"Here you are, please simply use the data pad to put in your order and the drinks will come to you on the conveyor belt.” She pointed to a black tablet sitting on the table and a lit-up box at the end of the table.
Following the line of the conveyor belt, Rahina looked around excitedly to see that all the booths which were configured in a giant rectangle were connected to the lit-up conveyor belt. All three floors were each lined with the half circular glass booths in an atrium effect allowing each booth to look down to the main floor, where the dance floor was set up.
The hostess stood there a few seconds longer than necessary, forcing both Rahina and Dev to look back up to her from their seats. Smiling sheepishly, the girl looked directly at Rahina. "I just want to say that I love your work, Miss Chopra, I follow you online and I have seen two of your performances, Black Swan and Anastacia. I have already pre-ordered my tickets for your Ephemeral performances.”
Rahina couldn't help but smile wide as she stood up and opened her arms to the cute girl. Excitedly, the girl accepted her hug and thanked her. Taking a quick selfie together, Rahina thanked the hostess and smiled as she reluctantly went back to her hostess stand at the entrance.
"Wow, I guess I never realized the level of your fame," Dev remarked. And though his tone seemed to convey interest, there was something about his eyes that told her it was all a farce, as if he was simply remarking upon the scene for social sake.
Rahina sat back against the plush seat and gave a smug smile. "It's only going to get better from here," she boasted. She was just so damn happy with her life right now, she could scream. The only thing that would make it better was if she was here with Roman instead of Dev.
"You seem different," Dev remarked, pulling her attention back to him. His classically handsome face held a note of dissatisfaction.
"Mmm," she made a sound that bordered on questioning and agreeing, she was still too overjoyed with the memory of happiness on the hostess’s face as they hugged. It was the exact same moment she experienced in reverse when she met her childhood idol, Nina Ananiashvili, in New York after begging her mother for a month to take her to one of her performances. When she got to hug Nina, Rahina had cried. It had felt so amazing to be able to meet her, and now she just had her own moment like that.
"I take it you're happy with the new dance company?" Dev observed. Rahina got the impression that his question had a deeper underlying meaning.
"My God, I love it," she beamed, actively ignoring his odd mood completely. "I am so mad I didn't leave years ago. Everyone at Ephemeral is great, the studio is just phenomenal. Dante, our director, is renting out this huge four-story building that used to be a gym and some office space below it. We have our own parking garage, security, there are even some great restaurants next door. I love it."
"I'm happy for you,” he said lightly, as he leaned forward in his seat.
Somehow, she didn’t believe him. "Thank you, but why do I sense an unspoken "but" in your voice?"
Straightening in his seat, Dev regarded her for a few seconds before answering. "Well come on, Rahina,” he waved a hand towards her as if presenting evidence. “You have to admit you seem…you seem so…"
"Happy…elated?" she offered with a laugh.
"No,” he shook his head and gave her a disappointed look. “I was thinking more like distant. It feels like you're changing."
Shocked, her eyes went wide. "Changing?" she repeated. "How so?" Though, she was sure she was going to hate whatever he had to say.
"Almost everything, Rahina,” by now there was an exasperated tone to his voice that grated her nerves. “The way you walked out of the dinner the other night without telling anyone, for starters."
Rahina hid her frown behind her smile. Her mother's scathing voicemail and her father's guilt-laden text still stabbed at her for that stunt.
"The new car," Dev added. "Not telling anyone about what happened at your old company and your change to a new one, and the fact your family and I both learned of the change with the rest of the world via a commercial. Even the way you dress has changed."
Rahina laughed. It was a true deep laugh that sprang from the well deep inside of her of no longer giving a fuck. Eyes twinkling with amusement, she pursed her lips together to contain another laugh at his displeased expression.
"Dev," she put her hand on the small glass table in between them in a gesture of patience. "You and my parents have only seen the tip of this iceberg I am rolling in from the sea," she smiled evilly at the immediate wariness in his eyes. "From now on, no more master's degree, no more marriage meetings disguised as dinners, no more playing to my mother's tune, and a whole lot more of what Rahina wants to do. And what I want to do will include sex, scandal, fast cars, and so much more."
She could see the anger in his eyes, and she had to admit, she loved it. "This isn't like you Rahina.”
"And just what is like me, Dev? We hardly know each other, so this should be interesting." She threw back at him, as she leaned back comfortably in her seat, crossing one of her exposed legs over the other.
Suddenly a realization crossed through his dark eyes before narrowing at her with accusation, "There is someone else, isn't there?"
She could see no reason to lie to the man. "Yes,” she replied easily.
"You never gave us a chance," he said with a quiet anger she didn’t care to understand.
Annoyed, she lifted her chin and stared down at the annoying man. "That's the thing Dev. That in of itself is where you and I differ greatly, you do not seem to understand I'm not required to give us a chance."
Rahina could see Dev opening his mouth to argue, but the large shadow that fell over them stole both of their breaths. Standing with his hands thrusted casually into his dark suit’s pockets, Roman stood at the entrance to their booth with a wide smile.
