“I just don’t think I have it in me anymore,” she said with a sigh.
“What do you mean you don’t think you have it anymore? You sound eighty or something,” Carla pointed out.
“Because sometimes I feel eighty. Hell, sometimes I feel like I'm freaking century old.” Athena shook her head. “It’s like I don’t know what to do, what to say, what…I just choke when it matters the most.”
Carla shook her head and took another sip of her water.
“See, right there, that is your real problem,” she said and Athena raised an eyebrow over the other.
“What is? What are you talking about?” she asked.
“You are trying too hard, that’s your problem,” Carla said as she interlaced her fingers and rested her elbows on the table. “I know getting back on the saddle is hard but you are too young to live your life alone.”
“I don’t intend on doing that, you know,” Athena said.
“Really? At the rate you were going…at the rate you are still going, I kind of see a future for you that is a little lonely.”
Athena shook her head as she took another bite.
“But what if…” she started before Carla put a hand up.
“I already know what you are going to ask and I have to stop you right now,” she said. “You want to ask what if he doesn’t measure up to the kind of life you had pictured for yourself and Evan, right?”
Athena almost rolled her eyes. Her best friend knew her too well, it was sometimes uncomfortable.
“Keep in mind, you are not looking for a replacement because if you are, you are being unfair to yourself and to Evgeni,” Carla started. “No one can ever be exactly like Evan and if that is what you are looking for then you are definitely going to miss out on the great personality Evgeni has.” She reached across the table and took her friend’s hand in her own. “How about you just give life a chance, huh? Close your eyes and ears to what the obvious dictates and see where your destiny takes you.”
Athena forced out a laugh.
“Since when are you so Zen?” she asked and Carla shrugged.
“Maybe I have always been and you were always a little too busy to notice,” she replied.
*****
By the time Athena got back home that evening, all she wanted to do was get into a shower and then maybe soak for a long hour. But she had agreed to a dinner date with Evgeni that evening. She walked to her room and stripped off her work clothes before she walked into the bathroom. She turned on the water and stood under the warm jets. It had been a long day and it almost felt as if the water was washing away every sore knot she had in her body. She leaned against the cold tiled wall as the water ran down her back. At the back of her mind, she was trying to figure out what she was going to wear that night.
When she finally got out of the shower, she was almost half an hour later. She dried off and stood in front of her closet. She had to pick out something that flattered her body but also decent. She pulled out one of her new dresses and a smile played on her lips.
“I knew I bought you for the right reason,” she thought as she held the dress against her body.
*****
Evgeni straightened his jacket with one hand as he stood outside Athena’s apartment. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. It was not like he had not done this before but something about this girl just made him feel all warm and fuzzy. He was even second guessing the navy slim suit and sky blue shirt he had on – something that had never happened before. Not even with Natalya.
“Here goes nothing,” he thought as he softly knocked on the door. It took just a few seconds before Athena answered the door. “Oh wow,” he thought as he looked at her.
She was in a burgundy long sleeved bandage dress that reached just under her knees. She had straightened out her curls and she had matched her outfit with black strapped heels.
“You look amazing,” he said in a soft voice.
“And you look…really good too,” she said, smiling.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek softly before he brought his hand from his back producing a bunch of roses.
“Wow, you went all out. Didn’t you?”
“I did tell you that I wanted to go the whole nine yards with you and that included buying you flowers at some point.” He looked at the roses in her hand. “The only problem is I don’t know you well enough to know whether you are a rose person or…but I figured I couldn’t go wrong with red roses, right?” he asked and she nodded.
“Yeah, I guess so,” she said. “Maybe if the evening goes well, I will let you know what kind of flowers I like.”
Evgeni forced out a laugh.
“If?” he asked and she shrugged.
“The night is still young.”
“Yeah it is. Hopefully, I will have you feeling a little more positive.”
“Come on in. I’ll just put these in water before we leave,” she said as she walked in.
Evgeni could not help but stare at her ass as she walked. He was not sure if she had chosen the dress because of the obvious effect it had on him or the fact that she actually got it especially for the evening. He watched her as she gently put the roses in a vase on the living room table before she looked up at him.
“Ready,” she said in a whisper.
“Good,” he said as he took a step towards her. “You look so damn gorgeous.”
“You said that already,” Athena whispered as she looked into his eyes.
“I know but I don’t feel like I have said it enough.” He was now standing right in front of her, fighting the urge to pull her close to him and just claim her, make her his all night long.
“Will you tell me where we are going?” she asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“My place,” he said without hesitating.
“Your place? For a first date?” she asked with a smile and he nodded.
“I don’t really conform to the norm,” he said taking her hand in his.
“And what do you have in mind right now, Mr. Markovic?” Her voice was so low, almost a whisper. He smiled and pressed his lips into her hand.
“I am too much of a gentleman to tell you that,” he said as he looked into her eyes.
