brothers and I had always stayed among ourselves too, and my brothers still did. “Then mac and cheese it is. Even if it’s a poor introduction to the dish. You should try my sister-in-law Kiara’s version. It’s out of this world.”
Dinara smiled wryly in the dim light of my trunk. “Maybe we should wait with family introductions until we’ve at least shared a kiss.”
My pulse picked up, my eyes darting to Dinara’s plump mouth, still smiling in that confident way. Fuck. I hadn’t considered kissing her tonight, now it would be all I could think about. “There’ll be a kiss?” I asked with a slow smile as if I hadn’t imagined doing much more.
Dinara took the gas stove out of the trunk and set it down between our cars so it was protected from the breeze before she grabbed a leather jacket and used it as a blanket to sit on. “Do you have a lamp as well? I don’t want to keep my door open.”
I smirked, picking up the can and a gas lamp, and plopped down on the cool ground. Once it cast its eerie light around us, and the mac and cheese was bubbling, I said, “You never answered my question.” I handed Dinara a fork before I turned down the gas flame and poked my own fork into the searing hot mac and cheese.
Dinara did the same and tasted a bite after blowing on it for a while. She chewed a couple of times with a frown. “I don’t know what the fuss is about. Our cats get better food.”
I laughed. “Sorry my provisions aren’t up to your standards.”
She laughed too. “I’m not even a picky eater but this is really bad. I don’t know if I’ll give this another chance.”
“Trust me, if done right it’s delicious.”
“Maybe one day your Kiara can convince me.” She put another forkful into her mouth. “Kissing would be a very bad idea considering who we are.”
I met her gaze. In the dim light from the gas lamp, the luminous teal of her eyes appeared like the dark green of fir sprigs. “Opponents?”
“That. Among other things. It would be a fateful liaison that’s sure to stir up shit in the Bratva and Camorra.”
I grinned. “I like trouble.”
Dinara shook her head and leaned back on her elbows while I finished the food. “Why did you really seek my closeness tonight? And don’t say to kiss me. If you hope to extract information from me, I should warn you that I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
“I’m very good at extracting them,” I said, leaning back as well so we were at eye level.
Dinara tilted her head. “Are you the wolf in the sheep’s hide, Adamo?”
“Do I look like a sheep to you?” I asked, mildly offended.
“I think you hide your Falcone madness better than your brothers do. I bet those surfer curls and charming smiles trick quite a few people into believing that you’re the nice guy.”
“Maybe I am.”
Dinara shifted her weight to one elbow, resting on her side, bringing us even closer. She peered into my eyes and for a moment I was certain she saw everything. “Maybe you want to be. But we are who we are. I am a Mikhailov and you are a Falcone. Our paths aren’t on the light side.”
“That’s the Russian soul being melancholic.”
“That’s the realist.” Dinara let out a yawn and closed her eyes briefly. “What time is it?”
I didn’t have to check my phone to know the time. The sun was rising on the horizon, which meant it had to be around six in this part of the country. “Six. Sleeping time.”
Dinara nodded. “I’m afraid to ask after the whole toilet break debacle, but do we get the chance to shower during the seven days? I’m not sure I can go without a proper wash and shave that long.”
I chuckled. “We have two sanitary trailers with showers that drive around. Sometime tomorrow it should stop here too.”
Dinara pushed to her feet and I did the same, which brought us both very close. With a teasing smile, Dinara turned and opened her car, crawling inside. She kicked her boots off and stretched out on the back seat.
The way she lay before me was way too inviting. I wanted nothing more than to crawl inside with her and find out if her belly piercing was the only piece of body art she had.
“Can you close my door?” Dinara’s words burst right through my bubble. I did as