Already her eyelids were closing and he marveled at how soft her beauty was right now, how stunning. Bare of any makeup with her damp hair spread around her, his little Rya radiated a peacefulness that he wanted to wrap around himself like a blanket. Bending to give her a kiss, she made some kind of sleepy sound and he couldn’t help but smile.
That smile dropped from his face as he moved across the room to retrieve his phone before slipping on a pair of pants and going out on the balcony. Watching the surf roll in, he began to place a series of calls to different people within his Bratva, making sure all would be ready for Rya’s arrival. Before Dimitri left he’d made a couple very public comments about the fact that Rya was his woman. He also made it clear that she was also under the protection of those Bratvas allied with the Novikovs. Anyone who tried to harm Rya would be starting a war they could never win.
Dimitri could only hope the plans he’d put in place would be enough to keep her safe. He’d buried his mother and his sister, and Jessica and her unborn child. If he had to bury Rya as well he would soon follow her to the other side and hope that his version of hell wasn’t spending eternity without her.
Rya leaned closer to Gia against the dinner table and they both burst into giggles at whatever they were talking about. Looking across the table to where Ivan was watching the women Dimitri met his eye and they shared an amused look. They’d finished a wonderful dinner made by Ivan’s staff and the conversation had been easy. Gia and Rya seemed to have an instant rapport with each other and it eased his heart to see the women getting along so well. It would do Rya a world of good to have a friend in Moscow. Since they would be living on the same floor as Gia and Ivan, it made Gia the perfect choice for Rya’s friend.
He just hadn’t anticipated the attraction between his girl and Gia.
The women had split a bottle of white wine, and as they nibbled at their chocolate mousse, he caught an almost playful sexual tension between them. Ivan seemed to have picked up on it as well because he raised an eyebrow in Dimitri’s direction and said in Russian, “Does Rya like women?”
“She does, but she tends to be sexually dominant with them.”
Ivan chuckled. “Ahhh, that makes sense then.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gia trained with a Domme who is similar to Rya in looks and personality. Your girl is exactly my woman’s type. No wonder Gia has been flirting as much as she has.”
The women looked over at them and giggled again. When Dimitri caught Rya’s eye, she blushed and returned to whispering with Gia. He noticed the way Rya looked at the other woman from beneath her lashes, little heated glances that made his cock twitch. For her part, Gia seemed to be touching Rya often, seemingly innocent caresses that nonetheless had Rya’s nipples stiffening and pressing against her top.
He turned his attention back to Ivan. “Are you open to letting them play together?”
“Yes, but you do not touch my Gia.”
Dimitri gave Ivan an equally warning look. “And you do not touch my Rya.”
Ivan held his gaze for a long moment, then his lips twitched. “As you wish.”
Not liking the full smirk that curved Ivan’s mouth Dimitri grunted. “What?”
“Nothing.” Ivan sobered then stood. “Come. We need to discuss your situation.”
Dimitri stood and leaned over, giving Rya a kiss then said in English, “Ivan and I go talk business. Will you be all right?”
She beamed up at him and he was sure he grinned back like an idiot. “Okay. We’ll be fine. Go do your manly man thing.”
Gia giggled when Ivan leaned down and whispered to her. The only consolation Dimitri had for being so openly besotted with Rya was that Ivan was just as wrapped up in his fiancée. They left the blushing women and Dimitri followed Ivan through the house and up to the top floor where Ivan had his study. It amused Dimitri to see the similarities to Petrov’s study in Ivan’s house, but it made sense. Petrov was Ivan’s uncle and a father figure to him. There were rumors that Petrov was grooming Ivan to head the Dubini family after he retired, but Dimitri wasn’t sure Ivan would accept the position. His friend was a very successful businessman with an empire of his own to run. More importantly, Ivan had distanced himself from the Dubini Bratva, and Dimitri couldn’t picture Gia living the life of a Bratva wife.
After pouring them both glasses of Iordanov Vodka, Dimitri took a seat in one of the oversized burgundy leather chairs near the bank of windows looking out over the moonlit ocean. The room had a barely lived in feel to it, but there were pictures of Ivan, Gia, and his family against the far wall along with an Impressionist painting of Moscow in the moonlight. A sudden bout of homesickness filled Dimitri as he studied the painting, and he wondered if Rya would find Russia as beautiful as he did. It was a very different world from America, and he hoped his free spirited woman could understand the more subdued ways of his people and appreciate them.