Russian Mobster's Forbidden Mistress (3 page)

Mikhail took an irritated swipe at Boris and the room dropped into an eerie silence. Josef sighed. There was no subject guaranteed to shut things down as efficiently as the topic of Josef’s mother.

“Apologize,” Mikhail snapped at Boris.

“
Da
,
da,
” Boris said eagerly. “I’m sorry, Josef. I meant no disrespect.”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Josef said quickly. “My mother’s condition is certainly no doing of yours.”

“Go home,” Mikhail told him with a nod. “See your mother and give her my regards.”

Josef felt a twinge of guilt when Mikhail stood up and gave him a firm hug as though they were brothers. What would his friend say if he knew that Josef wasn’t going home, but intended to take Daniella away from Mikalevich property without permission?

Best not to even think about that.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Mikhail told Josef. “We’ll go pay that bastard Rusnak a visit. My father wants to get this deal tied up quickly.”

Josef nodded, ignoring the niggling doubt in his mind that the elder Mikalevich truly approved of this plan for Daniella’s apparent disposal.

* * *

Dani waited silently in the dark, wondering if Josef would ever come and half wishing he would not. She had changed into a dress, although there was barely enough material to call it a dress. The combination of pink fabric, gold hoops, and straps was very flattering to her diminutive figure. In fact, the dress made it seem as if she had real boobs. And the short skirt made her legs appear longer. Her shoes also helped her look taller. The gold heels were playful enough to satisfy her desire for lighthearted fun, but sexy enough to make her feel like a desirable woman.

The back door opened and a tall man stepped out. This time she instantly recognized Josef’s tousled raven-black hair. He was head-and-shoulders taller than Mikhail, and wider through the chest as well. Now that she had felt what was beneath Josef’s dress shirt, she was aching with curiosity to see the whole picture.

He glanced about, completely unhurried, and it took Dani a moment to realize that he was searching for her. She felt like a complete fool for hiding there in the shadows, shamelessly ogling him. Dropping her bag of clothes at the base of the tree, she stepped into the circle of light cast by the carriage lamps.

“There you are.” His low voice made her shiver with anticipation. “I was beginning to think you had sprouted wings and flown back up into the tree.”

“Oh I think I’ve already made peace with the fact that there will no going up that tree tonight. At least not for me.” She held out her hand. “Are you ready to introduce me to your version of clubbing?”

“I don’t know,” he drawled. “Did you bring your walker? Since I’m so old and boring, I’m surprised you didn’t accessorize accordingly.”

Feeling bold, Dani spun a circle. “No. I think I accessorized just fine. Don’t you?”

“You look great.”

The compliment fell flat, especially when she could see a great deal more appreciation in his eyes. Dani put her hands on her hips. “You know, a girl likes to feel that a guy finds her attractive. If you’re still single, that could be why.”

“Or I could be single because I choose to be,” he pointed out.

She took his arm, feeling relieved when he started out toward the sidewalk in front of her father’s house. “So where are we going?”

“My car, for starters.”

“So I finally get to ride in the Maserati, hmm?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been keeping tabs on my car?”

“I happen to like it.” Again she felt foolish. She was quickly reducing herself to that ridiculous girl with a crush on her brother’s friend. How unflattering.

He walked her to the passenger’s side of the sleek sports car. Opening the door, he made a solicitous gesture toward the seat. “Please get in and enjoy to your heart’s desire.”

“Oh I will,” she assured him.

Dani watched him run around to the driver’s door and wondered if she was coming on too strong. Did he even like her? Should she ask?

Josef got in and started the engine. The pleasing rumble chased away all of her doubts. If nothing else, she was getting the fun of riding in this spectacular automobile. The only thing better would be if he let her drive.

“You really like cars, don’t you?” He looked over, his curiosity plain in the muted orange light of the dashboard.

“I do,” she admitted. “My father and Mikhail would never really let me drive much, you know? But I had friends at school who had cars. I would borrow theirs, or steal one if I had to.”

