I examined my nails. "I used some good, old-fashioned sexual manipulation skills," I said, as if I'd done more than hold on for dear life.
Four aces couldn't beat Dmitri's kiss.
Pete handed me my purse. "You're thinking a milk-cow, aren't you? Even though you've never done one before? That is a completely different animal from stock cons, with full-on emotion and entanglement. You've never even done a one-night badger game!" More to himself, he said, "We could still bring in Karin to close this. Maybe Dmitri didn't have his contacts in last night."
Though I'd had the exact same thought, I snapped, "Oh, come on!" Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! "He likes me."
"You're right, you're right. But are you ready for a sexual con?"
After that kiss? Deal me in! "I'm ready."
"You've only been with three men," Pete pointed out. "And one of those guys lasted five seconds!"
I should never have told my cousin about one-thrust Ronny.
"Can you tease Dmitri to sexual insanity and then deny him? Get him so crazed he'll promise you anything?"
As if I had a choice? I lifted my chin. "I'm going down to that party--as primary." The lead player in a con. "I'm gonna do my job, so why don't you do yours?" I wasn't entering the room blind--I'd read Pete's notes on the Sevastyans--but I'd take any more information he could give me. "How many bodyguards?" The bane of a grifter's existence.
"Several. Dmitri and Aleks have two each. Maksim's head of security is the bald one, Vasili. He could be trouble, so keep a lookout for him."
"Will we stand up to a billionaire's kind of background scrutiny?" Though no one in my immediate family had an arrest record, we were KAs of people who'd done time.
"We couldn't beat the investigation three months ago, but Benji's made adjustments since then. So maybe." My adopted brother, Ben Valentine--a.k.a. Benji the Eye--was our tech guy. "We'll have to roll the dice on that."
"Any last-minute tips?"
"This crew likes ribald--and I mean filthy--humor. The girls do tequila; the guys don't drink that much. Jessica will make you do shooters. Don't waste energy resisting her. Just try to keep eating. If she likes you, life will be a lot easier. She'll probably be attracted to you."
"Let's hope." I'd read she liked both guys and dolls.
"If the opportunity arises, impress Lucia with your Spanish. She's an influencer with Dmitri. Oh, and if the group hits the tables, don't give poker advice. Besides, I think he calculates pot odds as well as you do."
Did he, then? To a girl like me, that was sexy as hell. "Speaking of poker"--I tapped my chin--"what if I could get him to stake me?"
"Forget it. You're a grinder at the tables. We need a huge score."
He was right. I had all the tools to make a living, but not to make a killing. Not unless I could get my hands on the deck. "So you aren't coming with?" I didn't expect him to. A mark couldn't relax fully with a male family member around.
"I'll hang on the periphery and work the environment." Keeping the atmosphere conducive to romance.
I'd seen him do everything from bribing DJs to wild-dog removal.
"Vice, these people might be gulls, but they're still brilliant. Listen to your grift sense."
Grift sense was like the Force for a con artist. Maybe there was some mystical basis; maybe a grifter's subconscious picked up on behavioral clues and channeled them into intuition.
One thing I knew for certain: to trust mine. I cracked my knuckles. "I've got this. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose, right?"
He gave a long-suffering sigh, and we turned toward the stairs. On the way down, he said, "Quiet in there."
The DJ had stopped playing. "They've probably already started the toasts."
Pete and I entered the living room together. No toasts. Every eye was focused . . . on me. No one spoke.
On a stretch sectional couch, Maksim sat with Lucia, Aleks with Natalie. Jessica too. All five stared wordlessly, and the other party-goers seemed to follow their lead.
Standing nearby, Dmitri proudly announced, "Meet Victoria Valentine. She is my date."
CHAPTER 4
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Pete murmured, "All yours, primary." Then he abandoned me. Fucker.
Lucia popped up from the couch so fast she nearly tripped. The brunette wore a bronze slipdress that matched her widened eyes. She hurried over to me and put out a hand, her diamond-studded watch catching my notice. "Encantada, Victoria. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to meet you," she said with a marked accent. "Really, really wonderful."
What was up with the over-the-top welcome? You'd think Dmitri had never introduced a date before. "Pleasure's mine." I shook her hand.
