But from the glint in Jayden’s eyes, he either didn’t care what she wanted, or was stupid enough to think she was just playing hard to get. Which was another fucking problem.
Why did all my other missions seem simple compared to this one?
With a suppressed groan, I followed him into the ‘smoking lounge’. Once again, Jayden patted the seat beside him, and my kitten choose the furthest fucking horizontal surface.
Good girl.
For the first time since we’d entered the room, a hesitant smile appeared on Alisa’s face. I instinctively turned to see the source of it.
A lithe brunette slithered into the room, her breasts nearly spilling out of her low cut top.
Exactly my usual type. And for some reason, I felt…
Absolutely nothing.
“I’m Alisa Solovyova,” kitten said, standing up to shake her hand.
“Luna Barlowe.” She spared Alisa a dismissive glance before settling her attention fully on me. Her voice turned smoky as she said, “And who areyou?”
“Dmitri Novikov,” I said.
Despite the brunette eye fucking me into the next century, my attention was focused on Alisa. Whose fingers clenched together the longer Luna stared at me.
Was my little kitten jealous?
“Such a pleasure to meet you,” Luna said to me, swiping an imaginary crumb off her chest.
But that wasn’t what caught my eye. It was the way Alisa’s teeth ground together.
“Let me grab you a drink, Dmitri,” Luna purred.
Not a chance in hell of that. I didn’t trust a single person in this room not to poison me. And my kitten was at the top of that list.
“I’ll get it myself. Want anything, Alisa?” I said, keeping myself from calling her by her nickname.
I was more than aware that anything that happened on this trip might leak back to the Pakhan. In fact, I was almost sure of it.
The Pakhan’s and I’s relationship was… interesting. And I wasn’t planning on giving him any fuel.
“No,” Alisa said, her posture turning defensive.
“Worried I’m going to poison you?” I shot back in Russian.
Lust intensified in Luna’s eyes as she took in the foreign syllables while confusion formed in Jayden’s. I’d subtly tested him earlier, seeing if his eyes narrowed in recognition when I’d slipped into Russian. He didn’t understand a single word.
I unscrewed the top off the vodka, and poured it into a crystal glass sitting on the bar cart. To Alisa’s credit she didn’t respond with a ‘yes’, but irritation still brimmed in me.
Based off my stalking, I knew how overly cautious she’d become with her drinks after the incident. But I’d saved her fucking life and taken her back to my house when I never brought anyone to my sanctuary.
How could she have an inkling of doubt that I’d choose this moment to poison my temporary ally when I was staring down a man who was looking for any opportunity to hurt me and to grow his own renown?
She frowned at the floor, and then said, “I changed my mind. Would you mind making me a drink, Dmitri?”
My eyebrows jumped so high that they nearly disappeared into my hair. While I fixed her drink–mai thai, her current favorite when she wasn’t working–I made sure she had a clear view of my drink making process.
I handed her the peace offering drink, and settled into the seat adjacent to her. Still, I didn’t miss the shake in her hands as she raised it to her lips. Trust didn’t come easily to my kitten.
I watched the bob of her throat far more closely than was healthy, and now I was imagining her swallowing something else down.
