*Sephie *
I grabbed Adrik’s hands and pulled him with me to the bathroom so I could put my contacts back in. “You were right. There is more to what your mother told me. I didn’t know how much you wanted Ivan to know right now,” I said.
He chuckled. “I thought you were holding back.”
“It’s nothing big, but I still think you should hear it before anyone else does,” I said. I had stopped in front of the mirror, pulling his arms around my waist as he stood behind me. He rested his chin on my shoulder as I went about putting the contacts in. “She said she wanted to thank me for bringing you and Vitaliy together.” I stopped and looked at Adrik in the mirror. “I know you’re about to be shocked, but I argued with her and told her I hadn’t done anything.” He laughed as he moved my hair out of the way so he could kiss my shoulder. “She said that much of Vitaliy’s light died with her and he was almost overtaken by his own darkness, but that I was the spark he needed to remember his own light. I told her that you were right and I was just really good at getting grumpy men to laugh.”
“You’re very good at that,” he said, smiling as he continued to kiss my neck.
“I did ask her if she was special like Vitaliy and you. She said she wasn’t. She said all your power comes from Vitaliy. Apparently all mine comes from my dad. But I think she’s special in her own right. She said she accepted Vitaliy for who he is completely right away. He said something similar to me the first day we were here. It takes a very special person to be able to do that, especially with someone as complicated as Vitaliy.”
I turned to face him, after finishing with the contacts. “She told me that Vitaliy has a giant heart for the people he cares about, much like you do. He just struggles to show it. Even more than you do. That’s when I called him a cheeseball again and she made me promise to tell him I called him that.”
Adrik laughed. “I would actually pay to see that as well. Did she say anything else?”
“She did.” I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his gently. “She said you worry about me the same way Vitaliy used to worry about her. Ivan is almost as bad. Then she said that you all were good men. She said you needed to know that the Universe knows that you’re good men.”
I could see Adrik struggling with what I’d just told him. I watched as several emotions flashed across his face. I could see the internal struggle as he fought whether to believe her words or not.
“She’s right, you know. You are good men. Anybody with half a brain knows you’re good men,” I said, my fingers lightly running over his cheek. His breath hitched as he looked at me, his arms wrapped completely around me, holding me tightly against him. He didn’t say a word, he just held me until our five minutes were likely up and we had to rejoin everyone else.
“We should go back out. They’re going to come check on me again,” I said, loosening my hold on him.
“Not yet,” was all he said, as he pulled me closer to him. I rested my head against his hard chest. I felt his head resting on top of mine as his arms moved to keep me as close to him as possible. We stood like that for a few more minutes as I tried to help calm his storms.
--
We’d been back in the city for a few days. Trino was staying at the building while Viktor and Ivan helped him get a new security team setup. Gus, Oscar, and Chen were helping Trino with whatever he needed as much as they could as well.
“I’m taking the baddest motherfuckers in Colombia label away from them, Oscar. They’re all pussies,” I said, when we were talking about his former security team being scared of me.
“That’s fair. Totally fair,” Oscar said, laughing. “I did not expect them to wet themselves over the thought of you.”
“I really want to say that I have that effect on people, but that would just be wrong,” I said, laughing.
“Miha, don’t take it personal. We all know the truth. Don’t judge all Colombian men by the cowardice of a few,” Trino said.
“Still trying to get her to come to Colombia, man?” Gus asked. He was both amused and surprised at Trino’s words.
“A man can try,” Trino said, laughing as they went to leave Adrik’s office.
Viktor, Ivan, and Stephen had just left to the airport to pick up Vitaliy and his men, who were set to arrive that evening. I walked to Adrik, who was still finishing up a few things. “I’m going to head upstairs to get started on dinner,” I said, my hand running over the back of his shoulders as he leaned over his desk.
“Just a few minutes and I’ll be done. Take the Wonder Twins with you,” he said, looking up at me, a sly smile on his face. I laughed at his use of my new nickname for Andrei and Misha. I leaned down and pressed my lips to his. “I can wait on you, if you like,” I said against his lips. He reached up and grabbed the back of my neck as he groaned quietly. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, his tongue brushing lightly over it which made my thighs clench in response. I heard him chuckle as he felt my response to his kiss. “I’ll get done much faster if I feel like I have to chase you upstairs,” he said.
I smiled as I stood up. “Then get back to work,” I said as seriously as I could. He laughed and smacked my ass as I turned to leave.
I walked to Misha and Andrei’s desks quickly. There were still plenty of people here, as the workday wasn’t over yet and I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I walked from Adrik’s office. Since Armando had taken me and Ivan, I’d garnered way more attention from the people in the office than I ever wanted to. It still made me uncomfortable.
They both noticed when I got to their desks. Misha stood up immediately and stood between me and any lingering eyes. “Are you going to start dinner, gazelle?” Misha asked, shielding me from view.
“Yep. You guys want to help?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions, spider monkey,” Andrei said as he closed his computer and got up from his desk. He shot Misha a look as he turned away from me. Before I knew it, Misha grabbed me by my hips, picking me up so I could hitch a ride with Andrei. “Close your eyes. Then you won’t see them looking at you,” Andrei said quietly.
I laughed quietly. “You two are my favorite. Don’t tell the others.”
Once we were in the safety of the elevator, Misha looked over at me. “Why does it still make you nervous when people look at you? You know that people generally tend to stare at beautiful women, right?”
I smiled at him. They were all so sweet to me. Sometimes it was overwhelming how much they cared about me. “I don’t always get the feeling that they’re staring because of that, my adorable Russian guardian. It always feels the same as when Sal was looking at my boobs and Armando was looking at me after he cut my clothes off. Even when I know it’s not, that’s what it feels like. I don’t like it.”
Andrei held onto my legs a little tighter. “Don’t worry, spider monkey. You’re so tiny next to us that they won’t be able to look at you. We’ll protect you. I’ll carry you everywhere so you can close your eyes and won’t have to see them, if you want.”
“Bubba, you’re my favorite,” I said, squeezing his neck a little tighter. Before Misha could protest, I added, “you are too, my adorable Russian guardian. Don’t think I’ve already forgotten you just told me I was beautiful.” His handsome wide smile stretched across his face as we walked off the elevator.
Andrei and Misha just nodded to the guards outside the penthouse. “Spider monkey,” they both said as we walked past. It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.