by Kay Loren
A Fated Night
Kay Loren
Copyright © 2020 Kay Loren
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Love is not in our choice but in our fate.
John Dryden
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty- Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty- Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty- Seven
Chapter Twenty- Eight
Chapter Twenty- Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty- Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty- Four
Chapter Thirty- Five
Chapter Thirty- Six
Chapter Thirty - Seven
Chapter Thirty- Eight
Chapter Thirty- Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter forty- one
Epilogue
Thank You!
Prologue
He sat in the back seat of a black Lincoln town car, enchanted, as he looked through the dark, tinted window. Outside, on the corner of the busy street, stood a young girl who caught his attention. There was something about her that attracted him to her instantly. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Alluring and mysterious. Her face turned towards the direction of the car for a moment giving him a good view of her delicate features.
She didn't look like all the other girls he had dated, which was more than he could count. She was different. She looked exactly like one of those movie stars from the forties. High sculpted cheekbones, perfectly arched eyebrows, full, pouty lips and long brunette hair. Her eyes were the most mesmerizing. They resembled the color of bourbon and honey. Beautiful.
His dark blue eyes followed her as she crossed the street and walked right past his car. He kept on watching her until she turned the corner.
"Follow that girl," he demanded his driver in his native Russian tongue.
His driver obediently went in the direction the girl went to. He followed closely behind her, but not enough to let her know. She kept her gaze forward, and wrapped her long coat tighter around her body to shield herself from the harsh cold. Her dark hair whipped behind her as she quickened her pace.
The car followed her down the street until she disappeared into a building.
"She's gone boss," the driver said as he stopped in the middle of the isolated street. “Want me to get out and follow her?"
"No," he waved. After a while he said, "Do research. Find out everything you can about her."
From that moment, he knew that she was going to be his. He would go through hell and high water for her. No matter what, he had to do- she was going to be his…
Chapter One
Two Weeks Later
Nikolai straightened out his tie for what seemed like the tenth time in two minutes. He glanced around the crowded room, watching the people at the little round tables excitedly chatting and sipping on their drinks. Everyone was bunched up and sitting close together and since he was a big guy, not in weight but in his height, he felt claustrophobic.
“We should go,” he whispered to his right hand man Sergei.
Sergei’s gray eyes danced around the room at the beautiful waitresses who were taking orders. He shook his head, “You wanted to come and see the girl, we’re here. Drink and relax.”
Nikolai downed his scotch and asked for another. The waitress who took his order batted her long eyelashes at him and smiled flirtatiously. She was a beautiful young girl, but to his surprise he was not interested in her. Usually he would have flirted back and taken the girl somewhere where they could enjoy themselves, but he found himself only thinking about seeing the girl from the street again.
Audrina Day. That was her name. He had Sergei pull a file on her and when he found out what she did for a living he had to come and see her. He did not know what burlesque dancing was but everyone around him seemed beyond excited for the show to start.
To his disappointment, the show did not start with the girl. It opened up with an elegant, tall woman telling jokes he did not understand although Sergei and everyone else in attendance laughed hysterically. Come to find out the woman who told the jokes owned the cabaret and she promised everyone that the show was the best one yet.
Nikolai sat in his seat patiently waiting for the girl to come onstage. The first dancer of the night was a petite blonde woman who provocatively danced around the stage, removing pieces of her clothing slowly until only her lingerie remained. Slowly she peeled it off her pale skin and suggestively seduced those she made eye contact with. Her performance was over after about a good ten minutes.
“Is this what she does?” Nikolai whispered to Sergei who seemed to be into the show.
“What did you think burlesque was?” he laughed.
“Not this,” he shook his head. The idea of the girl he was infatuated with taking off her clothes for men did not sit well with him.
“They don’t show everything,” He stated. “It’s just a strip tease and some funny performances. Think of it like art.”
Nikolai did not ponder on it too long because the announcer came back out soon after and announced that the girl everyone had been waiting for was going to perform after the trio of female singers. Nikolai held his breath. He was going to lay eyes on her once again.
The singers could not have been over soon enough for him. He tapped his fingers on his leg, anxiously waiting. When the announcer came back out, Nikolai straightened in his seat.
“And now the girl you have all been waiting for, Miss Audrina Von Lour!”
Von Lour? Nikolai was sure the announcer pronounced her name wrong. The lights dimmed out and the red curtain pulled back revealing a red, heart shaped bed in draped in silk. A sultry jazz tune began to play and out she came in a skin tight, long black dress that accentuated her lovely curves and full breasts and butt. She was more beautiful than Nikolai had remembered her. Her long brown hair was swept to one side cascading over her small shoulder in soft curls. Her lined, honeyed eyes danced around the room and her painted red lips held a ghost of a smile as if she found something amusing.
