“Dorogaya.” Hunter’s word, whatever it is, is laced with hunger and frustration. “Put your clothes on.”
I’ve never heard his accent that thick. It makes my body hum. I take a step back from Lief and let my panties fall to the floor. All three of my men stare at me hungrily. I let out a shaky breath.
“I’m going to be included in this. Don’t talk around me. You involved me when you took me from home, so I get to know what’s going on.”
“Baby, it’s fine. We’re talking work.” Still, he takes a step closer to me. “We don’t want to scare you,” Chase says.
“Yeah, I get to decide what scares me. I’m not putting on a single bit of clothing until you talk to me. And it’s such a nice night for a swim.”
“Our father doesn’t approve of this,” Chase says as he watches me. “Also, this is a cheap shot.”
“So is speaking Russian around me to make sure I don’t understand. I’ll be fixing that shortly,” I growl, then point at Hunter. “Stefan?”
“He tried to release a story saying you – unnamed college girl – have Chase and I wrapped around your finger, willing to give up the business to go on dates and spoil you. Not exactly wrong, but that couldn’t reach the public.”
“So it didn’t,” Chase agrees.
Lief manages to catch me as I watch the guys, big hands running over my arms. I know it’s just an illusion of me being able to escape. He’s quick and skilled – something I didn’t really understand until he started training me.
“And we’re still stuck on me being here a whole month? Because that will make your father and Stefan forget?”
“Mr. Volkov won’t forget,” Lief says ominously. “But we can work on him. Stefan is …”
“Impulsive,” Hunter fills in the blank after a moment. “We can move his focus easily. Speaking of Stefan … I think it’s time to show her Lief.”
“Agreed.”
Lief’s hands tighten on me for a moment. “You had better pay her for her time.”
I look up at him in surprise. Then see the bruise covering his cheek. I turn in his arms and stroke him. “I’m still sorry about that.”
His face softens a degree and he kisses the top of my head.
“You’re losing your touch if she can get you.” Another set of hands stroke over my hip. “Before we get distracted, sweetheart, I’d like you to look at a video.”
“What were you calling me in Russian?” I ask Hunter as I let Lief go so he can pull out his phone.
“Sweetheart … in Russian.” Hunter chuckles then kisses my shoulder. “Come here.”
He pulls me against his chest and the silky soft texture of his slacks on my ass and thighs makes heat pool in my belly. I look up at him and find his eyes only on Lief. Not that it does anything for the hardness against my ass.
“Hunter.” My voice wavers. “You should get your dick under control.”
“It’s not inside you, so my control is in excellent health.”
Chase comes up and takes my hand. He doesn’t shy away from looking me over, his tongue darting out over his bottom lip. “You are pure temptation, Valerie.”
“Focus,” Lief reminds them.
He puts his phone in front of me and hits play. It’s hard to hear anything, but the camera moves in. The guy I’m assuming is Stefan leans towards Hunter, who’s sitting still, but wearing a cocky smile.
But something Stefan says clearly bothers Hunter, based on the sudden focus. Hunter clues me in. “He offered a truce, but the way he said it made me … uncomfortable.”
The video continues, just like their conversation. A woman with dark skin and a body to kill for walks to Hunter. She says something in his ear. As Hunter answers, I notice Stefan frown. He’s frustrated. His eyes flick around to a few people, but he misses Lief.
“He didn’t expect you to turn the woman down. He’s looking at people to make sure he still has backup. He’s expecting things to go bad at this point,” I murmur. “But it’s hard to tell much when I can’t hear the conversation or tone.”
“It was loud,” Lief murmurs.