And for the entire duration of it, I didn’t take my eyes off Sienna. It was simply impossible. The final notes echoed through the air as cheers and applause erupted, congratulating the dancers and the bride. Sienna wrapped the bride in an embrace, and the woman nestled against her, they looked close. How could Sienna know all these people?
It was a question I was about to get an answer to, because her gaze caught mine over the bride’s shoulder and she froze, her eyes widening. She separated from her friend, who went on to hug others, while Sienna’s eyes never left me. Her chest rose and fell rapidly from the exertion, a light sheen of sweat covered her skin, making it glow, more tempting than ever. I swallowed as she apologized to her friends and started walking toward me.
“The real show starts now,” Kenji murmured, and I saw him tense out of the corner of my eye. Kamal did the same, casting a worried glance at the green-eyed storm striding toward us. “What the hell are you doing here?!” she exclaimed, her eyes flashing, her hands landing on her hips, drawing my attention to the skin of her stomach, also glistening with sweat.
Holy fucking hell.
I wanted to taste her skin, to tangle my fingers in her hair and hear her beg me to go further, all while she wore that outfit, those bangles chiming with every movement.Her lily-of-the-valley scent had mixed with jasmine, and I was practically salivating. Her green eyes, rimmed with kohl, were enough on their own to enchant me.Suddenly I frowned when my gaze locked into hers, she was angry, but I sensed something else. Worry. Maybe even fear.
She didn’t want me here. She wanted to hide this connection she had with the Indians. I tried to think, but my thoughts slipped away in her presence. She licked her lips, and I completely lostmy train of thought.“Sienna,” I breathed, almost out of breath, my mouth dry. I heard Kenji chuckle beside me and I swung my arm, my elbow landing in his abdomen. He wheezed and staggered back, but my eyes never left Sienna’s face.
“Sasha, what are you doing here? How did you even find me?” she asked again, crossing her arms over her chest this time, lifting her breasts in her bodice.Oh Good Lord. The things I wanted to do to her.
But a promise echoed in the back of my mind, a promise that I was not supposed to touch her.
“My eyes are up here, Ivanov,” Sienna suddenly growled, snapping me out of my trance, I lifted my gaze from her chest.When had I even looked down?
“How did he even get inside the estate?” she snapped this time at Kenji, shooting him a dark look. I hated the way her attention shifted to someone else.He merely shrugged. “He was waiting at the entrance like a beggar. I wasn’t going to leave him there,” he replied.I turned to him with a raised brow. “A beggar?” I repeated, and the bastard actually smirked.
“And how did you know where I was? And what the hell are you doing here?” she asked, her gaze returning to me. I felt my lungs loosen, but a sharp apprehension seized me.She was going to kill me. No, death would be far too easy once she discovered what I had done.
I clenched my jaw. I hadn’t thought about what I would say if she caught me following her. I certainly hadn’t expected to find myself in the middle of an Indian wedding, watching her dance barefoot with the Indian mafia. The fucking Indian mafia!
“It’s my turn to ask that fucking question, Sienna!” I snapped, suddenly remembering where we were, at a goddamn Indian mafia wedding. “What the fuck are you doing with the Indian mafia?”I growled, grabbing her upper arms. She pressed her lips together, and I saw hesitation flicker in her eyes.“That’snone of your business,” she retorted simply, pushing her hair back over her shoulders, exposing her long, slender neck, the very one I had left marks on just a few months earlier.Memories of our entanglements came rushing back: her scent, her warm, damp skin, her moans, her shallow breathing, just like now. I suppressed a groan as I rubbed my face. Surely there had to be a bedroom somewhere in this massive villa, right?
“Sasha,” she started again, but stopped when another figure joined us,“Sasha Ivanov, what an honor to have you at my niece’s wedding,” Ganesh Rajawat greeted me as he stopped beside Sienna. My hand instinctively wrapped around her arm, pulling her closer to me.A gesture that did not go unnoticed, though no one said a word and Sienna didn’t resist, aside from rolling her eyes.“Ganesh,” I greeted him, extending my hand and he shook it with a faint smile, casting a glance toward Sienna. When I looked down at her, I saw her avert her gaze, a soft blush rising to her cheeks.What the hell…
“I didn’t know we had invited you. I would have asked for you to be placed on the VIP list,” Ganesh continued, releasing my hand and resting it on the head of his cane, which he tapped lightly against the ground.He was a respected man in the underworld, affiliated with no one, yet on good terms with everyone. Easy to talk to, but never to be underestimated. A tiger beneath the mask of a wise man.“He wasn’t on the guest list, sir,” Kamal answered, clearly flustered, while I kept my expression closed.“Sorry for showing up unannounced like this, but I’m simply here to take Sienna back,” I replied evenly, taking a step back, my only thought being to get her somewhere safe.But Ganesh’s cane suddenly pressed against my chest, stopping me.
“Sienna is old enough to decide where she wants to be, Ivanov,” Ganesh said, his dark gaze locking onto mine. I clenched my jaw as, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several men slowlymoving closer, sensing the tension rising.If a conflict broke out here, I had no chance of getting out alive, let alone protecting Sienna. I have to call my brothers.
“That’s enough!” Sienna suddenly growled, pulling free from my grip and stepping in front of me, pointing a finger at my chest. “You! Stop with your alpha-protector bullshit,” she ordered.Then she swung her finger toward Kenji.“And you! Stop mocking him. I’ll deal with your case later,” she snapped.Her finger slid toward Kamal. “You, stop stressing over nothing and go find your sister, she’s looking for you,” she informed him. Finally, she turned to Ganesh, tapping his chest with her finger. “And you, old branch, drop the act and go sit down to enjoy Anjali’s most beautiful day.”And with that, she turned away, tossing her hair over her shoulder and rejoining the women on the dance floor.
