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“Here you are. Is this living up to your expectations?”
“Yes, I think so.” Although truthfully, I’m not sure what I expected. Certainly not this man and his deathly beautiful stare and his otherworldly calm.
“And yet you’re trembling.” He nods to a chair. “Sit down and take off your shoes.”
“You don’t have to be so bossy.”
His eyes darken. “If this is going to work, you’ll play my game. You’re here to play, aren’t you?”
I chew my lip and nod. I very much want to play with this man.
I walk to the chair. I sit and I take off my heels.
“Better?” he asks.
I nod. “Better.” I rub my foot and let out a long sigh. I’m not used to wearing heels and my feet hurt already.
“Good.” He sips his drink and places it down. I sip mine but realize I should stop. If I have too much, I might get too drunk. I want to enjoy this—or at least experience it. I don’t want my first time to happen behind a cloud of liquor.
He stands and takes off his jacket. He folds it and lays it across the back of the couch. He unbuttons his cuffs and rolls the sleeves to his elbows. I watch in awe of his muscular forearms, cut like diamonds, and I suck in a sharp breath when I see the tattoo just above his hand.
A black lotus flower.
My heart skips a beat before resetting itself. His name, his demeanor, the ink on his knuckles. It all comes together in a sudden and overwhelming explosion in my brain and pure, raw fear rifles itself along my spine. I cover my sudden shock by bringing my drink to my lips. Maxim narrows his gaze at me, but finishes what he’s doing.
A black lotus flower.
I know what that tattoo means.
Everyone in my world knows it, especially in Dallas.
I think back to the name the woman used downstairs. I hadn’t put it together, even hearing the name out loud. I was much too nervous to realize she meantthatNovalov family.
Tattoos. Blue eyes. Dangerous and outgoing.
Novalov.
This is Maxim Novalov. It has to be.
I know who this man is. And suddenly, I’m terrified.
“You seem shaken, princess.” He walks over.
I bite my tongue. I need to calm down. I can’t panic, not right now. So what if this is the heir to the most dangerous Russian bratva in all of Texas? So what if Maxim Novalov has a horrible, violent reputation? I’ve heard my papa mention him a dozen times, and never in a good way.These fucking Russians are psychopaths, especially that Maxim boy. Someone needs to leash that rabid dog.If my papa is afraid of him, that’s saying something.
But none of that matters. Maxim could be a serial killer with a hunger for human flesh and it wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m a dead girl already.
And he’s handsome. He’s so stupidly gorgeous. And we’re in his hotel room, all alone. I’m so close to getting what I want, and so what if it’s with this nightmare, this walking storm cloud? Nothing else matters.
I have to push it all away and focus.
But it’s difficult. Memories swirl. He doesn’t know me—my family isn’t important enough for that—but the stories about him are truly heinous. Trails of blood and tears. His family owns this city and more besides. They control vast territory from here to Fort Worth and all around the suburbs. Any drugs that come into this area move through his family’s hands, and they won that territory with the blood of their enemies.
And Maxim sits nearly at the top of their hierarchy. Which means he’s one of the deadliest men in an organization filled with killers.
This is bad. This is extremely bad.
