Russian Mafia Boss's Heir

by Bella Rose

  “I suppose I’ll have to work on that,” she said coquettishly. “We can’t have you expiring from loneliness and boredom. You workaholic types are always so difficult to snare.”

  “Is that what you’re trying to do?” He looked amused. Then he signaled the waiter for more wine. “Are you trying to snare me with the incredible chemistry between us, and the stimulating conversation?”

  She put the tip of her index finger on her lips. “Oh no. I wasn’t thinking of myself at all. I was sitting here racking my brain to try and decide which of my friends would make you a good wife.”

  Vitaly looked momentarily startled, and then he burst out into a belly laugh that rolled across the restaurant. Other diners turned to stare, and even the staff was looking at them. Alexandra didn’t care. She was sitting at the table with a totally sexy guy and she had just made him laugh like he meant it. For some reason that made her satisfied.

  “And what do you do for a living, beautiful Alexandra?” Vitaly asked with a raised brow.

  She watched him take another long drink of wine. Did he get drunk? That would have made her job so much easier. For now, she had to try and lie through her teeth. “I’m between jobs at the moment,” she said on a whim. “I was an administrative assistant at a bank. Then my boss got a little handsy and I decided I’d had enough.”

  In was in her mind to wonder if she’d laid it on a little thick, but he seemed to take the bait immediately. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s quite all right. What’s done is done and I’m over it,” she said quickly. Vitaly was starting to look a little murderous. How idiotic was it that his outrage over her supposed ill treatment made her feel good? Was she that desperate for validation in her life?

  “I have a string of laundromats,” he said suddenly. “Or rather, I own them.”

  Her brows shot straight up. “You do?”

  Of course she already knew this, but it stunned her that he’d just made what was obviously an off-the-cuff comment that had resulted in giving her information he obviously hadn’t been going to share before.

  “Yes. I do. I could speak to one of my managers and find you a suitable position there if you like.”

  ***

  Vitaly could not fathom what had loosened his tongue to the degree that he had just divulged that much information to this woman over dinner. It was absolute folly.

  Then he took a very long look at the beautiful woman sitting across the table.

  “You would do that for me?” she asked, looking genuinely surprised.

  He had to wonder what sort of life she led that she would ask such a simple, heartfelt question. “Of course.”

  “That’s so unexpected,” she said. It was obvious that she was having difficulty finding words. “I mean, you have no reason to want to do anything for me. It’s not like you know me very well.” She blushed, looking quite fetching.

  “Perhaps I don’t need to know you well.” He reached across the table and took her hand. Very gently, he traced the lines on her palm. “I’ve never enjoyed spending time with anyone quite as much as I have with you. In my book, that’s an important fact.”

  “Including that first night?” There was something seductive in the way she formed a little pout with her mouth.

  “Especially the night we met.” He nearly groaned out loud as the memory came rushing back. “I’ve never had another woman respond the way you did. It was exhilarating.”

  “I thought so too,” she whispered. “I don’t usually do that sort of thing, you know. I just wanted you to know that.”

  He lifted her hand to his mouth and let his lips whisper over her knuckles. “I had already guessed that to be true. You simply don’t seem the type to run about seeking one-night stands.”

  “You were just so…” Two lines appeared between her brows as she sought an explanation. “I suppose it was that I felt things with you I’ve never felt with anyone else before. And dancing with you was…”

  “Erotic?” he suggested.

  “Yes. Exactly that.” Her voice was husky, and he could tell that even the memory was turning her on. “Believe me, I like to think of myself as an independent woman. But having you take the lead like that was such a turn-on, I think I was ready to rip off my clothes on the dance floor.”

  Her frankness pleased him. “I’ve never met anyone so honest,” he whispered. “Your body doesn’t lie. And you aren’t afraid of your own sensuality.”

  Something odd moved behind her gaze. It was there for just a second before disappearing altogether. He might have taken a step back to consider that strangeness, but she chose that moment to tug his hand closer to her. Then she pressed her lips to his knuckles and very gently began to kiss her way over the roughness of his skin. Seconds later she was using the tip of her tongue to lightly trace a pattern over the back of his hand. If he had been capable of thought before, he no longer was. Every bit of his focus was zeroed in on the way it felt to have her touch him. He had taken the lead before. Perhaps this time she would show him her passion and eagerness firsthand.

  “I want you so badly, Alexandra,” he murmured. “My cock is so hard, I don’t think I can get up from the table without the whole restaurant knowing.”

  “Do you think I care if they know that you’re mine for the night?” she teased.

  Her words lit a fire in him. Vitaly half rose from his seat and leaned over the table. He cupped the back of her head in his hand and threaded his fingers through her long loose hair. Then he settled his mouth on top of hers and kissed her until he could feel her yield to his dominance.

  Her lips parted on a sigh and he swept his tongue into her mouth to taste the wild flavor of her. She moaned a little, questing back and meeting him halfway with her kisses. The rhythm of their contact mimicked the love play that had been so utterly fulfilling the night they’d met. Vitaly wanted more. He wanted everything. And he wanted it badly enough to consider bending her over the table and taking her right there in front of the entire restaurant.

