Chapter 17
Amy sighed happily and rested her head on Misha’s shoulder. The entire evening had been storybook perfect—the food, the wine, and most especially, the dancing. Well, other than that one moment when it had appeared that Mikhail and Tino were upset about something. Neither of them had admitted what had left them glaring at each other, but the moment had blown over pretty quickly.
She might never have been to a high school prom, but tonight had made up for that and then some. She’d had a lovely time, and she was grateful for the extended Lukash clan making her feel so welcome.
Right now, she and Mikhail were tucked in the back of the town car he’d hired to take them to and from the dance. As big and luxurious as the vehicle was, the backseat seemed crowded with just the two of them. She was well aware that her companion was bigger than the average guy, but tonight she seemed to be hyperaware of everything about him. Those broad shoulders and powerful legs. The pale blond hair that gleamed with silver highlights in the moonlight, not to mention those sly blue eyes that kept staring at the slit in her dress whenever he thought she wouldn’t notice.
Right now, he held her hand in both of his, stroking her palm with a fingertip. The simple touch reverberated far beyond her hand to other, much more private parts of her body. She liked it and prayed he wouldn’t break that small connection.
“You had a good time tonight.”
“No, actually I had agreattime tonight. Fabulous, even.”
She smiled up at him, not sure how well he could see her in the dim interior of the car. “Everyone was so friendly and made me feel so welcome.”
“Why wouldn’t they? All it takes is about thirty seconds in your company to know how special you are.”
Who would’ve expected a big, macho ex-marine to be such a sweet talker? “Well, I’ll have you know that I was the envy of every woman in the place.”
“Yeah, right.”
Did he really not realize the effect he had on the female half of the population? “Seriously, Misha. I overheard two women in the ladies’ room talking about Natalie’s handsome brother-in-law.”
He snorted. “How do you know they weren’t talking about Jack?”
“I believe they described the man in question as the handsome blond and how good he looked in that tux and how much better he would look out of it.”
Not that she’d liked hearing those women talking about Misha like that. In fact, the surge of jealousy had shocked her with its intensity. Fearing what she might say if she’d actually seen them, she’d remained inside the stall until after they left.
“Amy, maybe some guys would be flattered by what they said, but not me. They don’t know anything about me, and I wouldn’t be interested anyway. If they’d bothered to ask, I would’ve told them my dance card was full.” His arm slid around Amy’s shoulders and pulled her in tight against the strength of his big body. “And not just for tonight, but for the foreseeable future. I’m hoping you feel the same way.”
His words settled deep in her heart. “I do.”
The car slowed to a stop in front of her house. Mikhail climbed out of his side and beat the driver around to open her door. After assisting her out of the car, he handed the driver what looked like a sizable tip. While she waited, her pulse picked up speed.
Where did they go from here? Would he walk her to her front door, kiss her good night, and then go home by himself? Should she invite him in for…what? Not coffee and cookies, that was for sure.
What if he asked her to come home with him? His words describing how much he wanted to take her to his bed had never been far from her mind since the day he’d said them. If he asked her, she wanted to say yes. In fact, she would say yes provided she found the courage. But they still hadn’t talked about her past or his, for that matter.
“You’re thinking way too hard, Amy.”
She realized the car had already pulled away, leaving the two of them standing at the side of the street and at the edge of temptation. She wanted to spend the rest of the night in Misha’s arms, dancing together in a completely different way.
When she didn’t reply, he tipped her chin up, lifting her face toward his. “I won’t say that I wouldn’t be disappointed if all you want me to do is walk you to your door. But if it’s too soon for anything else, just say so. Jack and Tino might deny it, but I can be a patient man when it’s something worth waiting for.”
“And am I? Worth it, that is?”
His smile was slow to come, but it lit up the night even as his answer lit up her heart. “Lady, you’re the only thing worth waiting for.”
She didn’t hesitate. “My place or yours?”
—
In the end, they each went their separate ways. Briefly, anyway, because the dogs needed some attention. She was definitely overdressed for watching Panda take a quick turn around the yard. It wasn’t long before Sarge came lumbering over from his house to demand Amy give him a belly rub before he moved on to join Panda on perimeter patrol.
His owner appeared a couple of minutes later dressed in flannel pajama bottoms with a T-shirt and carrying a bottle of wine and a leather shaving kit. Mikhail joined her in watching the dogs, although from the way he was fidgeting, she could tell he was more than ready to whistle them back into the house. She couldn’t blame him. The last thing she wanted to be doing right now was standing outside in the damp grass wearing her good shoes and holding hands with the man she wanted to get naked with.
“Come on, Sarge. Time to come inside.”
