Page 17 of Final Installment
She gave his hands an encouraging squeeze.She leaned in close, as if to kiss his cheek, and whispered, “I have plans for us after dinner.”
“Oh?”He recognized that sultry tone and the flutter of her bedroom eyes.She wasn’t the first woman to come onto him so strongly.In a way, he was glad she was making the first move.This whole arranged marriage thing was awkward as fuck, and he suspected things would be much simpler and smoother if they just had sex and cleared that hurdle.
“I’m not wearing any underwear,” she whispered hotly against his ear.“If you’re interested in a littleamouse-bouchebefore dinner.”
He appreciated the play on words, and any other night, he would have been intensely curious about sampling what she had to offer.
Tonight, all he could think about was the sister back in the kitchen who he had insulted so cruelly.The sister who was overseeing the meal they were about to eat.
Dafina’s lips brushed across his cheek, and the kiss was like a warning scald.Maybe Besian was right about having Poison Control on speed dial, after all.
Chapter Four
Isupposeyouwouldknowbest.
Luka’s cruel words spun around in my head as I carried the final tray of canapes to the parlor.My face was numb, and my ears rang.My heart stuttered, and I had to fight for every breath.I refused to cry.I refused to let that dickhead know he had hurt me.
It’s my own fault.
Why did I pick a fight with him?Why did I say all those stupid, mean things?
Yes, they were true, but still.I knew better.I had been warned to be silent and remember my place.My mother was going to lose her mind if she found out what I had done.I could practically feel her hand slapping my face.
I’m not a little girl anymore.I don’t have to take the punishment.I can leave whenever I want.
I wanted to leave right then.I wanted to drop the tray of food, grab my purse and race back to Dallas.I wanted to get away from this pit of vipers and never come back.
But I couldn’t.
Despite all my history with my sister, I couldn’t leave her here to deal with this alone.
When I stepped into the room, I quickly scanned the space to get my bearings.My mother and grandfather were next to the baby grand piano that had never once been played, their heads close together as they conspired.Besian Beciraj and his wife, Marley, were chatting with Aston and her husband Ben.I had met Besian, Marley and Aston earlier before running back to the kitchen to help Mariana.
What is she doing?I found Dafina and Luka cozied up next to each other on a leather couch near the fireplace.They were talking softly, and he was smiling at her.Of course.I fought the urge to roll my eyes at how dumb he was and how easily he had fallen for her seductive grin and those elegant fingers stroking his hand.
She was fawning over the engagement ring he had given her, but I could see how fake her enthusiasm was.It was the same bright grin she gave on Christmas morning when her gifts didn’t meet her expectations.She hated the ring, and considering I couldn’t even see a sparkle from this distance, I understood why.It was too small and too plain.Much too simple for the wife of a mafia kingpin.
“Elona, over here.”Dafina snapped her fingers the same way our mother did when ordering around Mariana.She couldn’t enjoy her ring, but she could enjoy dishing out another serving of indignity for me.A little pick-me-up to make her feel better.
I swallowed the lump of humiliation that filled my throat as I answered her rude beckoning by silently walking to the sofa.I refused to meet Luka’s gaze and instead lowered the tray for my sister to grab the quail egg canape she wanted.That surprised me.She had always hated eggs of any kind.
My gaze lingered on the engagement ring.It looked like something from a pawn shop’s jewelry case.The gold was brassy and warm, and the diamonds were small and lifeless.The tiny marquise cut diamond in the center was hugged by diagonal channel set baguettes.There were miniscule round diamonds running along the baguettes.It had a very dated feel, as if it had jumped right off the pages of a mall jewelry store catalog from the 90’s.
Luka politely grabbed one of the triangles of toast with a dollop of goat cheese and roasted grapes.I gave him the fakest smile I could muster.I hope you choke on it.
“Thanks, E Cup.”Dafina waved me off like a nuisance, and I retreated quickly, taking the tray to the table and placing it on the empty stand.Behind me, I could hear her laughing and telling Luka about the nickname the older boys gave me when I was in fourth grade and had developed large breasts seemingly overnight.It wasn’t funny to me, at all, and had been one of the reasons our stepdad had moved me to an all-girls private school here in Houston.
Not to mention, they couldn’t have been more wrong.My poor back wished my bra cup wasonlyan E.I’d given up trying to buy bras in stores by ninth grade.Good luck trying to find a 54G on the rack!
I stupidly glanced back and found him watching me.Our gazes clashed, and there was something unexpected in his eyes.Pity.He pitied me, and it infuriated me.I didn’t want pity from my enemy.
Desperate to escape, I poured club soda and a splash of cranberry juice into a glass, dropped two ice cubes and a lime wedge in it and turned to looked for a quiet corner to hide.
“Elona?”A dark-haired beauty in a killer red dress approached me with a smile.She had the regal bearing of a queen.“I’m Vivian, Nikolai’s wife.”
She was a queen.The Queen of Houston’s Underworld.
I had years of practice at masking my real emotions, so I was able to stay neutral at the mention of her husband.There was only one man in Houston who could be introduced just by his first name with the expectation that everyone would know who was being described.Nikolai Kalasnikov.Russian mob boss.The man who controlled all of Houston’s criminal underworld.
