Maybe.

He knew how overprotective Ryan could be. But his aunt would have a difficult time accepting that some guy decided to put a bullet in her client’s head because he did nothing more than take me to a club.

Shit.

But, of course, gulping was a mistake. My neckline dipped again, exposing more of the tops of my breasts, just as I realized that my dress had risen up my thighs, leaving my panties exposed. Laura was nice enough to tug it down, but not in time to save anyone from Ryan Vitucci’s wrath.

“Hi,” I said loud enough for him to hear me.

“Hi?” he growled. “That’s all you have to say? I find you here. With no security. No family. Surrounded by strangers—”

“They aren’t strangers to me,” I snapped, trying to remain calm. “I’m working.”

“Nova.” I’d never lied to him, not once, but right then, with nothing more than the way he said my name, I knew he didn’t believe me.

“Lyric asked me to do some translation work for his aunt,” I rushed to explain, my words stumbling over one another. Fuck, Anya had put me in situations a hundred times more stressful than this, but in the face of Ryan’s anger, I couldn’t concentrate. “Laura and Garik are…are her clients.”

His nostrils flared as his dark gaze went over my shoulder to Garik, who had jumped to his feet behind me, ready to defend me if needed. I wanted to groan, to tell him to sit down, that he was only poking the lion by standing so close. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Ryan long enough to do it.

The way his entire body was vibrating… This close, I could see it wasn’t only from anger. More than just the heat of rage radiated from his body. It was darker and more delicious. I had this crazy urge to grab a fistful of his shirt and jerk him down to my level so I could lick the vein pulsing in his neck. Taste him, his anger—his need for me? That realization had my own body reacting, and I stepped closer to him without even realizing it.

“Nova, this man is bothering you?” Garik asked in Russian behind me.

“No, no.” I shook my head frantically, still unable to tear my gaze from Ryan. “Ryan is my friend. He’s just…just…” going to explode at any moment, I finished mentally.

“Mr. Vitucci.” Roza’s voice was calm. I felt her moving closer in an attempt to defuse the situation. People were watching us, whispering. I couldn’t see or even hear them, but I could feel their tension in the air. “I assure you, everything is in order…”

He lifted his eyes, causing her words to fade into nothingness, and whatever she saw in those brown depths had her quickly apologizing in a meek tone.

“Did Ciana buy you that dress?” he demanded, his eyes shifting from Roza and back to me before skimming down my body. He’d made his opinion clear on what he thought the appropriate length of my skirts should be to everyone who knew us. His opinions were even more extreme than my dad’s, which was just one of the many, many reasons Dad was so cool about my friendship with Ryan.