Kaz waited in the living room as Violet disappeared into her bedroom to change. While he hadn’t gotten the chance to fully appreciate that dress on her, that would have to wait for another time.
Another time …
He was already reading too much into the situation.
It shouldn’t have mattered that they kissed, or even that she made him feel something he couldn’t explain. She was still a Gallucci, and he was a Markovic—the two families just didn’t mix. But as he waited for her to reappear, that distinction didn’t seem to matter to him.
Taking in her space, he eyed it carefully—the soft gray walls, the mixture of fabrics and textures, something Vera would have pointed out, if she were there. His sister always liked to point out things whenever they were together, like she couldn’t control the impulse. For the most part he tuned her out, but sometimes he picked up on smaller details.
Kaz had only been waiting a few minutes when Violet reappeared, dressed in a pair of jeans that hugged her hips and contoured to her legs, along with a simple white tank-top beneath a bomber jacket. Despite how understated she’d attempted to be, she still stood out. She had even gone so far as to pull the long length of her hair up into a ponytail, and washed the makeup from her face.
It almost felt like he was dealing with another person entirely—like seeing another side of her. He had never seen her this way, so … vulnerable.
But he liked it all the same.
“Ready?”
Nodding without a word, she grabbed her purse and a set of keys, exiting her apartment first before he followed. The ride down to the lobby was quiet and uneventful, but when they stepped off the elevator, she hesitated, looking over at the desk attendants before making a decision about them and turning to go out another exit at the side of the building.
“They answer to my father,” she said softly when they were outside and the metal door was swinging shut. “Since he pays their salary, they’re more willing to tell him what I’m doing.”
Made sense that she wouldn’t want them to be seen leaving together. Earlier, they hadn’t come in together, so there was no reason for the clerks to report to Alberto about who they had seen coming in.
Reaching the mouth of the alley, Violet scanned the street. “Where’s your car?”
Withdrawing his own set of keys, he hit the button on the fob, the headlights to his Range Rover briefly flashing in the darkness of the night. “Probably best that I hadn’t brought it, no?”
She didn’t respond, not verbally, but he could tell she was thinking something.
Going around the front of his truck, he opened the passenger door, offering her a hand as he helped her up and inside. One she was situated, he hurried around to his own side and climbed in, starting it up, and turning on his lights.
“Are all of your windows tinted this way?” she asked, gesturing to the windshield with a wave of her hand.
“I like my privacy.”
And that was the truth. All three of his cars had the same window treatment, and though his apartment faced the beach, he was so far up from the ground that with the sun reflecting on the glass, no one could see in.
Pulling out onto the street, Kaz was mindful of where he was and who he was with. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t driving the car everyone associated with him, it only took a single person to fuck this up.
His eyes were on the road, his attention focused when Violet called his name. When he looked in her direction, she looked uneasy all of a sudden, but was turned in his direction.
“I’m sorry about your brother. I didn’t know anything about what Franco was going to do, honestly.” She was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I never said anything negative about him, or you for that matter.”
Kaz contemplated her answer, rolling her words around in his head. Before he had been too angry to see reason, and hadn’t really wanted to listen to a word she said, but now that he was slightly more rational, he believed her. It could still be that the kiss they shared was frying his brain, but for the time being, he accepted her word.
“Is he … is he okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Kaz said softly. He didn’t bother to mention that Ruslan had suffered worse under the hands of someone that was meant to love him. And before he could talk himself out of it, he added, “Thank you though, for your concern.”
She nodded, and for the rest of the time, they rode in a comfortable silence. When they reached the outskirts of Brooklyn, and closer to his territory, she sat up a little straighter, becoming more aware of her surroundings.
“Don’t worry, krasivaya. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Reaching across the seat, he lifted her hand, stroking his thumb along the back of it to calm her. He could understand her fear, not knowing what to expect, and placing trust into a person that she’d probably always been told was the enemy.
But he did hope, as foolish as it might have been, that he could change her opinion of him.
After another couple of miles, Kaz finally caught sight of a hole-in-the-wall diner that looked like it was one step above being closed down, but while the outside wasn’t much to look at, the interior was little better on the eyes, and the food was fucking amazing.
The only question was whether or not Violet would be okay in a place like this.
“I know the outside doesn’t give the best impression,” Kaz said as he parked the Range Rover.
Violet gave him a look. “Understatement.”
