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"And you'd be right, I'm not much of a clubber. My older brother owns the place and I just help out more often than not." Besides helping with the books mostly, I stuck around the clubs because they were our main meeting places for our bratva business.
If I could help it, I always tried to partake in business meetings because I was the second in command. My older brother Nikolai, the head of our bratva, could handle himself more than fine, but I wanted to be there with him to have his back.
"What about you? Regular clubber? Or are you here with someone?" Maybe I could get some answers that would let me peek into her life more than the little information I have on her.
"Eh, not really a regular clubber. I was with a friend who just left." Straight to the point, not much I could go on besides that she has at least one friend.
"What do you usually do then if you don't hit the clubs?" I asked, flashing the bartender a quick, grateful smile when she placed our drinks in front of us and then turned my full attention back to Hanna.
"Oh, thanks, you didn't have to." Hanna gave me a grateful smile as she took the drink into her hands. "But to answer your question, I mean, it's basically what I told you the other day. Besides being boring, if I do have a fun night out it's usually just out with my friends or a single date to the movie or Stand Street. What about you?"
Humming softly to myself, I ran my hand across my lower face, holding it there for a moment as I straightened my answer mentally. "If I'm not busy helping my brothers, I like to spend my time at home, either at my pool or in my kitchen." As if I even had that kind of time on my hands nowadays.
I was usually too busy with the company and bratva business to enjoy any downtime like in the past. Especially now since we were starting to run into much more trouble with surrounding mafia crews and the Qing Triad. I was lucky to get a good few hours of sleep and some food in me with how busy I've become with helping Nikolai and his wife keep tabs on Lady Qing, the temporary head of the Qing Triad.
Even though there was a—shaky—truce between the bratva and triad, my sister-in-law advised us against settling because Lady Qing had no intentions of keeping things peaceful. The truce kept the bratva from striking while she pulled her strings with the triad. Hearing all of it pissed me off greatly because we essentially got played; she took us for fools, and we were almost none the wiser to fall for it.
We had gone into the meeting with no intentions of accepting whatever bullshit she put out. At least, that was the plan until she dragged out her offering of a bride, who turned out to be the woman who saved Nikolai from a car crash months ago, and who also happened to be his little obsession. So, the plan went out the window because Nikolai bit the bait, not that I could blame him. After all, I would have done the same in his situation.
Although it went against what we stood for, I was glad he broke his promise of never partaking in an arranged marriage because he was now the happiest he'd ever been in his whole life. Angel didn't seem to mind the impromptu change in relationship status either, even if it was more forced from her end of things. Apparently, she had a little—major—crush on my older brother since the night of the crash. Their marriage wasn't perfect by any means, but the two were smitten with each other beyond comprehension.
Enough about the past, though; what mattered now was the present, which included dealing with the triad as they came, and Hanna.
"Oh? The kitchen? I didn't take you for a cook." Her soft voice had a teasing tone when she spoke, and she looked at me curiously with raised brows.
"Well, don't go telling everyone I like to shut myself in the kitchen, just something I enjoyed doing growing up." I didn't let her in on the real reason why though.
No one, let alone Hanna, needed to know that I enjoyed cooking because it reminded me of happier times with my mother. It was the only time away from my father and brothers back then, the only solace in my life. My father already shoved me aside more than my siblings because of my hair, always insisting that my mother cheated on him and that I was an affair baby—even though half our extended family was blonde. So, my mother always invited me into the kitchen, keeping me safe and happy there.
Hanna's soft smile stiffened briefly. "Bet your girlfriend just loves you." Even though she laughed jokingly, it sounded forced.
It was hard to pick up in the dark club, but I could see the slight sharpening of her usually soft, chocolate-brown eyes and the tensing of her jaw before she brought her drink up to take a sip. Then there was the slight edge to her voice, though it was hidden well.
"If I had one then maybe." As if I had time to dedicate to a relationship, not like any woman would understand either.
"I'm surprised you're not here with your man, or woman." If she wasn't single, then that would be a slight problem.
Wait, why would it be a problem?
The thought of her with anyone caused that nasty feeling from before to claw its way back up to the surface to where it festered right under my sternum.
"If I had someone significant like that then I wouldn't be here alone." She might have replied with a small, joking smile, but it looked forced from my angle.
Okay, so she was single, good. I don't know why, but the fact brought a sense of relief to me.
"But you could fix that." Her shy smile curved suggestively after she downed the last of her drink. "Come on," she said, grabbing my hand after she hopped off the stool, "One dance? Then we can go back to being professional after tonight." The dim of disappointment in her eyes almost went amiss in the dark lighting of the club.
Fuck it. One dance won't hurt… Right?
On a whim, I decided to indulge her in hopes of scratching my itch as well. "How can I say no to lovely you?" I chuckled before finishing my drink and letting her drag us to the dancefloor. Thank God the place wasn't overly crowded, so we had space between us and the other bodies occupying the lighted floor.
My hands locked themselves onto Hanna's hips to prevent her from slipping away as we maneuvered closer to the center of the dancefloor. Then, once we found a good spot, I snapped her body to mine, fitting her backside into me like a puzzle piece. If only I had some more alcohol in my system to loosen me up more.
Hanna's head leaned back onto my shoulder, and she brushed her lips against my ear. "We don't have to if you don't want to, if this is too weird for you." It was almost impossible to hear her soft voice over the music's bass, but I barely caught her words.
"If you're comfortable with it and won't let this turn weird between us afterwards then I'm fine with a dance or two. It's just… It's been a while since I've danced with a beautiful woman." More like a while since I've danced with someone who enamored me, but she definitely didn't need to know that.
"At least make the line believable." Hanna laughed and loosened her body up against mine when I chuckled in response and relaxed a bit.
