Russian's Innocent Love (Drobilka Family Series #1) (7 page)

As she got ready for her dinner date with him, she stared at her limited clothing options. It was still blazing hot outside, and other than her typical shorts or jeans, she only had three dresses to choose from. Reaching for her maxi dress, she slipped it on over her head and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

The formfitting dress hugged what assets she had before cascading down her legs. A slit up one leg made it easy to walk in as she slipped on her sandals. Dragging a brush through her hair, she decided to wear it down, as it tumbled about her shoulders. With this humidity, her normally straight hair had taken to curling, and she had to admit that she liked the look as it softened what she considered to be her severe features.

Keys in hand, she walked downstairs and was surprised to see a Town car waiting for her. Raising her eyebrow in surprise, the driver stepped out to open the door for her, “Mr. Sannikoff thought that if you had decided to drink tonight, you might not want to drive.” Nodding her head in thanks, Bethany got into the back as the driver walked around to get behind the wheel.

They didn’t have to go far, as the car headed into downtown Dallas toward one of the more affluent neighborhoods comprised of high rises. They pulled into the garage of one of the more expensive buildings, the driver stopped in front of an elevator and opened the door for her. Escorting her to the elevator, he used a cardkey to access the top floor before stepping back. As the doors shut, Bethany watched him walk back to the car.She looked at the elevator and realized that this was a private penthouse car.

When the doors opened, she was surprised to see that Vadim had the entire floor. Stepping out, she gasped at the wall-to-ceiling windows covering all the outer walls. She walked out into the living area and turned around in a circle as she took in the understated furnishings that were designed for comfort. Kicking off her sandals, her feet sank into the luxurious carpeting as she sighed.

“You like, Malyutka?” Vadim asked her as he looked at her in amusement. Opening her eyes, she peered at him. Dressed in his usual dress slacks and white button down shirt, he looked like he belonged here as he casually leaned against the doorframe.

“Oh yes,” Bethany replied, as she tried to force her pulse to stop racing in anticipation. “Especially my feet.”

Chuckling at her response, “Make yourself at home, I won’t be long.” Turning, he returned to the kitchen while Bethany walked around the main living space. The inside walls were covered in photos and paintings, many of which were snow scenes. Walking closer, there were what appeared to be family photos along with some from the military. Bethany tried to figure out which ones Vadim was in when he joined her. She took a tentative sip of the glass of wine he handed her.

“Are you in any of these?” Nodding his head, he pointed to himself in many of the pictures, as Bethany kept turning to look at him. “You look so different in these photos, I wouldn’t have recognized you.” Turning to the paintings, these are beautiful. Are they all of Russia?

“Dah. I grew up in a small town near the Siberian border called Belaya Lisitsa. It always snowed.”

“It sounds lonely,” Bethany blurted out as he gave her an odd look. “Is that why one of your tattoos is a white fox? After the town?”

“Something like that, yes,” he replied, although from his tone, he didn’t sound like he wanted to say more, and he changed the subject. “You don’t have any photos in your apartment.”

Taking another sip of her wine, Bethany wandered over to the windows to look out over the city. “Do you ever feel like you’re in a specimen jar with the world looking in on you?”

“The windows are tinted, so no one can see in. And you didn’t answer my question.”

Shrugging her shoulders, she turned to look at him, as she leaned against the window. “I would prefer that most of my life remain in my past, and the only way I could do that was to try to forget about it,” she answered. “Besides, I’m making new memories now, and I do have some pictures, they’re just on my phone,” she replied as she tried to smile.

“Our past is what shapes us. Either by following the same path or choosing a different one. But we should never hide from it, we must learn from it.”

“Oh, I’ve learned from it,” Bethany replied. “But I also want to put it behind me.”

“By returning to Texas?”

Laughing, she said, “Yes, well, the university made me an offer too good to refuse, and well, maybe it is time to confront some of my past. Just not yet.”

