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I jolt as Drazen’s huge hand at my back tightens almost to the point of bruising. I glance up nervously at him, half expecting him to smash Vadik’s face in. Instead, he just grimaces a hard, tight smile.
That’s when I know for sure that this is the man he’ll be destroying once he gets onto the Table.
Vadik roars with laughter at his own stupid joke. The girl at his side tries to laugh along, even though she looks mortified and scared even to be next to him.
“Some respect, Vadik,” Kir snarls quietly. “And perhaps some class while you’re at it.”
Vadik rolls his eyes, sloshing his tumbler of vodka around. “I kid, I kid. As long as she’s back in his bed, what does he care?” He snickers, elbowing Drazen. “Isn’t that right, Krylov?”
“Silver linings, Mr. Belov,” Drazen says tightly back, a smile etched roughly across his face.
“Well,” Vadik leers at me. “If you get tired of trying to remember where this one’s cock and balls are, you come find me, yeah?”
He says it as he slaps his date’s ass. The poor girl turns bright red, looking absolutely miserable as she smiles weakly.
“Oh, I can promise you, Mr. Belov,” I smile right into Vadik’s face. “My husband’s cock and balls would be impossible to miss.”
Vadik’s face sours.
“Hopefully your date has the same ease in discovery.”
His eyes turn confused, like he’s not quite sure if I’ve just insulted him or not. Kir, on the other hand, roars with laughter. The blonde at Vadik’s side bites her lip to stop herself from doing the same.
Drazen’s hand drops to my ass and squeezes, hard?—
Yep, still sore. Jesus.
…Still, don’t care, because the feel of his grip on me…does things to me.
Vadik mumbles something about getting another drink before he grabs his date by the wrist and roughly drags her away. Kir chuckles as he turns to Drazen and me. “You surprise me, Annika. This is not the quietly submissive little girl I met at a wedding fifteen years ago.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I smile.
“Oh, quite the contrary, I can promise you,” he grins before turning his attention to Drazen. “And you, my friend, can stop hiding your feelings so poorly. It’s quite clear to anyone with half a brain that you despise the man.”
Drazen’s jaw ticks. “I’m sure Yelizaveta has made known my intentions to ask for a vote onto the Table.”
Kir nods. “Indeed. But surely you know it’s a majority vote that carries such a request, not a unanimous one. So fuck Vadik.”
Drazen smiles thinly. “I’ve been a numbers man since the war, Kir. Play the numbers, and you’ll play to win.”
Kir smiles, nodding. “Speaking of numbers…” He glances at me and clears his throat. “I was hoping to bend your ear, Drazen, about a business opportunity.”
Drazen’s eyes swivel to mine.
“I’ll go mingle,” I smile cordially. Yeah, I might hate these sort of functions. But fuck, I’m good at them.
“My apologies, Annika,” Kir smiles. “I merely need to borrow him for a moment.”
“I’ll be at the bar,” I smile as I turn toward Drazen. “Dear.”
I lean up to kiss his cheek, for Kir’s benefit, I guess. But at the last second, Drazen twists his head. My eyes fly open in shock when he kisses me. Then I’m melting as his hands slide over my hips, pulling me tight against his hard, muscled body.
“Don’t stray far,” he growls. “Dear.”
There’s still a shiver tingling down my spine and a throb between my thighs as I wander off.
Twenty minutes later, I’ve made the rounds. I’ve linked back up with Yelizaveta again and had a surprisingly good conversation with Pavel Nikitin and Nikolai Antonov on international maritime law, which I actually had a class on in law school. Turns out Pavel is a lawyer himself, though not practicing. And Nikolai attended Harvard for his undergrad.