  Pulling back gently, Vitaly was amused to see her looking a little punch-drunk after their kiss. She sank into her seat like a wilting flower and her sigh was almost juvenile. He lightly touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Come home with me tonight. Stay with me. I want to make you mine.”

  For just a moment she looked indecisive. Then she looked at him from beneath her lashes in a way that made his cock throb with the need to be inside her. “I don’t know that I feel ready to stay the night. But I would love to come back to your place for a drink and maybe something extra.”

  It was all Vitaly could do to stay cool. He was ready to leap out of his chair and do a fist pump to tell the world that Alexandra was coming home with him. She thought she was going to go home before morning. It would be his pleasure to convince her otherwise.

  He stood up from the table and held out his hand. She rose and gently took it. He tucked her fingers into the crook of his elbow and began walking her out of The Samovar. Never had he been so eager to get home for the night.

  Chapter Nine

  Alexandra tried to hang on to her composure, but being this close to Vitaly was giving her some rather decadent and naughty thoughts that had nothing to do with her FBI investigation and everything to do with how much she’d enjoyed having sex with Vitaly on that first night they’d met.

  She kept stealing glances at him in the car. She thought she was being discreet until he turned his head and gave her a knowing smile. “Do you like what you see?”

  Why was his arrogance so charming instead of asinine? If any other guy asked that question, Alexandra would have knocked his block off. Instead, she could actually feel the dopey grin on her face. “I do like it, actually. You’re very handsome.”

  He pulled up to the Maximov mansion. Alexandra tried to remember that she wasn’t supposed to know anything about the place. She had no idea who he was. He’d never given her his last name, and she’d never given him hers.

/>   “This is a beautiful home.” She tried for a flirty smile in the dim orange light of the car’s dash lights. “Apparently laundromats and restaurants are the way to make good money.”

  He smiled but didn’t answer. Instead, he parked and got out. She held her breath as he walked around to let her out. This was the big moment. It was possible that one of his men had seen her at some point and would blow the whistle.

  He opened her door and held out a hand. “It’s certainly satisfying to have you here at my home.”

  Was he being cagey? She couldn’t be sure. She was too busy thinking about what a nice smile he had and how it made his eyes really sparkle. Then she realized where her thoughts were heading and reined them in forcefully. “Thank you. I have to admit that I’m a little anxious.”

  “I think that’s normal, don’t you?” His tone was so reasonable that it actually calmed her nerves.

  “Normal? Perhaps.” She frowned. “I suppose I should be texting a friend and making sure everyone I know is aware of where I am.”

  Vitaly shrugged. “If you think that’s necessary to make you feel safe, I think it’s a wise choice.”

  She held his hand and followed him up the steps to the front door. Her heart was thudding against her ribcage and she could hardly catch her breath. She was doing exactly what she had boasted to Johnson she could. Yet her anticipation was not related to her mission at all.

  They entered the front door. She could hear men laughing and knew she was about to meet the Maximov brothers. It took less than a minute for them to appear after Vitaly closed the front door.

  “You finally brought the mysterious siren home, I see.” A tall young man with blond hair gave her a very thorough once-over with his gaze. “And I can most certainly see the attraction.”

  A second brother elbowed the first. “Uday, can’t you see by the boss’s expression that you’re really pissing him off?” Then he turned and offered Alexandra his hand. “I’m Dimitri. The idiot is Uday, and the quiet one is Anton. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  She shook his hand. He did not seem to fit the butcher reputation that his FBI file assigned to him. “It’s very nice to meet you all. My name is Alexandra.”

  Fortunately, they all seemed to be too blinded, either by her smile or her boobs, to inquire about a last name. She’d been entirely too fortunate that way so far. At some point her luck was going to run out.

  Vitaly gestured to the men. “You three keep out of my way. Stick to this evening’s plan, got it?” They immediately dipped their heads respectfully and retreated down the darkened hallway.

  She got the feeling that they were in the middle of trying to unravel some sort of issue. Had Joe Farelli really rocked them so much by picking up Jacob? It was hard to tell at this point. She needed more information.

  Vitaly leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Let’s go find someplace a little more private.”

  “That would be wonderful,” she murmured, feeling a whole slew of mixed emotions over that idea.

  Vitaly was leading her down a hallway. To her right she saw a set of double doors that looked as if they could lead to an office. Inside she heard the low timbre of male voices, most likely that of the Maximov brothers. She filed the location away for later use and continued to follow his lead toward the opposite side of the house.

  “Please.” He opened another set of double doors and Alexandra found herself inside a well-appointed den. “Come inside and make yourself comfortable.”

  “What is this?”

  “Just a den.” He smiled. “Did you think I was going to give you a peek inside my bedroom so soon?”

  She tried for flirty, but she was very afraid he could see right through her. “I wouldn’t have expected that you would be that forward, but a girl can hope.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Is that really what you were wishing?”

  “Why else would a gentleman invite a lady back to his house for drinks?”

