Page 33 of Possess Me
However, my encounter with Ludolf Hoffman had set the thought in stone that I should not only be leery of Vissarian and his reasons for being here, but afraid of the man and his power. It was far too coincidental that my life had suddenly been pushed into two different criminal organizations. You could call either what you wanted, but both the Bruni Syndicate and the Dmitriyev Bratva had been created for one intention.
Ruling as much of the world as possible with force, intimidation, blackmail, extortion, and murder when necessary. I’d seen and heard enough to write my own mafia romance.
Except I wasn’t going to allow myself to become either physically or emotionally attached.
Vissarian grinned when he saw me staring at him while bringing his fingers to his lips, where he rolled the tips across the seam of his mouth.
As a piranha would do when faced with a tasty snack, he engulfed them, pushing several inches into his mouth. My eyes were hazy from lust, but after blinking a few times, I remained focused on the lewd act as he licked and sucked his fingers clean. Even the lurid gesture was beautiful given his long fingers and lush lips.
Sadly, my mind remained disjointed, concerned that Vissarian wasn’t a good guy in any way.
Was it possible my stepbrother had asked him to check on me? Was there any chance Jeffrey’s illness had been the result of sabotage to his body?
Maybe I’d been readingtoomany mafia books. I didn’t see how it was plausible. Plus, it seemed Jeffrey considered this man a friend.
When Vissarian was finished with his dramatic presentation, he pulled his drink into his hand, lifting the glass while cocking his head. As before, his smile had returned. Another wave of heat drifted between my legs.
“Extremely sweet.”
Without saying anything, I allowed our glasses to clink together. With his casual attitude, he was almost allowing me to feel at ease.
“If you’re talking about my personality, sadly you are very wrong.” I enjoyed the look of surprise on his face.
“An honest woman. I do adore that.”
“The way I look at it, men have a solid disadvantage if not told what to expect.”
“You have me curious. Why?”
I took a sip of wine before answering. “Because most men refuse to look beyond what they see with their eyes. Even then it’s as if they have x-ray vision that allows them to bypass clothes, eye color. They see what they want to see when the truth could be staring them in the face. We have several other senses, you know. Smell. Taste. Hearing. Touch. Both men and women were gifted such attributes.”
“That is true. But you were the one who incorrectly determined I was a stuffed suit.”
I had to laugh. “Maybe so, but this isn’t about me.”
“Ah,” he said with the twinkle in his eyes remaining. “You’re testing me. You’re trying to crawl under my skin.”
“Am I?”
“I believe you are, although I will admit that I don’t mind. Why don’t I close my eyes and tell you what I know about you? Fair enough?”
Toying with him was becoming a sport and one I was enjoying a tiny bit too much, but he did have a captive audience. “Alright, but no peeking and I get to ask you questions.”
He was obviously comfortable in his skin, so much so I was surprised I was letting myself go. After shifting his shoulders as if settling in, he closed his eyes. I waited, my instinct telling me exactly what he had planned. With a quick snap of my wrist, I donned my sunglasses, laughing when realizing I was right.
He’d opened one eye.
“I said no peeking.”
“You play hardball.”
“Yes, I do.” I waited, tormenting him as long as I thought I could get away with. “Now, do you hear?”
He took a deep breath and tipped his head toward the other guests for a few seconds, then toward the ocean. “The couple at the far end of the bar. They are arguing about why they came to Saba Island instead of St. Martin because the shopping is better in the French side of St. Martin.”
I peeked over my shoulder. The couple was in an animated conversation, although I certainly couldn’t hear what they were talking about.
“There’s a man on the phone. He’s discussing business and… Wait a minute… Nope. He ended the call.”