Mouth agape, my eyes followed the sway of her hips and quickly realized I wasn’t the only one watching, plenty of men were staring at her. I even spotted a few who clearly intended to approach her, judging by the way they were moving closer. I snapped out of my trance when Ganesh burst out laughing, shaking his head and breaking the heavy silence. “Ah, that good little Sienna,” he sighed, still chuckling, as Kamal hurried off, no doubt in search of his sister. “Come on, follow me, Ivanov,” Ganesh said, turning away. “You’re important to my Sienna, we can certainly consider you a VIP guest,” he added as he returned to his seat.My Sienna?
I shot a look at Kenji, who merely shrugged once again before following the Indian man, that one seriously needed to work on his communication skills? My eyes drifted back to Sienna on the dance floor, where she was already taking position again to dance with the bride and her friends. I clenched my fists and followed the two men.
Chapter 9
Sienna
What the hell was that idiot doing here, for fuck’s sake? He was going to find out everything, about me, about Kenji, about Vassili. Would it really be so bad if it finally happened?
Yes. For Valentina. For the missing Stars. For… me.
He would never look at me the same way again, not the way he had earlier. I would be filthy in his eyes. Maybe even a traitor for having worked for Vassili. The second dance came to an end, and my gaze drifted for the thousandth time toward the table where Kenji, Ganesh, and Sasha were sitting, an image I would never have imagined. What the hell could they be talking about? I knew perfectly well that neither Kenji nor Ganesh would say anything I didn’t want revealed, but that didn’t stop the knot of worry tightening in my chest. Sasha Ivanov was an intelligent man—an attorney with an unmatched sense of deduction. One word would be enough for him to connect the dots and uncover everything. “Sienna!” a voice suddenly called out near me, and my eyes found Anjali’s anxious gaze. “Are you okay? You seemed somewhere else during the dance,” she said, placing her hand on my arm but I shook my head. “Don’t mind me, Anji. Focus on your evening,” I told her, resting my hand over hers. “Just a last-minute problem that came up”. I breathed out, glancing once more toward the table, and my eyes locked onto Sasha’s blue ones. Cold. Peace.
His gaze never left my face as mine slid down to his throat, I saw him swallow. Then my eyes drifted to his arm resting on the table, the way his fist was clenched tight, my gaze returned to his, the desire I read there made me swallow in turn. I felt myself blush, my already warm body heating further, turning almostfeverish. It felt as though lava was flowing through my veins instead of blood.
Suddenly, Anjali gasped beside me. “Is that Sasha Ivanov? THE Sasha Ivanov?” she exclaimed as I stared at her, confused. “THE Sasha Ivanov? What do you mean?” she grinned. “Well, the Sasha Ivanov who managed to melt your icy heart,” she giggled, nudging my shoulder with hers, “I can’t wait to call Esme and the other girls to…” I clapped my hand over her mouth, shooting her a warning look. She laughed behind my palm. “Don’t even think about it,” I growled. She raised her hands in surrender, but I knew perfectly well that before the night was over, the information, and photos would definitely end up in the girls’ group chat.Damn it.One of her cousins called her over, and she joined her with a wink thrown my way.Yes. Photos. Definitely before midnight.
I sighed and turned toward the table where the three men were sitting in conversation, forcing an annoyed expression as fear tightened around my throat. “I hope I’m not interrupting your patriarchal discussion,” I said as I sat down on the chair Sasha pulled out beside him, his fingers brushing my arm. I could have sat next to Ganesh, but the idiot was already tense enough, no need to provoke him further by sitting near someone he clearly viewed as a threat. Not today. I lifted my gaze and plunged it into his, he was still leaning toward me, and everything else disappeared. His scent of sandalwood filled my lungs, his warmth seeping into my damp, shivering skin as the cool night breeze swept over it and he noticed. He stood, removed his jacket, and draped it over my naked shoulders. I accepted it in silence, adjusting it so it wouldn’t slip, as he sat back down. “Come now,Chhori,” Ganesh said with a smile. “Without you, there can be no patriarchal discussion” he chuckled as I rolled my eyes.
Kamal suddenly appeared beside me with a glass of water, ever attentive to others. I accepted it with a quiet thank you, under Sasha’s sharp gaze, and drank slowly, avoiding eye contact while his eyes traced my profile. “You can swallow the whole glass,moya malen’kaya gadyuka,but we will talk eventually,” he said casually making me I choked on my last sip.
A coughing fit seized me as I set the glass down, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kamal raise a hand toward my back in concern but suddenly my chair slid, my thigh pressing against Sasha’s. He began rubbing my back, leaning in, his breath brushing my neck. “Breathe, Sienna,” he murmured against my ear. “My hand isn’t around your throat yet”. I froze, lifting my shocked gaze to his. Our noses brushed against each other as he didn't move his gaze, sliding it down to my lips, through which my breath escaped. "You can't," I whispered, gradually catching my breath. "You promised not to touch me anymore” I reminded him, trying to pull away, but his hand wrapped firmly behind my neck, his gaze more intense than ever. "That was before I saw you dancing with the niece of one of the most dangerous men in our world…no offense, Ganesh,” he added without looking away from me. “None taken,” Ganesh snorted behind me.
Our stare-down lasted several seconds. Neither of us had any intention of backing down, we were equally stubborn, equally foolish. That was always how it was with Sasha. At the club, no one dared challenge me, knowing I never let go. Even Kenji never pushed, unwilling to waste energy against my obstinacy. But with Sasha, it was different. Like everything else.
