Page 13 of Immoral (Park Avenue Kings #3)

BENOIT

T HE AMOUNT OF clothes I was wearing was criminal, but so was being out in temperatures lower than my morals.

Lucky for me, I had a hot man to nuzzle into.

With my hand tucked into Dimitri’s arm, we strolled through the Christmas markets at Old Town Square, and it was exactly the winter wonderland I’d always heard about.

The enormous tree that lit up the night was even larger than the one at the Wenceslas Square market, and the sound of a choral group singing holiday songs filtered through the air.

It was even more beautiful than I’d expected, with red-roofed little huts filled with crafts being sold by local artists, decorations and lights everywhere.

This had been a spectacularly good idea.

As we passed one of the food huts, I breathed in deep. I didn’t know what it was they were making, but it was a savory delight that made my mouth water.

“Whatever that is, I need it,” I said, and Dimitri stopped and looking over at what was on the grill—barbecued sausages that had no right to look as delicious as they did, and in the display were meat dumplings that made my stomach growl.

There was no way he could’ve heard it over the music, but he lifted a brow in my direction before ordering two of everything.

“What about them?” I nodded at the two bodyguards who trailed several feet behind us. Their presence was putting a definite kink in my plans, but I’d figure out how to get around it. It wasn’t the first time I’d had to come up with a plan B on the fly.

Dimitri handed me a plate of food before diving into his own, starting with the sausage. “They don’t need distractions.”

“No? Watching you eat that sausage is pretty distracting.”

That garnered me half a smirk, but I wasn’t lying. Seeing a huge piece of meat slip past his lips had me hungry for something entirely inappropriate for where we currently stood.

“They’re not watching me.”

“I thought that was their job.”

“They’re watching everyone else.”

And that was a problem. I was part of the “everyone else.”

I shrugged that off and bit into the meat dumpling, moaning as the exquisite flavor hit my tongue.

Dimitri’s eyes dropped to my mouth and he licked his lips.

I wasn’t sure if that had to do with the sausage he’d just finished or my moan, but the combination was a hot one.

It definitely took the edge off the winter chill.

A flash of long hair out of the corner of my eye had me jerking my head in that direction, but it wasn’t the man I was looking out for.

I casually perused the crowd like I was taking everything in, searching out the familiar face I needed to somehow give the recordings I’d gotten from my cuff-link cameras.

One good thing about Alessio was that he wasn’t someone Dimitri would know. He preferred his tech cave the vast majority of the time, and he wasn’t a famous face, unlike some of my other Libertine brothers.

He was nowhere to be seen, not yet, though I had no doubt he’d be here eventually. I just hoped I didn’t freeze my ass off before he decided to make an appearance.

Actually, that sounded more like something Alessio would do.

“Everything okay?”

I turned back to see Dimitri studying me with an unreadable expression.

“Of course.” I flashed what I hoped was a convincing grin. “Why do you ask?”

“You stopped talking.”

“I have been known to do that on occasion, you know. Like when my mouth’s full, for example.” I winked at him, but he wasn’t buying it.

“Maybe so, but there’s nothing in your mouth right now. Did something else catch your attention?”

Putain . Think fast, Benoit…

I’d clearly underestimated how closely he was watching me.

“Actually, I saw someone across the way making some blown glass ornaments. Would you mind if we double back and check them out?”

Dimitri looked across at the stalls we’d wandered by earlier. “You didn’t see them before?”

“I must’ve missed them with all the other things distracting me. Delicious food. Sparkling lights. Happy people.” I hooked my arm back through his and looked up at him. “A sexy man keeping me warm.”

Dimitri lowered his head and brushed his lips across mine. “We’ll circle back. Just this once.”

“Well, thank you for accommodating me.”

“You know how I feel about staying in one spot.”

“ Oui , but we’re at a Christmas market. What could possibly happen out here?” As we started down the aisle, I glanced over my shoulder at the men trailing us. “Plus, we have your men watching out for you.”

“And you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It’s not just me I have them protecting.”

