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“Are you stereotyping me?” Viktor teased, leaning close.
When he did this, getting in my personal bubble, my damn body reacted, taking the reins from my brain. “You’re Russian,” I breathed. “Isn’t it in your blood?”
He let out a short laugh. “I prefer gin, but growing up in my family you drink vodka. So there, little terror, now you know something about this lion.”
“Oh, fine, I wouldn’t expect anything else from an ussuri.” I blurted the word before I could think better. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I swallowed hard, my body feeling hot all over.Maybe that wine was a bad idea.
“A Russian grizzly bear?” he asked with a smirk.
“It’s nothing,” I ground out, finding something—anything!—to do that wouldn’t require me to look at him.
“Hmm, I doubt that.” But mercifully, Viktor leaned back, happy to submit to my answer.
He took all the air with him. Trying to fight off the buzz at the back of my head, I gobbled the rest of my snack in silence, and by the time we landed in Jamaica and taxied down the runway, I wasn’t as tipsy as I feared.
~*~
The sunlight here glittered. The resort was gorgeous, the cladding and paths white-washed with tropical foliage. Even with all the drama on my mind, I was able to soak it in. It was too beautiful not to. But as the cab pulled up to the resort, I was yanked back into reality.
“Wait here, babe. I’ll get your door,” Viktor instructed.
“Quit being chauvinistic! I’m not helpless,” I snapped. But he was already out of the cab and coming round the back. I was about to defy him and exit on my own, but my parents chose that moment to emerge from the entrance.
The harsh words died on my tongue as the door opened. Viktor looked down at me, holding out his hand. I wanted to scowl at him, but I was conscious of the fact that my mother and father were within hearing distance.
“This isn’t over,” I bit out under my breath. His eyes only glittered. I plastered a faux smile on my face and dropped my hand into his. Electricity sizzled from our joined connection. I clenched my molars at my physical reaction to him. Viktor had been around since my freshman year, but we’d never touched as much as we had these last few days.I’m just not used to this.
As we stepped away from the vehicle, I tried to put distance between us. Tried and failed, because Viktor slid his hand to my lower back, and it was suddenly hard to focus.
“Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! Great place,” I chirped, voice unnaturally high.
One of my mother’s perfectly manicured brows lifted ever so slightly. “Hello, darling. How was your flight?”
“It was great, thanks.”
“Really? Judging by your appearance, I would have thought there was turbulence,” my father teased, but the jab was clear.
Viktor’s hand clenched against my back. Of course, my parents chose that moment to look between us, poorly hiding their disapproval at the way we were wrapped up so close together. They were of the mind that men and women didn’t touch in public; it wasn’t polite society.
“We didn’t know you were bringing a guest,” my father said, stepping forward and extending his hand. “Didn’t we meet at Briana’s undergraduate graduation? Markovich, isn’t it?”
Resisting the eye roll was a mighty feat. My father knew damn well who Viktor was, even without the awkwardly lavish dinner thrown in mine and Sophia’s honor three years ago.
“Yes,” Viktor answered smoothly. He didn’t let go of me as he shook my father’s hand.
“Briana didn’t inform us she was bringing a...guest,” my father said, sending me a playful frown, but there was nothing pretend about the flash of annoyance in his cool, grey gaze.
My mother tried to pull me away with a meaningful look, but I shook my head. “Viktor is my date for the wedding,” I said, choosing now to drop the bomb. “I thought it was the perfect time for everyone to meet my boyfriend.”
That brought both my mother’s brows up. “Oh, and how long has this been going on?”
“We’re almost at our one-year anniversary,” Viktor lied smoothly.
“Ah, and that would be why Briana got a B on her Leadership in her Corporate Council paper last November? Too busy chatting long distance last fall? I see what you were doing,” my father teased, except this time he added a wink to try and cover how disappointing that grade had been.
My chest constricted.
“Well, Viktor, since we had no idea of your existence, let alone your arrival, I’m afraid there isn’t a room for you,” my mother said, a too pleasant look on her face.
