Chapter 8: Vlad

Hands clasped around the steering wheel, I fixed my eyes on the road, but my mind was flooded with thoughts of Sienna.

It had been a while since I'd driven myself around, and despite Simon's and Fyodor's insistence on tagging along, I maintained my stance about wanting to be alone.

"At least have the chauffeur drive you," Simon said from the head of the steps at the entrance to the mansion.

"I'll be fine," I replied, getting into the driver's seat.

"Remember, you don't really know your way around New York!" he shouted after me, his voice laced with concern.

"There's something called GPS," I replied, starting the engine.

I had my own plans, and I knew where I was going, contrary to what they might have thought.

"Turn left," Siri instructed.

I obeyed, rolling the vehicle down a street. Glancing at the digital map on my dashboard, I realized that I was almost there: the restaurant Sienna had recommended two days ago.

According to her, the food there was great, and that I would love it. She also mentioned that she often went there to eat—every weekend, to be exact. This was the weekend. Would I be lucky?

It didn't take long to locate the diner and pull over by the parking lot.

I killed the engine and checked out the scene through the diner's big window. It was hustling and bustling inside; folks were sipping coffee, munching on burgers, chatting, and laughing.

However, there was no Sienna.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out of the vehicle, heading straight for the glass door. It jingled and opened; then, I walked in, my eyes scanning the space.

"Hi, there." A waitress approached me with a courteous smile. "Welcome to Josie's. What can I get you?"

I was about to reply when I spotted the prettiest girl in the diner sitting alone in a corner.

Right then, I felt my lips curl up into a sly smile, and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Sir?" the waitress called my attention.

"It's alright. I'll be fine," I replied without looking at her.

Sienna hadn't seen me yet; she was scrolling through her phone, a hand under her chin. She would occasionally look out the window as though she was expecting someone.

With a stealthy silence, I glided toward her, both hands tucked in the pockets of my pants. For seven long seconds, I loomed over her like a ghost, unnoticed.

She raised her head and faced the window again, then sighed, still unaware of my presence.

Sienna looked so beautiful—innocent yet mischievous at the same time—and it was almost impossible to tear my gaze from her.

"Oh, my God!" she yelped, her palm flying to her chest in a jiffy, as if to prevent her heart from jumping out. Her eyes went wide with shock, and she jerked in her seat, startled at the sudden sight of me.

It was amusing watching her react the way that she did, and I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that," I said.

She chuckled, her face lighting up with a grin. "It's okay. I, uh…." She cleared her throat. "I wasn't really scared, you know. It's just that I didn't hear you coming, so you sorta…."

"Startled you," I finished her sentence.

She looked at me and then nodded slowly with a welcoming smile.

"Apologies," I said, gesturing at the vacant seat opposite her. "May I?"

"Yes, of course, please. Silly me." She chuckled playfully, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

I took a seat, savoring her beauty for a moment. "So, what's a pretty girl like yourself doing, sitting all alone in a diner this evening?"

She looked me dead in the eye and cast a grin at me, a flirtatious one, however faint. "Well, I'm not alone anymore, now am I?"

I relaxed in my seat, my face stretching into a goofy smirk.

Careful, girl. You're playing a dangerous game here, I thought to myself.

"So, you finally decided to come around and try the food that I recommended," she said.

"It would appear so."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and she leaned forward, hands on the table between us. "Is that the only reason you're here? For the food?"

I was quiet, watching her closely; she was flirting with me.

"Maybe," I answered. "Maybe not."

She smiled at my last statement.

"You were looking out the window before I came over here," I said, spilling my observation. "Are you expecting someone? That friend of yours, perhaps?"

She adjusted in her seat without breaking eye contact. "Maybe. Maybe not." She flashed a cocky grin.

I scoffed, seeing what she did there. That's a good one.

Her response hinted at the fact that I was the one she'd been looking out the window for. She must have been expecting me to come around, just as I'd been expecting to spot her here.

"So, that's how it is?" I said, attempting to play on her conscience and coax her into answering me.

"I haven't looked out the window since you arrived. What does that tell you?"

"Do you always answer questions with questions?"

"Does it bother you?" She smirked, squinting her eyes.

Not at all. It didn't bother me one bit. I liked that she could hold a conversation with me.

She was good at this, and I was impressed by her ability to so conveniently flirt with me. It was remarkable.

The air was filled with the alluring scent of her perfume, and her radiant smile, so contagious, melted my stone-cold heart. Her lips, glossy and cherry-red, seemed inviting, curling up to reveal a glimpse of her pearly whites. A soft blush bloomed on her cheeks, accentuating her vulnerability, and her body language exuded approachability.

I was so captivated by her that we stayed quiet for a while, looking into each other's eyes.

Sienna had a hold on me that was impossible to escape; moreover, I didn't want to escape. I loved being under her spell. I was enthralled, and for the first time, I felt powerless, powerless to resist her charm. Her influence over me was unshakable, and I was trapped in the web of her seduction.

A waiter walked past us with a bottle of wine on a tray, but he had barely taken two steps behind me when his feet tangled in a sudden misstep. The bottle teetered precariously on the tray, threatening to crash to the floor.

Time itself seemed to slow down as the bottle spun in the air, its trajectory tracing a lazy arc. With lightning speed, I shot out a hand, my fingers closing around the neck of the bottle.

Sienna's jaw dropped literally; her brows shot up, and her eyes widened at the scene.

The glass chilled my palm as I held it steady.

Shocked, the waiter walked over to me, his hands trembling as I handed the bottle to him.

"Thank you, sir." He accepted it, gratitude flickering in his eyes.

