Dinara advanced on me and propped up her hip against the hood. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
I made an innocent face but she narrowed her eyes. Grinning, I said, “I prefer your company to the company of the two assholes in the lead. And with you, I won’t have to sleep with one eye open to make sure no one manipulates my car.”
Dinara scoffed. “Who says I won’t try to cut through your brake cable? Maybe I’ll even stab you when you’re asleep. I’m Russian, remember?”
Hard to forget. Dinara’s looks had something exotic, especially her high cheekbones. “I’ll take my chances with you.”
Dinara rubbed her arms. She was only in a tank top and those skimpy jean shorts. I wanted nothing more than to run my palms over her smooth legs peeking out of them.“I didn’t pack any food. I don’t suppose we can order takeaway out here, right?”
“I come prepared,” I said with a chuckle and opened my trunk where I stowed a gas stove and a couple of cans with chili, cream of mushrooms soup, and mac and cheese. “Don’t expect too much though.”
Dinara scanned my selection. “I’ve never had mac and cheese before.”
I gave her a disbelieving look. “How can you live in the States without trying it?”
“Our cook is Russian. She cooks recipes from my father’s home, and I didn’t really eat dinner with American families. We stayed among our own.”
That sounded familiar. My brothers and I had always stayed among ourselves too, and my brothers still did. “Then mac and cheese it is. Even if it’s a poor introduction to the dish. You should try my sister-in-law Kiara’s version. It’s out of this world.”
Dinara smiled wryly in the dim light of my trunk. “Maybe we should wait with family introductions until we’ve at least shared a kiss.”
My pulse picked up, my eyes darting to Dinara’s plump mouth, still smiling in that confident way. Fuck. I hadn’t considered kissing her tonight, now it would be all I could think about. “There’ll be a kiss?” I asked with a slow smile as if I hadn’t imagined doing much more.
Dinara took the gas stove out of the trunk and set it down between our cars so it was protected from the breeze before she grabbed a leather jacket and used it as a blanket to sit on. “Do you have a lamp as well? I don’t want to keep my door open.”
I smirked, picking up the can and a gas lamp, and plopped down on the cool ground. Once it cast its eerie light around us, and the mac and cheese was bubbling, I said, “You never answered my question.” I handed Dinara a fork before I turned down the gas flame and poked my own fork into the searing hot mac and cheese.
Dinara did the same and tasted a bite after blowing on it for a while. She chewed a couple of times with a frown. “I don’t know what the fuss is about. Our cats get better food.”
I laughed. “Sorry my provisions aren’t up to your standards.”
She laughed too. “I’m not even a picky eater but this is really bad. I don’t know if I’ll give this another chance.”
“Trust me, if done right it’s delicious.”
“Maybe one day your Kiara can convince me.” She put another forkful into her mouth. “Kissing would be a very bad idea considering who we are.”
I met her gaze. In the dim light from the gas lamp, the luminous teal of her eyes appeared like the dark green of fir sprigs. “Opponents?”
“That. Among other things. It would be a fateful liaison that’s sure to stir up shit in the Bratva and Camorra.”
I grinned. “I like trouble.”
Dinara shook her head and leaned back on her elbows while I finished the food. “Why did you really seek my closeness tonight? And don’t say to kiss me. If you hope to extract information from me, I should warn you that I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
“I’m very good at extracting them,” I said, leaning back as well so we were at eye level.
Dinara tilted her head. “Are you the wolf in the sheep’s hide, Adamo?”
“Do I look like a sheep to you?” I asked, mildly offended.
“I think you hide your Falcone madness better than your brothers do. I bet those surfer curls and charming smiles trick quite a few people into believing that you’re the nice guy.”
“Maybe I am.”
Dinara shifted her weight to one elbow, resting on her side, bringing us even closer. She peered into my eyes and for a moment I was certain she saw everything. “Maybe you want to be. But we are who we are. I am a Mikhailov and you are a Falcone. Our paths aren’t on the light side.”
“That’s the Russian soul being melancholic.”
“That’s the realist.” Dinara let out a yawn and closed her eyes briefly. “What time is it?”
I didn’t have to check my phone to know the time. The sun was rising on the horizon, which meant it had to be around six in this part of the country. “Six. Sleeping time.”
Dinara nodded. “I’m afraid to ask after the whole toilet break debacle, but do we get the chance to shower during the seven days? I’m not sure I can go without a proper wash and shave that long.”
I chuckled. “We have two sanitary trailers with showers that drive around. Sometime tomorrow it should stop here too.”
Dinara pushed to her feet and I did the same, which brought us both very close. With a teasing smile, Dinara turned and opened her car, crawling inside. She kicked her boots off and stretched out on the back seat.
The way she lay before me was way too inviting. I wanted nothing more than to crawl inside with her and find out if her belly piercing was the only piece of body art she had.
“Can you close my door?” Dinara’s words burst right through my bubble. I did as she asked and after I’d extinguished the lamp, I made myself comfortable on the back seat of my car. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. Despite Dinara’s words, I didn’t worry about her manipulating my car.
I woke to the sound of another car and jerked upright, scanning my surroundings blearily. When I spotted the sanitary trailer, I relaxed. A glimpse at my phone revealed it was almost noon and I’d gotten ten messages from Remo, Kiara, Fabiano, Savio, and C.J., most of them wondering why I’d fallen back. Of course, one of the drone cameras had filmed the leading trio. I ignored their messages and climbed out of my car.
When I glimpsed into Dinara’s car, she was still stretched out on the back seat, deep asleep. Her palms rested on her belly, cradling a gun. Dinara definitely had trust issues. I, too, had a gun in my car and had kept it under my pillow on the back seat, but I didn’t hang on to it as if it were my lifeline. I wondered if she’d thought she might need it against me, or if it was a more general precaution.
I nodded toward the guy riding the sanitary truck. “How long do we got?”
“Ten minutes for two.”
I nodded then grabbed a towel and rushed into the bathroom on the trailer of the truck. I didn’t wait for the water to get warm, not wanting to waste too much time. Dinara probably needed a bit more time, considering her longer hair. That’s something I’d learned living in the Falcone mansion with my brothers’ wives.