Her Russian Billionaire (BWWM Alpha Male Romance) Read online

  ***

  Demitri wrote down the address that he had dropped off the girl at. He made a few calls and came up with all public information and some private information about Tasha. Having the kind of connections he had, getting all of that information was a breeze. He knew within an hour how much she made, where she worked and the date of her son’s birth. He also got all of her college transcripts and her class schedule. There was an attached picture from her driver’s license and he smiled down at her. Demitri was not one to be interested often, but he found himself wanting to see her again.

  The next night he met with his friend at Smokey’s and his eyes looked for Tasha. She did not come in till later and Demitri took in her beauty from afar. Her skin was the color of milk chocolate and her eyes were a light brown with tiny flecks of gold. There was something so no-nonsense about her that he really liked, but it was her curvy body that had made him look twice. Tasha was captivating and he found himself wanting to know more about her. More than he could learn from a report.

  “I see you have your eyes on the bartender. She is beautiful. Very different than we find at home, yes?”

  Demitri agreed but unlike Rusco, he had come to prefer American women and their independent ways. He liked the idea of a woman that doesn’t have to be pampered and tended to all the time, one that had her own goals and desires.

  “I do and yes, I like different. I never had luck with Russian women. So what is it we are here for?”

  “We need to talk about the business. But I will warn you to stay away from that one.”

  Demitri took a drink of the clear liquid in his glass and gave him a puzzled look. He was not there to discuss Tasha and he certainly wasn’t going to stay away from her. “Yes, what is it?”

  “Well since you are taking over, I think there are some things you need to know. While you were away, things have changed. Your dad got sick and your uncle took over. He did things that you are not going to approve of, hell half of what we have going right now you are not going to want to know about.”

  Demitri did not like where it was going. The family business had changed and while it had always been good under his father, the profits jumped dramatically under his uncle’s lead. So much so that Demitri was debating if he was even going to take over. He had thought about leaving his uncle Lanzo in charge, so the news was troubling.

  “What, we make vodka. How bad can it be?”

  “We have not made a bottle of vodka all year, my friend.”

  Demitri felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The sales had been outrageous for the past six months, so if they weren’t selling vodka as they had for thirty years, what was the Ostvolv family selling?

  “So what is it he has gotten into?”

  “Drugs.”

  Demitri’s stomach flipped and his heart pounded in his chest. He was gone to finish graduate school and he could not believe that Lanzo had made so many changes. Drugs would never stand and the very idea that the family name was being run into the ground made him livid.

  “What kind of drugs? Where are they getting it? I want names, people who are in it and those who are with my family still. It sounds like too many people have been looking to the side. Tell me why, Rusco, are you just now telling me?”

  Rusco looked down at his glass as if the answer would present itself. He had been waiting for the question, knowing that Demitri was never able to let anything go. He was too direct not to ask, Rusco asked himself the very same question.

  “I made a promise to your father that I would make sure the business didn’t interfere with your school and it didn’t. So you are home now. It is time for you to know.”

  Demitri was not so enthused with the answer, but he could see where he was coming from. He, too, had made deathbed promises that he had to keep. He had to get married and settle down. His father had been adamant that the one thing he would change was the way his love life had gone. Demitri had followed in his footsteps. Having more girlfriends than one and never staying for very long. At almost forty, he wondered if it was too late for him. If that part of his life would not happen. His mind went to Tasha and his loins felt alive enough for the job.

  “This is not what I wanted to hear. Give me the list and tomorrow we will start cutting off the tumor.”

  The two men clinked glasses and he was thankful to have his father’s advisor with him. He knew more about the business than anyone else. “And figure out what we need to get started again. I want to know how bad Lanzo fucked it up. I don’t blame you for not telling me, but I wish you would have. Father would have never stood for selling drugs.”

  “You haven’t heard the worst part.” Demitri closed his eyes. He could not see how it could get worse, but it seemed like it was going to.

  “Tell me.”

  “A young guy died from our product last night. It was mixed wrong.”

  The words ‘our product’ ran through his head. That was more than just a fuck up. That could be the end game. That left Demitri wide open for lawsuits and his father’s business in danger of a liability suit. Not to mention the fact that if the feds found out he could be put away for the rest of his life. “Yes, it seems that it can get worse.”

  He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular and he took another large mouthful of drink. Demitri made a gesture towards the bartender and he watched as the young blonde brought them both another round. He had hoped for Tasha, but he tipped the girl and went back to his conversation.

