Trying to tell himself he wasn’t even considering it, Dimitri looked down at his black button down shirt, checking it for wrinkles and checked his black slacks to make sure they were clean. “What does she look like?”
As if sensing Dimitri’s growing interest, Moriz smiled. “Go and see for yourself.”
Frowning at the other man, Dimitri shook his head. “This is not a good idea. I cannot offer her what she needs.”
“You’re reading more into this than there is. All I am asking you to do is take her on for the remainder of the week. Be her Master and show her a good time. Then, at the end of the week you both go your separate ways. She will be in no danger.” Moriz gave Dimitri a considering look. “If you do this for me I will owe you a favor.”
Considering Moriz was a high-ranking member of the Russian political party currently in power; having him owe Dimitri a favor was worth its weight in gold, and the bastard knew it. “I am not promising anything, but I will meet the girl.”
“Excellent, I will introduce…”
“No. I want to meet her on my own terms. Where is she now?”
“Last I checked, she was in the library.”
“The library?”
Moriz gave him a bemused smirk. “Yes. Unlike the women you usually date, she has a brain and she enjoys reading.”
Dimitri didn’t attempt to defend the women he kept. It was true, he didn’t select his bed partners for their minds and actually avoided entangling himself with anyone he could possibly love. But this was a unique circumstance and Moriz was right; at the end of the week they would go their separate ways, so why not indulge himself with a woman he would normally avoid. Just this once, he could pretend he was a normal man. But he was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to see if this mysterious Rya was indeed compatible with him and if he even found her desirable and vice versa.
“If you will excuse me, I have a submissive to seduce.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Moriz nodded. “Thank you and good luck.”
“I do not need luck.”
Dimitri didn’t like the way Moriz laughed as he moved quickly to his private rooms at the lodge, but he couldn’t deny the anticipation singing through his blood. He’d never had to actually pursue a woman, and he found himself looking forward to the challenge. Because he was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the son of one of the most powerful Bratva Pahkans in Russia, all he had to do was look at a female and she’d be naked on his bed. While his body was sexually satisfied by these women, he’d never actually been in love and planned on keeping it that way.
He checked the door to his room carefully for any sign of disturbance. Paranoia had been bred into Dimitri since birth; he never did anything that would give his enemies a chance to take him out of the game. The hair he’d placed between the door and the frame was still there and the lock showed no signs of tampering. He entered his room, and a quick glance confirmed it remained undisturbed. Not that any assassins were likely to hit him here, he had too many powerful friends surrounding him, but the one moment he let his guard down could be the moment someone ended his life.
He grabbed his laptop, deciding he needed a reason to show up in the library with Rya. If she was as independent as Moriz said, she’d no doubt want to select her own Master. While he secured his room, he wondered what kind of woman she was, what she looked like, and found himself entering dangerous territory with this woman he’d never met. No, this was merely another conquest, another woman that he would spoil, fuck, and move on. He might treat her a little better because she wasn’t a woman who expected to be his mistress, but he would not allow any dangerous emotions to intrude.
He was alone and would remain alone until his father died.
Shaking off those bitter thoughts, he paused outside the library and collected himself. While he would hate to lose the leverage of Moriz owing him a favor, he wouldn’t pretend to be attracted to a woman just to get something out of it. His moral code might be questionable by most standards, but he would never knowingly hurt a woman. Anticipation quickened his pulse and he took a deep breath, the uncharacteristic show of nerves somehow making him feel more alive, more aware.
Some part of his mind tried to warn him that this was perilous, that he should just walk away, but he ignored that voice of caution and opened the door.
The moment he stepped into the spacious, well-appointed library with its floor to ceiling shelves and wide window looking out into the forest the only woman in the room looked up at him curiously from the e-reader in her hand.
Dimitri felt like he’d been punched in the gut when their eyes met.