“Now
that
sounds like the Dani I remember.”

Dani glanced over in surprise. “You haven’t called me that in years.”

“You seemed determined to leave the nickname behind.”

She wondered at that, mostly at what it revealed. “I suppose I never realized that you were paying that much attention.”

“You were hard to miss.” There was a brief pause, and then he spoke again. “Truthfully, you still are.”

“Tell that to my brother,” she said bitterly. “Mikhail has hated me from the moment I was born.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Josef argued. “Mikhail is just very bad at showing affection or positive regard for anyone.”

“Which is why he treats you like crap,” Dani muttered.

Josef made a warning noise. “That’s not true. Mikhail has been my best friend since first grade. He has my back the same way I have his.”

She didn’t add that taking Mikhail’s sister off the property without permission hardly qualified as having Mikhail’s back. That wouldn’t get her what she desired.

They were pulling up in front of an old brick building. It was barely a dozen blocks from her house, but Dani had never been here. She gazed around with interest. “What is this place?”

“A club of sorts,” he answered vaguely.

Dani felt the first thrill of excitement sliding down her spine. “It looks old.”

“I suppose it is.” A valet opened his door and Josef exited the car, handing over his keys and a large bill.

Another valet opened her door and Dani allowed herself to be helped out to the curb. Then Josef smoothly took her arm and she felt like a queen. He led her up the steps and through the front door. She could hear music playing. There were the sounds of a piano and a woman’s sultry voice singing in Russian. Excitement made her almost giddy. For the first time since she’d come home from school, she felt like a real woman.

Chapter Four

Josef had never brought a woman to Igor’s before. Walking into the smoky interior of the speakeasy-style club with Dani on his arm was a whole different experience from what he was used to. People were staring. He could feel it. More importantly, he could sense the appreciative gazes of the men.

It had been safe to bring her here only because no one would know who she was. Dani had been too long away from home at school. She had left the city as a tiny girl with blond pigtails and crooked front teeth. She had returned a vixen in a pink dress with full sensuous lips and hips that issued an invitation to any man who cared to notice.

“Look at the dancers,” Dani murmured appreciatively. She bounced up onto her toes, craning her neck to better see the couples out on the dance floor.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked, feeling his own body tighten in anticipation.

“Could we?”

The sheer innocence of her expression touched him deeply. In many ways, she was still the Dani he had known years ago—the girl with skinned knees and a perpetual smile who had always been up for having fun.

Taking Dani’s hand more firmly in his, Josef whirled her toward the dancers. He sought a place at the edge of the floor. The sultry music seemed to permeate everything, soaking into his soul and pushing away every inhibition he should have felt about having his friend’s sister in his arms.

Nothing mattered but the feel of Dani against him. She was a lovely partner. She was willing, lithe, and with a sensual rhythm to her movements that he found irresistible. She looked up into his face, holding his gaze. Her hand rested in his. His hand rested against her waist. Josef let the music determine where and how they moved. The voice of the woman on stage coaxed the lovers closer.

The dance changed, the song sliding into a slower rhythm. The words became that of a Russian love song, a plaintive plea for completion that had Josef twirling Dani around until her back was pressed to his front. With her bottom snug against his pelvis, every movement she made was erotic torture.

Dani laid her head back against his shoulder. He rested his cheek just beside hers. He could feel her exhale, the hot air moving past him and putting decadent thoughts into his head. Then she turned her head until her lips brushed his neck. The touch was electric. He felt as though he had been shocked, his whole world rocked to the very core of his marrow.

The scent of her perspiration was enticing. He could imagine that smell in another situation, with her legs spread and her body beneath his. The thought was a jolt to his system. He drew back, pulling away from Dani and twirling her away from his body to put some distance between them.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, a frown creasing the delicate skin between her brows.

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” she argued. “You just pushed me away as though I burned you.”

“Let’s get a drink, shall we?” He tugged her off the dance floor, hoping she would let the subject drop.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” she demanded as soon as he chose a table near the stage.

