I took another deep drink and felt sweat started to gather on my forehead with the realization that I may have to make a decision tonight regarding Katya. I needed to accept I might not be able to let her have another life—a life away from me.
I took another long swallow of my beer to clear my suddenly closing throat. Maybe I would be okay with her moving on. Maybe I could truly let her go. Maybe.
I saw my phone light up with a message. Nikolai texted me that they had just arrived. My gut tightened and my groin twitched in anticipation of seeing Katya again. My body’s response wasn’t giving me much confidence in my plan to let her move on.
Then I saw her. She was standing next to Hannah, smiling at her in a way that compressed my chest like a vice. Normally, when I saw Katya, she was dressed casually. Always attractive and fashionable, but casual. There was nothing fucking casual about what she was wearing now.
Her fire-colored hair in a high ponytail that displayed the porcelain skin of her delicate neck and shoulders and gave a clear view of the rounded curves of her breasts. I was only about twenty feet away from her, but every foot felt like a hundred miles. The thought of any of these douchebags touching her, putting their hands on her soft, exposed skin stirred feelings of rage, possession, and homicide.
I had always prided myself on my iron control, but it was going to be sorely tested tonight. The whole purpose of the evening was to make Katya feel like I wasn’t hovering over her, and here I was twenty feet away, ready to jump the first guy who looked at her. This was what I had been avoiding for the last couple of years. These dark emotions had always been lying under the surface—the primal sense of ownership and the need to control who had access to her. She triggered my most primitive impulses.
Nikolai found me across the bar and caught my eye, giving me a nod. I told him where I’d be when we texted earlier. I clenched my fingers around my beer bottle, itching to pull out a cigarette, and tried not to stare at Katya. I was mentally willing her to conclude that having a drink with her friends was all the excitement she needed and praying she didn’t drink too much and start dancing with one of these River North fuckheads. I wasn’t sure I would be able to resist stepping in—violently.
She broke away from the group, marched to the bar, and ordered a shot and a beer. I watched her long neck as she quickly tossed back the shot, silently chuckling at her grimace when she finished the strong-tasting alcohol. She wiped her mouth and immediately began chugging her beer.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 10
Katya
We walked into Club Phoenix, flashed the fake IDs produced by Nikolai, and made our way to the bar. Hannah had been hilariously scandalized when Nikolai presented them, clearly forgetting that Nikolai had been a member of the mob at various points in his life and had committed far greater crimes than facilitating underage drinking.
“Okay, what does everyone want to drink?” Nikolai asked.
“Shots. I want to get drunk,” I blurted out.
Everyone stared at me collectively. I was typically very responsible, and, given my childhood, didn’t care much for drinking. However, I needed to let off steam, and perhaps let myself try and forget about Drago. He wasn’t here, he had rejected me, and I was determined to exorcise him from my mind. Alcohol seemed a sure-fire way to do that.
Nikolai quickly glanced to his right, then back to us. “Does everyone want shots?”
Anya and Hannah looked at each, then me. “Sure, we’ll do a shot,” Hannah answered good-naturedly. Nikolai gave her a hard look, then turned to the bar, returning in a few minutes with three light brown shots topped with whipped cream.
I scowled at him. “What the hell is that? Dessert?”
He grinned. “The bartender called them chocolate cake shots.”
“What are these—eleven proof, Nikolai?” I deadpanned.
“Just fucking drink it,” he grumbled.
“They do look yummy, Katya,” Hannah diverted brightly. Nikolai shot her a smile and kissed her on the neck.
“Hannah, how do you tolerate Nikolai’s bossiness?” I asked half-joking.
Hannah blushed and grinned. “It has its benefits.” Nikolai grabbed her and gave her a hard kiss on the mouth, nearly tipping her drink in the process.
“Okay, okay,” I nudged them apart. “Here’s to a night on the town, ladies,” I said and raised my glass. The other girls raised theirs, and we drank our shots, wiping copious amounts of whipped cream off our faces after the fact.
