Page 35 of Deck the Skulls
“At least bring me back something nice,” Zan said, backing up toward the bar.
“Like what?” she asked. “New shoes? A belt?”
He swept his gaze down to her crotch. “Something sweet.”
Rissa rolled her eyes and let Anatoly lead her out into the cool night air. The sun had only recently set and there was still faint light coming from the west. Last week, the temperatures had dipped dramatically. Although it wasn’t uncommon to have nice weather throughout winter, it looked like it was going to be surprisingly cold this December.
It might even rain in a few days! She loved the idea of snuggling up to the men with a hot drink in her hand and listening to the sound of the rain. That would be later. Right now, she had Anatoly walking her down the street and didn’t even know where they were going.
Before she could ask, he turned and led her into a parking garage. Pulling out a key fob from his pants pocket, he led her to a sleek, sporty sedan. This was not the nice, but older, truck Zan took her everywhere in. This thing screamed wealth.
“I wanted something smaller, but Zan couldn’t comfortably fit in it, so I had to get this,” he explained as he opened the passenger door for her.
“This is really nice,” Rissa assured him, not that she could really judge. She’d never been in a truly expensive car so she had nothing to compare it to. When she sank into the leather seat, she did have an honest response to give him. “Oh, I like this!”
“Good,” he said with a grin, and gently shut the door for her.
Now she wished he’d given her time to change her clothes. She should be wearing flashy heels with this car!
“Where are we going?” she asked once he’d climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Several places,” he answered. “I have the whole night planned.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really? What if I didn’t want to go out tonight?”
He shifted into reverse and watched the dashboard screen as he backed out with an efficiency that spoke of familiarity with both the car and the parking space.
“Then I’d have taken you upstairs, stripped you, and edged you until Zan was finished at the bar,” he answered. He stopped the car short of the exit. “Do you want to change plans?”
Hot lust flashed through her, but she also didn’t want Anatoly edging her. The man had a preternatural ability to stop when she was on the brink of an orgasm. It was the most wonderful and horrible thing he did.
When she didn’t answer right away, he began to maneuver the car back into the parking spot. “The second option is making you flush with desire. I hope Zan is able to close the bar at a reasonable hour or you’re going to be very frustrated for a long time.”
“Let's go on the date!” she nearly screamed. Pulling in a deep breath, she tried for a more casual voice. “I mean, I’d like to know what you have planned for the evening. I like surprises.”
His smile was pure wickedness. “You hate surprises, but I promise that after tonight, you’ll warm to them. At least when they’re coming from me.”
“We’ll see,” she muttered, but watched with interest as he pulled out of the parking garage and onto the street.
Traffic was heavy, but Anatoly handled it like a pro without uttering a single cuss word. Soon they were pulling into Balboa Park, a large area containing hiking trails, museums, gardens, and an amphitheater. Some of the museums and events were free, so it was a fun place to take a kid if you didn’t have much money. Rissa had a lot of fond memories of the place.
“What are we doing?” she asked as he pulled up to a man in a polo shirt and khaki pants holding a sign with their names on it. “Is there a concert at the amphitheater? Oh, is there a concert at the organ? Have you seen it? The organ is the size of a building.Mom and I went to a holiday concert where there were carolers and the organ playing. It was magical!”
The memory was so vivid, she could still taste the hot chocolate her mom had bought them as an added treat to sip while they watched the free show. That had been the best Christmas they had together. There was even a good sized artificial Christmas tree her mom had found at a thrift store. As long as it was against a wall, the missing branches weren’t noticeable. There had been a few presents to open Christmas day and plenty of food in the kitchen. It’d been magical.
“You mentioned that concert to Zan,” Anatoly said as he pulled up and parked in the spot next to the man holding the sign. “I’ve already made arrangements for all of us to attend this year's December festivities at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. It won’t be carolers, but there will be a choir singing accompanied by the organ.”
“That sounds perfect,” she agreed, suddenly excited about Christmas. Most years, she worked hard on not succumbing to depression around the holiday, but this year, she was actually looking forward to spending time with Zan and Anatoly.
“Stay there,” he ordered after shutting down the car.
“Sure, okay,” she agreed, curious to see what was going on. She watched him get out, briefly talk to the man holding the sign, then circled the car to open her door.
“Good girl,” he said, holding out a hand to help her out. He reminded her of Zan, always insisting she wait for him to come around and help her out of his truck. It was such an old-world thing to do. He must’ve gotten it from Anatoly because it fit the distinguished and cultured man better than her flirty, informal Zan.
“What’s going on?” she asked again.
“You’ll see,” he promised.