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And in a second, he stood in front of me. An arrogant sneer hung from his face as his gaze passed from my eyes down to the revealing vee in my dress. I fought the urge to shrink back from his gaze and the urge to raise my hands and cover myself.
Then his eyes turned from me and narrowed in anger at Lana.
“My, my,” Lana said, beating him to the punch. “And here I thought the only place I’d get used to seeing your face was the New York courthouse, Korolev.”
“You’ve got balls showing up here uninvited, Keller,” he replied coldly, spitting her name and title like a curse. “Does Berkowitz know you’re rubbing elbows with the likes of us when you’re off the clock?”
“Iinvited her,” I said curtly before Lana might retort with something that pissed him off further. “And as long as she’smyguest, you will behave.Korolev.”
“And if I don’t behave.” He cocked his head as the gray of his irises hardened into stone. “What will you do,Tarallo?”
I hate you,I thought, fighting the anger tremoring through my body at his challenge.I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU!
His hand rose up and caressed my cheek, sending another burst of heat deep through my core. The ball of his thumb gently traced the line of my jutted jaw, and a low chuckle rumbled from his expansive chest.
“Cat got your tongue?” he asked. “Or have you realized how empty of a threat that was? We’re in Chicago now, kitten. And here, we play by my rules.”
It took every fiber of my being not to throw my drink in his face. But I had to do something to break our contact before he could realize the kind of effect he had on me. I stepped forward and, with feigned clumsiness, spilled the full vodka martini directly on his perfectly pressed suit.
“Oops,” I said innocently.
He leaned in until he took up the entirety of my vision. And that was when I felt something cold run down the bare skin in the deep vee of my dress. I gasped involuntarily as the sensation ran down my body. He smirked, and the smile never reached his eyes.
“Oops,” he mocked, each syllable slow and deliberate. “Looks like you’resoaking wet.”
Ugh! The way those final words lingered on his lips…Somehow, he always managed to find a way to push my buttons, to make me react to each provocation, daring me to escalate so he could show me just how powerless I was to him.
“Aleksey!”
Someone called from the other side of the room. The tug of gravity between us dissipated the moment he looked away. He cast one final smoldering gaze at me before he glared at Lana.
“If you have an ounce of respect, you’ll make yourself scarce, Keller.”
“Mhmm,” Lana said, lips pouting as she took a slow sip from her martini while she stared at him with a look that could cut glass. “Can’t wait to see your ass back in New York. And I think orange would lookgreaton you.”
Aleksey’s lip curled, and for a moment I thought he might say something in response. Instead, he remained silent, turned around, and marched away. I looked down at my empty vodka martini and my soaked dress, wishing that I hadn’t just done that.
“Can’t believe you have to marry that asshole,” Lana said as she handed me a napkin.
“I thought you wanted to climb him like a tree?” I asked.
Lana took a deep pull of her drink. “Maybe some trees are best left unclimbed.”
“Lucky me.”
“Ladies and gentlemen!” My father’s voice boomed over the room, demanding attention.
The music and chatter faded abruptly as everyone turned, and my amusement died when I saw him look at me, beckoning me to join him with a single wave. Arranging my face into a smile, I made my way over as he beamed at the crowd, dimly aware of the soaked front of my dress.
“Thank you all for joining us in celebrating the happy news everyone has been waiting for,” Father said. “Tonight, we celebrate an end to a bloody feud and a new beginning for our two families.”
A smattering of applause rose up, and I felt a measure of satisfaction that Father’s speech hadn’t found the receptive audience he expected.
“No longer will Tarallos and Korolevs be at each other’s throats!” he continued. “And this union could not be done if not for the devotion and dedication of my precious Elia in accepting Aleksey Fyodorovich Korolev as her husband. Please, let us all raise a glass in a toast to this happy couple!”
Laying it on a bit thick there, aren’t we, Father?I was grateful for the alcohol in my veins at that moment.
“And now, a few words from our gracious host and the uncle of the groom,” Father continued. “Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for Mikhail Yevgenievich Korolev!”