He nodded and held out his hand to her. “Come, join me in the kitchen while I finish dinner.” Taking his hand, she followed him into the kitchen. She set her wine down and slid onto a chair as she watched him move around the kitchen with ease. He had a cutting board filled with sliced vegetables and set a large skillet on the stove to heat. As the pan began to heat, he added olive oil. Once it began to bubble, he added onions and garlic and the whole kitchen began to smell, making Bethany’s mouth water. She watched, fascinated, as he added the different vegetables and various spices while he continued to sauté them.

Pouring in a can of diced tomatoes, he looked up at her, “I never asked. Do you like Italian?”

“I love Italian, but where did you learn to cook?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve always loved food, and it wasn’t always easy to come by and when it was, most of it tasted terrible. My grandmother taught me to forage for roots and herbs to help make food taste better and when I was in the military…” Vadim paused, realizing that he said too much. Taking a deep breath, he spoke quickly, “Let’s just say, being raised where I was, I learned to hunt at an early age, which meant that I didn’t go hungry when shipments didn’t make it out to us.”

Not wanting to press him, she prompted, “So that translated to a love of Italian cooking?”

“And Indian, Greek, Mexican, French…I’ve yet to find a type of food that I can’t appreciate, but I also want to know how it’s made and if I can make it better,” he laughed as he added fresh pasta and shrimp to the pan.

“Makes you sound competitive.”

He nodded his head as he dished the food out onto plates. “Oh, I am, but it also means that if I have a taste for something and there isn’t a restaurant close by, I can make it myself,” he answered as he carried the plates over to the table.

“Oh, you aren’t one of those people who carries travel spices do you?”

He lifted his head to look at her. “There are travel spices?”

Laughing, Bethany replied, “Oh yes, saw it in a catalog.”

“I must get some. Now, come, enjoy.”

Bethany sat down to eat with him, but was surprised they weren’t eating in the dining room. Reading her expression, he responded, “The table out there tends to get used for work. I find that I enjoy having my meals in here.”

She swirled some pasta onto her fork before skewering some red peppers and a shrimp. Popping it into her mouth, she bit down and closed her eyes in delight. “Oh. This is good. This is really good,” she told him, as she licked her lips. “So, um, how are you with breakfast food?”

 “Maybe you should stick around and find out,” he responded with a glint in his eyes. Blushing, she quickly dropped her gaze as she concentrated on eating. They continued to make small talk as they enjoyed their meal and wine.

When dinner was over, he took the plates to the sink and quickly rinsed them before placing them in the dishwasher. Rising to help him, he waved her back down as he added more wine to her glass. “This won’t take long,” he told her with a smile, and it didn’t. In a matter of minutes, he was done and taking her hand, they walked back into the living room where he turned on some music and they settled on the leather couch.

Tucking her feet under her, Bethany sat sideways facing him as they chatted and Vadim was continually impressed with her quick wit and intelligence. Not that he should be surprised, given the number of languages she spoke, but from the look on her face, she seemed to be always processing information, much like a computer. Although, he had to admit that he found her sexual naivety endearing. So many women her age were already far more experienced than him sexually, and he was more than ten years older than she was. Didn’t women understand that it wasn’t a badge of honor to have so many notches on the proverbial bedpost?

He didn’t realize that Bethany had stopped talking until he caught her looking at him with a smile on her face. “Penny for your thoughts?” she asked.

“Apologies,” he answered as he looked at her. “I was thinking about how beautiful I find you, and I got lost in my thoughts.” Bethany blushed and went to sip from her wine, but Vadim reached for her glass and set it on the table next to his. Taking her hands, he looked at them before turning them over and kissing her palms. “You are a beautiful woman, Bethany. All of you. I hope that someday you will come to see that for yourself, but until then, I will have to tell you.”

Bethany closed her eyes to the sensations he was creating on her hands as he kissed her palms and rubbed his thumbs along her wrists.
When he says I’m beautiful, I almost believe it
, she thought as she gasped.
How was it that such an innocent touch could arouse her
, she wondered, as she opened her eyes to his serious look.
Sometimes, I feel like prey around him. I have to remember to be careful.

