And I almost flee.
“Victoria, I’d like to introduce you to a very important patron this evening, Mr. Dimitri—”
“Dolce Cossack…” I finish, time seeming to slow as his blue eyes meet mine and I almost lose myself in them. The sudden urge to drop to my knees between his legs is overwhelming, and I nearly do just that before Cornelius’ voice cuts through into my daydream.
“Oh, you know him?” I turn to find Cornelius staring, but he recovers quickly. “I mean, of course you do, he’s very famous. Mr. Cossack, this is our newest sous chef, and the genius behind the meal you just ate.”
Dimitri’s low growl of a voice makes my insides shudder, and a little liquid seep out between my legs as he answers: “Hello, Victoria.”
“You know each other?” Cornelius is turning his head between me and Dimitri, his eyebrows raised. “How?”
“We met,” Dimitri says, licking his lips as he watches me. “And more.”
Recovering myself, I draw back and force a smile to my lips. Dimitri Dolce Cossack has already cost me a job and nearly cost me my family’s home. I’ll be damned if I let him be the reason I lose this one. “I hear you enjoyed the meal, Mr. Cossack. I’m delighted that it was to your satisfaction. I hope we can expect to see you here again sometime?”
When he stands, I almost cower. His presence is imposing when he’s sitting down, but standing up he towers over everyone else in the room. Even Cornelius takes a step back as Dimitri steps over to me and takes my wrist. He leads me to his table, pulls out the chair opposite his own and turns to me. “Sit, Victoria.”
“You don’t say please?”
“No. I don’t. You need to learn that. I’ll always do what’s best for you, but when I tell you to do something, I expect you to follow instructions. Understand?”
I can feel everyone staring at me, but the shiver that runs down my spine isn’t embarrassment. It’s need. Pure need. The deep growl of Dimitri’s voice. The way he commands me. I feel safe around him, able to fully be myself without fear of what anyone else expects.
Without a word, I take the seat at his table, and he returns to his own, pulling it around closer to me as he turns to Cornelius.
“You own this restaurant.”
“Ye—”
“I’m going to be taking Victoria for the rest of the evening. That’s not a request. What is a request, is to have one of everything from the dessert menu brought to the table, and a glass of wine for each of us.”
“Of course.” Cornelius turns to one of the waiters. “You heard the instruction, please follow it.”
“Now leave us.”
“Yes, sir.” Cornelius backs away, shrugging as I meet his eyes. I’m glad he’s not mad at me for being involved with the asshole giving out instructions as if he owns the place.
“You know, you can say please once in a while,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “It wouldn’t kill you to treat people with a little bit of courtesy.”
“I’ll give him a generous tip.”
“Not the point,” I say, glaring. “I want to hear you apologize to my boss.”
He pauses for a moment, then draws a deep breath. “I will apologize on the way out, if I have you with me.”
The laugh is out of my mouth before I can think, but his entitled ass needs taking down a peg. “If you have me with you? Why would I be with you? You left me, and I know I’m nothing special to you. Well, let me tell you something, Dimitri, you were special to me. You have no idea how special. I have feelings, you know, I believed the lies you told me.”
He leans forward, taking my hand between his own. He’s gentle, even though he could crush every bone in my hand if he wanted to, his own are so big and powerful. But it’s like he wants to cherish me, to keep me safe from harm.
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear to you, Victoria. I will never lie to you. I had to leave because of a fire. That was real. And I know what you heard about me because I forced the man who said it to tell me. None of that is true. You are all that matters to me. Truth is, I hadn’t been with a woman for a very long time before I met you, and if you walk away from me now I’ll have to live the rest of my life as a monk, because no other woman will ever satisfy me. I need you, Victoria. I want you. I want you in my life.”
I want to believe him, but how can I when what I heard makes so much sense? “I don’t believe you,” I tell him. “I’m sorry but I don’t. How can a man like you, who looks like you, not have a string of thousands of women waiting to fulfil his every desire and need? You told me to sit at this table and I did. I’m not vain enough to think I’m the only one that obeys you. You probably snap your fingers and have a gazillion naked swimsuit models falling to their knees.”