“They were good,” I admitted grudgingly.
“I’ll get you guys regular drinks now. Blue Moon, okay for you guys?” Nikolai asked.
Hannah and I nodded our head, but Anya shook hers. “Finlandia, neat.”
“Ugh, vodka. Jesus, Anya,” I moaned.
“What? I like it,” she protested, grinning.
“All of you guys,” I stressed that word instead of saying mobsters, “love your stupid vodka. We need to get you drinking something else, Anya. Expand your horizons.”
“But I just drank that chocolate shake thing!”
I snorted. “That doesn’t count. I’m going to buy your next drink, and it’s going to be a surprise, and it’s definitely not going to be vodka.”
Anya gave an exaggerated, long-suffering sigh. “Fine. What I do for friendship,” she said, shaking her head dramatically.
Nikolai returned with our drinks, and I took a long sip off my beer.
“Jesus Christ, slow down, Katya,” Nikolai admonished, once again darting a look to his right.
I frowned and looked to my left, trying to figure out what he kept staring at off in the distance. “What are you looking at?” I asked suspiciously.
“What? Nothing. I’m just looking around. It’s a habit,” Nikolai answered, quickly cutting off his words by taking a sip of his IPA.
I shook my head, trying to banish my own paranoia. “Oh, sorry. I’m just being crazy.” I tipped my beer back and took another long sip, nearly finishing it.
Nikolai shrugged. “Not crazy at all. We were raised to be suspicious of everything.”
I nodded my head, not particularly interested in examining aspects of my childhood this evening. “I’m going to get another,” I said, holding up my empty beer bottle, and quickly dashed off to the bar.
I elbowed my way to a spot at the crowded bar. “Kamikaze shot and a bottle of Blue Moon.”
I was probably going to regret drinking so much, but I needed this. I took the shot and winced as the taste of the harder liquor burned my throat. I reached for the Blue Moon to wash the taste out of my mouth.
The hairs on the back of my neck started to rise, and I swear it felt like someone was watching me. I looked back to where Nikolai stood, but he was kissing Hannah, no doubt trying to make it clear to everyone in the building that she was off-limits. I swung back to the bar and searched the room, not sure what I was even looking for.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped. I clenched my fist and swung around to find Anya standing there staring at me, dumbfounded.
“What the hell, Katya? You looked like you were going to knock me out.”
I gave her a quick hug. “Sorry, I think being under constant protection has made it hard to relax. I feel like there is always someone staring at me.” I took another deep drink of my beer.
“Okay, Katya, you need to chill out. Let’s dance.” Anya grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the dance floor.
“Yes, that is exactly what I need,” I shouted at Anya over the music. I gulped down the rest of my beer, ordered another, then made my way to the dance floor. I felt the delicious heaviness of the alcohol buzzing through my system, calming me down. It was easy to fall into a languid sway with the music.
After a few moments of dancing together, I nearly stopped as I watched Anya’s body move. She was an amazing dancer; her smooth, rhythmic movements in perfect tempo with the music. Her eyes were closed, her expression blissful as she moved sinu
ously, completely absorbed and transported.
I wasn’t the only one who was noticing Anya’s gracefully seductive movements. We were slowly attracting a small crowd of admirers, and while I acknowledged that many of them were due to Anya, a few were looking me over as well. I felt discomfort needle my skin at the multiple sets of eyes that raked over my exposed flesh, flitting back and forth from Anya to me. I had been so excited for this night of freedom that I didn’t realize how uncomfortable it would feel to be so vulnerable and unprotected.
I took a deep breath to settle my nerves. I couldn’t get rattled because a couple of guys glanced in my direction—that was bound to happen all the time. I couldn’t let myself simply fall to pieces because I had to interact with other members of society without two giant Russian bodyguards next to me.
The guy to my left, who had been smiling at me for the past five minutes, grabbed my forearm and pulled me toward his gyrating hips. I froze, then—again—attempted to relax.
