Defiant. Sweet. Alluring.
A business deal gone wrong brought me to her doorstep.
She's everything I shouldn't want; everything I was against after watching my mother's obsession destroy her.
Still, I can't stop myself from craving her.
I should know...
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I COULDN'T GET PAST the appetizer round from how tightly wound my gut was. I wouldn't be able to keep anything down even if I tried.
Reina sat across from me, savoring every bite of her lamb ribs while I stared at her.
Never in a million years did I think she would seek me out after the hostile welcome I got from her when we visited, and my instincts told me to prepare for the worst. She couldn't have come for a good reason.
I reached for my glass of water to busy myself with anything, so I didn't appear unnerved in front of her.
I cleared my throat to get her attention. "So, are you going to say what you came here for, or are you going to make me watch you eat before we begin?"
"The latter," she answered easily, going for another bite of food.
I glared at her over the rim of my glass. "I have better things to do than to sit here and watch you eat. You know, a real job."
"And you assume I'm not familiar with the scene?"
I narrowed my eyes at her. What was she getting at here? I wasn't sensing any hostility from her like I did at the party, and it set the warning bells off in my head.
"Well, do you work?" I asked when it was clear she was waiting for a reply from me.
"God, no." She laughed, grabbing a napkin from the table to pat the corner of her lips. "Igor does all the work."
"You mean Aleksei. He does all the work last time I checked."
She paused, silently assessing me for a brief second. She tried to hide it, but I saw the smile that curved the corner of her lips.
Strange.
"I see you had some fun last night." She jerked her chin at my neck. "With Aleksei, I hope? Tarasov men can be very territorial."
I instinctively reached a hand up to cover the spot where Aleksei'd had too much fun nibbling on last night.
How did she know? I had it covered with makeup this morning before I left for work.
"Your concealer is fading," Reina chimed like she'd read my thoughts. "I didn't do black magic."
I let my hand fall on my lap. "No?" I lowered my tone and purposely widened my eyes in mock surprise, gasping for added effect to taunt her.
"Hilarious," she drawled dryly, rolling her eyes. "What a sense of humor you have, daughter-in-law."
My jaw twitched. "Why, yes. I do try my best."
She shook her head at me, replacing the napkin on the table. She leaned back against her chair, spine ramrod straight and shoulders squared; the epitome of perfect posture and intimidation.
"There's a problem," she announced, turmoil written all over her face.
"And you somehow assumed I care enough to offer solutions or what?" I burst into laughter, looking around the serene restaurant. "You can bring out the cameras now. I'm done playing along."
