Vengeance Aside (Wanted Men 0.5)(13)

She made sure her lips were curved at the right angle to mimic a smile and grabbed a couple of bottles that had already been opened—Stoli Elit and Tesseron.

“You know what it’s like,” she continued when no one said anything. “Didn’t you want to leave Farah with the best impression after your first kiss?” Her runaway tongue was either going to get her fired or killed.

“I met my wife in eighth grade and didn’t kiss her until our senior year of high school.”

Instantly sidetracked by that, Dale stalled as she came out from behind the bar with her bottles and crumpled list that she’d somehow managed to retain through the earth-shattering kiss. “Seriously? That’s adorable.”

“PG,” Maksim drawled, looking bored. “Let’s get back to you two apparently not knowing each other.”

Lukas finally turned around to join in. “Did you call her Dale?” he asked his brother in a low tone that came over the airwaves to stimulate her still pulsing clit.

As Samuel nodded, Dale was pleased to see Lukas’s high cheekbones had slashes of color across them. She must look as if she’d just returned from a weekend in hell.

“As in the chubby comedian.” Lukas sounded suspicious.

Dale wrinkled her nose and scowled at her boss’s husband. “Huh?”

“He misunderstood something I said,” Samuel defended before returning to his brother. “Did you not bother with introductions before you shoved your tongue down her throat?”

“My kind of man.” Maksim appeared reluctant as he moved away in response to Vasily beckoning him over.

“Introductions weren’t necessary,” Lukas said, reading her mind as he looked at her with a new curiosity. “You went to college on a scholarship and received a Bachelor of Science in Fitness and Sports.”

“How’d you know that?”

“I read your file. Why are you working here?”

Her employee file? “Because my day job doesn’t pay enough to meet my needs. Why’d you read my file?”

He made a sound of agreement as his eyes swept down to that damp spot between her legs. Dirty man was right there with her. Needs. She glanced down at his package and gulped when she saw a thick outline. He hid it by doing up the button on his jacket. The wicked glint in his eye made her face feel like it was glowing.

“Because I needed to know who I’d be introducing to my father.”

Her mouth went crooked and she was unable to appreciate the way he emphasized the word of the hour just enough for her to hear it. “You’re going to introduce me to your father. Really. As what? Your French teacher?”

He approached her, and as if they’d been dating for months instead of having just met, he cupped her nape and tipped her head back with his thumb beneath her chin. “You will soon discover I am not in need of a teacher,” he said quietly. “I am fully aware of how we’ll combine our DNA to make a few beautiful babies together.” He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth—that she couldn’t possibly return because he’d just tasered her directly on the brain with that ludicrous statement. “Now. I want you to find something more appropriate to wear before my associates arrive. I will not have you showing off my assets to the likes of them. No offense,” he said to Vasily, Sergei, and Maksim. Vasily waved the apology away, looking amused.

Dale was not.





FIVE


His assets? Babies? DNA swapping? Meeting his mob boss father?

Confusion swirled through Dale’s suddenly aching head as she stuck it out the bathroom door looking for Farah. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

They were in her boss’s office, and Dale was using the en-suite to change.

“Why? Are you drunk? We’re the same size, so you’re borrowing an outfit. What’s so difficult?”

“Your brother-in-law…”

She paused, and she and Farah stared at each other. The bloodshot eyes were almost back to normal, but there was still a new strain on her boss’s face that Dale reacted to every time she looked at her. Could she add to that? Did she even want to? It wasn’t easy for her to confide in others. She was terrible at putting herself out there. And asking for help? Yeah, no. She’d just as soon push her car twenty miles to the nearest service station than accept a gas can from a passing motorist.

Not to mention, she wasn’t sure she should be confiding at all. Earlier, she’d made a promise to Samuel and his friends that whatever went on in that meeting room would not be discussed outside it. Did that include kisses and…other insane shit?

“Uh, I don’t get why your brother-in-law thinks my uniform is unacceptable.” Or why she’d rushed down the hall and was now changing just because Lukas Zavrazin had ordered her to.

“Lukas is Samuel’s silent partner,” Farah surprised her by saying. “If my husband told you to change before serving this meeting, would you have an issue with it?”

“No, of course, not.”

“Then don’t make one over Lukas’s request. A boss is a boss.”

Did she mean a mafia-type boss or an employer-type boss? Dale briefly studied Farah’s eyes when they crinkled through a quick smile, but couldn’t tell.

Did it matter?

Nope.