Nikolai’s dark eyes harden when he turns to her, and I almost feel sorry for the poor girl.
“And what the fuck happened when I led you back there?”
She doesn’t answer, and for the first time since she stopped me, she looks a little uncertain. “Well nothing then,” she admits, “but I know you wanted it to.”
“If I had wanted to fuck you, I would have. I couldn’t even bring myself to kiss you, though, could I?”
She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell she’s starting to get pissed. I’m guessing guys don’t often talk to her like this. She may be an ass, but she is a pretty one, and I’m sure guys are in no short supply. It’s obvious that she sees Nikolai as the one who dared to tell her no, which just makes her want him all the more.
“Apologize to Moira and stop hitting on me.”
She looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. Do it or you’re no longer welcome in this club.” Nikolai’s voice has an edge to it, and there’s zero warmth in his expression. I’m so glad he doesn’t look at me like this. As if reading my mind, he turns his face to me, and it immediately softens to the one I’m familiar with. He keeps caressing my neck, and even with Miniskirt and all her drama, my body still reacts to his touch. He gives me another wink before turning back to the blonde. I see his face harden again, and the transition is impressive as hell.
Miniskirt shifts in her tall heels and fidgets with her purse strap. “You wouldn’t seriously kick us out. We spend too much money here, and we’ll tell everyone on campus to stay the hell away from here.”
Nikolai laughs but there’s zero humor in it. “I didn’t say I would kick your friends out. Just you.”
Miniskirt’s friends look to one another, and I can see it just as clearly as she can. They’re already planning on how they’re going to cut her free because not one of them has an ounce of loyalty in them.
“Fine,” Miniskirt says. She looks at me and growls out an “I’m sorry” through gritted teeth.
“Not fucking good enough,” Nikolai growls in a hard tone that has her taking a step back.
“I’m sorry,” she says, trying again, and this time it does actually sound genuine.
Nikolai looks at me. “Is that good for you, baby?”
“Yes,” I say, not even bothering to look at the other women who are already scampering back into the crowd before Nikolai changes his mind. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but that was really fucking hot. I’ve never had anyone stand up for me before. For a minute, I felt like I was stuck in some horrible, high-school, time-warp nightmare with the evil, popular girls.”
He smiles and kisses my forehead. “I’m sorry it was so difficult for you. If I had been there, I would’ve kicked all their asses. Of course, if I had been there, I probably would’ve been arrested because I would’ve been a man in his mid-thirties hanging out with a bunch of high schoolers.” He groans and gives a small laugh. “God, I’m so much older than you.”
I smile and lean into him, pressing my lips against his ear. “I love how much older you are. I think it’s sexy as hell.”
He laughs and wraps his arms around me. “Come on, let’s get our supper before you start trying to rip off my clothes again.”
“Again?” I give him a soft smack on the shoulder. “Okay, yeah, maybe you’re right,” I say, running my eyes over the long-sleeved tee he’s wearing that’s accentuating all the hard muscle that I know is right beneath the surface.
Nikolai gives me a sexy wink and leads me back to the bar so we can grab our food. We decide to take it back to the house to eat, and I’m happy to escape the noisy, crowded club for the quiet of his car and having him all to myself. I’d much rather be with him than in a packed club, especially after the busy day we’ve had. I just want to eat supper and curl up on the couch with my man, and that’s exactly what we do.
He loves ‘80s movies as much as I do, but there’s a lot he hasn’t seen yet. I’m on a mission to educate him on the awesomeness of John Hughes films, so I findThe Breakfast Clubafter we eat and cuddle into him to watch. We’re just finishing the movie when Nikolai’s phone dings from his back pocket. He reads the message and lets out a laugh.
“How do you feel about company this weekend?”
“Sure. What’s going on?”
He turns the phone so I can see the messages. “That’s in Cyrillic, babe,” I say, scanning the unfamiliar language that makes zero sense to me.
“I’ll teach you,” he says, giving me a wink. “It’s Dima telling me that they’re all coming over on Saturday because Gina and Jamie are curious and want to see how we’re doing.”
“That’ll be fun,” I say, already planning out a list of what I want to cook.
“It’ll be something,” Nikolai says with a laugh.
When I can’t keep my eyes open any longer, he kisses me gently and carries me to bed. The next couple of days fly by and when Saturday rolls around, I wake up early and start preparing food. Even though I’ve already met them and spent time with them, I still have this crazy urge to make a good impression. I can see Gina and Jamie becoming the best friends I never had but always wanted, and I don’t want to do anything to fuck that up.
When Nikolai walks in and sees me preparing food like a crazy woman, he comes up behind me and wraps his strong arms around me.