“Why are you here, Valerie?”
“Because I love them. Not despite everything, but because of who they are and how they’ve grown. The fact that they don’t hide anything from me. They’re good men, all three of them, and I’m lucky enough to have them love me.”
Mr. Volkov starts to let me go, but I hold his hand. “The song’s not over, sir.”
He hesitates, but I turn us on the dance floor until he can see Vanya. “You loved Vanya once. Is there anything you wouldn’t have done for her?”
“Then ... no. I would have done anything she asked.”
“If you could have kept her from leaving, would you have? If that meant rethinking some things if it meant trying new things? If you thought there was a better way for you to help your people?”
“I would have.”
“That’s all they’re doing. They love me. Hunter and Chase both want to help the people around here. They want to make a difference and have a legacy in something other than fear and blood. Is that so bad? Is it so bad that I want to help them do just that?”
“And the others who won’t care for it?” Mr. Volkov asks.
“There will always be someone who doesn’t approve.” I shrug. “I’m not going to let it bother me. Because if I let it bother me, then I wouldn’t get anything done. That’s not how progress is made.”
Mr. Volkov keeps watching me but doesn’t ask any more questions. The song ends and we look at one another for a long while. He clears his throat. “I will continue to watch you, Valerie. I don’t trust you.”
“That’s your choice.”
“And I don’t want to see you with all the men at once. At least let me believe that they have some values left.”
“They have plenty of values. Just observe them tonight. Don’t judge, just watch, and see how everything plays out. Okay?”
He continues to watch me but goes over to Vanya.
Hunter slips in and steals the next dance. “Hello, dorogaya. Did you enjoy dancing with Father?”
“Not really, but it wasn’t horrible. I think I might have made progress and I was mostly nice,” I say with a smile.
Hunter jerks me closer to him, his hand riding dangerously low on my back. “Mostly nice? I find that hard to believe.”
“I didn’t even curse. I didn’t throw around accusations. I just talked you three up constantly.”
He chuckles. “How hard was that?”
“Not at all.” I rub over his chest. “But I want you nice and hard at the end of this.”
“Want me hard and then want it rough?”
“You know me so well, Krolik,” I purr. “I can’t wait to have you three to myself.”
“You get that constantly and you still want more? You’re nearly as insatiable as I am.” His eyes soften. “But I do like the idea of us just cuddling all night. Maybe eating dessert off you.”
“Mmm. That does sound nice. We can celebrate a good day with sweets and cuddles and maybe plan to go see Sophie and her guys.”
“I love it. A good idea. A way to get out of the city with you. No work, just constant time to fuck and frolic.” Hunter bites my ear gently.
Giggling, we keep dancing until I’m spun into Chase.
“I love you,” I tell him.
“I love you too. How are you? How was everything with Dad? Did he upset you?”
“No. We had a good talk, shockingly,” I admit. “I think he might have actually listened to me.”