*Sephie*
I smiled at her as we heard another knock on her door, a little louder this time. She walked toward the door and opened it. All five guys were in the hall outside Ms. Jackson’s apartment to escort me upstairs. They all looked incredibly handsome in their tuxedos. My mouth fell open, looking at each of them.
Ivan spoke first. “We couldn’t decide who would come get you, so we all came to get you.”
I walked toward them all, as they all stared at me like it was their first time seeing a girl. “I know, I know. Ms. Jackson works miracles, right?” I said, laughing.
“Ms. Jackson only helped bring out what was already there,” Viktor said, winking at me. I felt my cheeks flush. He offered me his arm. I slid my arm through his, thanking Ms. Jackson one more time before I left her apartment.
“You boys can show up looking like this anytime you please,” she said as she watched us walk down the hall toward the elevator.
When the doors opened to the penthouse, the two guards standing outside who usually didn’t pay me much attention, both stared at me as I walked by. Must be something to this whole looking like a girl thing…
Before we walked into the penthouse, I suddenly got nervous. I stopped Ivan from opening the door. I looked at all of them, shaking my hands in front of me. “Fuck, I’m so nervous. Do you guys really think he’s going to like this?”
“Are you serious right now, spider monkey?” Andrei asked.
I nodded my head, still nervously shaking my hands in front of me. I chewed on my bottom lip. Shit. I have lipstick on. I shouldn’t do that. Oh jeez, I already messed up my makeup.
Misha stepped in front of me, both hands on my shoulders. “Gazelle, look at me. We’ve seen every one of Boss’s girlfriends. Not a single one of them can hold a candle to you. Trust us. He will LOVE it.”
I exhaled and closed my eyes. Ivan opened the door and stepped aside for me to walk through. “We’ll be waiting out here when you’re ready to go, princess.” He winked at me as I walked past.
I walked through the door, hearing Ivan close it behind me. My shoes clicked on the hard floors, announcing my arrival. Adrik was standing at the windows, looking out over the city as the sun began to set. He had laid his tux jacket over the back of one of the couches. While all the guys had a regular white shirt with their tuxedo, his was black. I loved him in all black. There was something so sexy, so dangerous about him in all black.
He turned slowly to look at me, his hands in his pockets. As he turned toward me, I could see he had left the tie off and chose to leave his top two buttons undone. His hair was neatly in place, his day-old stubble giving his sex appeal an extra edge. I caught my breath as I took in his full picture.
As he caught sight of me, that sexy smirk appeared on his face. He slowly looked me up and down a few times. I had stopped walking, so he hadn’t seen the slit in the skirt yet. “Come here,” he said, extending his hand to me. As I took a step, revealing almost my entire leg, his eyes widened. He cursed under his breath, inhaling sharply. I took his hand and he twirled me around, so he could see the back.
“Sephie. I have no words. Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe it. You’re breathtaking.”
I turned to face him, still nervous. “You really like it?”
“I love it. You’ve exceeded all my expectations. The guys were right. I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.” He pulled me closer, kissing my lips gently. “They’re going to be busy tonight keeping the other men off you.”
I felt my cheeks flush, looking down. “At least there’s five of them. There’s only one of me. You’re going to have to let me have at least three of them to run interference with the women that are going to be vying for your attention.”
“They can try to get my attention, but none of them are my solnishko. I won’t be able to take my eyes off you.” He wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me close. He put his face close to mine, lightly brushing mine with his facial hair. I giggled as he whispered, “you are living up to your namesake, my queen.”
I pulled him to me, holding him close to me. As soon as I felt his hands on me, I calmed down. I was going to need his touch tonight to help me keep my cool.
He kissed my cheek. “Come, we should go.” He walked to the couch, slipping his jacket on. He offered his arm. I slipped my arm through his. He stared at me for a moment, his blue eyes dark, before heading toward the door.
As he opened the door, we were met by all five guys, patiently waiting for us. They all had smirks on their faces as they looked at me. I smiled at them, knowing they all wanted to tell me “told you so” but they were trying to be nice to me.
