no one could say a goddamn thing if he did whatever the fuck he wanted with her, for as long and as loudly as he wanted. And that was satisfying. Almost as satisfying as finally interacting with this woman who’d haunted him for weeks now.
For the first time since seeing her picture and having her safety thrust into his hands, he was at ease. She was in his house and under his protection.
Which meant he had to at least attempt to play the role of gentleman, so he set aside thoughts of getting her tangled in his sheets and continued “getting to know her.” She was heartbreakingly nonchalant about Vasily’s absence from her life.
“Have you ever had the urge to find him?”
Eva shifted, moving closer to him for a moment as a group of women walked by. Gabriel swallowed a groan as her scent surrounded him. Feminine. Sweet but natural. Like honey.
She took another sip from her glass before answering, the deep sapphire eyes she shared with her father narrowing. “Have you ever been told you ask a lot of personal questions?”
Busted. To her, they were two people who had seen each other once, across the lobby of a random building in New York. She had no idea how well he actually knew her.
“Forgive me.”
Her easy smile kicked him square in the teeth. “It’s okay, and, no, I won’t be searching him out anytime soon. So, now that you know my deepest, darkest secret, why don’t you tell me one of yours.”
Okay, sweetheart. I was raised in a violent world where only the strong survive. Raised to be nothing more than a merciless crime boss meant to lead my Italian organized crime family straight to the top. I’ve killed men, have beaten them to where they’re no longer recognizable, stabbed others, shot even more, and have broken more laws than even your local politicians. And even though I’m aware of the possibly deadly consequences, I want you to be mine.
Riiight. He ignored her offer completely and slipped into host mode. “Would you like more champagne? Or something to eat?”
She looked down into her empty glass. “No, thanks. I had a late dinner before leaving home. And I’m only drinking this,” she tipped the flute, “because it came to me. I don’t really care for it.”
“What do you care for?”
Her lashes fluttered and lust burned through his veins when a lovely flush stained her high cheekbones. “Sorry?”
“To drink,” he specified as his body reacted. Could he get any harder?
“Oh.” She shrugged, bringing his attention to the fragility of her bare shoulder. Her free hand came up to play with the glittering earring dangling from the delicate lobe of her ear. “A Cosmopolitan is my go-to if I’m in a club. Which is almost never,” she added quickly.
It’s okay, sweetheart, I know who you are. Your father was right when he told me you lead a quiet life.
“I like wine,” she continued, her chatter almost nervous now. “I don’t know if other people have the same preference, but I go for red in winter and white in summer. Maybe it’s the temperature difference or the heartiness. I don’t know.” She sighed in an adorable burst. “What about you? What do you like, Gabriel?”
He didn’t doubt his full disclosure of what he liked would send her running, so he settled for raising his now-empty glass. “A chilled Stoli is always welcome.”
“Hmm,” she mused, as if she hadn’t really heard him. Her gaze skimmed his features, lingering on his mouth. Again.
He unbuttoned his fucking uncomfortable jacket and wrenched his neck to the side for a satisfying crack when a vibration against his left pec signaled his phone going off. Almost glad for the reprieve, he rudely withdrew it from his pocket and brought it to his ear around his gruffly muttered, “Excuse me.”
“Yeah,” he snapped into the mouthpiece.
“Can you talk?” It was Alek.
“No,” he replied dryly. Wasn’t doing great so far, unless you were giving marks for interrogation methods.
“Then get somewhere quiet and call me back.”
Dammit. He didn’t want to go somewhere quiet. Unless it was to ravish the woman in front of him. Sure as hell didn’t want to leave her in a room full of gawking men. In fact…
Gabriel put his phone away and aimed a dark look at Liam. The kid who’d brought him his drink earlier. He was in his early twenties and putting himself through college, if Gabriel remembered correctly. Which he did, because he was gladly helping to