“Evidently she liked my brilliant plan,” Aleksei says with a grin. “And you’re welcome. Now, she’ll leave the three of us alone.”
“Thank God,” Jamie says with a laugh. “Although, in fairness, I can’t really blame the girl.”
The corny look she gives Aleksei has us all laughing, especially when we see Viktor finally give in and lead her away toward the staff bathroom. Some of the bouncers use it for quickies when they don’t want to bother with taking the woman home. We turn a blind eye to it as long as both parties are willing and sober enough to make the decision. They’re loyal staff, and God knows they’ve looked the other way enough times for us. It’s really the least we can do. Well, that and really good paychecks.
After a few more minutes of joking around, Gina yawns, making Dima laugh and kiss the top of her head. “Such a party animal,” he teases her.
“The drinks made me sleepy. Plus, Seryozha is going to be waking me up bright and early.”
“Well, I will get him if he wakes tonight,” Dima promises her, earning him a grateful smile from a very exhausted Gina.
“We should get going, too,” Jamie says, looking at Aleksei like the last thing on her mind is sleep.
He grins, immediately taking the hint and stands up, reaching for her hand and pulling her close. “See you guys later,” he says, already trying to pull her out the door.
Jamie laughs and gives Gina a quick hug before doing the same to a surprised Moira. “It was great to finally meet you. Get my number from Gina and call or text me anytime.”
“Okay, thanks, Jamie. It was really good to meet you, too.”
Gina grabs her phone and shoots off a text before Jamie and Aleksei have even left the VIP section. “There you go, Moira,” Gina says, flashing her a grin and pulling her in for a hug. “Call me anytime.”
Moira hugs her back and says she will before giving Dima a wave. As if the grin he shoots me isn’t bad enough, he says in Russian, “You’ve got it bad, Kolya. I haven’t seen you dance with anyone since Anya in Moscow when you were twelve and hoping for your first kiss. Be nice and don’t scare her off!”
“Get the fuck out of here,” I yell as he laughs and walks off with Gina. I hear her let out a squeal when he picks her up and carries her out of the club. The last thing I see is her grinning face before they disappear into the crowd.
“What did he say to you?”
“Nothing important,” I tell her, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer.
She looks at me like she doesn’t believe me, but she lets it go.
“I want to see your club.”
“Now?” she laughs and looks at her watch.
“It’s not that late, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to you. Plus, I’m planning on following you home anyway to make sure you get there safety, so I figured we could stop at the club first and you could show me around.”
“Oh you were, were you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t need you babysitting me, Nikolai.”
I look at her, seeing the way she’s straightened her back and the slight edge to her tone. “I know you don’t. It’s obvious you can take care of yourself, but the truth is I won’t get a wink of sleep until I see you safely to your door with my own eyes.” I shrug my shoulders as if there’s nothing to be done about it. “I’m old and set in my ways, Moira. It’s best not to fight me.”
She sighs, and I know I’ve won. Besides, I was going to follow her home anyway no matter what she said about it.
“Well, lucky for you it’ll just be one trip.”
“What do you mean?”
She gives me a smirk and stands up. “You’ll see.”
We walk through the Red Wolf since we’re both parked on the side, and I’m dying to ask her a bunch of questions about when she learned to box and who taught her, but I make myself wait, not wanting to bombard her with a million questions.
“I like your Jeep,” I tell her when we’re outside. “It fits you.”
She smiles and climbs inside. She has a way of making everything effortlessly sexy, and I think it’s because she’s not trying to. It’s refreshing as hell to be around a woman who’s just herself. She’s not putting on an act or trying to impress me. She’s just being Moira, and I love it.