“Everyone is drunk. Of course they’re having fun.”
I turned to my forlorn friend, understanding his frustration. There was nothing worse than being the only one without a date. But again, this was new territory for me.
“Then maybeyoushould drink a couple more of those and try having some fun yourself. Forget about them.”
“Forget about who?” Theo stepped up beside Shep, his usual kretek between his fingers, the sweet smoke billowing as he looked across the room. “Oh, no need to answer. I see them.”
“Kind of hard not to,” Shep muttered, and signaled for the waiter passing by with a tray of fresh drinks. “They’re like a fucking boy band.”
Theo looked past Shep’s shoulder, his eyes wide as he caught mine.
Oui, it was very out of character for Shep to be so open in his contempt and feelings in general. But if I thoughtIwas wallowing, I had nothing on this guy.
That would probably change, though, if I had to stand across a room and watch two younger men fawn all over Dimitri.
Thatwould make me feel fucking murderous.
Theo took a drag of the kretek and blew it out. “So. Everything set?”
“Oui. The second shipment is all safely tucked away.” I knew Shep was probably grateful for the subject change, but all it did was remind me of the man I was trying to forget. After Dimitri’s first shipment was successful, King had immediately placed another order, and tonight Shep and I had overseen their delivery.
Had I volunteered in the hopes thatmaybea certain arms dealer would deliver them personally? Perhaps, but over my dead body would I ever admit it.
“Glad to hear it,” King said, walking up behind me and leaving his two twenty-somethings behind. “Looks like Stavros is proving a reliable asset.”
Asset.The word chafed. Dimitri was so much more than that. He wasn’t just someone who dealt in weapons. He was a complicated, layered, incredibly sexy?—
“Benny?” Theo was looking at me expectantly, but I hadn’t the faintest idea what he’d said.
And that was the problem. The reason I had to get my mind off Dimitri. He wasn’t even around and he still had my attention as if he were standing beside me.
“Pardon?” I said, but Theo was no longer looking at me.
Actually, none of my brothers were. They were all staring over my shoulder, a mixture of expressions on their faces thatranged from surprise to confusion to wariness. Except for King, who put his hand on my shoulder, gave it a squeeze, and then turned me around in the direction of?—
Mon Dieu.My breath caught in my throat as the music stopped and every head in the room swiveled to look at the unexpected guest who’d just walked in.
But…it couldn’t be. Whatever was in that fruity cocktail had hallucinogenic properties and I was conjuring up a vision of Dimitri, because there was no way he’d be here, certainly not within the privacy of Libertine headquarters, and certainly not without his ever-present guards.
I blinked, expecting him to vanish, and when he didn’t, my hands started to shake.
King gently took my drink off my hands and nudged me forward. “He came here for you. Better not keep him waiting.”
I nodded faintly, willing my legs to start moving, but they refused, and all I could do was stare at Dimitri in his all-black tux looking like a vision from my dreams.
A lethal, stunning, completely unreal vision.
Those dark, piercing eyes met mine, making my heart stutter, and then he was walking toward me. The crowd parted for him, no doubt feeling the dominance that radiated off him, the whole room silent as he made his way across the floor.
I drank it all in, from the slicked-back hair to the thicker stubble that lined his jaw. How was it that he looked even better than I remembered him?
But more to the point, how was he here?
And…for me?
Dimitri stalked me from across the room, laser focused like a predator on the hunt, and damn if my heart didn’t skip several beats at the idea of being his prey.
I’d dreamed about this moment, fantasized he’d come to get me, and when he stopped in front of me, so close we could touch, I breathed in his familiar scent and all but swooned.
