“Mr. Kirilenko,” the restaurant manager said, sweat dotting his forehead. “Please forgive me. That man will be barred from the restaurant. For life.”
“Good,” I said, an easy smile gracing my lips now. My blood was still drumming through my veins, and I wanted to fuck Naomi so hard that she saw stars, but I had promised her a dinner, and that was what she was going to get.
So I turned back to my wife, finding her watching me with wide eyes. Some color had come back to her cheeks, and she didn’t look thoroughly disgusted by what had happened.
Interesting. “Are you okay?” I asked, straightening the cuffs of my jacket.
“I am,” she replied softly.
The staff scurried around me, righting the things on our table, including a new tablecloth, and I sat down across from her, waiting until they had poured the wine before handing her a glass. “Try this,” I offered, holding it out to her.
She took the glass, her fingers brushing over mine and sending my mind in the same direction it had been when I had watched her walk down the fucking stairs tonight. I wanted her. We almost hadn’t made it out of the mansion. It had taken every ounce of my being not to ravish her in the back of the car before arriving.
And now, I wasn’t sure if I could get through dinner without doing so.
I watched as she lifted the glass to her lips, taking a small sip of the red I had chosen for tonight. “It’s good,” she finally said, her pink tongue darting out to lick the remnants.
The sight went straight to my cock, and I had to adjust my position on the chair as it pressed painfully against my leg. “Good,” I forced out, grabbing my own glass and settling back in the chair. “Try the filet mignon. It’s the best you will ever have in LA.”
If my sudden change in demeanor bothered her, Naomi didn’t show it, and I took a long sip of my wine, watching her as she watched me.
She was mine. If she didn’t know it by now, the display I had put on tonight was my means of marking her to everyone that might even be considering saving Sveta from her monster of a husband. There was very little doubt in my mind that there were pockets of those that were still loyal to Orlov, who wanted to rescue his daughter from the life she had been thrust into and bring the family name back to rights.
I had accomplished two things tonight, and the fucker that had touched Naomi had been an unwilling participant in a plan I didn’t even know I needed. One, it had allowed me to exert my own dominance over someone in front of an audience. Hell, I hadn’t been able to do that in a long while, and the last time I had, the person hadn’t walked out of there alive.
Two, it had shown that I was willing to go to great lengths for my wife. Either people would think I cared greatly about her or that there was something else I wasn’t telling people.
Leaning forward, I touched her hand from across the table, letting my fingers erase where that fucker touched her. “Tell me,” I said, watching every small movement. “Did you know him?”
She shook her head, not breaking my gaze. “I did not.”
I stared at her for a few more minutes, satisfied when I didn’t see any thread of doubt in her depths. “Good,” I told her. “Because I would hate to have to kill him for something he thought he knew.”
Her eyes widened, but I was already settling back into my chair, the epitome of a man out on a romantic evening with his wife. But I had been prepared to kill the man. I was a man of my word.
The rest of the dinner went smoothly. Naomi ordered the filet as I suggested, and I nearly spent myself in my pants watching her enthusiastically enjoy her meal, not afraid to eat in front of anyone.
I didn’t want her to be a shrinking violet in that manner. While I was almost certain Sveta would have sat there and picked at her food, this was one little slip I was glad to allow.
Besides, nothing pissed me off more than allowing good food to go to waste.
By the end of the meal, I was ready to get away from the prying eyes of those around us and back to the mansion.
Standing, I threw my napkin on my plate and held out my hand. “Come. It’s time for us to go home.”
Naomi didn’t fight me, instead sliding her hand into mine and allowing me to pull her up from her seat and directly into my arms. Without thinking, I leaned down and brushed my lips over hers, a fleeting kiss that was meant more for display than anything else.
Still, with her lush body pressed up against mine, I knew she could feel the outline of my cock pressing into her stomach, giving her an indication of what was going to await her when we got back.
Pulling back, I tucked her to my side and we walked out to the waiting car.