She played with the white boa around her neck and danced seductively to the music, swaying her perfect hips to the music and slowly making her way across the stage. She tossed the boa to the side and sat on the chair that was placed on the corner of th
e stage.
Nikolai was entranced as he watched her remove her heels and then run her long fingers over the sheer stockings on her legs. She stood up, biting her full bottom lip, and slowly she shimmied out of the dress as she continued to swivel her hips to the music. She was dressed in lacy white lingerie that covered her torso. Nikolai was happy that she wasn’t fully naked. But then she kneeled in the middle of the bed, her back facing the audience yet the side of her face was still visible.
“Take it off baby!” A man’s voice shouted out from the back of the room.
Nikolai glanced behind him to see who the vulgar remark came from but the room was dark. His attention was soon pulled back to the stage when whistling and cheers erupted. She was waving her finger in a ‘no’ motion and smiling as she undid the lingerie slowly and then tossed it across the bed. Her milky white back was still turned but her arm shielded her breasts. She snapped her fingers and the room went dark for a minute and then a center light hit another part of the stage where a tub full of bubbles propped up on a podium.
Slowly she climbed the steps and let her arm that shielded her breasts fall revealing sparkly pasties covering her nipples. Nikolai’s mouth went dry seeing her perfect breasts bare. Her eyes quickly shot up and found Nikolai’s eyes. She smiled and looked back down focusing on the tub.
Before she entered the tub, she peeled the lacy white underwear down her legs to reveal a sparkly thong gracing her round butt. Nikolai had to cross his leg one over the other to contain himself. She was an absolute tease.
She sank into the tub and played with the bubbles, blowing on a handful playfully. She lifted one leg out of the tub and peeled off the wet stocking followed by the other and then lastly her thong. The music ended suddenly and the curtain dropped. Everyone sprang up to their feet and clapped cheering her name. Nikolai could not help himself. He too stood up and found himself clapping.
Chapter Two
After her performance, Audrina walked backstage to her dressing room and changed into a short, silky, black robe. After rehearsing all day long and performing tonight, she was pretty beat. She plopped down on the black leather couch in the room and began to check the messages on her phone. Texts and emails were all the same, mundane. Just like her life. Nothing ever exciting happened to her.
She had always lived in Deep Falls- the city by the sea that glittered with wealth and glamour. Despite it being such a hot city, Audrina could never find excitement while living in it. There was always parties or something going on but nothing that she truly interested her.
A soft knock at her door interrupted her calm state.
"Miss Audrina," The little voice of her assistant Jeana called. "You have a visitor. Would you like me to send them in?"
Audrina was a little confused. A visitor? No one ever visited her after a show except for her best friend Nikki, but she couldn't make it tonight because of work. Audrina wanted to know who it was, so she decided to let this 'visitor' in.
"Sure," she answered.
Audrina turned her honey colored eyes to the door. As soon as it opened, in walked a really handsome, tall, muscular guy, wearing a black, pinstriped suit. He looked like he was a rich businessman or entrepreneur. He walked over and stood in front of Audrina. He towered over her 5-foot- 7 frame, by over a foot. She examined his perfect, sculpted features. He had a square jaw, beautiful, light- blue eyes, perfect nose and fair skin. His jet black hair was shaved on the sides but grown out short and slicked back in the middle. He was just drop dead sexy.
"Hello," Audrina said breathlessly. This guy truly did take her breath away. She could feel her cheeks burn. She didn’t believe in love at first sight, but she could have easily been a believer in that very moment.
"Nice to meet you," he said in a deep tone, knocking Audrina out of her thoughts. He had a thick accent that was hard to distinguish.
"Do I know you?" she asked confused.
He smiled, “No."
“I'm Audrina," She said as she held out her hand for him to shake. He took it in his big hand, and kissed the top of it. Her ears burned red hot at his touch.
"I know who you are," He smiled. His perfect smile sent chills down Audrina's body. "I'm Nikolai Stratauv."
The last name sounded very familiar to Audrina, but she couldn't think of where she heard it from before. Stratauv… Before she could give it another thought, Nikolai spoke.
"I know you do not know me but I came to ask if you would you like to join me for a late dinner?" He asked very politely, crossing his hands, one on top of the other, resting in front of him. His English sounded funny but she could tell he tried very hard to pronounce every word perfectly.
