Music throbs around me, a fast, sultry song that has me itching to get out on the dance floor, but my empty stomach is directing me to the one lone barstool that’s still available. I give a silent cheer when I reach it and hop up onto it, claiming this tiny space as mine. When the beautiful, blonde bartender makes her way over to me, I immediately recognize her as the woman from the photo, the one who had been standing very close to Nikolai.
“What can I get you?” she asks, and, of course, the slight Russian accent is sexy as hell coming out of her full lips.
“Can I see a menu?”
She grabs one from under the counter and sets it down before taking another drink order while I look it over. They don’t have a ton of options, but I’m honestly surprised they have any. This place seems like the perfect mix of local bar, party nightclub, and popular college hangout. They must make a fucking killing from this place.
The bartender comes back and lifts a blonde, sculpted brow at me. “Ready, or do you need more time?”
“No, I’m ready. I’ll have a cheeseburger, fries, and a whiskey and coke.”
“Coming right up.” She grabs the menu and disappears to put in my order.
While I wait, I swivel around in my stool and take a look around. The place is huge, a lot bigger than I initially thought, and it looks like there’s even a roped-off VIP section that’s mostly hidden in darkness. My eyes run over the crowd. I tell myself I’m not looking for anyone in particular, but when my eyes catch sight of a tall figure in the corner, my breath catches in my throat, and I feel my heart speed up. He turns and disappears before I have a chance to be sure if it was him or not, but something tells me it was, and something also tells me he saw me and chose to turn away.
I ignore the sting I feel and smile when the bartender sets a heaping plate down in front of me. Grabbing the whiskey first, I take a healthy drink, needing to feel the burn as it slides down my throat.
“Can you bring me another one of these?” I ask before she walks away.
“Sure thing, hon.” She gives me a friendly wink and sets about making my drink. Damn, she might be Nikolai’s girlfriend for all I know, but she’s friendly and no-nonsense, and I can’t help but like her. She sets my drink down and walks to the other end where a group of college students are flagging her down.
I dig into my cheeseburger, moaning when I take my first greasy bite, and right when I feel a piece of cheese drip down my chin, I hear the sexy accent and deep voice that has been haunting me since I first heard it yesterday.
“I take it you’re enjoying your meal?”
I look up, mortified with my mouth stuffed with the too-big bite I just had to take and cheese glopped on my chin. He gives me a smirk and reaches across the bar to grab a stack of napkins from the other side.
“Looks like you could use these.”
I take the offered napkins and wipe my face, feeling irritated for reasons I can’t quite define. Maybe it's the cocky way he’s eyeing me or the way his powerful body takes up so much damn space, making me feel too hot all of a sudden and caged in.
“Thanks,” I grumble around the cheeseburger I’m still chewing on.
“Nice,” he says, running his dark eyes over my stuffed cheeks. “Very ladylike.”
I scowl at him and take another huge bite just to spite his smug ass.
“Would you like me to leave so you can be alone with your huge hunk of meat? You seemed to be enjoying it so much before I walked over. I could even hear your moans of pleasure over the music. I’ll be sure and tell our chef he created an orgasmic experience for you.”
“Don’t be jealous, Nik,” I say after I’ve swallowed my bite. “It’s unbecoming.”
“Nikolai,” he corrects, and it’s my turn to give him a smug grin. I like getting under his skin, and knowing it pisses him off for me to call him Nik just means I’m going to keep doing it. He looks like he’s going to say something else, but a sharp whistle draws his attention to a tall man in the corner who’s waving him over. God, are all Russians this gorgeous? This guy looks a few years younger with dirty blonde hair, but he has the same powerful build as all the others. Clearly, I’ve been hanging out at the wrong damn boxing clubs.
“I need to see to something,” he says to me before yelling something to the blonde bartender in Russian. She answers him, and I sit there having no idea what they’re saying to one another but hoping like hell it’s not sexy talk because hearing Nikolai speak Russian is doing all kinds of things to my body. He says one last thing, gives the counter a soft smack and walks away without another word.
“Well, goodbye to you too,” I mutter, dousing my fries in ketchup and salt and telling my body to calm the fuck down.
I keep eating, ignoring everything going on around me. The second whiskey goes down a lot easier than the first, and when I hold up my empty glass to the bartender, she quickly pours me another.
“Need anything else?” she asks, eyeing my nearly empty plate. “Nikolai said your bill is on the house.”
“He did, did he?” I lift up the drink in a mock toast to the man who’s taking up way too much space in my brain before taking a large swallow. “Well, in that case, go ahead and pour me another.”
She laughs and gets me my drink. “You own the Irish club?”
“God, does everyone here know who I am? Nikolai must’ve warned everyone about me.” I grab my last fry and use it to scrub off the remaining bits of cheese before stuffing it in my mouth. I should really pace myself, but it feels so good to have a full stomach and that relaxed warm feeling that always comes after you’ve had a bit to drink.
“The boxing community is small,” she says, cutting into my thoughts. “I’m Natalya, by the way.”