  “Well, all we can do is hope that it doesn’t get traced back to the family. I don’t know how two years can change so much. I would have come home. You were right about that much anyways. I would have dropped out and came home. Here I am thinking about how big our business has grown, but not on the back of drugs. What the hell kind of drugs are killing people? It’s not crack is it?”

  Rusco shook his head. “They call it dust. I’m not sure what is in it, but it is a synthetic blend that is really hot right now.”

  “Have you tried it, Rusco?”

  The older man snorted and tipped his glass. “All I need is good vodka. That is why I took the job from your father all those years before. He promised me as much of it as I could drink and he has always kept his word.”

  Demitri chuckled. The two had been much more to each other than their working relationship. They had been best friends ever since they had met and Demitri had grown up with him as a second father. He could never be mad at him for too long, but he wanted to know more about what his business was involved in, especially if there was going to be litigation or law enforcement involved. Demitri and the company had enough assets to make any wrongful death lawyer salivate with the idea of a lawsuit. He would probably be pushed to settle and the idea grated his teeth.

  “Why did you say to stay away from her, Rusco?”

  The man grinned. “I tell you all of this and you can only think of her?” He shook his head. “You must have it bad.”

  Demitri did and even as they talked about some pleasanter things that had changed since he left, his eyes followed the woman behind the bar. Every time Tasha smiled, it was like a little part of him was being wrapped around her. He just had to convince her that she felt the same way and Demitri had a feeling it was going to be harder than he thought.

  Chapter 4

  “You know he has been looking this way pretty hard. Isn’t he the one that saved you the other day?”

  Tasha rolled her eyes at her friend. Why was it that everyone kept saying that? “Yes, he was the one that chased off the guys before I could get my necklace back.”

  “Don’t act like he didn’t save you. You ain't no bad bitch, Tasha. I know you were scared.”

  Alice shook her head. She did not see it the same way, but Tasha knew that Alice was one of those females that were always looking for her next Prince Charming. Tasha did not think they existed much anymore. She saw him make a gesture for another round and she started to make the drinks. When she put them on Alice’s tray, she sho
ok her head. “Nope, he wants you to go over there. Not me.”

  Tasha sighed and pulled her skirt down a little further so that she wasn’t showing so much of her thighs. He made her nervous and there was a buzz in her body as she got closer. Both men were looking at her, but it was the way that Demitri looked at her that made her miss a step. She almost spilled the glasses, but he was out of his seat and steadying her with his hands around her waist. The touch electrified her senses and she thanked him with a red face. “Thanks.”

  “Please can you join us?”

  “I’m sorry, but I have to run the bar.”

  “I got it Tasha, don’t worry about it.”

  Her friend grinned and waved her back to Demitri. When she sat down, Rusco was quick to make himself scarce as well. “I will have those names to you tonight, Demitri. Have fun.”

  They watched the man walk away. “Well he is charming.”

  “He is great in the business.”

  “So what is your business, Demitri?”

  There was a moment of hesitation before he answered. “Vodka. This vodka actually.” He took another sip and set down the glass. He could not tell her of his real business though, the one that his uncle had decided to send them all down a rabbit hole in. Demitri could not let anyone know what his family was into at the moment, hopefully never. He hoped that they could quietly fire all involved and that he could get the factory up and running again. There was a question of taxes, but he would worry about that in a few months when he had to. One thing at a time, he told himself.

  What he wanted to start with at the moment was right in front of him. “I wanted to thank you again for the other night. You are fast becoming legend around here. I think Alice would be your next ex-wife if you asked her nicely.”

  “I haven’t had one of those yet. When I marry, it will be for good.”

  She didn’t seem to feel the same way and that made him wonder why. He usually had an easy pick of whoever he wanted, but Tasha seemed to resist him. He liked the challenge and it only made him want her more. The idea that only a few could have her made the old Demitri come out of hiding and want nothing more than to make her his.

  “So are you thankful enough to go out with me tonight?”

  His blue eyes searched her brown ones. There was hopefulness in his eyes and a desire that she felt was mirrored in her own. She wanted to, but she couldn’t stay out on such short notice. “I am sorry, I can’t. Not tonight. I need more time than a few hours.”

  “Okay, well then how about tomorrow night. You are off, aren’t you?”

  She looked up at him suddenly, wondering how he knew that about her. “Yes I am. I’m going to have to tell Alice to stop giving out so much information. Tomorrow night sounds good. Meet me here?”

  “How about I pick you up?”

  Tasha wrestled with herself and finally agreed. There were more patrons pushing in and she told him she had to get back to work. His hand stopped her and touched hers, pulling it to his lips to kiss the softness of the back of her hand. “I can’t wait, Tasha.”

