“That would be great,” he says, and then smiles at Gina. “You can teach my wife, too.”
Gina laughs and says, “You already taught me how to throw a punch.”
“Yes, but I want you to know some self-defense stuff, too.”
“You do know you can stop worrying about me now, right?” She leans into him and gives him a side hug, cupping his face. I notice how she runs her fingers over his scar, and I have to look away because I feel like I’m intruding on an intimate moment, even though we’re all sitting at the table together.
“Never,” I hear him say before he wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer.
“I’d be happy to teach Gina a few things,” I say, earning me a smile from Dmitri. “And Jamie,” I add, turning so I can see her. “If you’re interested, I mean.”
She laughs and says, “Hell yes. That would be so kick-ass.”
I’m excited about the idea of teaching young women how to protect themselves. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about. I just never had anyone who wanted to learn. I let my mind wander while everyone keeps laughing and talking around me. At some point, Gina sneaks off to nurse Sergei, and when she comes back, the guys are working on the last bottle, and I’m amazed at the amount of alcohol they’ve managed to put back. Everyone except Vadim. He’s joining in, but I’ve been watching him, and he’s been very careful to not overdo it. I imagine it takes a lot to make him cut loose and make himself vulnerable. He catches me staring at him and raises his drink in a toast, studying me with those amber eyes of his, the ones that I’m guessing don’t miss much. His look isn’t pervy or inappropriate, more like he’s sizing me up a bit. I hold his gaze, making him give me a slight smile before looking away. I get the feeling I passed, but I’m not sure what exactly I was being tested on.
When everyone starts getting ready to leave, Nikolai and I help pass out coats and gather up baby and puppy supplies. We hug everyone, because apparently vodka makes everyone super friendly, and they leave with promises of having us over to their places soon, and I smile at how damn perfect this all feels. Vadim hangs back and before he leaves, he leans in close to Nikolai and says something to him in Russian before patting him on the back and giving me a wave.
“It was very nice to meet you, Moira.”
“You too, Vadim,” I say, returning the wave and giving him a smile.
After everyone has left, Nikolai turns to me and gives me a slightly intoxicated, ridiculously cute smile. “We did it, and I think that went really well. I don’t mean to toot my own horn or anything, but,” he laughs and motions like he’s pulling on some sort of trucker horn. “Toot toot,” he says in a sing-song voice that has me laughing so hard I’m snorting. I’ve never seen Nikolai act silly before, and I love seeing this side of him.
He steps closer and gives me, or tries to, a very stern look. “I’ve had a lot of vodka tonight, so please do try and take advantage of me.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask, pressing my body against his and looking into his dark eyes. I love that his eyes are so dark they look almost black. He used to look so intimidating to me, and he does still intimidate me a little bit because he’s just so damn sexy, but I can see the sweet Kolya inside him now, too, and it changes everything. “You think you can handle it?”
“Maybe not,” he admits with a laugh, “but it’ll be a hell of a lot of fun to try.”
I lead him to the bedroom, and I’m not surprised at all to find that he can indeed handle it and then some.
Chapter12
Nikolai
Ilet out a pained groan as soon as the sun hits my pounding head. When I burrow under my pillow to try and protect my sensitive eyes from the sun, I hear Moira laugh from across the room.
“Is that vodka hitting you hard today?” I feel her sit next to me on the bed before running her hand over my back. “I’ve brought you a cup of coffee, a large glass of water, and some aspirin.”
“Thank you,” I say, lifting up enough so I can grab the water and the two pills she’s holding out to me. When the glass is empty, I reach for the coffee. “I’m way too old for this shit,” I grumble while she laughs and gives my ass a hard smack. I arch a brow at her, which only makes her laugh again.
“I can’t believe I used to be so scared of you.” She gives me a wink and smacks my ass again. “When you feel well enough, come downstairs. I made some breakfast if you can stomach it.”
I watch her walk away, studying her firm ass the whole time as last night flashes back to me in drunken snippets. I remember fucking her up against the wall and then bent over the bed and then finally in bed before we both collapsed and fell asleep. Good God, no wonder I’m so fucking sore. I can’t help but smile at the memories, though, as I drag my ass out of bed and take a quick shower. By the time I head downstairs, I’m already starting to feel human again. Moira’s waiting for me at the counter with a plate of sausage biscuits and a big smile on her beautiful face.
“If you’re not careful, I’m going to end up fifty pounds overweight and with heart disease.”
She smiles and runs her hands over my hard body. “Yeah, I really doubt that, especially if you keep fucking me like you did last night. I’m guessing we easily burned a thousand calories.”
I laugh and pull her closer. Breakfast looks amazing, but I want to taste her first. Cupping her face, I kiss my way across her freckles and down her nose until she’s tightening her fingers in my hair and I know she’s getting impatient. Smiling, I bring my mouth to hers, giving her bottom lip a soft suck before doing the same to the top. She lets out a soft moan and slides her tongue in to meet mine, sparking my entire body to life in seconds. By the time we pull apart, all I can think about is carrying her back to bed.
“You need to eat,” she says, easily reading my mind, or maybe she’s just reading the hard cock pressed against her yet again.
I give her one more quick kiss before grabbing a biscuit and pouring myself a glass of orange juice. One bite and I’m moaning for a whole new reason. “Holy shit. Are these biscuits homemade?”
She laughs and shakes her head yes. “I need to go and run a few errands, but are you still meeting me at the club later?”
“Yeah, sure thing.” The order of punching bags finally came in, and it’s one of the last things missing in Moira’s club, so I know she’s anxious to get them up. “Viktor’s lending me his truck so Dima and I can bring them over this afternoon.”