This is what I’m here for.
I pasted a smile on my face and tried to get into dancing with this stranger but was struck motionless as I watched him jerking around like a puppet on a string. His dancing was horrendous and uncoordinated. Whatever stirrings of discomfort I had felt were replaced by unexpected laughter as I slowly backed away from him.
In an attempt to cover my snickers, I tipped back and finished my bottle beer. Once again, the man started dancing closer to me, this time moving like he was being electrocuted, and I spit my beer all over him, unable to contain my giggling.
He looked down at himself, covered in my beer and spit, then back to me in outrage. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I’m so sorry! Let me get you a napkin,” I blurted and turned to do just that, but he grabbed my arm.
“You owe me more than a napkin,” he gritted, attempting to pull me into his body.
Anya, finally out of her dance-induced stupor, hurried to my side. “Hey–” Anya started, then stopped as her eyes looked behind me and widened.
I noticed his smell first, subtle and masculine, tinged with cigarette smoke. I knew exactly who was standing behind me, the heat of his body warming my back. I felt one strong arm circle my waist and pull me against his hard chest, making my thighs clench.
“What do you think she owes you?” a hard voice asked in Russian tinged English.
So much for getting Drago out of my system tonight.
Chapter 11
Drago
I gritted my teeth as I watched Katya toss back drink after drink. What I wanted to do was give her a swat on the ass for being so reckless. Yes, she was with Nikolai and Anya, but she was also in a fucking club with a bunch of predatory assholes. After watching her take that last shot at the bar, I was relieved when Anya dragged her to the dance floor just for the simple fact that she wouldn’t just be standing there all night drinking herself into oblivion.
As my gaze tracked them through the club to the dance floor, I was shocked to discover that Anya, for all her boyish toughness, was an incredible dancer. She closed her eyes and moved in her own hypnotic cadence. Katya initially appeared equally as stunned, but quickly fell into a rhythm that made them a captivating pair. Their bodies swayed to the melody of the music, as though performing some secret ballet together.
Katya lifted her hand in the air and swiveled her hips in a way that quickly had my groin tightening in appreciation. I took a sip of beer to moisten my suddenly dry mouth, but my eyes were glued to Katya. My hands itched to slide down her hips and grab her ass, to stand behind her and palm her breast as I sunk my teeth into her naked shoulder.
Fuck.
I needed to pull myself together. This was another reason I was so conflicted about Katya—she ruined my self-discipline. Discipline that made me an outstanding criminal, soldier, and mob boss. Discipline that had shaped every aspect of my life since childhood.
Tearing my gaze away from her shapely form, I reached down to readjust my now hardened cock and caught the attention of an attractive brunette standing next to me.
“I could help you with that,” she purred, sidling closer to me, sending a waft of her strong perfume in my direction, my erection wilting under the onslaught.
My brows pinched together, annoyed at the distraction. “No.”
I took another deep drink of my beer and felt the brunette inch closer. When a fingertip stroked the top of my hand, I pulled away sharply.
I leveled her with a cold look. “Leave,” I growled.
She jerked back in surprise. I understood why—she was attractive and probably didn’t get rejected often. She frowned and opened her mouth, probably to protest my sharp rebuff. However, before she could utter a word, something in my expression had her closing her mouth.
Instead, she huffed and stomped away to presumably look for a more receptive partner. I shook my head in agitation and returned my attention to the dance floor.
I looked over to get Nikolai’s attention, but he was staring back and forth from the dance floor to Hannah’s cleavage. Jesus fuck. Finally, he looked over at me and I jerked my head, indicating I wanted him to join me. He looked down at Hannah, clearly conflicted about leaving her side in a place like this.
I gave him another hard stare, and he rolled his eyes, but turned to Hannah and gave her what looked like a very stern lecture. Hannah gave him an indulgent smile and nodded her head. He gave her another quick kiss and made his way to my side of the bar
“Jesus, Nikolai, what do you think is going to happen to her?” I asked with exasperation.
