Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1) (13 page)

A heartbeat’s time passed before Kaz moved away, fighting
to get himself under control. This wasn’t the first time he had ever kissed a
girl, and even if it had only lasted for no more than a minute, his cock was
harder than it had ever been.

She didn’t take her eyes from him, not even when she licked
her lips, just a quick swipe of her tongue that made him ache all the more.
Would she look like that when she was on her knees? Would she be as excited to
have those pretty little lips wrapped around his cock?

Shit.

He shouldn’t have been thinking of her, not that way, but
he couldn’t get the image out of his head, and the more he stood there staring
at her as she did him, the more he thought about getting her exactly as he
wanted.

Reaching down, he palmed his erection, shifting it into a
less painful position. Violet’s eyes followed, a flush blossoming in her cheeks
as she watched his actions.

Knowing that it wasn’t going to do him any favors by
watching her reaction to him, Kaz turned away, taking a breath as he
contemplated where to go from there. It wasn’t like he could pretend like it
didn’t happen—he didn’t want to.

He had learned rather quickly that she had already managed
to dig her way under his skin, and at the moment, he had no intention of trying
to get her out. So since she was already there …

Turning back to her, he got himself under control long
enough to ask, “Hungry?”

Maybe it was the confusion of all that had just happened,
or perhaps because he sounded so unaffected that she frowned, her brows drawing
together. “What?”

“Are you hungry?” he asked again. “For food, I mean.”

That, at the very least, wiped the confusion from her face,
only for a scowl to replace it. “Why are you asking?”

“Let’s grab something to eat.”

Violet looked like he’d sprouted a second head. “Are you
joking?”

Kaz shrugged a single shoulder. “I’m quite serious.”

“You have to be joking … Kaz, are you forgetting who I am?
Who
we
are? We can’t be seen together, let alone
be
together.”

It sounded more like she was afraid of being seen with him
as opposed to not wanting to go with him at all. “Come with me. We’ll get out
of Brooklyn, I’ll take you to a little place I know that’ll keep you out of
trouble, and we can have a moment to ourselves. What do you say?”

Violet looked nervous, unsure even, but as he expected her
to decline, maybe even talk more about the risks, she nodded.

K
az waited in the living
room as Violet disappeared into her bedroom to change. While he hadn’t gotten
the chance to fully appreciate that dress on her, that would have to wait for
another time.

Another time …

He was already reading too much into the situation.

It shouldn’t have mattered that they kissed, or even that
she made him feel something he couldn’t explain. She was still a Gallucci, and
he was a Markovic—the two families just didn’t mix. But as he waited for her to
reappear, that distinction didn’t seem to matter to him.

Taking in her space, he eyed it carefully—the soft gray
walls, the mixture of fabrics and textures, something Vera would have pointed
out, if she were there. His sister always liked to point out things whenever
they were together, like she couldn’t control the impulse. For the most part he
tuned her out, but sometimes he picked up on smaller details.

Kaz had only been waiting a few minutes when Violet
reappeared, dressed in a pair of jeans that hugged her hips and contoured to
her legs, along with a simple white tank-top beneath a bomber jacket. Despite
how understated she’d attempted to be, she still stood out. She had even gone so
far as to pull the long length of her hair up into a ponytail, and washed the
makeup from her face.

It almost felt like he was dealing with another person
entirely—like seeing another side of her. He had never seen her this way, so
... vulnerable.

But he liked it all the same.

“Ready?”

Nodding without a word, she grabbed her purse and a set of
keys, exiting her apartment first before he followed. The ride down to the
lobby was quiet and uneventful, but when they stepped off the elevator, she
hesitated, looking over at the desk attendants before making a decision about
them and turning to go out another exit at the side of the building.

“They answer to my father,” she said softly when they were
outside and the metal door was swinging shut. “Since he pays their salary,
they’re more willing to tell him what I’m doing.”

Made sense that she wouldn’t want them to be seen leaving
together. Earlier, they hadn’t come in together, so there was no reason for the
clerks to report to Alberto about who they had seen coming in.

Reaching the mouth of the alley, Violet scanned the street.
“Where’s your car?”

Withdrawing his own set of keys, he hit the button on the
fob, the headlights to his Range Rover briefly flashing in the darkness of the
night. “Probably best that I hadn’t brought it, no?”

She didn’t respond, not verbally, but he could tell she was
thinking something.

Going around the front of his truck, he opened the
passenger door, offering her a hand as he helped her up and inside. One she was
situated, he hurried around to his own side and climbed in, starting it up, and
turning on his lights.

“Are all of your windows tinted this way?” she asked,
gesturing to the windshield with a wave of her hand.

“I like my privacy.”

And that was the truth. All three of his cars had the same
window treatment, and though his apartment faced the beach, he was so far up
from the ground that with the sun reflecting on the glass, no one could see in.

Pulling out onto the street, Kaz was mindful of where he
was and who he was with. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t driving the car
everyone associated with him, it only took a single person to fuck this up.

His eyes were on the road, his attention focused when
Violet called his name. When he looked in her direction, she looked uneasy all
of a sudden, but was turned in his direction.

“I’m sorry about your brother. I didn’t know anything about
what Franco was going to do, honestly.” She was quiet for a moment before
continuing. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I never said anything negative
about him, or you for that matter.”

Kaz contemplated her answer, rolling her words around in
his head. Before he had been too angry to see reason, and hadn’t really wanted
to listen to a word she said, but now that he was slightly more rational, he
believed her. It could still be that the kiss they shared was frying his brain,
but for the time being, he accepted her word.

