by BWWM Crew
Her Russian
Billionaire
By Violet Jackson
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Tasha was loving her gig as a bartender. It was a great way to put her through school, her customers were entertaining, and she had a few work friends she loved hanging out with. Free drinks on her nights off were always a plus too. But on one night while her car was in the shop, she found herself walking home after closing up. A strange feeling shot up her spine as she noticed two men stalking her...
Demetri isn't your average billionaire. As the heir to his family's vodka business, he knows how to control people and always gets what he wants. He finds himself in a part of town he doesn't frequent to meet an associate, but after his meeting witnesses a mysterious woman in the process of getting robbed. His instincts kick in and he deals with the two robbers easily.
But to his surprise, the woman, rather than being grateful, is more concerned about a necklace that her mother had given her, which was taken.
This starts a rollercoaster ride of a love story for both of them as their lives become intertwined in more ways than they would have ever imagined.
Will Tasha and Demetri overcome it all and find love?
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2015 Violet Jackson. All rights reserved. Including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author.
WARNING: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.
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Dedicated
To All The Readers Who Are Making My Dreams Possible
Chapter 1
Tasha waited patiently for the man to order. It was a bar, not a five star restaurant and she couldn’t figure out what was taking him so long. The wine list was one page and there were only a dozen names on it. Smokey’s was not where you went for a great glass of wine. Patrons wanted cheap beer, loud music and hot women. Smokey’s had all of that and this poor schmuck was agonizing over it like it was going to be the last glass of his life. Tasha tried not to look so impatient, though it was hard.
“Do you have any recommendations?”
Tasha smiled and grabbed a beer from the cooler below the bar. She popped the top and handed it to him. He looked at it like she had handed him an alien life form. “It’s on the house.”
She heard a disparaging sound from the man, but she didn’t care. Yuppies like him never tipped and she was not in the mood to coddle anyone that night. As a bartender for several years, she had learned to spot those customers that really wanted someone to whine to. The booze just made the tongues more loose and she had learned and heard more things than she had ever wanted to.
Focusing on three ladies that had just made it to the bar, she said hello. They all ordered Cosmopolitans and she groaned inwardly. It was a popular drink, so she made the sickening sweet drink for the women with no taste buds. She was having a bad day and it did not seem like being around people was making it any better. Looking at the clock, she willed it to move a little faster, so she could get out of there a little sooner.
“Sweet Home Alabama” played on the jukebox and there was a chorus of drunken voices singing along to it. It was the tenth time that it had been played since she arrived at work, but it still made her smile. The swaying people slurring and dancing was enough of a sight to make anyone smile and Tasha was no exception.
“Miss?”
Tasha noticed a man signaling to her. She did not see him come in and unlike most of the people present, she had never seen him before. His voice had a bit of a Russian accent and it made her look at him a bit better. He was an older man in a business suit, sticking out a little with the rest of the rough crowd. His eyes moved around the room as he waited for her to walk up. If Tasha had to guess, she would think that he was up to no good.
“Can I help you, sir?”
The man pulled out a picture of another foreign looking man and stuck it onto the beer-soaked bar. “I am looking for this man. We are supposed to meet here, though I can’t imagine why he would pick this place.”
Tasha tried not to take offense to his words, but the way his nose flared like the place smelled bad upset her. It was not the Ritz, but it was a nice enough bar for regular folk. She could smell the money on him and just like the guy with the wine list, she wanted to give him a beer and tell him to sit down and wait.
“I haven’t seen anyone that looks like him in here. I would have noticed. He is kind of cute. Do you want something to drink while you wait?”
“Vodka.”
She nodded and poured him a double. He looked like he needed something to calm down, the way he was looking at everyone like they were going to rob him. She wondered why he was there and who the man in the picture was. He had the most piercing blue eyes that she had ever seen. There was something about the look in his eyes that made her hope that she would be around when he showed up. She wasn’t closing up that night though, so after a half an hour, she forgot about the Russian man in the picture.
“Hey, Tasha, are you sure you don’t want to stay to close up? I bet you could make a few extra dollars.”