I hadn't done it to gain recognition; it was an act of self-preservation. If that bottle had hit the floor, the contents would have splashed on my pants and shoes. I couldn't guarantee how I would have reacted if that had happened. So, by catching the bottle, I was actually saving him from my own wrath, not just the wine owner's.

"Wow!" Sienna said softly. "Nice reflexes."

I responded with a faint smirk.

As the waiter left, another materialized to take our order. It was the same girl that had approached me earlier.

"Hi, again," she said to me, her tone polite and respectful. "Hi, Sienna."

"Hi, April," Sienna replied.

"What can I get you today?" April asked.

Sienna looked at me as if to ask what I wanted.

"You place the order. You're the regular here, not me—besides, I trust your food judgment," I said.

She faced April, who was waiting with a notepad and a pen in her hand. "Okay, just get me the usual."

"Turkey Club, then?"

"Yep," she replied, "but without the lettuce, tomatoes, and mayonnaise—just the good stuff, basically."

"So, turkey, bacon, cheese, and bread?" April asked to confirm.

"Exactly." Sienna winked at her.

"Got it."

Sienna looked back at me. "You'll love it, I promise."

"I don't doubt that."

She exhaled sharply and leaned in closer. "Can I ask you something?"

I had a pretty good idea of what she was about to ask, but I wanted to hear her say the words.

"Sure," I replied. "Ask away."

"Why did my grandmother act so cold toward you back in Russia?" She looked into my eyes. "My parents don't want me hanging around you, and I don't know why. It's like they're afraid of you or something. And believe me when I tell you that they would not be happy with this."

"What did they tell you?" I asked.

"Nothing much, really," she replied. "A little bit of this, a little bit of that, but in the end, it all amounts to nothing."

I adjusted in my seat, leaning forward. "Do you remember what I told you about that painting the other day?"

"About the darkness in your life?"

"I'm not a good guy, Sienna," I declared. "Amongst the sheep, I'm blackened. I am what others call an embodiment of evil." I relaxed in my seat. "I'm sure your grandmother must have filled you in on the details."

"Like I said, little bit of this, little bit of that. But she did say that you were…mafia." A slight pause came when she lowered her voice.

"And do you know about the mafia?" I asked, curious to know how much she knew. "What do you think we're known for?"

"Very dangerous things," she replied, but there was no iota of fear in her voice or her eyes; in fact, all there was was intrigue. "From my research, you guys are into a whole lot of bad stuff."

My brows rose. "And that doesn't scare you?"

"No," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

I shook my head. "You know this, and you still wonder why everyone in your family who cares about you doesn't want us hanging out together?"

"I'm a big girl now, a grown woman who can make her own decisions," she replied sternly.

"What if your decisions would lead you down a dark path, a dangerous and treacherous one?" I asked, waiting for her response.

She went silent for a while. "Even in the deepest darkest, Vlad, there's always a glimmer of light. All you have to do is find it."

I scoffed, impressed that she still had that philosophy. "That's cute. But I'm not the type of man you'd want to be associated with," I objected calmly.

"Am I the type of woman you'd want to be associated with?" she asked, throwing the question right back at me.

I drew a deep breath. "We're different, you and I. You know that by now."

"Yet here I am. Here you are." Her eyes were telling me something, but I wasn't focused enough to get it.

"You're stubborn," I blurted, shaking my head with a silent scoff.

She smiled. "That's one of my many unique qualities."

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" I asked. "You know who I am, what I am capable of. Your parents are against you meeting up with me, and yet, despite all of this, you're still comfortable around me. Why is that?" I anticipated her response, watching her body language and taking note of even the slightest facial expressions.

"You say you're bad," she began. "But what if I told you that I was drawn to the bad ones?" She had a cocky smirk on her face, and her eyelashes batted at me in a way that was rather flirtatious.

"That's highly unlikely."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because we're different, Sienna."

"Yeah, you keep saying that. But what do they say about opposites, Vlad?" Her gaze was fixed on me.

On that note, we weren't so different.

Unlike terms attract .

She just admitted her attraction to me; now, everything was about to change. I was certain about how she felt, and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to hold myself back now that the cat was out of the bag.

We stared deeply at each other, tension crackling in the air. Our silence was loud, and the unspoken words between us were signals that we both caught.

The waitress returned with our order, and I had to admit, the aroma was mouthwatering, a great distraction from the passion that was swelling up within me.

"Thanks, April," Sienna said to her.

"You're welcome. Enjoy," she said before vanishing.

Sienna took a bite and looked at me. "Go on. Try it."

I picked up my fork and dug into the meal. One bite, and the flavors exploded on my tongue. It was like my stomach opened up, eager to devour the dish.

"It's good, isn't it?" She smiled.

"Hmm. It is, actually," I said, savoring the sweetness in my mouth.

"I told you you'd like it."

As we ate, we occasionally stole hidden glances at each other. I caught her eyes a couple of times, and she caught mine, as well.

This feeling was overwhelming, and I knew that the longer I stayed around her, the more intense it would become.

Once we were done eating, I covered the bill and glanced at my watch; it was getting late already.

We walked out of the diner together. It wasn't until we stopped by my car that I realized she'd been holding my hand.

I couldn't let her go home by herself, but at the same time, it was risky to offer her a ride home, especially with my hormones going haywire. I didn't trust myself enough to keep it together should she get in my car.

The choice was mine to make: let her head home alone at this hour or offer to drive her myself.

"Thanks for your time," she said, smiling.

"No, thank you, " I said. "I enjoyed the meal."

"I'm glad you did."

What's it gonna be, Vlad?

"Can I take you home?" I asked, finally making my choice.

Her face lit up in approval. "I'd love that."

This was a terrible idea, but I'd made my choice, and so had she.

I helped her with the passenger door, and she got inside.

Fuck!