Page 48 of The Den of Sin
Too bad none of it appealed to me. Vasili was the only man that appealed to me.
“No worries.” His voice was deep, strong with a light accent.Hmmm, Spanish accent?
I went to step around him but he did the same, and we were chest to chest again. I went the opposite way and he followed the movement.
I laughed uncomfortably. “Okay, you stay still, and I’ll step to the left.”
He chuckled, his hard face softening a bit. It made him look handsome, although in a dangerous way. “I kind of enjoyed our game. I’m Raphael. What’s your name?”
Frowning, I met his eyes again. Something about him was definitely familiar, I was sure of it. I just couldn’t place it.
“Miss, everything okay?” One of Adrian’s men came forward. My eyes darted to Raphael but he never turned around to look in my guard’s direction. Instead, he studied me, like his life depended on it.
“Oh, yes. All good. We just bumped into each other.” I tilted my head at Raphael.Pretty name.“Have a good day.”
Like I had a purpose, I strode away without a backwards glance. Instead of going back to Tatiana’s place, I continued my sightseeing, Adrian’s guy falling behind, much to my delight. It was almost three in the afternoon when a black Maserati came to a screeching halt next to me on the sidewalk, scaring the living daylights out of me.
Glaring at the car with tinted windows, I opened my mouth to give the driver a piece of my mind when all thoughts escaped me. Vasili exited the vehicle and took my hand.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” he growled, taking my wrist.
What?I blinked in confusion. I didn’t do jack crap for him to be mad at me.
“What is your problem?” I pulled my wrist out of his grasp.
“You can’t be roaming the city like this,” he hissed. “Someone could hurt you. Get in the car.”
I glanced around, aware people were looking at us. “You are causing a scene.”
“I don’t give a shit. I won’t have you getting hurt.”
I shook my head in confusion. “What are you talking about? I was just sightseeing.”
“Get in the car, Isabella,” he hissed. “Or I swear to God, I will throw you over my shoulder and do it myself.”
Halloween night five years ago immediately came to mind. His eyes burned with that same expression as that night before he took my body to the most amazing heights. My cheeks heated and my heart fluttered.
The sexual tension between us sizzled and the whole world disappeared, leaving me with the most intense male specimen on earth. I took a step towards him, his eyes pulling me in. Everything about this man captured me, like a moth to a flame. The question was whether I’d survive the burn the second time around.
The camera's flash startled me, breaking the moment. I turned my head to see several paparazzi snapping pictures, and I quickly turned my face away from them. You could always tell the paparazzi from onlookers by the ridiculous, expensive lenses they had hanging over their necks like noose. I hated being photographed.
Unlike Ryan who always gave the reporters and paparazzi attention, Vasili blocked their view of me with his broad shoulders and took my hand. I shrank into him and rushed along with his help into the car.
On instinct, I turned my head away from the windows.
“Sorry about that, malyshka,” he muttered, putting the car into drive and speeding out of there. “I should have seen them sooner.”
“It’s not your fault.” I should have been more aware of my surroundings, but after not seeing a single reporter nor paparazzi in sight for days, I became too lax. “I didn’t see them either.”
His car engine hummed softly, his driving fast and confident. Just like this man. If only he didn’t get under my skin so easily. I stared at his tattooed fingers gripping the steering wheel, remembering his words from a few days ago.
I want you in my bed.Those damn words haunted me. I wished he never spoke them out loud because now they were all I could think about. Ever since I saw him at Ryan’s award ceremony, Vasili has been invading my mind. It was like five years apart had never happened. How was that even possible?
“How many cars do you have?” I asked him, glancing around at the luxury interior. I had to occupy my mind with neutral topics.
I want you in my bed.No, that was not a neutral topic. I had to forget those words.
“Not sure. You like this car?”