“When you said you had a surprise for me Rahina, I was imagining something different,” cold gray eyes passed over her, pinning her to her seat in frozen fear.
“Roman!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “When…when did…” she could hardly gather her thoughts under the pressure of his cold gaze and his huge smile that told her without a doubt she was in so much trouble.
“Rahina who is this?” she heard Dev demand from the other side of the booth. She nearly winced at the sound of the man’s voice. Didn’t he see the giant man giving them both a psychotic smile, didn’t he at least sense the danger?
“Yes, Rahina,” Roman’s heavy accent purred at the syllables in her name. “Tell Mr. Gorshal, who exactly I am." Though he said it with a smile, they could both hear the command in his voice.
Trying to take a bit of control of the situation, Rahina stood from her seat and nervously stepped next to Roman. “Umm, Dev this is the man I mentioned I am seeing,” she explained, glancing anxiously between both men, praying Dev wouldn’t say or do anything stupid.
Dev opened his mouth to speak, but Roman spoke first. "Say goodbye to Mr. Gorshal,” Roman caught her gaze and held it firm. Rahina tried to suppress her involuntary trembling at the cold anger she sensed beneath his smile. She was in so much trouble.
Distractedly, she mumbled a goodbye to Dev as she swiped her gold clutch off the couch. With his hand on the exposed skin of her lower back, Roman guided her away from the table, and for the first time, she realized he wasn't alone. The walkway that led to their booth had three men lined up along the wall, one of which she faintly recognized from the dealership and the other was completely new to her, while the last man being the familiar lieutenant. Mosca didn’t look at her as she passed by him in silence alongside Roman, but she could sense him and the other two men falling in line behind them, following them out the entrance door to the street. Still, Roman had said nothing.
Guiding her to the familiar black SUV parked at the curb, with another identical one parked behind it, Rahina paused and turned to face Roman.
“My car is…” she began to explain, but the feeling of Roman’s hand cupping
her face stopped her.
Swiping his thumb over her parted red lips, he stared down at them as he spoke. “Your car will be driven home. Get in, Rahina.”
She could hear the click of the door opening behind her and her stomach knotted.
“Roman,” her tone was pleading. “Just let me explain.”
Bringing his eyes up and back to hers, she saw the glimmer of restrained anger. “You will explain when we get home, get in the car.”
“But…” if he would just listen to her, she could easily tell him that her seeing Dev was just part of her elaborate plan to kill two birds with one stone, getting Dev off her back and breaking the news of her newfound control over her life to her mom. Although admittedly as she looked up into Roman’s hard gaze and remembered Dev’s angry expression, she realized it was a very poor plan.
“I will not ask you again, my beautiful Rahina," his eyes travelled the length of her body with predatory purpose. "Either get in yourself, or I will put you in, but if I have to do it…” he paused meaningfully and whispered darkly. “I will take the dress as payment.”
Stunned, Rahina stepped away from him, shakily turning to step into the open door. Scooting to the end of the bench seat, she looked back to the door, and her mouth fell open in a gasp as it was firmly shut, with Roman still standing on the outside. What was he doing?! Reaching for the handle, a streak of panic went through her when she realized it was locked.
“Roman!” she shouted from the backseat, looking through the tinted glass at him. Roman made no outward sign of hearing her shout.
Movement from the front caught her eye, and she saw Mosca pulling himself into the driver’s seat.
“Mosca, unlock the back…” her words were cut off as the one-way mirrored partition between them rose to cut her off. “You traitor!” she yelled at the lieutenant who blithely ignored her.
Scrambling on the seat, she looked around for her clutch purse and froze. Vaguely, she could now remember the sliding feeling of her gold clutch being slid from her arm as she turned away from Roman. Angry and a little afraid, she sat without her phone and alone in the backseat as the car pulled away from the curb. Lights from cars and street lamps passed her by in a distant blur as she stared off into the dark interior of the quiet back seat. Tapping her heel restlessly against the floorboard, she thought of Roman’s unreadable smile and glittering gaze. She could not let him control her like this! She should have stood there unmoving on that curb and told him regardless of his threats just exactly why she was there. Though, just remembering his threat to toss her into the car and strip her naked sent ripples of nervous awareness through her. Who was she kidding? He would have happily made good on his threat if she defied him, and the realization only angered her.
By the time the vehicle pulled to a stop in front of Roman’s large house, she practically burst through the door Mosca opened for her. Shooting him a savage glare that she hoped conveyed all the betrayal she felt for the lieutenant, she stepped past him as the familiar growl of her yellow roadster pulled into the drive. Somehow the cute sports car made Roman look no less dangerous as he easily stepped out. Tossing the keys past her to Mosca, Roman stopped in front of her as the lieutenant walked to her car and started it up.
“Are you going to let me explain, now?” she folded her arms over her chest, in a pose she hoped conveyed indignant rebellion.
His expression was flat as he commanded her. “Inside.”