*****
Evgeni’s place was everything she imagined it to be. The black and white monochromatic color scheme blended perfectly with the black L-shaped couch in the living room. As soon as they walked into his house, she could not help but look around. Her place felt like a doll house compared to what she was standing in at that moment.
“I hope you like Italian,” he said as he led her to the dining room. A smile played on her lips. He had gone all out. The lighting in the dining room had been dimmed and there were candles on the table that had been set for two. There was soft music playing in the background, a perfect mood setter. She looked at him as he slipped an arm around her waist and led her to the table.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” she said in a soft voice as he pulled a chair out for her.
“Glad you approve.” He pulled the bottle out of the ice bucket in the middle of the table. “Hope you will like this. A business associate gave me this as a gift when he traveled to South Africa.”
He uncorked the bottle and poured two glasses of wine before handing her one.
“To new and unexplored territories,” he said in a soft voice. She raised her glass.
“Here, here,” she said before taking a sip.
Evgeni took a seat across from her as he took another sip of her wine.
“So, did you cook this or did you have someone do it for you?” she asked as she looked at the plate in front of her. It was still hot and it smelt divine. If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that there was someone else in the house apart from the two of them. “Plus, this food has been freshly plated and we only just came in.”
“The cooking was done by a chef friend of mine,” he started as he looked at her. “See, you are not the only one with connectio
ns.”
She smiled and shook her head.
“Clearly, I’m not,” she said.
“And his team did the plating and everything else before we got here. It is all about the coordination,” he went on.
“It seems that coordination is something you know a lot about,” she said as he looked at her.
“Well, it is something that I deal with on a daily basis.” He picked up his fork and smiled at her. “Bon apetit.”
She looked at her plate and shook her head.
“This…looks so beautiful,” she started as she looked down at her plate. “What am I looking at, exactly?”
“Seared beef fillet and orecchiette grazed with garlic,” he answered as he took a bite. “One of the best things you have ever tasted.”
She took a bite and closed her eyes.
“This is heavenly,” she exhaled.
“I told you so,” he said smiling.
Dinner was relatively quiet. The music playing in the background was all that she heard as she sat there eating as they looked at each other. She could feel her cheeks getting flushed, her palms sweating. She was not sure whether it was the way he was looking at her or the fact that it had been so long since she last had been in the company of a man, any man outside an official setting.
“Dinner was lovely,” she said when they were finally done.
“I chose something that I hoped was worth your…grandeur,” he said as he pulled his seat from the table.
“My grandeur?” she asked raising an eyebrow over the other and he nodded.
“Yes, your grandeur.”
“You do realize that I am not royalty,” she said as she followed him to the living room and he nodded.
“Well, to me that is exactly what you are, Athena,” he said making her blush again.
They sat down in the living room and he looked at her.
“So, I have to ask, and it might sound a little cliché, but why is a woman like you still single?” he asked and she raised an eyebrow over the other.
“A woman like me?”
“Yes, a woman like you.”
“What is that supposed to mean, anyway?”
He shrugged.
“You are a smart, sexy woman. A jackpot in every sense of the word.” He took a sip of his wine. “Why are you a single woman? Are all the men in Virginia blind and stupid or am I just lucky?”
She forced out a smile.
“And what makes you think that I am single?” she asked.
“Well, it is quite simple really. You wouldn’t have agreed to come out with me if you had someone in your life,” he said.
She looked away and took another long sip of her wine.
“Well, I plead the fifth.”
This time it was Evgeni’s turn to let out a cynical laugh.
“You plead the fifth? You are not exactly at risk of self-incrimination or anything.”
“Well, that is what you think,” she said and he placed his glass on the table before taking her own.
“Let me ask you Athena,” he started as he placed her glass next to his own. “Do you really think that I could be turned off by anything you say to me?”
“I don’t know…I am not really sure.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Evgeni asked as he shifted his weight next to her.
“I…I have no….” she stammered as he moved even closer to where she was. He held her chin and smiled at her.
“Because if that is what you think, Athena, then there is definitely no point of me doing this,” he said before he leaned forward and brushed her lips with his. She closed her eyes and exhaled into his mouth as she felt his warm lips on hers. She could not really explain what she was feeling. It had been so long since she felt anything like that in a long time. It was like an awakening, a majestic burst of white hot energy inside her body. When he pulled away, she still had her eyes closed.
“Now I am sure that there is nothing you can tell me that would push me away,” he said as she opened her eyes to look at him.
“Nothing at all?” she asked him when she finally found her voice.
“Absolutely nothing.”
“But…but I’m damaged goods, Evgeni,” she whispered. “Too much baggage for anyone to…” he pressed his finger to her lips cutting her sentence short.
“Everyone has baggage, Athena. Even I have my own,” he said in a soft voice. “And if what I have doesn’t push you away, then I don’t see what would make me want you any less than I do right now.”
