Time passed slowly as Sofia flirted and got closer and closer to the guy in blue, while I sat there barely paying attention to AJ. I laughed when it seemed like that was what he expected, nodded from time to time, and made the appropriate noises as he told me his life story and tried to get me to do another shot.
“The fuck are you doing sitting beside my woman?” a voice full of savage menace demanded, and I snapped my head up to find Theo only feet away.
Dressed in a suit that looked like it had been painted onto his body, it fit him so damn well, he stood behind Sofia’s couch, but his dark eyes were on AJ and me. More specifically, on how close AJ was sitting to me, his thigh practically molded to mine.
Theo didn’t even seem to notice his sister was right in front of him, more on the guy’s lap beside her than on the actual couch. I didn’t know how he knew we were there, but I was happy to see him.
For one, I was bored talking to AJ. He wasn’t fun at all, and every word out of his mouth was a well-rehearsed act to get into my pants. For another, I’d been kind of…sort of…missing Theo.
More than a little.
Maybe even a lot.
Chapter 22
Theo
One minute I was walking across the second floor of Project X, about to go into a meeting with the general manager who had worked there for ten years under Adas Petrov’s rule. And the next, I spotted Tavia sitting on a couch in a back corner, some douchebag practically on her lap, looking at her hungrily.
For the past two weeks, I’d been handling the changeover from Adas as the head of the Petrov businesses to putting everything in order for Tavia. Finding her in the same club she was now the sole owner of, thanks to Pops and me securing her inheritance, was not the kind of surprise I welcomed.
She should have been home in bed, resting and doing the homework she needed to catch up on. Taking it easy. Waiting for me to come home and climb into bed beside her for our nightly cuddles and binge-fest.
It was the best part of my day, getting to wrap my arms around her, inhale the sweet scent of her shampoo, feel her warmth seep into me, and know she was safe. And mine.
Very, very much mine.
Something the douchebag beside her apparently didn’t know, or he wouldn’t have been within ten feet of my Tavia.
Jealousy and rage had me around the couch and jerking the fucker up by his shirt collar. He let out a startled yelp. “Hey, man. What’s your problem?” he snarled, trying to push me back.
I pulled him closer, getting in his face. “Who said you could sit beside my woman?” I demanded. “Who gave you permission to touch what is mine?”
“Hey, hey, hold up. She’s not your property.” When he couldn’t push me away, he covered my fists balled around the material of his shirt with his hands. “Dude, let me go. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Theo.” Tavia was on her feet, trying to push her way between me us. “Theo, calm down. We were just talking. Nothing was happening.”
“Don’t give a fuck.” Releasing one of my hands from the hold on his shirt, I swept her behind me, out of the line of fire, shielding her with my body while still easily holding on to the guy in front of me. “You ever come near what is mine again, and you’ll be eating teeth. You fucking get me, dude?”
“Dude, I’m serious. I’m about to kick your goddamn ass if you don’t let me go.”
I lifted my brows at him in challenge, daring him to even try.
He muttered something under his breath and swung at me. But I was faster. Releasing him, I blocked his punch then landed one of my own straight to his sternum. He bent in half with a groan, and I pushed him back onto the couch he’d just been sharing with Tavia. “Stay the fuck away from her,” I repeated.
Turning, I cupped her shocked face in both my hands and lowered my head to brush my lips over her gaping mouth. The taste of her on my tongue, the feel of her under my fingertips, calmed me a little, so when I pulled back, my voice wasn’t nearly as harsh when I spoke. “You should be in bed.”
“I—We were bored. Really, Theo, you can’t expect me to stay locked up forever. I’m fine now.”
“Maybe you are physically, but emotionally, you aren’t even close to being fine.” I tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear and skimmed my thumb down her neck. “Once you’ve learned to cope with the grief of losing the baby, then we can discuss you going out. But only if I’m available to go with you, krasotka.”
Tears instantly filled her eyes. “That…That’s the first time you’ve even mentioned the baby since you told me about the miscarriage,” she murmured, and I realized she was right.
Fuck. How could I expect her to just recover from the loss when I wasn’t even trying to help her deal with it?
Swallowing hard, I kissed her again. “Let’s go home, yeah?”
Blinking back her tears, she gave a small nod, and I kissed her one more time before turning and grabbing my sister. She was half straddling some guy’s lap, completely clueless as to what was going on around her. When I picked her up and set her on her feet beside me, she cursed me. But I didn’t even give her time to throw a tantrum as I linked my fingers through Tavia’s and then wrapped my free hand around Sofia’s upper arm.