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He pushes himself up onto his elbow so he can hover over me. With a flick of his fingers, he wipes my runaway tears.
“No, Avery. I’m being honest. No more tears.” He kisses the wet trail they’ve left on my cheeks. “I don’t like when you cry unless it’s because of my cock in your ass… or in your pussy… or your mouth.” He grins, but it’s half-hearted. There’s concern in his eyes as he stares down at me.
“You have a dirty mind.” I lightly push him with my elbow.
His grin widens, more sincere now. “When it comes to you, always.”
Luka
“What the hellare we doing here?” Maxim grumbles as he scoots into the booth across from me. Avery has a shift tonight at the bar, and I’m not letting her do her shift alone until I have a better understanding of De Luca’s intentions with our family. Mario Bellittini is a low life on his payroll, but if he hangs here on the regular, there could be others.
“Getting a drink, if you’ll sit your ass down already,” I say as he fights with his jacket.
“It’s raining, Luka,” he defends and finally gets rid of the garment. “Why are we drinking here? There are many better places in the city. Nikolai’s clubs are best.”
I nod. “I know. But I have to keep an eye out.”
Avery walks out of the back of the bar carrying a tray of what looks like hot wings and nachos. She brings them to the couple sitting on the opposite wall of the bar, each sipping a bottle of beer.
Maxim twists to see where I’m looking. “Ah. The girl.” He turns back around with a nod. “I heard you had a thing for one of the girls here.”
“A thing?” I raise my brow. “I don’t getthingsfor women.”
He laughs. “That’s right. You don’t usually see them a second time, but this one… you’ve been with her this whole trip.”
“She’s worth being with.” It’s all I’m able to say about it. I can’t explain why I’ve kept Avery at my side every moment of the last week, or why the thought of getting on a plane to go back home makes me want to rip my heart out. There’s no reason for it. She’s an innocent, and if I had any decency left in my soul at all, I’d walk away right now.
If I still had my soul, I might have room for some decency.
“You’ve been in this country a year, and you’ve found no one?” I take a sip of my beer. It’s a local brew that Avery suggested, and it tastes like shit. I don’t have the heart to tell her though since she was excited for me to try it. So I’ll drink the swill, then order something better.
“I’ve found plenty of women.” His lips pull wide over his teeth.
“Luka, do you want another?” Avery shows up at our table, pointing at my beer.
“No,” I answer too quickly, and her smile slips.
“I’ve seen you before.” She turns to Maxim. “Last week, you were here.”
He nods. “I was.” Maxim rolls his shoulders back. “You’re still working here after that mess.”
“It actually wasn’t the worst day here.” She laughs.
“What?” She has my full attention. “What else happened here?”
Her smile fades. “Nothing. I didn’t mean it like that,” she’s quick to say. “I just meant there’re bad days at work, and that wasn’t such a bad one.”
“That’s a half truth.” I turn in the booth to stare up at her. “Say more.”
“I think I should get back to work.” She takes a step back, but I’m able to hook my hand into her jeans and pull her back to the table.
“Does Mario bring trouble in here a lot?”
“No. I mean sometimes he meets with some other guys and things get heated, but nothing bad. They don’t throw fists or anything.” She taps my hand. “Let go.”
“Not yet.” I hold tighter. “These other guys, do they look like him? Casual clothes, or are they dressed up more?”
“You mean like in suits? Sometimes. I didn’t make a record of their outfits. I just brought them drinks and left them alone.” She smacks my hand harder. “Seriously, let go. People are going to see.”