“You guys were right.”
“I’m sorry, can we get that on a recording, princess?” Ivan said, smiling at me.
“Don’t push your luck.” I said, winking at him.
There was a red carpet set up to the side of the entrance of the hotel. I saw it as we drove past; my eyes went wide. Adrik smiled down at me, pulling me closer to him. “We’re skipping that. I don’t do press pictures.”
“This. This is why I love you.”
He chuckled, kissing my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re back. I missed the normal you.”
The SUVs pulled up to the sidewalk, away from the press and the red carpet. Adrik stepped out, extending his hand to me. I slid over to get out, trying not to flash everyone as I stepped out. Andrei, Viktor, and Misha stepped out with us. Ivan and Stephen would park the vehicles and meet us inside.
I looked at the three of them. “You boys clean up well. Eye candy, indeed,” I said smiling at them.
Viktor and Andrei led the way, with Misha behind us. We were far enough away that no one really noticed us walking toward the entrance. Mr. Turner was there at the door. His smile stretched across his face when he saw us approaching. He took his hat off, bowing to me. “Miss Sephie, you look absolutely stunning tonight, young lady.”
I walked to him, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “You’re too kind, Mr. Turner.”
“I only speak the truth, my dear,” he said as he opened the door for us to enter the hotel.
The main floor of the hotel had several ballrooms of varying sizes and grandness for such occasions. We would be going to the largest one, as this was one of the biggest events the hotel held each year.
As we entered the ballroom, there were people everywhere. Adrik pulled me a little closer, whispering in my ear, “you stay with me or within sight of one of the guys tonight, okay?” I nodded my head. That would not be a problem. No way was I going to be left on my own with this many people around.
We were met with waiters carrying glasses of champagne. Adrik waved them away each time. His aversion to alcohol was one of the many things I loved about him. There was a live orchestra playing, with a large dance floor in one area. A stage with tables below it in another area. There were other waiters walking around with plates of food, as well as a bar toward the back of the ballroom. It was a sea of tuxedos and gowns.
Almost immediately, people began approaching Adrik. They would speak to him, shake his hand, and inevitably thank him for something he helped them with at some point. Somehow, he managed to remember every person’s name.
I leaned over to Andrei while Adrik was talking to yet another person. “How does he remember everyone’s name? I feel like I would fail that test miserably.”
“Me too,” he grinned at me.
Ivan and Stephen joined us. They stayed close, always within sight, but they tried to give Adrik and I room to mingle. Well, Adrik room to mingle. I didn’t know anybody. After like the 20th person came to speak to him, he walked to me. I felt his arm around my waist. He leaned down to my ear, “I need a break already. May I have this dance?” He stepped back and extended his hand to me. I took his hand, reluctantly.
“You know I don’t know how to dance, right?” I said quietly as I followed him to the dance floor.
He turned to me, holding one hand in his, wrapping his other arm around my waist. “Somehow, I think you’ll be a natural at this.” He pulled me close, so that my body was against his. “All you have to do, my love, is look at me and follow my lead.” He took a few steps, my legs following his motion instinctively. “And I happen to know for a fact, solnishko, that you are excellent at following my lead.”
I felt my cheeks flush as he effortlessly guided us around the floor. It felt like we were floating across the floor. Suddenly, everyone else disappeared and it was only he and I in the room with the music in the background. As the song came to an end, he slowed to a stop. We still hadn’t taken our eyes off each other. We heard clapping, breaking my daze. I looked around to discover we had been the only couple on the dance floor. The orchestra began a new song while people still clapped for us. I felt my cheeks flush. I looked down, not wanting to see everyone looking at me.
He leaned into me, kissing my cheek. “You’re the most gorgeous woman they’ve ever seen.”
I looked at his dark blue eyes, filled with so much love, and couldn’t help but smile at him. His lips to my ear, he quietly said, “why do I want to rip that dress off you every time you smile at me?”
I coughed, not expecting him to say that. He laughed, pulling me toward the bar. “Let’s get you some water, my love.”