Mr Handsome, Will You Procreate With Me?

12

“May I?” I ask, motioning for him to hold his arm out.

He smiles and leans closer, giving me a better look at it. It’s an image of the Grim Reaper, and it stretches from the crook of his inner elbow all the way down to his wrist. The cloaked skeletal figure is wearing a black robe, the hood tilted back so the wicked grin he’s giving is visible. The scythe he’s carrying is dripping bright-red blood, the only spot of color on the entire tattoo, making it stand out even more. There’s a black raven perched on his shoulder with its head c****d to the side like it’s studying me, and beneath the whole thing is a sentence in Russian.

“What does it say?”

“Brothers in blood, in life, and in death,” Luka says. I hear the pride in his voice when he speaks the words. None of the kids have accents, but I know they all speak Russian fluently.

“Svetlana designed it,” Vitaly says with a proud grin. “It’s based on a tattoo that Matvey has, but she tweaked it a bit. They wanted a tattoo that’s all their own, and every male in the family will get it when they turn eighteen.”

I thank Luka for showing me and look over at Lev. “You know Mia’s going to want one.”

He sighs. “She’s already asking for it.”

His brothers laugh while we all stand to go in, knowing everyone else has waited long enough. I’m about to make my exit when Danil says, “Don’t even think about it. We’re about to play some pool. You have to at least stay long enough to get your ass kicked by Matvey.”

I relent and grab my coffee cup. “Maybe one game.”

When Svetlana sees us walking towards the French doors, she opens them and runs her eyes over us. “Come on, Dad. I’m stepping in for Val. I know we can beat Uncle Matvey and Aunt Alina this time.”

“Hell yes we are, sweetheart. Get ready to pose for some celebratory photos, because we’re documenting this win so we can constantly remind them of it.”

Svetlana laughs, but I notice the way she keeps looking over at me. I’m not sure what she’s up to, but when she goes out of her way to keep everyone distracted, leading them down the hall while Natalya slips out onto the deck with me, I’m more than a little curious. She turns her light blue eyes up at me and gives me a nervous smile. She must’ve recently reapplied her lip gloss, because her lips are glistening ever so slightly, and I have to force myself to not stare.

“What’s going on, Natalya?”

She meets my eyes and swipes her tongue over her bottom lip, making me nearly groan. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“About?”

Turning her head, she looks in to make sure no one is watching and then takes a step closer. I raise a brow at her, waiting to see where this is going. She fidgets, shifting her weight from foot to foot and swiping at her dress in an effort to keep her hands busy.

“You might want to just say it,” I tell her. “I’m guessing someone is going to come looking for us in a few minutes.”

She gives another nervous glance towards the window. “I just,” she starts and then stops. Looking back up at me, her cheeks turn even pinker when she says, “I was wondering if you could get me and Svetlana into your new club.”

I let out a soft laugh. I’ve been propositioned by enough women to know that it wasn’t what Natalya was doing when she cornered me on the back deck, but I hadn’t been expecting this.

“You have to be twenty-one to get into La Dolce Vita,” I remind her.

She looks up at me and huffs out a breath. “You’re the owner. Surely you can bend the rules a little.”

“Bend them for the Bratva principessa whose father and uncles are men I do business with and who would be furious if they knew I’d snuck their daughters into a nightclub?”

“We’re not going to drink or do anything wrong.” When she sees the disbelieving look on my face, she adds, “We’re not. We just want to see it. In case you haven’t noticed, our parents are a little strict.”

“They’re that way for a reason, and I think you know that.”

“I do, but we’re going stir crazy, and what better way to let off a little steam than while under the protection of one of their oldest friends?”

I laugh at the smile she gives me. It’s a pretty please mixed with desperate hope, and it’s f*****g adorable. As beautiful as she looks under the moonlight begging me for something, there’s no way in hell I can give her what she wants. I’ve already broken enough unwritten rules by thinking about her in a s****l way, and I’m not about to add to it by sneaking her underaged ass into my club behind her family’s back.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

She surprises me by gripping my arm when I turn to go inside. I look down at her small hand on my inked forearm, clenching my jaw at the sight of her pink nail polish against my skin, unable to not think about what her hand would look like wrapped around my d**k, glimpses of feminine pink as she works me up and down in long, slow strokes.

Her skin is hot against mine, and when I lift my eyes to hers, her lips part in a soft gasp. Whatever she sees in my eyes has her releasing her hold on me and taking a step back.

Wise choice, principessa.

I look down at her, noticing the slight flush to her chest and the way her breathing has picked up the tiniest bit. I have no doubt that if I were to close the distance and lick my way along one of her pulse points, I’d find it racing beneath my tongue.

“I’m going to go inside and pretend you didn’t just ask me this. I suggest you forget about this crazy idea. There are a lot of dangerous men out there, principessa. It’d be best if you kept your ass inside where it’s safe.”

Without waiting for a reply, I turn and walk back inside, leaving her on the porch with a stunned look on her beautiful face and a pissed-off look in her eyes.