“You want me to do it for you?” Maxim moved to approach.
“No! I got it.” Kira shifted, but glared at him. It wasn’t the most unheard of. Her sisters used to go commando all the time. But she had never done it. “Close your eyes.”
Maxim remained staring. He was in no way, shape, or form closing his eyes.
Kira grit her teeth. She didn’t know if it was anxiety churning in her belly or arousal. Unwilling to be taunted, she dug in through the slit at her thigh and yanked down her panties, making sure he saw nothing. She struggled with the heel, pullingthe panties, and when they finally snapped off, Kira held them up. “You want to put them in your pocket?”
Maxim cleared his throat and looked away. He thought about reaching for it. He’s never been so tempted a day in his life. But it was a joke to her, no doubt. She knew how to be seductive, adopting a more innocent persona. She had to, to back up her ‘I’m a virgin’ lie. He wasn’t going to fall prey to her fake pleasantries so easily. Even if his body wasn’t exactly agreeing with that.
Kira hid her smirk. Why did she get the feeling he was turned on? The tension in the car was no longer so miserable. Why? What good was it to flirt with her? What did he want? Or was he feeling sorry for her? A sick girl with a disorder needed attention, so here he was, trying to be a knight in shining armor? Her humor died, and all the good feelings dissipated. He wasn’t attracted to her. He was pitying her.
“Did you eat yet?”
The question sparked anger. “Why? You gonna be monitoring my food intake from now on?”
Maxim folded his hands in his lap. “‘You gonna?’” He mocked her slang. “We are going to a dinner party. I was simply wondering if you were hungry.”
Kira chewed her lips in stubbornness. “No. Luerna made me a big lunch.”
Maxim nodded and looked out the window. He hid his disappointment. He asked Luerna if Kira had eaten, and the answer was no. Did he call her out on it? Did he let it go? It wasn’t something he had any expertise in.
Kira sighed. “Listen. I’m sorry about this morning. I must have forgotten to eat last night, and then we had that fight, and I didn’t eat this morning. It’s not a big deal. Can we just move on?”
“Sure.”
“Good.” She smiled, but she was sure he was doing it for Lazar’s benefit and not hers. Either way, for once, he wasn’t running away. “Where are we going?”
“There’s a benefit tonight for some charity my brother’s involved in. I wasn’t planning on going, but Lazar is very particular about certain things, and I don’t fight it.”
Kira dared to ask, “Are you two close?”
“Yes.” Maxim sighed, checking his watch. “He was all I had growing up after our parents were killed.”
“What happened?”
“The Rostova war. They got caught in the middle of it. It was their fault.”
Kira didn’t know anything about the Rostova war, but she didn’t question it. She liked his talking, but she wanted positive things. “You said your brother is married.”
“Yes. Trina. I’m sure you’ll like her. She likes to pretend like you.”
Kira rolled her eyes and gave up. At least she got a few words out of him before he clammed up. She didn’t know why he was so closed off, but being in the mafia probably hadn’t awarded him many trusted friends. He saw a wife as someone who could betray him at a moment’s notice. It must be stressful being so paranoid.
Kira twisted her fingers in her lap. She usually enjoyed dinner parties because her father would show her off and have her play the piano or the violin. But this wasn’t going to be Morozov territory. It would be Lazar’s, and that caused more nervousness than anything else. She may have taken his flirtation too seriously, but she still couldn’t get the odd feeling out of her gut. Hopefully, tonight, it would all go well, and she could erase their first encounter.
Chapter twelve
Power
Kira had been to many events growing up under the most notorious mafia boss and felt comfortable in the room with so many familiar faces. There were many millionaires and billionaires, but they tended to stick with their own, so she’d see the same couples over and over again. The only thing different this time was that she was married and had to cling to Maxim’s arm. She missed being on her own, where she would follow her sisters around, laughing at her brother Gil’s shenanigans. They always had a bet going on about how many times Gil would get shot down before he found a girl gullible enough to believe his stories. How many daughters of influential people did he get into trouble with? It never mattered. With the Morozov name, he got away with all of it.
Without her siblings, she found the night boring and struggled to pay attention. Maxim was busy, constantly talking to someone, and as soon as one person walked away, another would step in. She was exhausted just from watching him. It was one of the rare moments; she was glad she was a woman. Aside from a kiss on the cheek and some small chatter, she got away with simply smiling and supporting.
After the tenth person left, Maxim pulled them off to the side into an empty hallway, where he detached from her, cursed, checked his phone, and texted.
“What’s wrong?”
He waved her away.