Tasha shook her head at her friend Alice. Alice was a few years younger than Tasha and she did not have a care in the world. Tasha had a two-year-old at home to worry about, but Alice only had to worry about the next party she was attending. Tasha did not have to even ask what she wanted to do. Alice wanted to go party and though she only closed up twice a week, she tried to weasel out of it every chance she got. Alice claimed she hated being the last one there, but Tasha suspected it had more to do with the fact that the closer had to restock.
“No puppy eyes tonight, Alice. I promised Jonell’s babysitter that I’d be home before ten. She has her own little party to go to. I’ll probably work your Thursday night though if you want. You know I need some extra cash, but you will survive without one night out.”
Alice sucked in her pouty lips, but her dark green eyes still pouted at Tasha. Tasha tried to be a hard ass, but she was really just a softy on the inside. She had to walk away before she worked late anyways. “Alright, Tasha, damn. If you would have seen how cute this guy was, you totally would do it.”
Tasha smiled and said she doubted it. Not waiting for her to get talked into it, Tasha headed out the front door. The street was lit up with lights and there were a few people doing deals outside. She gave one guy she had warned before a dirty look and they scuttled off to another place to do their drug deals. It was a bad eno
ugh part of town that many people didn’t walk after dark, but it was home to Tasha and there was something so familiar and comfortable about her side of the city. It was not as luxurious or maintained as other neighborhoods, but it was hers and she knew most of the scary people that walked passed her on her way home every night. Plus she was a strong and confidant women, who didn't get shook too easy. She didn’t trust her car at the bar, but Tasha had always felt safe enough.
The walk was not that bad, but that night, she had a weird feeling. It was one of those feelings that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck and made her steps come a little faster as she picked up the pace. Every woman had a radar in their brain that let her know when she was in danger. Tasha’s radar was blaring to her and it made her heart beat faster in her chest. The worst part was that she could not see any danger, nothing really.
There were two drugged out men walking behind her and she felt a shiver go up her spine. She recognized them both, but there was something new in their eyes, a new hollowness that did not register that they even recognized her, and if they did, it didn’t seem like they cared. When Tasha turned back around, they were walking quickly towards her. Tasha panicked and was almost jogging by the time she felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her back.
Chapter 2
Tasha cried out and pulled away from as hard as she could. The two men grabbed her apron off her waist and one even grabbed the gold chain that she had worn since she was a teenager from around her neck. “Stop, give that back! Jesse, I know who you are! What are you thinking?”
There was no talking to them and she felt a hard hand push against her throat. Her outrage turned to panic and it was then that another man was added to the scuffle. The tall man made short work of the two smaller thugs and they were quickly racing off. Tasha tried to run after the short and bald one that had her mother’s necklace. It was the last thing that she gave her before she died and Tasha did not want a bunch of thieves to sell it off for a ten dollar crack rock.
“Miss, stop. Nothing is important enough to go after someone like that. They are dangerous.”
Tasha should have thanked him or even looked back at him, but she paid him no mind. When she tried to take off to go after the jerks, a steely grip held her. “It is dangerous and I can’t let you go.”
Again she heard the Russian accent and she looked up at the man for the first time. She gasped and recognized him almost immediately from the picture she had been shown earlier. “Let me go, sir.”
“Usually when someone helps you, you should say thank you.”
Tasha looked back at the direction the two crackheads had run and shrugged off the fingers on her arm. “Thanks for making my chances of getting my necklace back close to nil.”
He looked at her stunned. That was obviously not the reaction that he had been expecting, though she didn’t seem to care about his expectations. “Is a necklace really worth your life?”
“That one was.”
Tasha turned to walk away. Her anger was clear in the way that she walked. The two men she was chasing were long gone and she wondered for a minute the change in them. She figured she would have to track them down and hope that she could figure out what they did with her necklace. Most likely they would sell it and she would have to buy it back from one of the pawn shops in town. She wasn’t too shaken up, just more upset that she had let them take her things. Tasha had pepper spray, but she hadn’t even thought to use the bottle that she kept on her keychain.
“Wait, miss…let me give you a ride somewhere. Are you sure you don’t have to go to a doctor or something?”
Tasha whirled around. The face that she had been so enamored with in the beginning was starting to be the one she found aggravating. He didn’t quite seem to understand what that necklace meant to her and there was no way to fully describe it. He, like the man from the bar, did not belong there. “I'm fine, thanks. Just can’t believe they took my necklace. I have been wearing that for almost fourteen years. My neck already feels naked without it. Thank you by the way, for helping me.”
