My body wanted George and the things he could do to me, even if I wasn’t fully on board to say so out loud yet. He was good at taking what he wanted and making me love it. Yeah, I was screwed.
But where the fuck was he?
When he walked in the door, my reaction could only be blamed on physical desire. Right?
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
GEORGE
Felix insistedon meeting with me about the boy to discuss his situation. Leaving Basil alone for even an hour felt like a hardship, so I had to agree if I wanted to keep Basil another day. And I was loath to give up that time with him. I’d stalled long enough to give Basil aftercare and make sure he ate before setting him up.
Our meeting was set for six p.m. in an old warehouse I’d recently sold to the Kiselovs, with no furniture and a lot of work needed. It was good for conducting business when you didn’t want other businesses or passersby to overhear anything. I had no use for it except to make money on the sale I could invest elsewhere.
“Don Giorgio,” Santo interrupted my thoughts as we waited in the town car for the Kiselovs to arrive.
“Hmm?” I was watching seagulls dive and soar over the nearby waves of the San Francisco Bay and not fully paying attention. Would Basil like to spend a day outside with me?
“Are you alright, sir?” His concerned tone drew my eyes to the rearview mirror, where I found his furrowed brow. “It’s just…the missus and I are worried about you.”
“Why?” I asked, unsure if he was more bothered over my keeping a man in my bedroom for sex, or that I was keeping the young man in my house at all.
Having told Santo the bare minimum about Basil, he understandably had questions. Santo and Josefina only knew he was there with permission from his family, and I needed two servings at each meal, but not that Basil had gotten a gun and knife into my house.
Santo tilted his balding head but didn’t turn around. “This meeting makes me wonder about the reason for keeping your guest locked up. I thought you were friendly with the Russians?”
“I am,” I conceded, “but I’m getting friendlier with one Russian in particular.”
There, I didn’t lie or scandalize him with my kinky sex games. Basil would be gone in another day and a half, and we would move on from the whole thing like it never happened. The thought made my stomach clench in an odd way. I chalked it up to not drinking enough water as I saw a black SUV pull up beside us. Santo stepped out to join me between our cars.
Maksim stepped out of the back first, followed by Felix before another man in the passenger seat and the one who’d been driving joined them. Four Bratva men was a lot for such a low-key meet, but I shrugged it off. The two larger men wore black suits and stoic expressions like Maksim, while Felix bucked tradition in a fitted red dress with matching red-bottom heels.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet,” Felix spoke first, holding out a well–manicured hand. I took it, and Felix gripped it tightly. “Is Vasily with you?”
“No, he’s at home,” I replied, the tightening in my stomach feeling fluttery at the thought of basil in my bed. “I still have two nights with the boy.”
“Two nights, but–” the older of the two blond men sputtered to a stop at Felix’s raised hand.
“Yes, the first night didn’t count. He came home with me on his own accord.” Basil was more than willing until he pulled a knife on me. “And we made the deal in the morning.”
“Your video raised some…” Felix trailed off with an arched brow, “...questions.”
“Such as?” I asked as innocently as I could manage while remembering how Basil had stuttered through the recording I made. Yes, he was good.
“Perhaps we should have our men stay here while we walk and talk?” Felix suggested.
“Alright,” I frowned, unsure why we needed privacy. Santo stayed with Maksim, and the two blonds I heard them call Stefan and Gregor.
“Was my video not sufficient?” I started the conversation when we reached the corner of the warehouse. It had crates and full trash cans, letting me know it was likely under construction to fit Felix’s needs. “Because I swear Basil is in fine condition.”
“We were surprised by the sexual nature of your situation,” Felix stated as we rounded the building and were out of earshot of the others.
“Ah,” I hummed, getting to the bottom of his issue. “But you saw me leave with him at the X Club, right?”
“I did, and I pointed it out to Maksim and Gregor.”
“So why were you surprised?”
“Because-” Felix stopped short, popping a hip out to cluck their tongue at me. “Basil isn’t gay. Hasn’t shown any interest in dating at all, really.”
