*Sephie*
I woke up curled up under the covers. I didn’t even need to check the bed to know that Adrik was gone. I only needed covers when he wasn’t in bed with me. He was like having a personal heater next to me all night long, so covers were never needed. It’s partially why I loved laying across his chest so much. It was the warmest option. Bonus points that he always ran his fingers through my hair when I was on his chest.
I stretched my legs out, feeling the soreness from our night before. The day before too. The two days before. I was beginning to lose count, honestly. We couldn’t get enough of each other right now. I hoped it never ended, honestly. I loved every second of it, especially now that he didn’t feel like he had to hold back as much. I was surprised at how much his need for me and his absolute lust for me turned me on.
I rolled over, noticing the closed bedroom door. He left me a note.
*Sephie*,
*Triple strength tea works better than expected*. *I’m sending one of the guys to wait for you to wake up*, *so maybe put on pants before leaving the bedroom*. *I have a meeting this afternoon*. *You know where to find me*. *I miss you already*.
*Love you, A*
I laughed, grateful that he told me to put on pants. *Definitely would not have thought of that*. I got up, found appropriate clothes, and went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. It was just past noon. Triple strength tea really does work.
I walked in to find Andrei and Misha both sitting on the couches, discussing something that sounded very serious.
“Let me guess, you guys had a draw and couldn’t decide on who would come up here, so you both came?”
They both laughed, nodding their heads. I looked at Misha, “we’re going to need to work on your strategy, young grasshopper. You’re too predictable, but at least you switched it up just enough that you forced a draw this time.” I winked at him.
“How are you feeling, spider monkey? Did the nightmares come back last night?” Andrei asked.
“No. Well, not exactly. Not the same one as you’re thinking of,” I said, sitting in between them on the couch. “When I first smelled Vanessa’s perfume on the elevator, I had a flashback to the day that Misha and I were attacked.” I looked to Misha. “I could clearly see you a step ahead of me and the moment when you looked back to stop me right before we were both hit from opposite directions.”
He looked puzzled. “Why would you think about that moment after smelling her perfume, gazelle?”
“I’m not sure. It’s that same weird familiar feeling that I had about the guys that attacked us. Like there’s some connection there that I’m not seeing. When I was on the elevator, I tried to not think about that day. So, instead, my brain jumped to the night of the ball.”
Both guys cursed under their breath. I smiled at them. “No, not what you’re thinking. Adrik had the same reaction. Ivan had escorted me to the bathroom earlier in the evening. He told me I had five minutes, or he was coming in after me. Of course, me being me, I told him I could be out in three. When I was in one of the stalls, there were two women who came out and were at the sink. They were talking about Adrik and about the rumors he was gay. One of them said she knew one of his exes, that he was an asshole, and that he never remembered her name. That’s how I knew for sure they were talking about him. One of them, the one that knew his ex, made a comment about him never telling anyone his real name. The other one made a comment about you guys and how much she’d like to take a ride on any one of you. I was hoping they would leave before I came out, but of course, they lingered. I wasn’t going to let Ivan win, so I came out. They immediately recognized me. I just smiled and told them that I could introduce them to you guys, but that I happened to know that you guys appreciated boldness so they should introduce themselves. It was just under three minutes, in case you were wondering.” I laughed.
“Spider monkey, you know we can’t talk to anyone when we’re working, right?” Andrei asked.
“Of course I know. That’s why I told them to introduce themselves.”
They both started laughing. Misha gave me a high five. “You’re a little bit evil, gazelle.”
“I don’t think any of you would’ve been interested, if I’m being honest. They both looked like the type to look like a completely different person without makeup. Somehow, I don’t think that’s the type of girl any of you go for. I could be wrong though. It's happened like once before.”
They both turned up their noses, shaking their heads no.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I rest my case,” smiling at them both.
“Why would smelling Vanessa’s perfume make you think of those two instances?” Misha asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know. Adrik wants me to talk to Stephen later, because OF COURSE he’s the one that would know how to mindfuck someone.”
We all laughed. Poor Stephen really was just a nice guy, but he was so much quieter than the rest of them that it made him stand out.
“Are you hungry, spider monkey?” Andrei asked.
“Don’t ask stupid questions, Bubba. Of course I’m hungry. And of course I want someone to bring me some Vinny’s,” I looked at him, a devilish grin on my face.
Misha pulled his phone out of his pocket. He gave orders, in Russian, then ended the call, putting his phone back in his pocket.
“They’ll be here shortly.” His wide smile stretching across his face. His black hair was getting longer on top, so it would fall over his eyes frequently, causing him to brush it back out of his eyes.
“You guys are so good to me.” I got up to get some water from the kitchen. “Anybody else want some water?” Both hands shot up. I grabbed three water bottles from the fridge and returned to the couch. “Who knows what the meeting Adrik has today is about?”
“He’s meeting with business associates of his, Armando, and a few business associates of Armando’s as well. They’re all people he regularly does business with. They’ve been working on a project for a while now,” Andrei said.
“Sounds exciting,” I said, sarcastically. “That’s probably why Adrik left a somewhat open invitation for me to interrupt the meeting.”
Andrei chuckled. “You can interrupt any meeting he’s in. He won’t care if it’s you.”
I grinned at him. “Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.”
Misha’s phone rang once in his pocket. He looked at it. “Food is downstairs. I’ll be right back,” he said getting up to go fetch our lunch.
“Misha, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love you in this moment,” I called after him. I just heard him laugh as he opened the door.
“What am I? Chopped liver?” Andrei asked, faking outrage.
“Bubba, you know I love you. Besides, I still have to make it up to you over the whole Tori situation. That did not go as I had planned.”
He shook his head no. “You didn’t know she would ultimately turn out to be like that. You were just doing what you always do – trying to make everyone else happy. There’s nothing to make up for. You’re still my favorite spider monkey.”