“But I don’t know your secrets,” she whispered.
“Right now, we are talking about you. Right now, it is all about you.”
She shook her head again and stood up. It was too soon for her, it was too soon to start over.
“What was I even thinking?” she wondered as she pulled away from him and stood up. She looked at him and shrugged. “This was not a good idea…this…all this…” she started before she began walking towards the door. Evgeni stood up and walked up to the door before she could open it.
“Athena,” he said in a soft voice, his hand on the door. He was standing behind her and he was so close that she could feel his warm breath on her neck. “You have me…smitten, Athena. Give me a chance.” He moved even closer to her and she could almost feel his crotch against her well rounded ass. “That is all I ask, Athena. Just one chance.”
Chapter 6
Athena closed her eyes as she felt Evgeni gently sweeping her hair to one side of her neck before he slowly pulled down her zipper. She waited to feel him pulling her dress off but he never did. He held her shoulder and planted a soft kiss at the base of her neck before he slowly trailed his kiss down her spine to her waist before he did the very same thing on the way up. He pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the door and she gasped. She closed her eyes as he kissed her shoulder and then her neck and then her cheek.
“Do you feel how much I want you?” he asked in a soft voice and she nodded. “Can you feel how much I need you right now?”
“Yes, I can,” she whispered.
He ran his hands down the sides of her body gently brushing against her breasts, making her shiver. She sighed when she felt him pushing her dress past her hips leaving her in matching black satin and lace underwear. He took a step back and looked at her, his eyes slowly running down her body, savoring every succulent curve.
“Turn around, Athena,” he commanded. “I want to look at you.”
She did as he asked and he gasped silently when he saw her breasts pushing against her bra. He wanted to rip it off her body, to caress her, to own her. He held out his hand and she placed her own in his before he pulled her towards him causing her to step out of the dress that had gathered around her feet. She looked up at him and he put his hands on either side of her waist. He leaned in and kissed her softly before he pulled away.
“I’ll let you in on a secret no one else knows, Athena,” he started as he caressed her hair. “It’s been long for me too and honestly…” his voice trailed off as he sighed. “I am afraid of letting you down.” He pressed his forehead into hers and sighed again. “I don’t want to let you down and God knows I want you, Athena, with every fiber of my being.”
He pulled away and looked at her.
“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he said.
Athena shook her head. She was standing in front of him in nothing but her underwear and he was asking her if she wanted him to stop at that very moment? He had to be kidding.
“Athena, I am not going to do anything you don’t want me to, baby,” he said again. He slowly brought his hand up and held the back of her neck. She looked at him and took a step forward.
“The light…please turn it off,” she begged but he shook his head.
“I want to look at you.” He took her hands in his and kissed them softly. “I want to see you.” He pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “I want to see every perfect curve.” He gently lowered his head and kissed her d
eeply. She was almost breathless by the time he pulled away.
“Take me,” she whispered. “Take me right now.”
A smile played on his lips as he brought his head down and kissed her softly. She held a lock of his hair as he pressed his lips against hers. She was moaning and exhaling into his mouth, yearning to feel more of him against her, inside her, all over her. She was panting by the time he pulled away from her. He took her hand and she stepped out of the dress that had gathered around her feet before he led her to the bedroom. She did not even notice the well decorated interiors as she walked down the hallway. When they got to the bedroom, Evgeni turned around and looked into her eyes as he began to slowly unbutton his shirt. She could not help but notice just how relaxed he seemed. For someone who had not been intimate for a long time, he showed extreme control. By the time he finally undid his last button, she had her hands on his chest. She was looking right into his eyes as she gently slid the shirt off his shoulders.
There was a little resistance from Evgeni as the shirt slid off his shoulders but she did not really care. She ran her hand down his chest and sighed silently when she felt scarring on his tattooed skin. She had a million questions at the time but she knew that was not the best time to ask them. She gently held the side of his face and kissed him softly as her hand got down to his waist and began unbuckling his belt. She pulled away from him as she slowly pulled his zipper down.
“Athena…” he whispered as she pushed his pants down revealing the bulge safely concealed in his boxer shorts. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her before he turned her around, holding her against him. “You are so sexy,” he said in whisper. “So damn sexy.” He kissed her shoulder and then trailed his lips across to her other shoulder.
It was like having a surge of white hot energy just by having his lips against her skin. She gasped silently when she felt him undoing the clasp on her bra leaving her tits to fall free. He kissed her shoulder again as one of his hand slowly came round to her front and cupped a feel of her soft left mound. She closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder as he caressed her and kneaded her. His other hand was slowly making its way downwards to slip it into the flimsy fabric of her panties. She bit her lower lip and gasped when she felt his fingers gently caressing her already wet slit. She loved the way he was running his fingers up and down her wetness soaking her crotch more and more.
Have My Twins : BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 16) Page 18
