Page 11 of Bound By Sin
"You don't have to be so mouthy," he grumbles, walking toward the door.
"And you don't have to be so bossy, either," I mumble, shutting the door behind him. I hear his footsteps trail away from the door and lean on it for a second to let the swirl of guilt fade.
Alisa would hate me if she knew what I was doing. If she starts asking, I won't be able to directly lie to her, either. She'll be able to tell. If my brothers want me to be successful, they'll leave me alone and stay out of it.
When I turn to go back to my bedroom to finish getting ready, Alisa is standing there with her arms crossed, leaning on the doorjamb.
"What the hell was that?"
"My brother being my brother." I walk past her and grab my clutch off the dresser. "He does this every time I go out. He thinks it's his job to screen my entire life." It isn't that hard to pour my annoyance into this act. It really does drive me up the wall that they want to micromanage my life.
"That didn't look like brotherly protection…" Her doubt skates across my skin, making goosebumps rise. She knows them well enough to know when something's up, too, but I can't get into it with her right now. It'll just cause me to break down and cry and ruin my makeup. Then Kazimir would wonder what's wrong, and my brothers will think I'm incapable.
"Alisa." I glower at her, and she holds up both hands in surrender.
"Fine. None of my business." She sets her glass down and grabs her jacket. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
We take the stairs together and she hooks her arm through mine on the way down. We're just two friends heading out for separate nights on the town, though I wish it were a double date and I had her moral support. As guilty as I feel being around her knowing I'm basically scamming a man, having my best friend by my side would help me feel better.
"Have fun tonight," she says as we push through the front door. "And if he's as great as you've been telling me, don't hold back." She winks at me, and I know what she means. Not sure I intendto have sex with him, but if it leans that way, I can't really refuse. This has to be perfect.
"I won't," tell her, pressing a kiss to each cheek.
"You deserve this, Zora." She kisses me back, and when the Uber pulls up, I hug her and slide into the back seat. She waves from the curb as the car pulls away.
I nervously check my face with my phone's camera, then put the phone in my clutch and look out the window. Tonight, I can't afford to be the meek, easily guilted friend of a righteous and perfect human. I have to be the woman who has three older brothers demanding a show-stopping performance. I have to make Kazimir absolutely reel. He has to be so smitten with me, he can't think of anything else.
And then I have to make him fully trust me as a human being and potentially as a partner. The entire plan hinges on my getting into his personal space and the inner workings of his business life. Without him feeling comfortable enough to open up and share those things, the plan fails. Everything I'm doing would be useless. I spend the entire drive thinking of how to make that happen as quickly as possible without his feeling rushed into anything.
The restaurant is busy when I walk in. Kazimir's already at the table and he's on his feet before I'm halfway across the room. His eyes track me from the door all the way across the room to where he stands, and the look on his face makes my stomach flip. His lips part, then pull into a slow grin, and he seems stunned as he pulls out my chair for me.
"You look incredible," he says.
My cheeks are blazing as I take the seat and grin. It's nice to be admired, but I remind myself not to let it get to me. "You look nice tonight too, Kazimir."
"Please, call me Kaz." He takes his seat across from me and his hands can't find a home. He adjusts the napkin, lines up his silverware, wraps his fingers around his water glass and lets go. He's nervous and he's trying not to show it, which makes him more attractive than he probably realizes. A man that big, that confident in every other room he walks into, fidgeting across the table from me—he's flustered. I like that, and I let my heart linger on it for a second before I force myself to think about how I can use that.
"I'm glad you came out tonight," he says once the waiter leaves with our drink order. "I wasn't sure you'd want to after I ran out on you."
"You had a good reason." I lean forward and rest my chin on my hand. "I'd rather be with someone who takes care of his responsibilities than someone who blows them off to impress me."
His whole body relaxes when I say that. His shoulders loosen and he stops fidgeting with the silverware. I've given him permission to stop performing and he takes it, leaning back in his chair and studying me like he's got nowhere else in the world to be.
I lift my glass and tilt it toward him. "To second chances."
He touches his glass to mine and the rim makes a soft clink. "I'll drink to that."
The wine goes down smoothly, and I set the glass on the table and leave my fingers on the stem, twisting it slowly. "So, tellme… You run a business and you've got people depending on you, and you're nervous about dinner with me." I grin at him, lowering my head to look at him through my eyelashes. "Why?"
Kazimir bursts into laughter, and it lights up his whole face and transforms the atmosphere. I could really be smitten by him if I let myself. "Because you're the first woman I've been out with in a long time who I actually want to impress, and I'm realizing I don't know how to do that."
This guy is killing me. He's so genuine, and he's being so open. It's too easy and it almost makes me feel bad knowing what I'm gonna do to him. "You're doing fine." I hold his gaze and let the corner of my mouth lift. "Better than fine."
"Yeah?" He leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. "What am I doing right?"
"Well, let's see…" I smirk. "You were on time—that's a big one. And you were standing as I approached, and then you pulled my chair out for me." I tick them off on my fingers. "Most men forget at least two of those three." He's also easy to talk to, super handsome, and I already know he's a good kisser—three more green flags, and three hits against my armored heart.
I'd kill for a man like him to really ask me out. It makes this bittersweet that I'm about to wreck a perfectly good gentleman—albeit a criminal—and take him out of the game for any other woman. He'll never trust again.