  Vitaly’s brows went up. He took a seat on a long leather sofa. She perched on the other end.

  He looked relaxed. He was lounging there in his expensive custom-tailored suit and looking disgustingly handsome. She found her mind wandering to the night before. Had his hands really felt that good? And had she honestly come that many times? Surely her mind was fabricating some of the details. She had had a few drinks.

  “Why would you assume that’s all I wanted?” Vitaly asked, obviously going somewhere with this strange, suggestive line of conversation.

  She shot him a droll look. “Seriously? Don’t you know that’s what little girls have been told that little boys want since we were old enough to understand the birds and the bees?”

  ***

  Vitaly smiled at his little firecracker. It was quite obvious that she had expected him to jump her bones the moment they were alone. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Are you disappointed?”

  “Maybe?” She shifted on the sofa, her position giving him what was most certainly a calculated view of her upper thigh. “Perhaps I was interested in trying an experiment.”

  “Experiment?” He admired the gleam in her gray eyes. Something about this woman chased all rational thought out of his head. “What sort of experiment?”

  “I’m sure you noticed that the chemistry between us the other night was rather…shall we say explosive?” She arched one elegant brow. The fingers of her right hand trailed lightly over the golden skin of her bare thigh.

  He knew the move was deliberate, yet he found himself unable to resist staring. “I would have called it more than chemistry, I think.”

  “Exactly.” She shifted and he tore his gaze away from her leg and focused on her face. Her expression was flat-out seductive. “Which is why I was so interested to discover if what happened the other night was an anomaly. You know, some sort of combustible circumstance created by the atmosphere of the club.”

  “Do you believe that?” Vitaly found he did not like that idea at all. What he had experienced had been bliss. It wasn’t simply hormones.

  “I don’t know what I believe.” Her tone was casual, almost deliberately so. “That is why I proposed the experiment.”

  “And what would the…procedure be for this experiment?”

  “Well,” she began slowly, “I suppose I would need to be closer.”

  She scooted across the center of the sofa until her leg was nearly touching his. Vitaly could feel the heat of her skin through the fabric of his pants. His breathing started to speed up as his body reacted to her proximity.

  “Then?” She leaned even closer, until he could feel every exhale of her breath against his neck. “I think I would need to touch you.”

  Her lips brushed his skin and Vitaly was powerless to stop the groan that slipped out of his mouth. His skin felt more alive right than ever before. The tip of her tongue flicked against his pulse point. Vitaly’s body tightened and his cock rose to full attention between his legs.

  Alexandra’s low laugh was sultry and welcoming. Had he ever been so turned on by nothing more than a touch and a kiss? Vitaly knew he had not. He reached out to touch her and she pulled away.

  “No, I think not,” she told him playfully. “This was my experiment. Remember?”

  He had to clear his throat in order to speak. “And have you come up with any findings yet?”

  She gazed at him from beneath her eyelashes. “Not yet. I think I may need a few more trials.” Placing her hand on his knee, she let her fingers walk their way up toward his groin. “Tell me how hard this is making you, Vitaly.”

  “Why don’t you see for yourself?” he suggested in a voice gravelly with lust.

  Her fingers inched closer. Vitaly realized he was holding his breath and forced himself to calm down. She had created such anticipation with her teasing that he was ready to ravish her. Then she very lightly traced a line down the shaft of his cock. The contact burned like wildfire. His dick actually throbbed, pushing against his fly as t
hough begging for more.

  She leaned closer, putting her lips beside his ear. “You feel very, very hard.”

  “And what do the parameters of your experiment suggest for such a thing?” he asked, playing along.

  “It would appear that I need to modify my procedures,” she told him, drawing back and giving him a teasing grin.

  She withdrew her hand from his cock and he fought the urge to grab it and pull it back. Her demeanor shifted to an almost businesslike manner. He wondered what had happened.

  “Alexandra?” he whispered. “I enjoy your touch. You can report that in your findings.”

  She put her palms to her face. “I also need to report that I’m unable to remain an impartial researcher.”

  Vitaly laughed. The blend of playful and seductive was incredibly enticing. “I think that might have an effect on the results of the experiment. Don’t you?”

  The creamy tops of her breasts rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “More than I might have expected, I think.”

  “You seem disappointed.”

  She didn’t answer. Instead, he felt her pull away emotionally. It made him angry for the briefest moment until he realized what it most likely meant. Alexandra was more affected by him that she had intended to be. He could work with that.

  Chapter Ten

  Alexandra was determined to keep her head. There was nothing to be gained by forgetting the reason she had wanted to come to Vitaly’s home in the first place. That meant not giving in to her hormones and having sex with him. She stood up, leaving the couch and exploring the den. Behind her, Vitaly didn’t move from his seat.

  The room was comfortably situated with wide windows overlooking the back yard and very fine furnishings. “This is such a beautiful place. Did you and your mother live here with your stepfather?”

  She hazarded a glance back at him, wondering what he would think of her rather bold statement. To her surprise, he was grinning. “Not exactly, although the house my mother and I lived in with my stepfather was comfortable enough compared to our tenement in Moscow.”