He pulled her chair out, seating her before taking his own place. Josef sought an answer that wouldn’t make him look like an ass. There wasn’t one. “I was getting hot. I thought you might be as well.”

Her blue eyes danced with mirth. “Oh I think you were getting hot all right.”

“What are you talking about?” Then he realized he had handed her all the ammunition she might need to tease him mercilessly.

Which she did with aplomb. “I might not be as experienced as some of those women out there, but I know a hard-on when I feel one,” she informed him with obvious glee.

“So you might give a guy a break and appreciate the fact that I wanted to take a minute to get control of myself.” He signaled a waitress to bring them drinks.

“You’re assuming I didn’t want you to lose control.” The silky sound of her voice pushed every other rational thought out of his brain.

“What are you saying?” Josef frowned.

“Just that I can tell you’re interested.” She gestured to herself. “You’ve been staring at me since before I put on this fabulous little number.”

“You look nice,” he said uncomfortably. “That doesn’t mean I have any intention of giving in to my base urges.”

“
Pfft
!” She rolled her eyes. “Base urges? Really? Don’t you realize that I put the dress on because I wanted you to pay attention? I
wanted
you to want me. Is that so hard to believe?”

Thankfully the waitress chose that moment to bring their drinks to the table. Or rather, she brought a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. Considering Dani had just turned twenty-one in the last year, Josef should have been a little more thoughtful with his drink choice. But before he could ask her if she’d like to order something else, Dani poured herself a shot and threw it back like an old pro.

“What else did you learn at that fancy college your papa sent you to?”

Her expression was positively devilish. “Oh, this and that, you know? I actually started bartending at a local dive when I had my birthday. The tips are amazing.”

Josef found he was very opposed to the idea of Dani standing behind a bar being hit on all night long by half-drunk college boys. He poured his own shot of vodka and threw it back to ease the irritation winding its way through his body.

“I didn’t date much, though,” she informed him. “Boys, men, they’re mostly the same.”

“Meaning?”

“They all want a free pass to get in your pants.” She poured another shot, setting this one in front of him. “Have another, Josef. And then a few more so I can drive you home.”

“Ah, so you’re trying to get me drunk in order to steal a chance behind the wheel of my car?” He was trying so hard not to be bewitched by this woman. Too bad he was failing miserably.

“Can you think of a better reason?” She moaned, the sound raising the hair on the back of his neck. Then she licked her lips. “That car is worth any amount of manipulation I can think up.”

“As opposed to just asking me if you can drive?” he wondered out loud.

She drew back, obviously shocked. “Wait. You would let me drive?”

Josef stood up. Digging in his pocket, he withdrew a few bills and tossed them onto the table. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

* * *

Dani didn’t know whether she was going to die of sexual anticipation or straight-up excitement. Josef was actually going to let her drive his car? Was he insane? And why did she care if he had lost his mind or not? She was going to get to drive his Maserati, right?

There was something incredibly liberating about leaving the bar, or club, or whatever this place was called, on Josef’s arm. People were watching her. The men looked on with lust. The women were envious. Dani had never been the center of attention like this before. It was a heady sensation.

“Your car, sir.” The young valet waved to the spot where they had parked the Maserati beneath an awning close to the entrance. “Have a wonderful evening, sir.”

“Thank you.” Josef handed the kid a fifty-dollar bill.

Tucking Dani’s hand into the crook of his elbow, Josef walked her to the driver’s side of the vehicle. The sleek electric-blue finish gleamed in the streetlights. Then he opened the door and ushered her behind the wheel. Dani sank into the black leather seat and groaned with delight.

“Well?” Josef cocked his head, looking almost amused by her reaction.

Dani didn’t care if someone would have said she had no pride. “It’s better than sex.”

His laugh could be heard even after he shut the door. She felt a blush heat her cheeks as she realized how transparent she had been. Better than sex? Perhaps in her experience that was true, but every bone in her body told her that would not be the case with a man like Josef.