Natalya’s eyes widen and then she goes to move, but I grab her hand before she can try to stand.
“Don’t even think about it.”
Her tongue slips over her pink bottom lip, wetting it. “How did you find me?” she asks.
I don’t respond, as I have no answer to that which won’t alert her to the app on her phone. Instead, I let go of her hand and sit back in the chair. “That’s not the greeting I was expecting.”
Her eyes narrow. “Cut the shit, Elias. Why are you here?”
I don’t like hearing her speak to me that way, but I let it slide on this occasion. “To check that you are sticking to your end of the bargain. After all, the last text you sent me was rather rude.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, drawing my attention to her full cleavage. “We had a deal, and you broke it, not me.”
I raise a brow. “How exactly did I do that?” I ask.
“You said you’d stay away from my family if I did everything you say.” Her cheeks flush a deep red. “I gave you what you wanted and now you’re blackmailing my brother.”
“As I said, you can’t belong to me if your brother has promised you to another.” I shrug, knowing it will piss her off. “I had to break the engagement, otherwise you were breaking the deal.”
“You didn’t give me a chance to talk to my brother about it,” she hisses, looking like she wants to launch over the table and strangle me. “And it wasn’t going to happen until after I graduated, so it would have never affected our deal.”
I tap my fingers on the table in a drumming rhythm as a lady walks over and brings Natalya her order.
“Sorry for the delay, Nat. Does your friend want anything?”
Before I can say anything, Natalya shakes her head. “No, he can’t stay.”
“That’s not true. I’ll have a latte please,” I say, smiling at the waitress.
Her brow furrows slightly, eyes darting between me and Natalya. “Okay, coming right up.”
“I want to be left alone. I came here to clear my mind,” she says, glaring at me as she picks up her coffee and takes a sip. “If you want to stay, find your own table.”
I shake my head. “That’s not how this is going to work, and you know it.”
Her lips purse together in a tight line. “Are you going to explain what you are doing in Boston?”
“I already told you why I’m here.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“So you’re in Boston just because of me?” she asks, sounding skeptical.
I realize that it does seem a little odd for me to have made the journey just because of Natalya, but the truth is I needed to see her, to speak to her, to touch her again. This clawing, burning desire to seek her out has been there since the town car drove out of the gates of The Syndicate Academy. “I had to ensure you were sticking to the rules. I can’t have you getting complacent.”
“Right, so you are here because you’re an asshole.”
“Watch your mouth, Gurin, and remember that I own you.”
Hatred sparks to life in her dark eyes as they practically simmer like hot coals, trying to burn their way right through my flesh.
She doesn’t say another word, though, simply picks up the chocolate pastry she ordered and takes a bite.
I feel my cock harden as she gets some on her lip and seductively licks it off, conjuring a host of dirty fucking thoughts into my mind. “Careful, Gurin. If you eat like that, you are asking to be fucked in the restroom.”
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “I’m eating like any normal human being.” Her cheeks flush a deep red as she sets the pastry down and takes a long sip of her coffee.
“Is it good?” I ask.
She nods. “Yes, that’s why I come here. It’s my regular place.” Her eyebrows pull together. “What I can’t understand is how you found me here.”