Natalie, a curvaceous redhead in a slate-blue wrap dress, followed right behind her. "I'm Natalie. Welcome to the party! Why don't you have a drink? You need a drink. Lemme get you something." Her green gaze bounced around the room for a server.
"Um . . ." Most of the party-goers were still watching this awkward scene.
Black-haired, ballsy Jessica traipsed over, rocking a garnet catsuit, clearly designer couture. The girl shoved a champagne flute into my hand. "I'm Jess. Now that we've met, the course of your life just altered. Smoking bod, by the way. I'm an admirer. Are those colored contacts?"
My face heated. "Uh, no."
To Lucia, Jessica said, "My hot mami, I'm going to have to throw you over for this stone-cold fox."
Fox? How fitting. And the henhouse door was opening before me.
Lucia chuckled. "I will try to soldier on, Jessabel."
A nervous laugh escaped me, and I darted a glance in Dmitri's direction.
His brothers had waylaid him, speaking in low Russian. But they didn't look unhappy--just the opposite.
And Dmitri? His shoulders were squared, his eyes smoldering as he openly stared at me.
I inhaled, then asked bluntly, "What's going on?"
Natalie recovered first. "Right. You don't know anything about us, so this would be overwhelming and weird, huh?"
"A scoch."
Jessica explained, "Over the last year, I have thrown myself and every other available woman at that man. But he turned this"--she waved at her spectacular figure--"down. Repeatedly. Pickiest guy ever. Yet now he can't take his eyes off his new 'date'. You've beaten out millions. Tell me, was it as simple as swallowing?"
I snapped my gaze to her. "I met him fifteen minutes ago."
Jessica nodded. "In those fifteen minutes, did you happen to swallow?"
She had to be kidding. Ribald humor, right?
"Don't mind Jess," Natalie said. "I'd blame it on the alcohol, but she's always like this."
As Dmitri strode over with his brothers, Lucia murmured to me, "Ay, they make quite a picture, no?" She sighed. "Tan guapo." So very handsome.
"Si que lo son," I replied. That they are. All three were closing in on six and a half feet with cut bodies, though Dmitri was a touch leaner--and the most handsome.
"Tu hablas espanol?" she asked, seeming overjoyed.
Everyone in my family spoke at least two languages. Each tongue opened up new mark pools. I answered, "Solo lo suficiente para ser peligroso." Just enough to be dangerous.
Dmitri crossed to stand beside me, introducing his brothers. Aleks, the oldest, had amber eyes like Dmitri's, while Maksim's were piercing blue.
"We are very pleased to meet you, Victoria," Maksim said. He put his arm around Lucia, holding her close, as if they were about to burst from happiness.
Dmitri and I had had one kiss!
Aleks had gravitated to Natalie's side, taking her hand in his big one. "Yes, Victoria. A genuine pleasure."
I eked out a smile. "Likewise." Though I didn't sense any acute tension between Aleks and his youngest brother, body language told me Dmitri was closer to Maksim.
Lucia asked me, "Where did you get that dazzling dress?"
"I made it."
&nbs
p; Jessica circled me, assessing. "Get the fuck out. I know clothes. That's serious clothes."
"Thanks."
Dmitri moved closer, draping an arm over my shoulders. "She is beautiful and talented."
Natalie and Lucia shared an awww look.
Was this some kind of punking? Where was the camera? Why was I tempted to relax back against Dmitri and enjoy the ride?
My gaze darted to Pete, standing across the room. He looked as dumbstruck as I felt.
I told the group, "Peter's my cousin." Hint-hint: I'm related to "the help." I lifted my flute for a sip.
Jessica said, "I see the resemblance. I plan to fuck him too. So now it all makes sense."
I coughed champagne, then laughed at the absurdity of all this; they thought I was laughing at Jessica, and everyone relaxed. So, okay, this is happening.
Dmitri said, "Let's hear from the toastmaster, then."
Maksim nodded. "Have a seat."
As the others returned to the sectional, Lucia said, "We can scoot closer."
Dmitri said, "No need." He took the remaining plush chair, then pulled me down to sit across his lap, all casual possessiveness.