And with that, I walk back to my own table. Mikki’s shaking his head.
“When I said that you should consider dating again,” he says, “I most certainly didn’t mean a Bratva princess. And definitely notthatBratva princess.”
“I was just saying hello to an old acquaintance,” I say as I sit down and take a drink. “I didn’t break protocol.”
Mikki snorts. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Anton? I could see the wheels turning the moment you noticed her. Now, I’ll admit, she’s beautiful, but she is poison, my friend. Leave her alone.”
“Poison’s a little harsh,” I say.
“Trust me. It’s not. You remember the stories about Petrov when it came to his daughter. He doesn’t let anybody near her with a ten-foot pole.”
I finish my drink and wave the waiter down for another. “It can’t be all that oppressive. He let her out to go to dinner tonight.” He glares at me and I smirk back.
“This isn’t funny,” he says. “Natalya Petrov is poisoned fruit and you know it.”
“She’s a beautiful young woman,” I respond. “And beautiful women deserve to be complimented every now and then.”
Mikki looks at me, tapping his fingers on the bottom of his glass. “Swear you’ll leave her alone.”
“You know I can’t make any promises like that.”
“Anton, this is serious. What happens if we happen to need Petrov’s help against Amur? Twice they’ve gotten the jump on us. They could be formidable in a war.”
I raise my hands in surrender. “I’ll stay away from Natalya Petrov. I promise. I will not go near her again. Satisfied?”
“I am.”
“Good. Let’s talk about something else then. Like what we’re going to do about this situation with the Amur.”
Mikki starts to speak, but the waiter comes by with my drink. After he’s gone, he says, “We could arrange a sit down with Nikolai. Maybe talk him out of this course of action before we retaliate and wipe him out entirely. He’s not the biggest or baddest Bratva around. He’s got to know that it’s strategically foolish to come at us this way.”
I shake my head. “It’s too late for that. And besides, I can’t think of a single thing that he could offer that would make up for murdering Maksim.”
“All right. Then what do you want to do?”
I think about it for a few moments. “We need to let him know that we know about his crimes. The way these things were done… poison and sneaking around in the dark. It’s underhanded and disrespectful. We need to treat this with brutal force.”
“Nothing wrong with being covert. Brutal force could draw the wrong attention. I think a few surgical strikes might work best in this case. I can talk to some of our more silent soldiers.”
I nod. “That might work.” Before we can go more into it, our waiter returns to take our order. In the reprieve, I find myself looking past him and to Natalya’s table.
Her friend has returned and she’s having a lively conversation with her. Her eyes dance in the warm amber lighting of the restaurant and her smile broadens. I find myself wondering what it might be like to greet that smile at the end of a day…
Mikki is right. I should leave her alone. I should definitely stay away from her.
I don’t know if I can keep that promise.
7
NATALYA
“Say my name, baby.”
I’m curling my toes, my hands his hair. His tongue moves around and around my clit expertly. God, I’ve never felt like this before. My entire body is tingling…
“Anton,” I moan. His hair is like silk between my fingers. His masculine arms are holding me, wrapped under me and lifting me up as he starts to gently suck…
I start awake.My body is still tingling and I’m a little out of breath. The waking world melts into focus and I’m looking up at my ceiling, clutching the sheets.
