“And Blair. You’re here, too,” she intones, sounding annoyed. She tosses her hair over her shoulder as she eyes me disdainfully, managing to make me feel like an outsider, even though she’s the intruder in this conversation.
I bite back the annoyance battling the nerves in my gut. I’m not sure where she gets off being so hostile to me. I’ve done everything I can to be accommodating even though she was fucking my husband, but despite that, she seems determined to loathe me.
“Emiliya,” Nadya’s flat voice answers, despite her face being the very picture of pleasant surprise. “It’s so lovely to see you, but I’m afraid we were just getting ready to leave. Weren’t we, Blair?”
I nod, trying to seem unaffected, despite how badly I want to throw my drink in Emiliya’s smug face. I hate that she’s chasing us away from here, but maybe we can go back to dancing.
“Oh, that’s a shame.” She grins, flipping her thick hair over one shoulder. She looks me up and down before dismissing me and flicking her eyes back to Nadya. “Is your brother around?”
Nadya squints, her smile dropping entirely.
“He’s working. Tonight, and every other night this week.” She taps a finger against her chin as if she’s thinking. “And I’m pretty sure he can do better than associate himself with a conniving snake like you.” She shrugs. “But, hey, if public humiliation is your thing, you could try to talk to him yourself next time you see him.”
Without another word she stands, looping her arm through mine and leaving Emiliya sitting there, silently fuming.
I choke on a laugh as Nadya walks away with her chin held high, like Emiliya isn’t even worth thinking about.
“Emiliya and Alexei?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think he even knows her, but she’s been trying to sink her claws into him for longer than I want to think about,” she replies with a shudder. “But that’s enough time wasted on that witch. Want to dance some more?”
“Absolutely.” I’m not going to let one minor setback ruin my night.
We ease back into the crowd, moving with the beat and taking in the energy of the crowd as we dance. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the guy who tried to interrupt us earlier grind his way up to another woman who looks even less amused by his antics.
I point in his direction, and we both end up laughing until a possessive grip on my hips pulls me back against a strong chest.
I look back, relaxing into him as the smell of Andrei’s cologne wraps around me like a blanket, smiling as he buries his face in my neck. My hands slip over his, but I pause when I find the split, swollen skin of his knuckles. I blink up at him and he looks right back, smiling softly.
I want to ask him what happened, but Nadya scoffs in our direction. “Gross. Get a room.”
Andrei huffs out a warm breath that sends shivers down my spine. Even in the hot room, the heat of him against my back is scorching, and suddenly I’d love for nothing more than to be burned.
“Now that you mention it, I’d love to. You going to be alright if I steal my wife for the rest of the night?” His thumbs stroke circles on my hips while Nadya makes a show of rolling her eyes, playing up her disgust.
“Yeah, yeah,” she answers, waving her hand dismissively. “Get out of here.”
“Do you need a ride?” I ask.
“I’m good. Alexei should be meeting me here soon anyway, so I’m going to hang out in his office and get drunk on the good booze.” We laugh as we say goodbye, but Andrei keeps me in place while she retreats down a concealed hallway, disappearing into the shadows before he pulls me toward the exit.
He pauses after he opens the door for me, his hands flirting with the hem of my dress, making me realize how much it’s ridden up while we danced.
“I really do like this dress,” he murmurs, his lips dancing against the back of my neck. “Tell me,zolotse, are you wearingpanties?” I nod, my cheeks heating. “When you get in the car, be a good girl and take them off for me.”
I hesitate, glancing at the tinted windows and then back at him. They’re dark enough that someone would struggle to see inside the car, especially at night, but still. Theycouldsee if they really wanted to.
He raises a dark brow in an unspoken challenge. I take a deep breath before I slide into the seat, keeping eye contact with him until he shuts the door, a smirk gracing the corners of his lips. As he walks around to his side, nerves make my hands shake.
When his door closes behind him, he simply looks at me. There’s no one around the car, and it’s dark, but there’s still a possibility of being seen.
Am I seriously going to do this?
Under his hungry gaze, I feel a little braver. I arch up and slip my hands under my dress and into the band of my panties, making a show of pulling them off for him. As the pink satin slides down my legs, I shiver. His hands clench into fists. When I drop them into his lap, he growls while I laugh, an unexpected burst of excitement filling my chest.
“Spread your legs,” he orders with hooded eyes. I glance out the windshield at a group of men passing by. When I look back, Andrei’s eyes are dark, possessive, and hungry. I shudder, powerless to resist him in the wake of his want.
His desire erases any traces of reluctance, and when I spread my legs, my dress slides up my thighs, denying me modesty.
