Her Russian Mafia Protector by Bella Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

you want Kaz to look at you.” She moved through the crowd and shook her head.
    Veronika blew out her breath and waited. She felt a little jittery as she looked around. Jittery and exposed.
    When she was a child, there was an incident. She was in the park with her dog, playing and laughing. She had a nanny, and her brother was close by, but her father was away on a business trip. There were five men guarding them. Five. And still someone wrapped their hands around her wrists and tried to tug her away. They had nearly succeeded.
    And here she was, exposed. No men guarding her.
    As the memory came more into focus, she briefly wondered what had happened to those men. She doubted they were still alive. It made her nauseas to think about.
    “Cosmos!”
    Veronika jumped at the sound of Charley’s voice and whirled around. Charley gave her a puzzled look. “What? Russians love vodka. Right?”
    “The cosmos are wonderful. You just scared me, that’s all.”
    “Scared?” Charley put the drinks down on the table and bit her lip. “Veronika, I don’t really know what’s going on with your life. If you think this is a bad idea, we can go back. I don’t want to put your life in danger because I wanted you to have some fun.”
    “It’s fine,” Veronika said with a smile as she downed her drink. “I’m fine. Kaz would tell me if he really thought I was in danger. So cheer up. We’re here. And we are going to dance and have some fun.” She scanned the crowd until she found what she was looking for. Tall. Dark. Sculpted. Piercing blue eyes.
    Not Kaz, but close enough to fulfill a fantasy or two. “And I’m dancing with him.” She downed the rest of her drink, straightened her shoulders, and moved determinedly across the dance floor. Her target locked eyes with her and smiled like a predator as she neared. But he wasn’t the predator.
    She was.
    “You look like just my type,” she murmured as she got near him.
    “And what’s your type?” he asked with a smile.
    “Sexy. And unavailable.” She ran her hands up his arm and smiled at him. “Care to dance?”
    “Who says I’m unavailable?” he asked as he let her tug him across the dance floor.
    It didn’t matter. He was unavailable to her. He wasn’t Kaz. “All I need is tonight.” She turned to face away from him, and he put his arms around her. As they circled her, she let the music move through her. He pressed up against her and nuzzled her ear.
    As their bodies moved against each other, she leaned back and felt the warmth of him. And for a moment, she let her imagination run wild. For a moment, she was dancing with Kaz.
    “What’s your name, beauty?” he whispered in her ear.
    She closed her eyes and turned to put her arms around him. “Just dance with me,” she replied. The music went on, and her fantasies ran more and more wild. Kaz would bend her down, press his lips to hers. He’d take her some place private, and he’d press his hands to her. Slide them down to the hem of her skirt. Under. Up. Until he was making her melt.
    “Having fun?”
    Her fantasy was getting good. Her dance partner almost sounded like him. Almost too much like him.
    “Kaz!” Her eyes flew open, and she whirled around. He stood in the middle of the floor, glaring at her dance partner.
    “Mine,” he growled. His eyes were nothing but violence and fury, and Veronika put herself between the two men.
    “Kaz, stop. It’s just a dance. It’s not an assassination attempt. Back off.” She turned to look at the stranger, but he had his hands up and was already backing off. “Great. Look at that. You scared off my date.”
    “You had a date?” Kaz asked as he crossed his arms. “What’s his name?”
    “Okay, it’s not much of a date. But he was my dance partner. And I was having fun.” She rolled her eyes. “Look, I know you’re pissed. But you would have never let me go out and have fun.”
    He reached out and grabbed her and pulled her closer. Before she could