19. Max

Natalya walks in, her hair scraped back and her face scrubbed clean. Aside from her bloodshot eyes, she looks surprisingly good. I can tell she's feeling rough though. Her face scrunches up when she smells the bacon I'm frying.

"Grease will settle your stomach," I tell her.

"I'm fine with just coffee … if you have some?"

My coffee machine hisses and gurgles, delivering a perfectly brewed espresso.

"Cream and sugar?"

She nods, taking the small mug when I pass it over. Our fingers touch briefly and a spark shoots up my arm. From the frown that flits over her drawn face, she felt it too. I watch her add a large splash of cream and then three sugars.

"What happened to my friends last night?" she asks eventually.

I don't reply for a moment, too busy collecting bread, butter, and condiments for bacon sandwiches.

"Eat something, Natalya."

She huffs at the commanding tone of my voice. I fold my arms, enjoying the way her gaze drops down and lingers on my chest. My cock wakes up but she can't see my semi because I'm standing behind the counter. Not that I care if she gets an eye full.

But she needs to eat first.

Bacon.

I'm a gentleman.

Sometimes.

"Fine!" She huffs some more but pushes a slice of bacon inside a bread bun, squirts some ketchup on it, and begins eating.

My sandwich is gone in two bites. The bacon is smoked, nice and crispy, just the way I like it.

Kolya says bacon is packed full of preservatives and bad for my arteries. He can go fuck himself. I don't always have time for breakfast, but my girl needs food, and this morning I don't have much on.

Nat's phone starts ringing from inside her bag. The ringtone is … what the fuck even is it? Something upbeat.

She drops the last bite of the sandwich and retrieves her phone, quickly swiping to accept the call.

From the urgent ‘Are you OK?' it's one of her girlfriends.

I brew some more coffee while she talks, half-listening to her side of the conversation.

"I'm fine … can't remember much…"

She chews her lip, her expression flipping between concern and amusement.

"… suppose he's better than the lifeguard… probably more brain cells …" She laughs softly and then pauses, her shoulders tight.

"Err … yeah … about that … I'm not at home …"

There's a loud shriek and Nat pulls the phone away from her ear with a wince. "I'm heading back there shortly, I'll call you when I get back."

I strain to hear whatever her friend is saying but Natalya turns her back on me and walks away.

"I'm fine! … no, nothing happened … no, definitely not … that's it, I'm ending this call right now! Go harass Amanda. Bye!"

Natalya's cheeks are pink when she turns back to face me, which is a big improvement on the milk-white complexion she left the bedroom with.

"Everything alright, malyshka?"

"Peachy. What does malyshka mean anyway?" She chews her lip again, which does nothing for my boner situation. I really should have rubbed one out this morning. My cock is aching for some action. It's been way too long.

"It's a Russian term of endearment." I smile and she blushes again. So cute. I love that my malyshka is so easily embarrassed.

"Oh." There's a pause while she thinks and then she says, "Amanda has a crush on your guy. I hope he's not a complete asshole like her last crush." Is Amanda the tall one or the petite one?

"Which guy?" I laugh. Artem has a wife, but Kolya is like me, he enjoys keeping things simple.

"The one with the raven tattoo on his neck."

"Ah, Kolya. One of my vors."

Her expression sharpens and she locks eyes with me. "Vors? What does that mean? And I probably should have asked you this already, except we seemed to have skipped the getting-to-know-you chat, but what do you do exactly?"

I wondered when she'd ask. This will be tricky. I have no issue with lying to her - it's for her own safety - but I'd prefer not to. Something about her has me hooked, and if this turns into more than a fling, then building a relationship on a foundation of lies is a bad idea.

The notion of me having a relationship nearly causes me to choke on my coffee.

It's been a long time since a woman meant more to me than a quick fuck.

But I'm getting older and maybe she's the kind of woman who might accept the life I lead. Still, it's early days, so probably better to keep things low-key.

"Vor is a Russian term. Vors are the men who work for me." I figure she won't be familiar with the word so it's safe to tell her this. "I import goods to order and ship them on to my clients. I also own some commercial properties in the city and beyond. Kolya is high up in my organization, someone I trust."

I can't tell her anything else or give her more details. If I do, it puts her in danger.

Chances are, I'll fuck her and then lose interest. That's usually how it goes.

"Hmm." Her eyes narrow and she scoffs a little. "Sure, OK. Import, export, huh? Not at all dodgy, but whatever, you can keep your secrets. We're strangers after all." She drains the rest of her coffee and daintily eats the last bite of her sandwich.

"Listen, thanks for last night, whatever you did. I can't remember much of it but from what Jane told me, your guys helped them get home safely, which I appreciate. I should, um, go now." She rubs her temple with a finger, frowning slightly. "Why did you bring me back here? If I was coherent enough to tell you where Jane lives, you could have asked me for my address?"

"I could have, yes. But I didn't want to leave you alone while you were vulnerable. And besides, my apartment was close by." I shrug. I'm not going to apologize for keeping her safe.

She considers my words for a moment and then nods. "OK, well thank you. I … erm … gotta go now." She slips into her shoes and digs her phone back out of her bag.

"No."

There's an expression of annoyance mingled with anxiety on her face when she peeks at me over her phone, but I give no fucks. She's not disappearing again. I refuse to allow her to get away a … third time?

I'm losing count.

"No?" She looks at me warily but before she can protest, I yank her phone away. It's already unlocked. Good. Navigating to her contacts, I quickly add myself and then hit call on my number, so I have hers too.

"There. Now you can leave. But don't bother calling an Uber. I'll drive you home." Part of me listens to the words spewing from my mouth and thinks what the actual fuck?

I don't drive women home. I don't even let them stay the night!

But I shut that voice down.

"Sex god? You added your number to my contacts as Sex God?" Now she has her phone back and I'm offering her a lift, she relaxes again, caught between amusement and annoyance. "Arrogant much?"

"No, malyshka, accurate."

She snorts with laughter. "Sure, whatever. Now can we go? I have shit to do."