“No!” She stamped her heel onto the concrete. “I am tired of being ordered around as if you are just waiting to kill me when I haven’t even done anything!”
His grip on the back of her neck startled her. Frightened, she pushed fruitlessly at his chest as he brought her closer to him until he was staring directly at her. “I come home to find you dressed like this,” he said with a sneer while eyeing her revealing gown. "Meeting the man your parents would have as your husband, and you think my anger has no merit."
Pushing her fear back, she tried again. “If you would just let me explain you would know I only accepted Dev’s offer tonight to…”
“Inside Rahina,” his voice was a whisper of menacing promise.
Hurt, her shoulders slumped. All week she had been looking forward to his return, thinking and making plans on what they could do to celebrate when she announced to him her good news and now that he was back it had all gone to hell within an hour. Walking through the front door, her heels clicked against the marble entrance floor. The sound of excited pattering started to come closer, signaling the dogs had heard their entrance, but the harsh whip like command spoken in Russian stilled both her and the dogs at once. Sharing a sad look with the dogs, she silently went upstairs followed by Roman.
Closing the door behind him, Roman stopped in the center of the room. “Undress”
Shocked, she turned to face him. “Roman please, I don’t want it to be this way,”
“What way, Rahina?” he snarled, coming closer to her and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Me fucking you in anger? Me filling you with every drop of cum while I try to forget the rage of finding you dressed like this for another man? Or, while I recall the footage of my lieutenant carrying you into my goddamn room and laying you in my fucking bed?” Each sordid word felt like a nail in her coffin as he pulled her close, crushing her chest to his. “No, gorgeous, it is going to be exactly this way; you are going to have to convince me that your want for me has not faded in my absence.”
“Of course, it hasn’t,” she said weakly. She wanted to argue that she has been the one texting for days now, while he was the one who barely replied, but she held her tongue.
“Then show me,” he spoke through clenched teeth, releasing her arms for her to retreat back a bit.
“I’m scared, Roman,” she admitted softly. He looked so furious right now she was genuinely afraid. “Please, can’t you just kiss me?”
The mask of anger on his face only hardened at her plea. Stepping forward again, his hand struck out, so fast Rahina missed it in a blink. Feeling the firm grip of his hand around her neck, he pulled her in close. Rahina let out a relieved moan when she felt the surprising gentleness of his kiss against her lips. Bringing her arms up and around his neck, her body relaxed against his reveling in the familiar firm warmth.
Pulling back from her just as she began to need more air, Roman gave her an expectant look as she stumbled back panting. Feeling the end of his tolerance approaching, she carefully slid the thin emerald straps from her shoulders and let the gown drop to the floor at her feet. Underneath, she wore two silicone adhesive cups to cover her breasts, which allowed for the lack of material in the back of the dress. Pulling them off, she averted her gaze to the floor where she let them fall, avoiding the growing intensity from Roman's gaze. Her nipples however hardened under the scrutiny; she could practically feel his eyes brushing over the tightening peaks.
Her thumbs were hooking into the hem of her panties when he stopped her. “Take off the shoes.”
She froze. Never in this lifetime did she want or plan on Roman seeing her feet. Bruised, permanently scarred, and knotted around her toes, her feet endured daily abuse in her career, making them ironically her most valued assets and what made her most self-conscious.
Seeing the dismay on her face, Roman tilted his head slightly and gave her a small smirk. Walking towards her again, he pulled her in for another soft kiss that stole any residual fear from her mind. Teasingly he bit at her bottom lip, before sweeping his tongue against hers. Feeling the bed bump against the back of her legs, she looked up in surprise, not even realizing that he had been backing her up. Pushing her down, Roman forced her to sit on the edge of the bed as he knelt to one knee before her and grabbing one foot.
“Wait, please, let me get my socks,” realizing what he intended, she reached out to stop him while covering her breasts with one arm.
Roman ignored her an unbuckled the strap to her shoe and pulled it off. Embarrassment knifed through her as she curled her to
rtured toes inward, attempting to hide them. Leaving her leg to balance on his raised knee, he captured and lifted her other leg and removed the other shoe, forcing her to lean back on both of her hands against the mattress. With both feet revealed, Roman studied them quietly.
“Explain to me why you went out with him tonight,” he said, still holding her feet on his raised knee.
She jumped a bit when she felt the sudden warmth of his hand cover the bottom of one of her feet. It only made her want to cry in shame and sigh at the comfort at the same time.
“I was just being cruel,” she admitted in a voice barely above a whisper unable to meet his eyes. She had never felt this exposed, and this vulnerable, sitting here topless with her badly worn feet held hostage by the man she wanted to hide them from. "After that family dinner, I had to go to, I realized how much Dev and his family want to be a part of ours. I felt betrayed and annoyed that someone who claims they are interested in me could just watch my family gang up on me as they interrogated me about the car you gave me. It annoyed me that he continuously texts me and tries to guilt me into seeing him, and I realized I could get him and my mother back at the same time.”
His Smile: A Mafia Romance Page 19
