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He lets out a weary sigh. “I’ll cop to that. But that was before…”
“Before what?”
His eyes scan up and down my body. “Before I saw you in that dress.”
I catch a glimpse of myself in the window of the Audi as it rolls to a stop in front of us. Speaking of “brilliant,” “bold,” and “inspired,” the dress I’m wearing does a brilliant, bold, and inspirational job of hiding my baby bump. The corset stops just above my stomach and the skirt flares out over it. It’s enough to hoodwink even me.
I maneuver into the back of the car in my dangerously high platform heels and reach for Ruslan’s hand the moment he joins me.
“You have nothing to worry about, okay? I got this.”
“It doesn’t have to be you.” His jaw is clenched tight. So much so that I can see a muscle I never knew existed twitching along his left cheekbone.
“Of course it does. He won’t be interested in anyone else.” Even still, I can hear his teeth grind together. “Exhale, Ruslan. You’re gonna chip a tooth.”
His gaze glides over my dress again. The combination of the short skirt and the high heels make my legs look miles long. Gotta be honest—I’m not mad about that.
Ruslan seems to be, though.
“You should have worn a different dress. This one’s too short. And too tight. And too…”
“Go on,” I tease, whirling my hand toward him. “I’m all ears.”
He glowers. “Couldn’t you have picked something with long sleeves and a grandma collar?”
I suppress a laugh. This possessive little freakout of his is actually helping calm me down a little. It’s not like I can admit to feeling nervous now anyway. Not when Ruslan is fully prepared to yank me out of this mission before it’s even begun.
“I’m gonna be fine. I can handle this, Ruslan. You just have to trust me.”
His eyes snap to mine, incandescent with anger. “Of course I trust you. It’s that rat bastard I don’t trust.”
I squeeze his hand as we approach the nightclub. The music pulses down the road towards us. Feels like the red carpet is being rolled out. “It’s gonna be a good night.”
I’m not even sure Ruslan hears me. When we stop, he gets out of the Audi and, a few moments later, he opens my door and helps me out of the car. There’s a slight chill in the air but I feel immune to it. Turns out, adrenaline is quite warming.
He holds my hand tight as we make our way through the club and into the VIP section. I hoist myself onto one of the high barstools while Ruslan orders me a seltzer water. He leans an elbow on the bar and turns to me, his face roiling with emotional thunder.
“Ruslan, we’re at a nightclub,” I whisper to him. “You need to lighten up. At least pretend you know how to have fun.”
The same glare he’s worn all night keeps burning in my direction. “Are yousureabout this?”
“It was my idea, remember?” I place my hand against his wrist. “You gonna give this plan a fair shake or what?” It takes him a moment but he finally nods. “Good. Then kiss me and get outta here.”
He bends down and drops a kiss on my lips. I’m expecting something quick, gentle, businesslike. But what I get instead is the kind of open-mouthed, tongue-flickering kiss that has my head spinning and my panties feeling extremely unnecessary.
“My Lord,” I gasp when he breaks the kiss. “What wasthat?”
“Balm for the soul,” is all he says before he walks away.
I’m still trying to get my head screwed on straight when I feel another presence at my back.Wow, that took much less time than I’d anticipated. Thank God for predictable men.
“Well, well—fancy running into you here.”
Adrik takes the stool that Ruslan just vacated. He’s wearing a silk shirt open to mid-chest, with gold chains looped heavily almost down to his belly button. Whoever told him he looked good tonight was either blind, a liar, or both.
“Adrik,” I greet coldly, looking away.
“Don’t tell me he’s disappeared on you already? I thought Ruslan had better manners than that.”
