dark secret the world had to offer. She fantasized about dancing in his arms, feeling the strength of him as he touched her. She wanted him dammit, and she would at least give it her best and see if he wanted her to just as much.
“Roman?” She finally asked, after a moment of silence.
“What?”
“What did you do before you came here?” Her voice lightened a bit with hesitancy as she asked the personal question.
There was silence for a moment. “I was just another criminal taking orders.”
“Mmm,” she murmured, toying with the frayed edge of her pillow. “Somehow I doubt you were just another criminal. Were you like Dimitri, did you have a boss or someone to take orders from?”
“We all take orders from someone, that will never stop,” he said dryly. “But yes, I was a captain to someone before I came to America.”
A captain, she mused, so there were titles in their positions.
“And before that?” She pressed, praying he wouldn’t put an abrupt end to their conversation.
More metal clanking filled the silence causing her heart to constrict.
“A soldier.” She could sense the silent wall in his voice, telling her wordlessly he would say no more about the subject.
A military soldier she wondered, or did he mean that as a part of his organization? The way he said it she could only assume he meant military. Images of Roman’s tall muscular body dressed in crisp military regalia nearly forced a rueful groan from her throat. What she wouldn’t give to see that? A thought struck her, was that why he kept his hair so short, was that a leftover trace from his military days? She wanted to ask so badly it hurt.
Childishly, she wanted to ask if he had ever been to jail or ever killed a man but she felt she already knew the answers to those questions and she was honestly too afraid to ask. She thought again at their reunion at the airport and how dangerous and powerful he looked stepping out of that private jet. He wore dark gray slacks and a plain white button-down shirt with his gun holster on top. The long sleeves have been rolled up, revealing his thick tattooed forearms. Brown hair sprinkled the top of his wide forearms dusting over the various colorful images drawn up and down his arms drawing her eyes to his long tattooed fingers. Rahina itched to touch them, to turn and examine each piece of ink.
“Do you have any tattoos other than your forearms?” She asked suddenly.
“Yes, quite a few.”
“All over?” She had never seen his legs before but she tried to picture his strong thighs covered in tattoos.
“Mostly. I did most myself.”
“You do tattoos?” She exclaimed, sitting up in her bed she stared wide eyed at nothing in particular. “Are you serious? That means you can draw pretty good, right?”
This time she did hear him chuckle. “Yes, I can draw.”
Feeling ridiculously satisfied, she flopped back onto the bed. “I don’t have any tattoos; I could never decide if I liked an image enough to get a permanently etched onto my skin and to be honest, I can just imagine my mother’s reaction if she knew I had gotten one. Without a doubt, she would bury me in the backyard with no regrets.”
“Well, I never had to worry about that particular issue.”
“What? The indecision on permanent body artwork or a crazy controlling mother with impossible to reach standards?” Her eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to her advanced biology textbook laying on her nightstand.
“Both,” he replied deeply.
She could tell there was something deeper there but she did not press the subject, not yet anyway.
There was silence on the other hand. “I don’t hear the clanking anymore.”
“I’m in my sauna.” Naked, sweaty, probably wear
ing a towel, Rahina had to close her eyes for a moment at the power of that image.
“Oh, by the way, tomorrow I won’t be able to be there for lunch, I’ll be busy all day. Since I most likely will get back late tonight I will have to get a little bit of sleep and go into practice tomorrow. Then once I come out of practice, I have to go home and get ready for a family dinner that I loathe and dread to go to.”
“And why do you have to stay out late tonight?”
“Because I can never turn down making easy money and Mario, my best friend, his job is in club promotion work. Popular clubs pay us to invite people, to dance, and pretty much keep the party vibe going. Though, I have to say I am not looking forward to listening to Mario brag about how much money he makes at his business and his routine attempt to convince me to come work for him regularly on the side,” she laughed just thinking about Mario’s I-told-you-so expression when he counted his proceeds for the night.
“And you do not want to work for him?” Roman inquired.
“Oh Lord no,” she shook her head. “I couldn’t imagine doing this every weekend, at most I can only muster up the strength about twice a month. Besides…” Her voice trailed off, as her thoughts drifted to a more serious field of conversation. A topic she didn’t mean to bring up.
“Besides, what?” Roman pressed her to continue.
Staring again at her textbook across the room, Rahina pictured her mother’s disapproving face.
“I…I just don’t want to stray any further from the path than necessary...”
“And what path is that?” He asked quietly. It was so quiet on his end and his voice was so deep Rahina felt as if he was standing just over her shoulder.
His Smile: A Mafia Romance Page 4