That was going to make this even more difficult. But I’d been in tricky situations before, and no matter what, I always managed to find a way out of them.

Like that time I got trapped in a duke’s walk-in closet and had to shimmy through his air duct to get out. It’d been years since I’d been in the closet, and I did not enjoy the return.

We passed by a little wooden toy shop and a puppet maker who was demonstrating his puppeteering skills. I would’ve loved to stop and enjoy the show, but it was in that exact moment I spotted a tall, broad-shouldered man in a wool coat, with a black beanie over long hair. It was time to get moving.

I slid my hand down Dimitri’s arm and linked our fingers, turning to face him.

“Come on,” I said, tugging him along faster. “For someone who doesn’t want to stand in one place too long, you sure know how to dilly-dally.”

“I didn’t realize we were in such a rush.”

“We’re not, but I don’t want all the pretty ornaments to be gone before I get there.”

Dimitri arched a brow, and just as he was about to say something, flakes started to fall down around us. I looked up to see snow falling over the twinkling lights, and it was such a magical sight that I forgot all about Alessio.

“It’s snowing,” I said, moving in close to Dimitri.

“That it is.”

I let out a dreamy sigh, closed my eyes, then held my face up to the soft, falling flakes. “Isn’t it magical?”

Dimitri didn’t immediately answer, and when I opened my eyes I saw him looking down at me, not the snow. His eyes twinkled from the reflection of the lights around us as he brought a hand up to my face and took hold of my chin.

He brushed a thumb over my lips. “I thought you were in a hurry.”

“And I thought you didn’t like to stand still?”

“Do you have an answer for everything?”

“Only if it gets me what I want.”

When Dimitri’s eyes dropped to my mouth, a shiver ran through me.

From the cold? Or from the spark of desire when he looked at me?

There was no denying the way my body reacted to him, which was both a good yet very dangerous thing.

On one hand, our attraction made my time away from home more enjoyable.

On the other, I couldn’t lose focus over why I was really here.

Wait, why was I here again?

“I know what you want,” he said.

“You think so?”

He nodded and leaned in, angling his head and bringing that sinful mouth closer to mine. “You wanted…” His lips grazed over mine, but the second I parted them, hungry for that kiss, Dimitri stepped back and gestured toward one of the stalls. “…a pretty ornament.”

I blinked and almost stumbled forward, the spell broken, but I refused to show that he’d just thrown me off my game.

Instead, I smiled and headed for the gorgeous decorations, keeping an eye out for where Alessio had gone. The artist behind the table welcomed us in, and though I knew exactly what she said and how to converse in Czech, I kept to a simple “ Dobry den” —good day.

Along with the glass-blown ornaments were vintage pieces and hand-carved wooden designs, and I admired several of the reindeer before moving on.

Alessio needed to hurry the hell up or he was going to miss the drop. I doubted Dimitri would be down to spend another night here, though he’d done a good job of humoring me so far. This was so not his scene, but getting him here in the first place had been a win.

Now if only Alessio would?—

Awareness prickled the back of my neck, the feeling of eyes on me, and I instinctively knew they weren’t Dimitri’s. Or his bodyguards’.

To confirm my suspicions, I casually picked up one of the vintage handheld mirrors. My cheeks were a perfectly flushed pink, though I would’ve preferred my nose be a shade lighter, but all in all I looked fucking gorgeous. As I ran my fingers through my hair, I saw Alessio.

About damn time.

He strolled up to the stall as if he didn’t have a care in the world and began to check out the items on display. Just another man minding his own business and enjoying the festivities.

My heart started to beat faster, as it always did in these situations. Even as confident as I was, there was always a chance of getting caught, and it was going to be tricky to make the drop with Dimitri and his bodyguards right there.

“No need to check yourself out. That’s my job,” came Dimitri’s low voice behind me, and I caught his eyes in the mirror. His hands moved to my hips, his fingers dangerously close to sliding into the pockets and ruining this whole charade.

Merde.

Thinking fast, I set down the mirror and put my hands over his, sliding them down to my ass instead as I turned around to face him.