Tasha walked away, her waist lighter without the apron and her neck cold from the loss. What had been a bad day was quickly turning into one that she was not able to recover from. She hoped that her mother didn’t see it from up in heaven, and she hoped that she would somehow find the necklace.
“Miss, I must insist.”
The Russian man had gotten into his car and pulled up next to her. The shiny black car was foreign and looked like it would be fun to drive. It was probably worth more than she would see in her whole lifetime. Guys like that were not in those types of neighborhoods without being up to no good. Tasha was convinced that he must be doing something out here in the streets.
“My name is Tasha and I guess I don’t really have a choice. I didn’t realize that chivalry was mandatory when offered.”
He didn’t seem to notice her tone. Bending across the seat, he pushed the door open and smiled at her. She was taken with his grin again and felt her heart skip a beat. He really was quite handsome and she still remembered the way that he had tossed the two men like they were nothing. While she was reluctant to get in at first, she figured he had saved her and there was not much else she could do but reward him accordingly.
“I'm Demitri Ostvolv. It is nice to meet you.”
His name was a mouthful and she shook his hand, smiling. He had the calloused hands of a worker, though he was obviously quite well off, even for big city standards. The difference between them was starker as she directed him to her apartment.
“Would you like me to walk you up?”
“No, Demitri, you have done enough. Thank you again.”
“Are you sure there is nothing else that I can help you with?”
She paused with his words. It was not hard to know what he meant and by the way he looked at her, she was almost tempted to haul him upstairs. Then the fact that her son was up there with the babysitter made her pause. Tasha had forgotten herself for a moment. She could never put her son into such an awkward position with a man she was not committed with, and a man like that would never be interested in a woman like her. That much she knew. It was bad enough she was from the wrong side of the tracks, there was no way that he would even be hitting on her if he knew she had a kid too.
Tasha leaned forward and kissed the man on the cheek. She could feel the stubble on her lips and a small shock of electricity with the touch. Opening the door, she waved goodbye to him and though she knew she would probably never see him again, Tasha knew that she would never forget the man that had saved her and infuriated her, all within moments.
Chapter 3
“Sorry I’m late, baby.”
Jonell ran up to his mother and gave her a big hug. Tasha eyed Maya, asking her why he was up. She shrugged and started to gather her things.
“Sorry, Tosh. He took a late nap and he woke up a bit ago. I figured that he would settle back down after you got home. You know how much he misses you.”
She played with the curls on his head and hugged him again. He was still not used to her working at night. After she had two days off, it was like the struggle began again. “Thanks, Maya. I don’t know what I would do without you. Let me grab some cash out of the bedroom.”
“Bad night?”
“Well it was okay, but then I got mugged by a couple of guys. They took my apron and my necklace.” Her hand went to her neck, still missing the constant weight of the small crab. It was her horoscope sign and her mother had always called her crabby.
Maya’s eyes widened and she rushed to her. “Are you okay?!”
“Yes, really it's fine. Some guy saved me and then insisted on driving me home.”
“Insisted?”
“Yeah, he wasn’t from around here. Nice accent, really cute.”
“So did you get his number?”
Tasha snorted loudly, as the idea was preposterous. She hadn’t dated since her break-up last year with her fiancé. Never thinking sh
e would be a single mom, Tasha had learned that dating was pretty much impossible with a little one. There was no room for dating and love for her at that time. She kept telling herself when Jonell got a little older maybe she would throw herself back into the dating pool.
“I didn’t and I'm sure I will never see him again. He was nice though. If it was a few years before I met Jake, I just may have given him my number.”
Maya sighed. “You know, it’s not like you’re an old spinster, this isn’t the 1900’s. You’re thirty, which is the new twenty. You have to get out there and start dating again. If you find someone good, it would be good for both you and Jonell. Believe it or not Jonell could use a good male role model for when he's grown.”
The young girl left, kissing Jonell on the head and telling him she would see him the next day. She knew that the girl was right, though she hated to admit it. It had been too long and she was becoming too comfortable with being single. It was just hard to trust anyone after Jake and it was even harder to find the time. She hugged her toddler and then started walking back into the bedroom to put him back to sleep. Lying down with him, she too was soon dreaming, of the Russian man who had saved her, Demitri.