“Is he … is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Kaz said softly. He didn’t bother to
mention that Ruslan had suffered worse under the hands of someone that was
meant to love him. And before he could talk himself out of it, he added, “Thank
you though, for your concern.”

She nodded, and for the rest of the time, they rode in a
comfortable silence. When they reached the outskirts of Brooklyn, and closer to
his territory, she sat up a little straighter, becoming more aware of her
surroundings.

“Don’t worry,
krasivaya
. I won’t let anything happen
to you.”

Reaching across the seat, he lifted her hand, stroking his
thumb along the back of it to calm her. He could understand her fear, not
knowing what to expect, and placing trust into a person that she’d probably
always been told was the enemy.

But he did hope, as foolish as it might have been, that he
could change her opinion of him.

After another couple of miles, Kaz finally caught sight of
a hole-in-the-wall diner that looked like it was one step above being closed
down, but while the outside wasn’t much to look at, the interior was little
better on the eyes, and the food was fucking amazing.

The only question was whether or not Violet would be okay
in a place like this.

“I know the outside doesn’t give the best impression,” Kaz
said as he parked the Range Rover.

Violet gave him a look. “Understatement.”

“Don’t go all spoiled princess on me right now.” He smirked
when she scowled. “I promise the food is worth it, if you turn cheek to the
appearance. Sometimes the best things come in the most unlikely of packages.”

Violet pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her smile.
“Fine. But only for you.”

“I’ll take that.”

Before she could say another thing, he had turned the truck
off and was getting out. She barely had time to unbuckle her seatbelt before he
was opening her door.

Like any good gentleman would do, she mused.

Kaz offered her a smooth smile and his hand. She took it,
but that familiar heat siphoned from his palm straight into hers as he helped
her out of the large vehicle.

“When you’re not driving the car, I see you feel the need
to drive something that’s big enough to mow trees over,” she said.

“Cheap shots about my vehicles will get you nowhere.”

She doubted that.

It would probably get her something like that kiss from
earlier if she irked him enough.

Violet wasn’t looking to do that, however. As it were, she
had taken a lot of risks just to give this man a few hours of her time—and it
was precious time, considering how much trouble she would find herself in if
they were caught. She wasn’t about to ruin it by seeing if she could provoke
him into another moment.

But as she stared at him from the side while he locked the
Range Rover, she knew somehow that she probably wouldn’t have to try at all if
she wanted him to kiss her again. She probably just needed to grab him and pull
him closer …

Kaz cleared his throat, making Violet’s attention snap from
his mouth to his eyes in a flash. “Food, right?”

She rapped her fingernails against her thigh. Why did it
sound like he was offering something else? Like all she had to do was ask, and
he would follow through.

“Food,” she agreed.

The inside of the diner was slightly better than the
outside. It almost seemed like a throwback to the fifties diners in design with
booths lining the walls, a main bar across the front crowded by stools, and the
white and black checkered floor and walls.

An older couple ate at the far corner booth in the right,
while a younger couple chatted animatedly on a pair of stools. Only a woman
wearing a white-and-yellow ensemble stood behind the cash register, counting
money. She didn’t even look up as Kaz and Violet approached.

“Food or coffee?” the woman asked.

“Food,” Kaz said.

“Find a place to sit. I’ll be with you in a second.”

Violet turned to find which booth she wanted to sit in—one
that wouldn’t put them directly in the view of the windows—but she stilled in
place when Kaz’s hand slid into hers. She hadn’t been expecting the gesture,
and he didn’t give her much time to think on it before he was pulling her along
at his side.

“I like to sit back here,” he said, directing her to the
exact opposite booth from where the older couple were sitting.

It was tucked away in the corner where the lights were a
bit dimmer and they had more privacy from the few diners. Kaz let Violet slide
in so that her back was to the wall. She expected him to sit across from her,
but he surprised her by tipping his chin as if to ask her to move over.

Violet did, laughing when he slid in beside her.

“Always sit here, huh?” she asked.

Kaz shrugged, pulling off his suit jacket and tossing it
into the booth seat across from them. “People don’t usually like to sit in the
darker spot of a restaurant unless they’re going for that kind of mood.”

“And you like your privacy.”

“You don’t?”

Violet wet her lips, nodding. “I do. I’m just not given
very much.”

“Ah, point taken.”

Kaz quieted as the woman dressed in yellow and white
approached with a smile on her face like she recognized him. Violet wondered
how often he actually came here to eat.

The woman held no menus in her hands. “The usual, Kaz?”

He flashed a smile.

Violet ignored the pinch of jealousy flaring up in her
middle. It wasn’t the time, and the waitress wasn’t exactly anything to be
concerned about, considering she was a good fifteen years older than Kaz at
least. Maybe it was the fact that the woman seemed friendly with him, as if she
knew him.

And Violet didn’t.

“Usual for me,” he said. “Same for her.”

“About twenty minutes, okay? Daniel is just getting off his
break.”

Kaz waved a hand. “No problem.”

When the woman was gone, Violet asked, “What’s the usual?”

“Something you can’t go wrong with. Burgers. Fries. Coke. I
can change it, if that’s not—”

“It’s great,” she interrupted quickly. “How often do you
come here?”

“Are we playing twenty questions now?”

Violet glanced away from the teasing, light grin he
sported. It didn’t help the walls she was trying to keep up. At least if she
tried to keep them up for a while, it might be harder for this man to tear them
down.

Her father had always said she made friends too easily, and
without care.

“Hey,” he murmured.

Violet kept staring at her hands on the table. It was only
when she felt a finger slide under the line of her jaw, stopping at her chin
and pressing a little to make her turn her head, did she look at him. “What?”