“So, what do we do? I wasn’t sure what to make of her at game night, truth be told. It’s obvious she’s attracted to you. Nik too. I can see it in her eyes.”
“I know, and now we can add your ass into the mix. Jesus, I never saw this coming. She’s a fucking whirlwind of unexpectedness.”
“So, we ride it out?”
With a nod, he opened his mouth to speak, only to close it before he pulled me in for a hug. I swore I didn’t deserve him for a brother. He should kick my ass, not show me love.
But with the air now cleared between us, I updated him on the conversation with Kinsley about her fears, stalling for as long as I could. He paused to collecthis thoughts, then pulled his phone out. Five minutes later, Nik waltzed through the door.
“What’s up?” He took a seat opposite me.
“Aside from the fact that Kinsley admitted she’s afraid of being taken against her will? Ivan disregarded his best friend’s advice and kissed the girl.” He threw a teasing smile in my direction.
Nik roared in laughter. I crossed my arms before I resorted to punching him. “Does this mean what I think it does?”
Alek shook his head. The grin spread. “I told you blondes weren’t the end all, be all, baby brother. Nik and I are masters at sharing. There’s a learning curve.”
“It was a kiss, asshole. I’m positive I don’t need advice on the learning curve. I’ve seen you two in action for a while now.”
Fuckers, and were we really having this conversation? Damn, maybeIwas the one in need of a one-on-one with Marcel.
“Seriously, Ivan. The key is to understand your strengths and go with that,” Nik said like I was a fucking child and needed his advice.
“Shut the fuck up. I’m well aware of my strengths.” He went to open his mouth, and I glared at him. “You say another word about it, and I’ll shove my fist down your throat.”
“Not before Wednesday, you won’t. You’d be in deep shit with mother,” Alek added, laughing at us. “All joking aside, we take things slow with her. Marcel is right. We need more information.”
“What are the parameters, assuming she consents?” Nik asked. He and I both looked at Alek. We’d follow his lead. It had always worked for our group.
“We test the waters. Baby steps.” Alek had a faraway look in his eyes. Nik and I exchanged a look.
“We should update Marcel,” I said finally, after it became clear Alek wasn’t going to say anything else. We spent half an hour filling everyone in, taking a lot of shit from Marcel regarding kissing her.
“Well, her fear of being put in the car makes sense now, Alek,” Nik mused out loud.
“That was brilliant, Ivan. She trusts you. This is good. You’ll need to build that, especially if she won’t talk to me,” Marcel spoke up. “Of course, it would be better for her to talk directly to me, though. I need to hear from her,” he added.
“Yeah, you’ll probably have to call her. And fair warning, she is stubborn as hell.”
Not to mention defiant, bratty, and sassy. The three traits I hated in a woman, but with her, damn, all it did was make me hard. How the hell this little bombshell had gotten so far under my skin was beyond me.
After updating the London family, I took off to clear my head. Not that it did much good. The gym this afternoon was a symphony of sweat and determination. Normally, I enjoyed the rhythmic thud of gloved fists meeting bags, but today I was distracted.
I went through my normal weightlifting routine and did some cardio, hoping that would help. It didn’t. My eyes caught sight of two regulars bare-knuckle boxing, and the smell of blood and sweat mingling in the air reminded me of a kill.
It was enough to have my cock hardening. Nik wasn’t the only one with a thirst for destruction. I shut that shit down and searched for Jake. The need to be around Kinsley was too strong. I wanted to settle my arrangements with the gym’s floor manager as quickly as I could and get back home.
One of the guys in the ring rose a fist in greeting, and his flushed cheeks had me thinking about Kinsley’s chapped ass after her spanking. She was in the very capable hands of Nik, but fuck if I didn’t want to be the one tending to her.
Sweeping my gaze from the ring to the weights, I spotted Jake. With a huff, I shoved Kinsley from my mind and headed over. I’d spaced he was leaving early for the day and ended up having to stay.
Hours later, I returned home, right as dinner was being served. Tension hung in the air, and when Kinsley made an appearance, her nervousness was impossible to hide.
She was casually dressed once more in another cute short skirt, showing off her toned legs. Delicately, she brought in one of the dinner dishes with Mrs. Patterson, then fidgeted with one of the place settings.
“You don’t have to do that, you know,” Alek said.
She lifted her gaze to his. “I know, but I have to do something, or I’ll go crazy. I need to get back to work and dance.” Her voice shook.
