“Yes, I want to taste it,” he said softly.
She had no idea what he was talking about, but the way he said the words made her desperate to find out. She wished he’d pull her into an alley, put his hand up her skirt, and whisper dirty things in her ear.
Her nipples tightened uncomfortably. Being turned on in public made her feel reckless.
She needed strength before she asked him to do something depraved. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to think of something they could do other than go back to his house and give each other orgasms. Keeping him at bay had been going so well until today, but the bit of flirting while they shopped had made her resolve unravel quickly. It was hard not to flirt with such a man, especially when he was so obviously interested.
When she opened her eyes again, he was staring at her, brows knitted.
“That is how you make me feel,” he grumbled, jabbing his finger at the wall beside her.
Confused, she turned and looked. There was a poster stuck to the wall, with a woman in black and a woman in white. The woman in black had green skin. At the bottom of the picture was written the word WICKED.
She snorted. “I make you feel like a woman in a big hat?”
“No, little brat. You make me feel wicked.” He smiled. “Not all witches are wicked, by the way. I know some very nice witches.”
“Nice ones? They don’t have bony legs and iron teeth, like Baba Yaga?”
“I didn’t look that close.”
“Maybe you should have.”
He laughed, and the deep sound made her want to press against him so she could feel the depth of his voice rumbling against her body. Konstantin had the sexiest laugh she’d ever heard and his eyes hinted at forbidden secrets.
The look he gave her as he held out his hand made her shiver.
To accept was to follow him into temptation. Her hand slid into his without hesitation.
“Where are you going to take me?”
His lips twitched in a half smile. “I won’t take you until you beg for it.”
Beg? The molten look in his eyes made her feel as though he was melting her from the inside. It probably didn’t help that the memory of his fingers toying between her legs was so vivid she could almost convince herself he was doing it right then with his mind. What was he thinking, looking at her that way in a public place? It wasn’t like they could do anything there. And she was trying to remember to be good.
She made a sign against evil but the cruel man only watched her.
“Desire isn’t evil, Varushka. We were designed this way for a reason.”
Nervously, she nibbled on her bottom lip. His gaze followed th
e movement, and she popped her candy back in her mouth to disguise her nervousness, but that only increased the interest that lurked in his dark eyes.
“For now maybe we’ll see if we can get last-minute tickets to that musical on the poster. It seems appropriate. That, and I probably shouldn’t be alone with you right now.”
Nor I with you, Mr. Romanov.
They walked along the streets, the crowd thinning out, then growing again. Sooner than she would have expected, Konstantin stopped at the end of a line at a booth in the center of Times Square. It was more crowded here than the side street he’d led her down after the candy store, so she avoided eye contact to keep from flirting. When they finally made it to the desk, the woman sold him two last-minute tickets to Wicked, then they strolled around for a while until it was time to go into the theatre. Konstantin left their shopping bags with the girl at the coat check and gave her a stack of money to guard them.
The decorations alone had Varushka gripping Konstantin’s arm and staring around in fascination. So many people, and such a lavish theatre!
“I feel like I should be dressed nicer.” She tugged at her skirt, wishing the action would magically make the simple cotton fancier. “This isn’t a place for poor people like me.”
“Shh.” Konstantin frowned. “If they find out you’re not rich, they’ll call the police.”
“Really?” she stared at him, open-mouthed.
“If anyone walks by, you should kiss me so they don’t notice you.”