Nikolai looked as surprised as she was when the waiter had to inform them that the restaurant was closing for the night. Neither had noticed the last of the patrons paying their bills and leaving.
“I’m so sorry!” Nadia said to the poor waiter, who was visibly yawning.
“No problem at all!” the waiter said, casting a nervous glance at Nikolai’s bulk and his visible tattoos.
Nadia was sure the waiter saw plenty of Bratva coming through. He would be well aware of Nikolai’s status, if not his exact identity.
“You’re a good man,” Nikolai said to the waiter to put him at ease. He threw down an exorbitant tip on the table.
Then he held Nadia’s jacket so she could slip her arms inside.
“I’ll drive you home,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said. “I don’t want to catch a taxi so late.”
She followed Nikolai out to the curb, where the valet brought round a beautiful teal 1960s Alfa Romeo with buttery cream-colored seats.
“How many cars do you own?” she said, laughing at Nikolai.
“A few,” he said, not wanting to admit the real number.
Once they were enclosed in the small space of the car together, she could feel the tension between them. His large hand on the gearshift was only inches away from her bare thigh. He had taken off his jacket during dinner and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. She could see the tendons and muscles rippling up his forearm as he gripped the knob to shift gears. He had a Russian cross tattooed on that arm, as well as the wings of some sort of bird—she could only see one part of that one.
She felt a strong curiosity to see the rest of his tattoos. To see the rest of that vast, powerful body...
She tore her eyes away and tried to focus on the road, on the trees flashing past her window.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such an enjoyable evening.
She knew what would usually come at the end of a date that good—not that it had really been a date. But usually when a man and a woman talked and laughed like that, looking into each other’s eyes, leaning closer and closer across the table...Usually they’d end the night with a kiss, if not much more...
As soon as Nikolai stopped the car, she grabbed hold of the door handle, to make sure she didn’t allow anything more to happen between the two of them.
“Thank you so much for dinner,” she said, hastily. “It was really...just amazing.”
“Wait!” Nikolai said.
Nadia paused, the door half open.
She looked back at him, at the overwhelmingly handsome face. His dark blue eyes keen and clear beneath his furrowed brows, and a playful smile tugging at his lips.
“What’s the hurry?” he said.
“I’ve got to go in,” Nadia said. “My aunt stays up late. She’ll be watching out the window.”
“Let me pick you up tomorrow,” Nikolai said.
“I shouldn’t...” Nadia said.
“Come on,” Nikolai coaxed her.
When she bit her lip, hesitating, he grinned and said, “I’ll be here at noon. Send me away if you like, but you can’t stop me coming.”
Nadia laughed.
“Alright,” she said.
She jumped out of the car before she could let Nikolai work on her a minute longer.