“Don’t go all spoiled princess on me right now.” He smirked when she scowled. “I promise the food is worth it, if you turn cheek to the appearance. Sometimes the best things come in the most unlikely of packages.”
Violet pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. “Fine. But only for you.”
“I’ll take that.”
Before she could say another thing, he had turned the truck off and was getting out. She barely had time to unbuckle her seatbelt before he was opening her door.
Like any good gentleman would do, she mused.
Kaz offered her a smooth smile and his hand. She took it, but that familiar heat siphoned from his palm straight into hers as he helped her out of the large vehicle.
“When you’re not driving the car, I see you feel the need to drive something that’s big enough to mow trees over,” she said.
“Cheap shots about my vehicles will get you nowhere.”
She doubted that.
It would probably get her something like that kiss from earlier if she irked him enough.
Violet wasn’t looking to do that, however. As it were, she had taken a lot of risks just to give this man a few hours of her time—and it was precious time, considering how much trouble she would find herself in if they were caught. She wasn’t about to ruin it by seeing if she could provoke him into another moment.
But as she stared at him from the side while he locked the Range Rover, she knew somehow that she probably wouldn’t have to try at all if she wanted him to kiss her again. She probably just needed to grab him and pull him closer …
Kaz cleared his throat, making Violet’s attention snap from his mouth to his eyes in a flash. “Food, right?”
She rapped her fingernails against her thigh. Why did it sound like he was offering something else? Like all she had to do was ask, and he would follow through.
“Food,” she agreed.
The inside of the diner was slightly better than the outside. It almost seemed like a throwback to the fifties diners in design with booths lining the walls, a main bar across the front crowded by stools, and the white and black checkered floor and walls.
An older couple ate at the far corner booth in the right, while a younger couple chatted animatedly on a pair of stools. Only a woman wearing a white-and-yellow ensemble stood behind the cash register, counting money. She didn’t even look up as Kaz and Violet approached.
“Food or coffee?” the woman asked.
“Food,” Kaz said.
“Find a place to sit. I’ll be with you in a second.”
Violet turned to find which booth she wanted to sit in—one that wouldn’t put them directly in the view of the windows—but she stilled in place when Kaz’s hand slid into hers. She hadn’t been expecting the gesture, and he didn’t give her much time to think on it before he was pulling her along at his side.
“I like to sit back here,” he said, directing her to the exact opposite booth from where the older couple were sitting.
It was tucked away in the corner where the lights were a bit dimmer and they had more privacy from the few diners. Kaz let Violet slide in so that her back was to the wall. She expected him to sit across from her, but he surprised her by tipping his chin as if to ask her to move over.
Violet did, laughing when he slid in beside her.
“Always sit here, huh?” she asked.
Kaz shrugged, pulling off his suit jacket and tossing it into the booth seat across from them. “People don’t usually like to sit in the darker spot of a restaurant unless they’re going for that kind of mood.”
“And you like your privacy.”
“You don’t?”
Violet wet her lips, nodding. “I do. I’m just not given very much.”
“Ah, point taken.”
Kaz quieted as the woman dressed in yellow and white approached with a smile on her face like she recognized him. Violet wondered how often he actually came here to eat.
The woman held no menus in her hands. “The usual, Kaz?”
He flashed a smile.
Violet ignored the pinch of jealousy flaring up in her middle. It wasn’t the time, and the waitress wasn’t exactly anything to be concerned about, considering she was a good fifteen years older than Kaz at least. Maybe it was the fact that the woman seemed friendly with him, as if she knew him.
And Violet didn’t.
“Usual for me,” he said. “Same for her.”
“About twenty minutes, okay? Daniel is just getting off his break.”
Kaz waved a hand. “No problem.”
When the woman was gone, Violet asked, “What’s the usual?”
“Something you can’t go wrong with. Burgers. Fries. Coke. I can change it, if that’s not—”
“It’s great,” she interrupted quickly. “How often do you come here?”
“Are we playing twenty questions now?”
Violet glanced away from the teasing, light grin he sported. It didn’t help the walls she was trying to keep up. At least if she tried to keep them up for a while, it might be harder for this man to tear them down.
Her father had always said she made friends too easily, and without care.
“Hey,” he murmured.
Violet kept staring at her hands on the table. It was only when she felt a finger slide under the line of her jaw, stopping at her chin and pressing a little to make her turn her head, did she look at him. “What?”
“You’re acting stiff. Why?”
“You’re not worried, not even a little?” she asked. She wasn’t ready to admit that she actually thought she liked him—not even to herself.
