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That sounds all doom and gloom, but I’ve accepted there’s no way in hell Dad will allow me to be with one of the heads of the Russian mafia.
That doesn’t mean I can’t have this time to myself where I’m falling hard and fast for Dante Levitsky.
I'm so absorbed in the memories of being with him that I don't see Miko sitting in the living room until he clears his throat in a very exaggerated manner.
I stop in my tracks. My brain snaps back to reality, then I stare back at him wide-eyed and caught out.
Under the wight of his piercing stare, that don't-care attitude I exhibited all through last night comes to a halt and right now I do care.
Miko leans his head to the side and a lock of his mid-length black hair drifts over his shoulder. With his hair, build and Italian features I’ve always thought he looked a little like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. Now that his hair has grown a little longer, he really does.
Miko stares me down like the father waiting for his daughter who snuck out at night to attend the party she wasn’t supposed to go to.
I stare back at him like the said daughter, not knowing what the hell to say.
I'm not a child. We both know that and he hasn't treated me like one, or like property the way my father has.
But there are boundaries. There are rules. There are things to factor in given who my father is.
“Okay, Miss Lady, are you going to tell me where you've been all night or are we going to stare at each other for the rest of the day?”
My shoulder slump and I bring my hands together.
What am I going to say to him?
It was completely reckless of me to get back so late. I actually thought I was going to come home last night. Heading back to Dante’s just kind of happened out of the blue.
Thank God we had the good sense to go back to his place, though, because Miko would have caught us in bed together.
“Well?” he prods.
“I was out.” I sound like an airhead.
He straightens and shakes his head at me. “Serenity, please. For fuck sake.” He’s the only one of my father’s guards who curses and talks to me in a down to earth kind of manner. “Do I look like I was born yesterday?”
“No.” I nibble on the inside of my lip. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I just lost track of the time.”
“Clearly, but you’re avoiding the question of where you were.”
Yes I am and that’s for a very good reason.
Miko has always worked for my father and has been close to me from birth. We have this little relationship of trust I’m grateful for. He gives me freedoms he thinks I should have as opposed to keeping me under lock and key the way Dad wants. Natalie isn't treated like that. Only me, even though I’m the boring sister as she calls me. I don’t want to ruin what Miko and I have. At the same time I can’t tell him who I was with.
“Miko, can’t you just be happy I’m back and I’m fine?”
He gives me a little smile and I feel more at ease. “I know you're seeing someone Serenity. Someone who isn't Matthew Bouchard. You wouldn't look the way you do for him. You wouldn't be acting the way you have for that guy.I’m very aware that you're not exactly fond of this whole marriage thing. So don’t bull shit me.”
It's interesting that my guard can tell all that about me from the few days I've been seeing Dante, but dad has forced Matthew on me without so much as a proper discussion where he can find out what I want.
“Come on, kid.”
“Yes,” I answer cautiously, thinking of my next words.
“Does this guy have a name?”
Seeing Dante is a secret I can't tell him. The only person who knows so far is Harper, but telling her my secrets is like talking to a wall. When I tell her anything, I never have to worry myself that she’ll tell anyone, because my best friend would take my secrets to the grave.
“Is it okay if I don’t tell you that part?” I grit my teeth.
