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I just never wanted to keep one.
“Mikhail.” She bats her lashes suggestively in my direction and I nod.
“It’s good to see you again.”
I resist mentioning names and she obviously understands because her eyes flash.
“Have you forgotten me already because I will never forget the night I spent with you?”
“It happens.” I shrug, caressing the rim of my wineglass and staring at her with disinterest.
“You really are a bastard. I can see that hasn’t changed.”
“Are you here to trade insults with me or to antagonize your date for the evening?”
I nod toward the man who is throwing daggers in my direction, and she smiles seductively.
“He doesn’t compare to you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I’m so bored with this conversation already and I know exactly what this is. A distraction. Lilli is taking her shot, and I expected nothing less. I’m almost happy she is because now I get to punish her.
The woman before me is as forgettable as her name because she is just like every other one who has the misfortune to find their way into my bed. I never pretend it to be anything else. An act of sexual depravity for money. A business transaction. Nothing more and nothing less.
She hovers uncertainly by my side, and I wonder what she hoped to achieve from this. My sudden realization, perhaps. Contrition for letting her go and a declaration of love that will keep her by my side forever.
I resist the urge to yawn and say roughly, “If you want paying tonight, you will return to your ‘date’. No man likes to be made a fool of in a public place.”
A smile ghosts her lips and a triumphant gleam flares in her eyes, which reminds me why she’s here. Yes, whoever this woman is will be watching with delight when I appear to have been ditched in a packed restaurant in front of my peers.
She shakes her head slightly and leans down and whispers, “Just so you know, your date just isn’t into you, and you may be a cold-hearted bastard, but you have my number if you need consoling tonight. Despite your attitude, I’m happy to oblige, but as it’s last minute, it will cost you treble.”
Without waiting for an answer, she moves away, and I forget her almost immediately.
Instead, my attention turns to the game about to begin and I’m impatient for it. I crave it in fact because, unwittingly, my delicious Lilli flower has fallen headfirst into my trap.
It only takes another five minutes before she heads my way from the opposite direction she left. The glare in her eyes is directed solely at me and I catch the startled surprise of the woman who was really hoping to watch me fall.
She drops down into her seat and reaches for her glass of water and I can tell she is silently fuming.
I say nothing as the waiter appears with our dessert, and she takes the opportunity to gather her thoughts. To anyone watching, there is nothing happening here. I know differently, so when the waiter leaves, I lean forward and spear a sweet delicacy on my fork from her plate and hold it to her lips.
She gazes at me through those stormy, delectable eyes and I whisper, “Did you enjoy the fresh air?”
She nods. “I didn’t get enough of it before I was so rudely interrupted.”
I smirk and force the fork past her lips and whisper huskily, “You will never escape me all the time you belong to me.”
She can say nothing because her mouth is full and my eyes flash as I whisper, “You just earned yourself a punishment.”
I love the blood draining from her complexion as she realizes just what’s happening here. I may be easy going to a point, but I will not tolerate people around me who think they have a choice. I am the one controlling her and the sooner she understands that the better. I’m not a nice man and don’t pretend to be anything else. My pretty captive is about the learn a hard lesson on that.
I lean back and finish my meal, staring directly at her the entire time. She evades my eyes and glances around the restaurant as if planning another foolhardy escape. I wish I had been there to see the defeat in her eyes when Damien prevented her exit. The ring of steel I surround myself with, making sure nothing gets in the way of what I want. Tonight, I want her, and she only leaves when I fucking say so.
As soon as the last forkful of food is consumed, I raise my hand, and the waiter rushes over, almost tripping over his feet in his haste.
“Charge this to my account.” I hand him my card and then remove a roll of one-hundred-dollar bills and peel off five. Lilli’s eyes are wide as I drop them on the table and say roughly, “Damien will retrieve my card. We’re leaving.”