Withdrawing his hand, Kaz seemed to study her before giving an answer. “I’m cautious by nature, Violet, but that doesn’t mean I’m foolproof. So of course, there’s a part of me that wonders what will happen if someone walks in here, but what is life without risks? I’m willing to risk it.”
And more, Violet thought. While she wasn’t completely sure of what her father was capable of, she knew if he ever caught her with Kaz, it wouldn’t end well for him.
“Are you telling me to relax?”
Kaz winked. “Live a little, krasivaya.”
Violet couldn’t help but notice how that Russian word seemed a lot more affectionate than the one he had called her earlier—whatever it was.
“What does that mean?” she dared to ask.
For the first time, he managed to look slightly uncomfortable. “It’s a term of endearment.”
“That doesn’t tell me what it means.”
Kaz chuckled. “Good, you’re quick, too.”
Violet pretended like he hadn’t said that. “Stop deflecting. Why won’t you tell me what it means?”
“It’s not that I won’t. It means you’re a beauty, or beautiful. Take it either way, depending on how it’s used and said.”
Oh.
Violet hadn’t thought it would mean that. “And the other thing?”
Kaz eyed her from the side. “I didn’t—”
“You did. Before you put your hands around my throat.”
His lip curled up at the side as he said, “Can I just apologize for that one without an explanation?”
“Not now.”
Kaz sighed heavily. “Bitch.”
Violet tried not to glare—she really did.
And failed.
“I’m sorry,” Kaz said quickly.
Violet wasn’t sure it helped. “So basically you called me a spoiled, rich bitch.”
“And now I’m taking you out to eat. Do you see how these things work out?”
“You called me a bitch and then you kissed me,” she muttered.
“You’re not making this easy right now,” he replied.
“No one ever said I was easy, Kaz.”
Kaz laughed, deep and heady. “Fair enough. I am sorry.”
“I’m not sure that’s enough …”
“What do you want, then?” he asked, resting his elbows on the table as he leaned toward her. “What can I do to make it up to you?”
She matched his posture. “What are you offering?”
Kaz smiled and the sight of it, so brilliant and open, made her return it. “Ah, there’s the Gallucci in you.”
Usually there was some derision to his tone whenever he made reference to her family’s name, but this time, it sounded almost complimentary.
Violet tapped her chin with a nail, pretending to think over her answer though there was really only one thing she wanted. “How about another kiss, but without the bitch this time?”
A surprise burst of laughter left him, but it was over in a second as his face turned serious. Curling a hand around the side of her face, he pulled her closer, his face just a breath away. She waited, more than a little ready for what he would do next, but he didn’t come any closer.
Then, he whispered, “Take what you want.”
A flood of heat swept through her at his words, but she didn’t waste a second thinking on his words—she just did exactly what he said.
This time, it was her kissing him, pressing closer, wanting to eliminate all the space between them. Despite how hard the rest of him was, his lips were soft, but unyielding. For a time, she was the one in charge, taking what she wanted, but very soon, he was taking over, tilting her head to the side as he deepened the kiss, putting her exactly as he wanted her.
His other arm slipped around her waist, drifting beneath the edge of her shirt, the heat of his palm almost shocking. In one firm pull, he had her closer as their lips found a familiar rhythm that shouldn’t have been familiar at all. His fingers pressed into her skin, teasing and promising at the same time. She hummed a contented sound against his mouth.
Kaz smirked, pulling away slightly. “Was that what you were looking for?”
“Better without the bitch.”
He lifted a brow. “Why do I hear a but in there?”
Violet shrugged. “But your hands. On my throat. I liked your hands the last time, too.”
Kaz’s grin spread a little wider, and he shook his head. “Killing me here.”
She wasn’t trying to.
His tone had deepened with a huskiness that made her mouth dry. She was not alone in this strange attraction. Not in the least.
Violet needed a second to breathe, never mind the ache between her thighs. “How did the birthday party go?”
“That’s what you want to talk about right now?”
“Distance?”
He seemed to get what she said, and what she didn’t. “My sisters loved the clothes. Thank you for that, again.”
“Sixteen-year-olds are not so hard to figure out.”
“These ones can be,” he said, laughing.
Violet cleared her throat, still hyperaware of his hand on her back and how close he was to her. “All right. Enough.”
Kaz’s brow dropped in his confusion. “Enough of what?”
“Distance.”
She leaned forward, and kissed him again.