“I’m famished foryou, however I can get you, sweetheart.” He pulled me flush to him as he reared back just enough to stare at me with molten desire swirling in his dark-blue eyes.
I forced a swallow and refused to let him see how his naughty words out of the blue could throw me off balance like this. No beating around the bush with him. He was confident and skilled enough to speak his mind, no matter how inappropriate it was here.
He was over ten years my senior, though. Maybe it was something that came with age, the ability to be so daring and frank about his desires.
I wasn’t—daring or frank.
I was distracted, though, taken to the instant fantasy of him setting me on his dining room table again before going down on me for this taste he seemed to have in mind.
“I’m… not on the menu,” I whispered.
He gave me a slow lift of his lips in an almost-smile that looked so wicked, so mischievous, that I felt my heart race and my pussy throb.
Damn you.
That was all it took. One heated look, and my mask cracked.
“Andre, are you admiring Miss Sofia’s ass again?” Maisie called out from the table.
Mikhail spat out the drink of water he’d just taken. Sergei covered his face and Roman chuckled.
“Sass,” Anya corrected with a wince. “Hersass.”
I bit my lip and wasn’t sure if I was holding in a laugh or a groan.
“Oh, most definitely,” Andre replied, taking my hand and leading me to this family dinner where I wouldn’t ever fit in. “Miss Sofia’ssassis part of what makes her so intriguing.”
I pressed my lips together, wishing I could fan my cheeks.
Intriguing? Is that what you’re calling it now?
As he held a chair out for me and put his hand on my ass to usher me to it, I shot him a scolding and reprimanding look to behave.
11
ANDRE
My father never needed to formally call for a meeting. The four of us—me, my father, Sergei, and Roman—were always near and we never suffered any major obstacles to talking about business.
When he told me to come for a meeting and lunch, I knew something was up.
“Bring your supposed assistant, too,” he’d said.
His expectation to have Sofia there had to mean something. And after our meeting concluded, I knew what it was.
He was still suspicious of her, not trusting her in my office. Or even in my life. He’d never cared about the women I wanted in my life. But I supposed one hadn’t retained my attention for as long as I’d been obsessed with Sofia.
He was jaded, no doubt about it. My mother hadn’t wanted anything to do with him after their arranged marriage. She’d lived in Russia with Anya and didn’t act like a wife to him at all. When he encountered Claire, she’d resisted being with someonefrom a Mafia family, his total opposite. He’d struggled with getting her towantto be in his life and then more so when her security was compromised.
And yes, he was distracted when he’d fallen for her. We witnessed the same thing between Sergei and Natalie. Bringing a woman into our circle wasn’t a simple matter of introducing them and assuming it would take its course like any other couple might expect. Our family was rooted in generations of drama, bloodshed, and wealth.
My father was looking out for me, naturally guarded and suspicious of anyone getting close to any of us. Our circle was small for a good reason.
But it seemed that his resistance to welcoming Sofia as someone who’d stay was due to his need to look out for the family. For the business.
“Intel is leaking,” he’d started out as saying to kick off this meeting. “And it’s leaking fromyouroffice.”
I shook my head, automatically rejecting his claim. “I haven’t even been doing anything. I haven’t been working or in my office.”
