*Sephie*
When I woke again, I was in the penthouse. I knew I was laying on Adrik now instead of Andrei without even opening my eyes. I could feel Adrik’s perfect warmth against me. I started to stir and felt his arms hold me tighter.
“Mmm, I still love when you hold me down as I wake up,” I said. I could feel the vibration of his quiet laugh in his chest. I looked up at him. “You moved me and I didn’t wake up?” I asked, realizing I was no longer in the office.
I heard Andrei laugh from one of the other couches. “You were completely out, spider monkey.”
“We’d all been talking for like half an hour, thinking you’d wake up. You never did, so Andrei carried you up here and handed you off to Boss,” Misha said.
“Guess I really am overdue,” I said. I looked around to see if Vitaliy and Aleksei were back yet.
“They’ll be here soon. Along with dinner,” Viktor said.
It was that moment that I realized how late it had gotten and that it was now dark outside. “Shit,” I said, under my breath.
“You need a break, Seph. Don’t feel bad,” Stephen said. “You’re always extra tired when new stuff happens. You’ve had multiple new things happen lately.”
I looked at Andrei, then to Ivan. “That reminds me. I forgot to ask if you two knew you were pushing your anger to me when I was fighting to keep the panic at bay at the hotel.”
Andrei nodded his head. “I could feel you panic but then I felt you get angry and figured out what you were trying to do. I had no idea how to do it, but I tried to push mine to you. I know you can deal with insane amounts of anger, but you struggle with the panic and fear. I was hoping the anger would override everything else.”
“You’re so smart and so handsome. It’s like you’re a double threat,” I said.
“It was a little different for me. Your anger amps mine up to the point that it’s all I notice. I felt yours getting stronger, which made mine get stronger. I think it was having the same effect on me as it was you because it calmed my nerves when looking at her,” Ivan said. “It was a welcome change.”
“That’s different,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip. “I felt your bubble too, Squish. A couple of times.”
“Have you learned how to keep your demon eyes under control, Seph? I was sitting across from you and I didn’t see them once when you were talking to her. I was incredibly impressed,” Stephen asked. We hadn’t had a chance to fill him and Viktor in on my mood ring eyes yet.
“She’s been wearing contacts since we went to Panama. Her eyes have a mind of their own now. The demon eyes aren’t the only trick she can do now, but she has problems controlling it. Since we were all a little punchy after Trino’s guys had such a problem with her, Boss had contacts made for her so she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone seeing and we wouldn’t have to kill anyone,” Ivan said. He had his devilish grin on his face.
“What else are they doing, sestrichka?” Viktor asked.
“It’s easier if I show you. Be right back,” I said, running to the bathroom to take the contacts out. When I came back out, they’d all moved to the kitchen, where there was better lighting.
I walked to Adrik, knowing how much he loved seeing my eyes change to blue. The smile on his face told me they had changed. He called Viktor and Stephen over so they could see.
“Her demon eyes started as the brown overtaking the other colors and turning darker. Now it’s to the point that they’re black when it happens. The other colors started doing it now too whenever she feels different emotions. Blue means she’s thinking about how much she loves me. Green means she’s being a shit and sarcastic,” Adrik said.
“Now that we’re all here, I want to see the white,” Misha said. He was always the instigator and I loved him for it.
“White?” Stephen asked.
I nodded. “When I get scared, they turn almost white. There’s just a hint of blue still, but it’s mostly white. The other day when the Wonder Twins asked me about my demon eyes, I showed them the other colors but I didn’t want to show them the white because Ivan feels me panic and you guys were gone to get Vitaliy. I didn’t want to distract him. We haven’t tested it to see how far away it works, but my panic and fear are very strong so he and Adrik get punched with it when it happens.”
“It’s scarier than her demon eyes when it happens,” Adrik said.
Viktor laughed, the uncertainty evident in his deep voice when he said, “I’m not sure I want to see that, then. I’m still trying to get a handle on your demon eyes when that happens.”
“Aww, Papa Bear. It’s never directed at you. You’re my favorite,” I said, smiling sweetly at him.
“I don’t want to freak you out and make you panic, but I’m definitely curious,” Stephen said.
I looked at Adrik, who looked concerned. “You don’t have to show them. You struggle to control your fear. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, but I will be right here to calm you down if you need it,” he said.
I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, then said, “I have an idea.” I stepped in front of him, pulling his arms around my waist. “You always help so maybe you can keep it from getting out of control, but still let me feel it enough that they can see.” He wrapped his arms around my waist tighter, leaning down and resting his chin on my shoulder. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I started to replay the afternoon’s events in my head when that woman stood up and looked at me. It didn’t take long and I felt his grip on me tighten as we both felt my panic coming on.
Ivan stood up a little straighter, followed by Misha and Andrei. “It’s working,” they all said at the same time.
I opened my eyes to see Stephen’s shocked expression. It worked. Misha and Andrei also walked closer so they could see. Viktor couldn’t help himself and also walked closer to see. They were speechless. I could feel my panic starting to grow stronger as I looked at their shocked faces in front of me.
I felt Adrik’s lips close to my ear. “You’re with me, love. You’re safe. We all love you.” He just kept repeating those words until he felt me start to relax.
I finally took a deep breath. I had closed my eyes when he started talking to me. Their shocked expressions had an unexpected affect on me, so when I opened my eyes, they were the almost amber that meant I was sad. Adrik felt the shift. They all saw the new color before he turned me around.
“Why are you sad, spider monkey?” Andrei asked as I hid my face in Adrik’s chest.
“So that color brown means she’s sad?” Stephen asked. “That’s different than her normal brown.”
Adrik nodded his head. “I’ve only ever seen that amber color once before. When she was thinking about Trino seeing his mom for the last time,” he said. He gently put his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me away from him so he could search my eyes. He cursed under his breath, pulling me back to him. “We love you no matter what, Sephie. That’s never going to change.”
I heard Andrei quietly explain to the others and I knew he had done his own searching. “She doesn’t want to scare us with everything that’s happened. She doesn’t want us to look at her differently, either. She’s sad at the thought of us feeling uncomfortable around her now.”
We heard the door to the penthouse open, signaling that Vitaliy and Aleksei were back. Adrik kept his arms around me, but walked us quickly back to the bedroom. Once we were alone, he stepped back from me, looking me in the eyes. “They were just shocked. The white eyes are scarier than the demon eyes the first time you see them. They still love you as much as they ever have, Sephie. Nothing is going to change that.”
I nodded my head, but didn’t say anything. I walked to the bathroom so I could put the contacts back in. He followed me, standing in his favorite spot behind me, his chin once again resting on my shoulder while he watched me put the contacts in. It had become one of my favorite things. It was such a simple thing, but I found myself loving the little moments we had together.