Audrina was really hungry after all her hard work today. She would usually go home after a show and order take out, and then go to sleep, but she could not pass on this opportunity to dine with this very attractive creature. Even though she did not know him, she wanted to and knew this was the only way she would get to. She could feel an excited rush of adrenaline rush through her.
"That sounds great," She smiled just as Jeana walked back into the room.
Jeana glanced from Audrina to him and then back to her again.
"Good," He smiled. "I let you get ready."
"I'll be out in a while," She smiled as she walked him out of the room. Jeana gave her a little look with her green eyes.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Audrina ran to the other side of the room.
"I need a dress or something!" Audrina squealed as she ran over to the rack of clothes that was in the room. She rummaged through every dress trying to find the perfect one.
Jeana giggled as walked over to where Audrina was and helped her. "Where are you going with that guy?"
"He invited me to dinner," Audrina smiled, holding up a little, red, spaghetti strapped dress. It would have to do, she thought. She slipped into it and grabbed the little pair of golden heels that were thrown next to the couch. She was ready within five minutes.
Jeana ran a hand through her short, blonde hair. It was weird for Audrina to go out with someone she had just met. She was usually quiet and careful but the way she quickly jumped at the opportunity to go out with this man was truly out of character.
“Are you sure about this?” Jeana asked her. She hoped to change her mind quickly.
“I don’t know why but something inside me is just telling me to go,” she said. “Perhaps it’s fate.”
“There is no such thing Audrina,” Jeana sighed.
“Don’t be a party pooper.”
The way Audrina intently brushed out her hair and fixed her makeup was why Jeana knew she meant business. She had never seen Audrina get ready so quickly and be so excited for something.
"Be careful okay? Call me when you get home," Jeana hugged her tightly.
“I will,” Audrina smiled. “Don’t worry about me.”
* * *
Nikolai had his driver take him and Audrina to his favorite little Greek restaurant. It was already 11 o'clock at night but he knew the owner personally and knew that he would stay open just for him. When they walked into the semi-empty restaurant, Nikolai was automatically greeted with a warm welcome.
"Mr. Stratauv!" A tall, thin, bald, bearded man with green eyes greeted. He walked up to Nikolai and shook his hand. "Always great to see you! And who is this beautiful girl you have brought?"
"Nikolai, please," Nikolai smiled and put his hand on the small of Audrina's back. "This is Audrina. Audrina, this is Virgil, the owner."
Audrina shook Virgil's hand with a smile, "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Virgil smiled. "Let me walk you to your usual table Nikolai."
Virgil led them over to a little, round, white-clothed table that was in the back of the restaurant. It was dimly lit and had a little glass with a candle in the middle. Nikolai pulled out a seat for Audrina and then sat down across from her. The way the men in the surrounding tables greeted Nikolai was enough for her to know how respected he was. They
greeted her too with a kiss to the cheek and the women winked at her with a knowing smile.
Virgil handed them both menus and told them the specials.
Audrina was oblivious on what to order. She never ate or actually ever tried Greek food. She sat there and looked at the menu in confusion. Nikolai noticed and chuckled.
"Would you like me to order for you?" he asked.
Audrina looked up at him from her menu and chuckled, "Please do. I have no clue what any of this stuff is."
Nikolai nodded his head and ordered some kind of Greek pasta and a famous Greek salad for them both. When they were done ordering, Nikolai couldn't help but stare at Audrina in awe. His gaze was so intense Audrina had to look away but she knew she had to keep her wits about her.
"You can always take a picture," Audrina smiled as she drank her glass of dry red wine. "It'll last longer."
Nikolai shook his head. "What?"
Nikolai could only speak and understand basic English. He usually had a translator help him out with his English but he could keep up a small conversation as long as the person talked slowly.
"Sorry," Audrina chuckled as she set down her glass. "I was being sarcastic."
"Sar- cast-ic?" Nikolai tried to pronounce. "What that mean?"
Audrina looked at him with one eyebrow raised, "Never mind. English is not your first language is it?"
Nikolai took a gulp from his wine before he answered, "No. I'm full blood Russian."
Audrina nodded her head, "Figures. You talk a little funny."
"Thank you," Nikolai chuckled not knowing how to take her little comment. He was so taken by her beauty that he didn't care what she said. As long as she was in his presence, he was happy.
"So what do you do?" She asked as soon as their food arrived.
Nikolai didn't know how to answer her. He knew that he should not tell her that he was one of the biggest, most notorious, powerful Mafia bosses in all of Russia and the United States, among other countries. It may scare her away.