“Are you really in a position to give me shit about this right now?” he asked, nodding his head in Katya’s direction.
“I’m just here for her protection,” I growled.
“Right,” Nikolai replied sarcastically.
“Why the hell are you letting Katya drink so much?”
Nikolai tipped his head back in aggravation. “This whole night is supposed to be about her getting out and having fun. She wanted to start the night with shots, so I asked the bartender for the weakest shots I thought I could get away with giving her. Did you see those things? They had fucking whipped cream on them.”
I blew out a deep breath. I needed to fucking relax. “Okay, okay, I get it. Just keep a fucking eye on her on the dance floor.”
Nikolai nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. “I get it, Drago, I really do. I’ll keep an eye on her. And I’m sure if I miss something, you won’t.” He winked at me and walked back to Hannah.
My eyes quickly flicked back to Katya, my pulse jumping and my fists clenching as I noticed she had attracted an admirer. Some idiot grabbed Katya’s arm, but she wisely pulled away to finish off the rest of her beer. The guy was dancing like a fucking idiot, and there was no way that Katya could find this fuck attractive. I hadn’t liked his focus on her to begin with, but touching her? Fuck no.
When the guy moved in on her again, I was stunned to find myself stalking toward the dance floor. Before I could get there, something must have happened, because I watched him reach out and grip her arm again as he snarled something at her. I was at her side within seconds, staring this moronic asshole down.
He was about to learn the hard way about keeping his motherfucking hands to himself.
Chapter 12
Katya
I wanted to be furious that Drago was here, but my muscles relax against him immediately. I melted at the strength and safety he represented, even as my nervous system simultaneously jerked to life. I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation of being pressed against him. His arm tightened around me, and my eyes shot open as I heard him repeat his question.
“What do you think she owes you?” His raspy voice, thick with menace, sent chills down my spine and was a hundred times more potent than the alcohol I had been consuming.
Crazy Dancing Guy put his hands up in the universal sign of I have bitten off more than I can chew. “Hey, I’m not looking for trouble, she, uh, just spi
t some beer…” he drifted off, and I felt Drago’s muscle tighten.
“And what?” he gritted. “You put your hands on her because she got beer on your fucking shirt?”
“I, uh, I…” the guy sputtered, slowly backing away from the imminent danger emanating from Drago.
Drago released a slow breath. “Get the fuck out of here.”
The guy spun around and ran in the other direction, barreling into one person after another in his eagerness to escape. I slowly turned to Drago, careful to keep his arm around my waist, and found him pinning me with icy grey eyes. Nikolai and Hannah appeared to his right, looking stunned and curious. Drago shot Nikolai a look, and Nikolai nodded in response to some telepathic message.
I swallowed and conjured a fake smile. “Well, that was cra–”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence as Drago grabbed my hand and pulled me to a darkened corner of the club, turned my back against the wall, and braced his arms on either side of me. One of his hands moved to lightly collar my throat, his thumb rubbing against the skin there. Eyes that had looked arctic and emotionless moments ago, now looked stormy and intense as they stared down at me.
“What am I going to do about you?” he murmured, almost as though he was speaking to himself.
I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could utter one word, his mouth was on mine. Hard. Commanding. Hot.
I was paralyzed by shock and exhilaration, unable to believe this moment was finally happening. His marauding tongue snapped me out of my stupor, my senses reeling at the feel of him aggressively possessing my mouth and the heat starting to coil and gather within my body.
My hands skated up his chest, one finding its way into the short hair at the nape of his neck, the other sliding around his waist, under his leather jacket. His tongue took possession of my mouth, sweeping in greedily as he pressed my body against the wall, one rough hand moving down my hips and around to my backside while the other slid up my ribcage to rest under left breast. I could feel my nipples hardening in anticipation.
Drago (Dangerous Love Book 3) Page 4