Bethany yelped as she was lifted off the couch and landed on Vadim’s lap as he wrapped his arms around her. “I meant what I said about your beauty.” Holding her face, he looked into her eyes as their lips met. Her hands slid around his neck as she pulled him closer and their tongues danced together. His hand found its way to her hair as he tangled his fingers in it. “It pleases me that you wore your hair down tonight. It looks good on you.”

Unable to handle any more compliments, Bethany nibbled on his lower lip before sucking at it gently. When he parted his mouth in surprise, it was her turn to kiss him as she tentatively explored his mouth. Groaning, he leaned back, holding her tightly to him as they continued to kiss. His free hand found the slit on her dress and he rubbed her thigh. Moving his way up, he rubbed her hip and ass as she pushed against his hand.

Sitting up, he stood up while still holding her in his arms. Startled Bethany broke the kiss as she realized that they were walking. He smiled as he kissed her nose. “What’s wrong?”

“Um, nothing, really. It’s just that I’ve always thought that I was too tall to carry like this.”

“Clearly, that isn’t the case,” he answered as he set her down in his bedroom. Walking to the bedside table, he grabbed a remote to adjust the lighting as she took a quick look around. Like the front room, the bedroom was surrounded by windows as the lights of Dallas blinked playfully outside.

Reaching for the buttons on his shirt, Bethany began to unbutton them one by one. As his shirt began to part, she would kiss the skin beneath. His hands roamed freely over her body before hooking his fingers on her dress and slowly drawing it up. When he had the hem in his hands, he lifted the dress over her head and smiled in appreciation at her mint green lace bra and matching panties.

While he fumbled for the clasp on her bra, Bethany had finished unbuttoning his shirt and pulled it out of his pants. He stepped back to remove his shirt before unclasping her bra. As it fell free, she resisted the urge to cover herself. His hands boldly fondled her breasts as her nipples stiffened to painful peaks, and she thought that her knees might give out. Spinning her around until her back was to the bed, he gave her a light push, and she fell backwards onto it. She leaned up on her elbows as she watched him pull his belt free and drop his pants.

She laughed as he playfully jumped on the bed, but then grew serious as he rolled on top of her. His insistent erection made her acutely aware of how much she turned him on, and she had never experienced anything like this before. Rubbing his chest, she began to touch him all over, mimicking the same thing he was doing to her earlier. Her thumb brushed over his nipple and she was surprised to see it tighten in response. Tilting her head, she lifted her head and licked it lightly as he sucked in a breath.

Emboldened, she began to lick and suck at his nipples as he closed his eyes in pleasure. Unable to handle much more, he stopped her by lavishing attention on her breasts as one hand found its way to her mound. Tangling his fingers in her curls, he rubbed her slit before easily sliding one finger inside. He couldn’t believe how wet she was as her muscles eagerly clutched at his finger.

Wanting to give her as much pleasure as possible, he continued to kiss and lick her as she began to pant. Remembering how sensitive her stomach was last time, he licked her navel as she sucked in her stomach, gasping.

Grabbing her leg, he lifted it over his hip, positioning himself to enter her. He slid in easily this time as her body welcomed him. Lifting her slightly, he adjusted the angle as he began to plunge in and out of her depths as they continued to kiss. Her hands continued to roam over his body before settling on his ass as she tried to pull him tightly against her. Taking her cue, he shifted to longer, deeper strokes as he moved rhythmically inside her. She moaned and scratched at his backside as he began to pick up the pace.

Alternating between short and long strokes quickly brought Bethany to her first orgasm as her body quivered with need. Not stopping, he continued to move in and out, as he felt her spasms increase. Unsure how much longer he could hold out, he quickened his pace, shortening his thrusts. Several more strokes and he slammed into her, groaning as her muscles milked him dry.

Rolling to his side, he pulled her with him as he held her. Snuggling against him, she pressed kisses to his chest before falling asleep in his arms.

Chapter 14

Bethany woke the next morning to bright sun streaming in the window. She was surprised to see the bed empty. Rising, she went to the bathroom and managed to clean herself up before coming back out. She put her dress back on and padded out to the other room to find Vadim reading from a tablet.