  She pulled away after he did not readily let go of her hand. The heat from his breath made her shiver and a gnawing need in her stomach branched out to her center. Walking back up to the bar, she felt like she was on air and when he left, she was actually sad to see him go.

  “So?”

  “We have a date. Just a date. Calm down.”

  “He is so hot. If you don’t want him, send him my way.” Tasha nodded, as little as the idea held appeal for her. She found herself thinking of him on her walk home from work. She also made sure to keep her pepper spray in her hand, but there was no trouble that night, as there never had been before. Tasha convinced herself that it was just a fluke that night she lost her necklace.

  ***

  “Have you seen the papers?”

  Tasha shook her head. Taking the newspaper from Maya, she was shocked to recognize the man on the front page. There had been a death linked to a new drug and he was apparently it. Tasha knew him from high school and more recently, as one of the men that had mugged her. She cursed and while there was a hint of sadness for the loss of a life, she was even more upset that she would most likely never see the necklace again. That part of her mother would be gone forever.

  “I know. Can you believe it, dust?”

  “Dust?”’

  “Yeah that’s what they call it. It’s brown and looks like dust that you know, gets on your knickknacks. All the young people are doing it and it is totally stringing them out. When will people learn?”

  Tasha could not hear her over the thoughts in her head. She finally shook them free and looked back at Maya. She held Jonell so gently and Tasha had to smile. “He just loves you. You know that right?”

  Maya squeezed him again before giving him to Tasha. “I know and who couldn’t love such a cutie?”

  “So are you sure about tomorrow night? I don’t have to, I mean, it isn’t work or anything.”

  “Trust me, you getting out with a real man is worth more than work at this point. You have to get out and have some fun, Tasha. We aren’t getting any younger, you know.”

  Tasha agreed. She did need to get out and she certainly was not getting any younger. Maybe Demitri was just what she needed to get back in the swing of things. He seemed perfect to break the dating ice once again, though it felt like so much more to her. Tasha felt things when she was around Demitri that she had never felt before, or at least not in a long time.

  Chapter 5

  It was the night of her date and he was promptly there at eight like he had said. He was dressed handsomely in a tailored suit, with his dark hair slicked back. His shirt was dark blue and opened just a little at the top, small black hairs sticking out from his chest. Her hand itched to touch them and feel the softness covering the hard chest that the suit could not cover up.

  Demitri was older than Tasha’s thirty years, but he was one of those men that took good care of themselves. She looked at his rolled sleeves and the powerful looking forearms that were also covered in soft black hair. Her eyes finally met his and she felt a little breathless from her inspection.

  “Hi.”

  It was all he said and it was all she said back. Their eyes held for a moment and then he took her hand, walking her to his car. When he opened the door for her, Tasha knew that it was going to be a date that she had not experienced before. It had been years since she had been on an actual date and she never remembered feeling so giddy, at least not since she was in the eleventh grade and had a date with the local heartthrob quarterback. Dante had been a jerk, so she was hoping Demitri didn’t turn into a frog after a few hours.

  She looked at the glowing lights from the dashboard and he was quickly on the other side, getting in. He turned to her and smiled, leaning in for a kiss like he did it every day. The act was just that natural. It caught her off guard, but she was quickly leaning towards him to take more. His lips were soft, but insistent on hers. She finally pulled away and she looked down at her lap then pulled the seat belt over her chest, pushing it through the lock.

  “Sorry, I just had to kiss you when you looked at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like I was the only man on Earth.”

  Tasha smiled, “Well you are at this moment.”

  ***

  She had expected a restaurant, maybe a drink, but instead he drove out of the city a ways and to a park on the outskirts. She did not think that it was even open at that time of night, but it became clear that he had set something up when they pulled up. The wooden bridge that went over a small creek was lit with candles and there was a blanket spread out. It was like in a fairy tale and Tasha was instantly impressed that he took so much effort.

  “Wow, this is really pretty.”

  “I couldn’t think of a good setting, so I thought I should make one. Please sit down.” He gestured towards one corner and he sat across from her. It was strange to see him sitting cross-legged in h
is suit, but he seemed comfortable and at ease.

  “Would you like something to drink?”

  She nodded her head and then he opened the lid on one of the dishes on the side of the blanket. He poured them both a glass and asked her about herself. Tasha left out many details, but told him a little about her job and school. She wanted to mention Jonell, the most important part of her life, but she knew how men were. Once they heard that she was a single mother, they usually ran. Tasha didn’t want that to happen; for just one night at least, she just wanted to feel sexy. The way Demitri looked at her, in his reflection she could not feel any other way.