Dimitri's Forbidden Submissive(18)

“Rya?” Angelique said with a slight hint of laughter in her voice.

She looked over at the Domme who was watching her with an amused twinkle in her blue eyes and smiled. “Sorry. I was daydreaming.”

“About a certain Russian Dom?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Angelique snorted, the sound somehow elegant and refined. “Do not lie to me. He has been watching you like a starving wolf looking at a tasty rabbit.”

“Yeah, well, this rabbit isn’t interested in becoming part of his dinner.”

One of Angelique’s men—Rya thought his name was Maurice—said something to Angelique in French and she caught Dimitri’s name a couple times. The Domme’s eyes went wide and she glanced at where Dimitri probably still sat, then back at Rya. “Yes, perhaps it is better that you stay away from that particular wolf.”

“Why?”

Angelique pursed her lips, but to Rya’s surprise Maurice spoke up and said in halting English. “He is Bratva. No good for you.”

“Uh, what?”

Motioning Rya closer, Angelique said in a low voice, “Dimitri is a high ranking member of the Bratva, the Russian mob.”

“What?” She really wanted to look over her shoulder at him now. “For real?”

“Yes. He is a dangerous man and trouble follows him. It is best you do not attract his attention. His reality is not your reality.”

Which, of course, only made him all the more interesting to Rya. She’d like to have blamed it on having a biker mom and being raised by an outlaw MC club, but truth was, dangerous men just flat out did it for her. While she had a healthy respect for the law, she’d grown up surrounded by people who either skirted the edges of the rules the rest of the world had to follow or outright broke them. Hell, her own mother had served time for getting caught up in a marijuana deal gone bad and was in jail for two years when Rya was a young teenager.

But the Russian mob? That was big time crime. While Rya kept her nose out of club business as much as possible, she still heard things. What little she knew of the Russian mob was that they weren’t anyone you wanted to fuck with. They were also businessmen, and they ran their criminal empires with ruthless efficiency. Despite her best intentions to ignore him, it felt as if an irresistible magnetic pull had her looking over her shoulder at Dimitri who was still watching her.

While she sat with Angelique at one of the many tables set up to serve the people staying at the lodge, Dimitri sat by himself in the far corner of the room, surrounded by the rich amber light of the setting sun coming through the large windows. He wore a tuxedo and she wondered if he was leaving for the party on one of the waiting helicopters, then scolded herself for caring.

A big, scary, rough, handsome man dressed in a tux was her personal Kryptonite, and her breath caught as she met Dimitri’s gaze. She swore his eyes darkened even though she couldn’t really see him well in the dim lighting. Swallowing hard, she tried to look away and break this connection between them, but her whole body tingled with awareness as he simply stared at her. Her nipples hardened beneath her silk dress and a low, throbbing need settled between her thighs.

She had no idea how long she gazed into his eyes, swept away by the crazy attraction between them, before Angelique gently squeezed her wrist. “Rya?”

Whipping her head around, she flushed and cleared her throat. “What?”

Angelique studied her, then sighed. “It’s like that, is it?”

Taking another big gulp of her wine, she tried to keep the tremor out of her voice. “Like what?”

The Domme snapped her fingers twice and all of her men stood at once. “He is calling you, and you will answer. Just be aware that you, tasty little rabbit, may not survive the meeting.”

“I’m not going to talk to him,” she said, a protest that utterly lacked conviction.

“Yes, you are.” Angelique stood and patted Rya’s cheek. “I have been a Domme for a long, long time, and I can tell when there is chemistry. Go. Tempt your wolf and see if you can outrun him. At the very least, you should enjoy the chase.”

Before Rya could ask her what she meant, Angelique sauntered away with her men in tow. Maurice gave Rya an exasperated look and shook his head, but he followed his Domme, leaving Rya alone at the table. She sat there, paralyzed by indecision. Part of her wanted to flee, to run away from the perilous temptation Dimitri offered, but the wild darkness that lived in the heart of her soul felt almost a…resonance with Dimitri.

She was still trying to figure out what to do when his deep, magnificent voice said, “Rya, come with me.”