That was all Lyosha needed to know.
He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders, pull her close and claim her as his, but resisted the urge. He always had to resist the urge around her.
He’d seen the way she looked at him sometimes, with a quiet sort of hunger. She would never act on it. Which was good for him. Because she tested his self-control in a way no other woman ever had.
Chapter 3
Mila scanned the open area of the park, immediately spotting Lyosha. He’d texted her, letting her know he was here already.
She enjoyed the sight of him so casual and sexy, stretched out on a big quilt, his long, powerful legs in front of him. He had on jeans, a T-shirt and a worn leather jacket she loved. He always looked put together—everything always seemed effortless for him. A few young, twentysomething women kept glancing over his way and giggling.
She should be used to it by now. He never seemed to notice, thankfully. Though occasionally she wondered if maybe it was because…he was into her? But no. A man like him would have made a move by now if he was.
He noticed her a moment later, a half-grin crossing his handsome face as he lifted his hand in greeting. Moving like a sexy panther, he jumped to his feet to take the cooler from her hands. He was at least six feet two, but his moves were always so liquid, sexy. His dark hair was cropped close to his head, and the short cut only showed off those killer cheekbones. Some of his tattoos were visible under his neckline and even on the tops of his hands and wrists. He definitely had that “bad boy” image and it worked soooooo well for him.
“I can’t believe you beat me,” she said as she sat with him, trying to tame the butterflies inside her. It was useless, as always, but she tried nonetheless.
“Knocked off work a bit early today,” he said simply.
“How’s work going?” His job wasn’t really a static kind of job. He was head of security for her friend’s husband—who owned hotels and a bunch of other stuff apparently. She wasn’t really sure what he did exactly except make money.
“Good. More importantly, how was your day?”
“Not more importantly,” she said.
He opened the bottle of wine she’d brought and started pouring for both of them into the pop-up plastic flutes.
Movie on the green was one of her favorite things to do. A local cultural center played older movies outside all year round and sometimes relatively newer ones, and to enter you simply had to leave a donation. The only caveat was that everyone had to clean up after themselves, and people took great pains to do so because everyone enjoyed this. People in their twenties and thirties and others who lived close by flocked to these nights. It was the perfect night too, the January air cool, but not freezing. The flat, grassy area looked like it always did, even in Florida’s pseudo wintertime—green and lush. Oak trees surrounded the area, but it was mostly open, with the city lights and the moon above them.
He handed her one of the plastic flutes, a sort of gleam in his eyes she felt all the way to her toes.
She cleared her throat, fighting the stupid rush of nerves she sometimes—okay, always—experienced around him. “Today was great. I’ve pretty much packed up everything at this point, so moving on Friday will be a piece of cake.” And she’d been so much more at ease knowing her roommate’s boyfriend wouldn’t bother her. Thanks to Lyosha. It was like a huge weight had been lifted right off her. “You’re sure you don’t mind helping me?” She’d looked into hiring a moving company and the base fee had been pricey.
She’d saved up enough to put a down payment on a condo and was trying to be frugal with her money until she’d been with Red Stone Security for a little while. It had felt wrong to spend money on a moving company when she knew she could do it all herself.
“I promise it’s no problem. I’m bringing two friends with me. I guarantee we’ll be able to move all your stuff in an hour. Maybe two. Because your sad amount of furniture—”
“Hey!”
He snorted, his mouth curving up into a smile that made heat curl through her.
It was true, however. Her roommate owned most of the furniture. When Mila’s last roommate had graduated and moved out of state, she’d moved in with Emily, whose roommate had dropped out of college. It had been one of those kismet timing things. And Mila was glad most of the furniture wasn’t hers.
The stuff in her bedroom was, however—and it was ancient. She planned to get rid of it soon enough, had been eyeing some fun pieces from a shop that refurbished furniture. But she was trying to be patient and not buy anything she didn’t absolutely need.
“So…my roommate’s boyfriend told her that he was going to be out of town this week. Wouldn’t be able to see her until next Sunday. You know anything about that?” Mila took a sip, eyeing Lyosha as people spread out their own blankets and quilts around them. There were soft murmurs everywhere as everyone got settled on the grass and waited for the movie to start.
“I told you he wouldn’t be a problem.” And Lyosha looked absolutely smug about that fact.
She’d always been aware that there was a bit of a dangerous edge to him, but she’d never really seen him that way. Until now. She could see how he could be scary to anyone who crossed him. “Did you, like, threaten him or something?” she whispered.
His smile was a bit like the Cheshire cat. But dangerous. “Or something.”
She…wasn’t sure how she felt about this. She thought maybe it should scare her that he’d clearly threatened the guy, but instead a rush of heat flooded her, knowing that Lyosha was so protective of her. “One day you’re going to tell me what you said.”
Ignoring her, he pulled out a container from her cooler and groaned. “You made medianoche sandwiches.”
“Technically Mama made them. When I stopped at her house earlier, she said she knew I was meeting up with you. And that I better share.” Mila rolled her eyes.
“Your mother is a goddess. How she hasn’t been scooped up by someone, I’ll never know.”
She laughed because her mama said the same thing about herself all the time. “She would definitely agree with you. And she wants to know when she’s going to see you again. So do all my sisters.” The three of them had been pestering her for a month, sending ridiculous texts about Lyosha. She’d had him over for Sunday lunch one weekend over a month ago and ever since then, it was nonstop questions.
“Whenever you want.” He gave her a look then, one she tried to interpret but came up short.
She cleared her throat, glancing away for a moment at the multitude of people spread out around them. When she was with him, it was so easy to forget her surroundings, to forget everything but him. “How about this upcoming weekend. Sunday?” He was helping her move Friday evening as soon as she got off work, which would give her enough time to get her meager belongings settled. She wanted to get out of the apartment as soon as possible, so she wasn’t waiting until Saturday morning. Only five more days to go until she was finally on her own.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll make sure to bring some to-go containers this time,” he said, a grin tugging at his beautiful lips.