Page 15 of Scarred Devil

Come on Aurora, you can do this!

I hold my head high as I take each step toward the restaurant’s entrance. One of the men holds the door open for me, and I step in. I’m surprised to find the restaurant completely empty. There isn’t a single soul at any of the tables. Are they closed for the day? A five-star place like this should have people in it on a Saturday evening. For a moment, I hope they are closed so I can just turn back and avoid meeting Lev.

Too bad I don’t get time to dwell on that.

A man who looks like a maître d’ walks up to me with a smile on his face.

“Good evening, ma’am,” he speaks eloquently. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

So much for my high hopes.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“Mr. Ivanov hasn’t arrived yet, but he gave instructions that we should give you anything you want while you wait,” he says. All my doubts about the guy mistaking me for someone else dissipate. Meanwhile, my so-called “fiance” isn’t even here yet. So much for my father’s insistence about not coming late.

“May I ask where our table is?” I sigh.

“Anywhere you want to sit is fine, ma’am,” the man says politely, a smile plastered on his face.

“I don’t understand what you mean.” I frown at him.

“Mr. Ivanov has reserved the entire restaurant for the night,” he says.

I grit my teeth so my mouth doesn’t hang open. What kind of man reserves a whole restaurant because he wants to have a simple dinner?

“I see,” I mutter as I glance around the place. I can’t imagine the lengths he must have gone to reserve a restaurant that requires a person to book weeks ahead. Talk about men who have money and don’t have a better use for it. Not only is he ruthless, but he must also be an arrogant ass.

“Thank you.” I give the host a tight smile as I choose a table at random. It’s not like I’m here to soak in the ambiance.

“Would you like to order anything?” the maître d’ asks as I take my seat.

“I’m fine.” I’m about to tell him I’ll wait unattended when the door opens and someone enters the restaurant.

I can’t explain how, but the air around me suddenly shifts. It’s like a cold breeze starts stroking my face with icy fingers.

Instantly, I become aware of the person who has arrived…and the inexplicable pull toward him. He moves his gaze around the place and time seems to slow down.

Holy smokes!

The man stops and glances in the direction of where I assume the kitchen is located. This gives me the opportunity to take him in.

And I’m speechless.

Powerfully built, towering over the men around him, his jacket must have been tailor-made to fit those shoulders. Beneath it, a navy blue shirt strains across a chest that seems impossibly broad.

Is he…?

I suddenly catch myself licking my lips, strangely eager to get a closer look at the man. A perverse part of me is curiously pleased by the strong column of his throat that’s touched by thick brown hair, cropped short. Though an unruly curl to it tells me it defies control…much like I expect this man would himself.

He pauses as he walks in, running a cold eye over the interior of the restaurant; a predator surveying his domain. And right now, I am prey. I know it as surely as I know my heart is pounding. This man will eat me whole and spit me out.

And I might just love every minute of it.

Jesus!

Where did that come from, stupid girl?

I reach for my water glass and take a hasty gulp, trying to ignore the way my hand shakes as I set it back down. Heat is rising to my cheeks and flooding down my throat. It feels like the air is being sucked from my lungs, my heart pounding harder as a face carved from granite turns in my direction.

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