“Oh yeah?” I said, leaning in to nip at his lower lip. “Do you prefer to check me out from the front or the back?”

“Yes.” He said it with such a serious expression that it took me off guard and a burst of laughter rumbled out of my chest.

“Perfect answer.” I kissed the tip of his nose and went back to browsing, looking for something with any hidden crevices I could use. The tiny metal tube was burning a hole in my pants pocket, and I needed to find a way to get it to my brother even with a stall full of people and watchful eyes.

My adrenaline kicked up a notch as I spotted a hand-carved nativity scene. It was an elaborate piece with several nooks and crannies. I could definitely hide the tube in that without anyone being the wiser.

Now to let Alessio know.

Feigning a gasp, I reached for the carving and spun around, making sure to be loud and excited while showing Dimitri my find.

“Look at this,” I said, holding it up for him, but at an angle I knew Alessio could see. “I can’t imagine how much time it took to create something so exquisite.”

“Two months,” the artist said from behind the table, smiling proudly.

Dimitri raised a brow at me as if to say, Really? Because clearly he wasn’t interested at all, but he said, “Nice,” for the artist’s benefit.

I made up for his lack of enthusiasm by covering my heart with my hand.

“Two months ? Mon Dieu. What a true artiste . So much time on all of these hidden details…” I ran my finger over one of the wise men bearing gifts and decided the open cove behind him would be the perfect hiding spot.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alessio glance my way and shake his head, and I knew he’d gotten the message.

Now to drop the package.

I gave the nativity a last little pat, and as I turned away from Dimitri, I slid my hand into my pants pocket, letting my coat act as a shield. I grabbed the tube with nimble fingers, leaned forward to set the piece down, and quickly nestled the tube into the cove of the carving.

Bam. Done. Stress level diminished.

Time for a celebratory?—

“Give it to me.” Dimitri held his hand out. “The piece.”

My entire body went still. Perhaps my heart even stopped. Had he seen…? No. There was no way. Unless he could quite literally see right through me, there was no reason to panic.

Or was there?

Still facing away from him, I managed to force a breath through my nose.

“What?” I asked.

Dimitri didn’t bother answering, moving past me and reaching for the carving.

I stepped forward, using my body to block the nativity. “Wait, what are you?—”

“You want it.” It wasn’t a question.

“I…”

He cocked his head to the side as those dark eyes landed on mine. “You always get what you want. You want the piece.”

Holy shit. The sigh of relief I wanted to let out was overwhelming. He thought I wanted to buy it. Of course.

I forced one of my teasing smiles and stepped in close, letting my hand wander down his chest. “There’s something I want a helluva lot more than that carving,” I said, low enough that only he could hear.

“You can have both.”

“I’m greedy, but not that greedy.”

Dimitri didn’t look convinced. As a matter of fact, he looked like he was about to grab the damn carving to buy it for me himself, and that just couldn’t happen. Alessio was burning a hole in my forehead with his stare, and I had to move fast.

“If you really want to encourage my bad habits, you could get me something that would be put to far greater use,” I said, and reached behind me for the item.

“And what’s that?”

I held up the vintage mirror with a “Voila!” and the smirk he gave me was as close to a grin as I was going to get.

I’d take it.

Without a word, Dimitri snapped his fingers, and one of his guards stepped forward and handed the artist a thick wad of cash. Her eyes widened in surprise, as did mine, and then Dimitri snatched up the mirror and my hand and led us out of the tent.

Alessio caught my eyes briefly as I passed, but anything more than a quick look was too risky. It was in his hands now, and it was up to him whether he took the nativity home with him or just fished it out.

It’d look kinda cute on his desk.

The second we exited the covered stall, I sucked in a huge lungful of air. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding it while I was in there, but the threat of getting caught was real.

But it was done. Too close for my liking, but I’d had closer calls and lived to tell the tale.

I reached for the mirror in Dimitri’s hand and took it, lifting it up to our faces.

“Oh my,” I said. “Look at the state of these two gorgeous but frozen sex gods. Looks like they need some glühwein to warm right up, stat—what do you say?”