Vik (Shot Callers 2)

Talking.

With his mouth.

Lord, help me, he hadn’t shaved. And I liked that too.

Internally, I broke down, feigned crying, and stomped my feet like a child throwing a tantrum over a stuffed toy they couldn’t have.

My eyes dipped to his lips, and for a second, I stopped breathing. I could almost feel his stubble against the delicate skin of my neck.

He looked like a snack, and I was damn near starving—in some places more than others.

You’re just thirsty. Get a grip.

Leaning back with an air of confidence, he jerked his chin toward the dance floor, and I wanted to step forward and run my tongue along his sharp jawline. “Drink. Dance. We’ll be here when you’re ready to go.”

I hesitated.

Vik rolled his eyes and huffed out an annoyed breath before reaching for the bar and handing me a bright-blue shot. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

I’ve got you.

He did. He always had. And that was the problem. I didn’t know a life without him.

I examined the shot, and my heart turned gooey.

It was a blue kamikaze.

He remembered.

Lev’s face softened, and as Mina rushed past me with a little squeal of happiness, throwing herself into my brother’s waiting arms, I watched their lips connect, and my own curled.

And there went one of our party.

The longer they kissed, the larger my frown grew. Throwing back the shot, I slammed it onto the bar, my front skimming Vik’s hard body before snatching Mina out of Lev’s arms. My brother’s glare was deadly, but I didn’t give a flying, flipping shit.

All I said was “No! This is our night. You will not seduce your wife away from us. Do you hear me, Lev?”

At Lev’s unhappy face, Mina stretched for him. I pulled her out of reach.

But when Cora stumbled into my back with an “Oops,” I threw Mina right back into her husband’s arms. Mina looked up at my brother with hearts in her eyes and muttered tenderly, “Hi, baby.”

Sasha glared.

Lev immediately softened, drawing his tipsy wife close.

“Hello, mouse” was his sickly-sweet response, and Mina was lost to him.

I clicked my tongue.

My heart.

Also… stahp.

Cora slid into the small space by Lev, then leaned over the bar, calling out, “I’m thirsty. Whose sausage do I have to suck to get another round over here?”

Anika stumbled over, and Vik stepped forward to offer his sister his hand. I shouldn’t have noticed the way his strong arm flexed, but really, how could I miss it? She gripped it tight, smiling up at him affectionately, and revealed in a loud whisper, “I’m drunk,” ending on a tinkling laugh.

Vik sat her down on a stool, and his lips tipped up in a smile reserved only for his sister. “I can see that.”

With Anika sandwiched safely between Vik and Sasha, Cora placed a shot into my hand, and because I was too busy wondering what color boxers Vik was wearing, I almost downed it without looking. So, when Vik glanced over and took the glass out of my hands with a frown, one could say I was a little perturbed.

“Hey,” I started, but just when I opened my mouth to let him know what I thought about his helicopter parenting, he handed the shot back to Cora, and when I heard what he said, I was very close to throwing myself at him.

“Anything but tequila. It makes her pukey. Fruity drinks or mixers.”

My frozen heart melted a little.

Excuse me, sir.

Cease and desist.

A moment later, another blue kamikaze was handed to me, and as I blinked down at it, I had the insane urge to cry, because it was the little things that made Vik special, that made him irreplaceable. He took care of me in a way that made me believe he loved me. But it was just wishful thinking.

Anika turned to Sasha, gripped the front of his shirt, and jerked him down to speak directly into his ear. I didn’t know what she said, but Sasha’s stoic face turned soft, and a smile threatened to show itself. But as quickly as it came, it went, and his impassive expression returned with a vengeance.

Mina was happy to remain in her husband’s arms. Cora retold the story of how I almost emasculated a man in the middle of the dance floor, and she did so with great enthusiasm, earning me an appreciative onceover from Vik that made my insides flip-flop.

And I just stood there with a warming belly and sadness in my eyes.

So, that was that. I officially lost my girls to the three men whose gravity had always pulled people into the atmosphere surrounding them. I should have been mad, but I wasn’t. All we had was each other. This little group of ours couldn’t afford to get much smaller.

I assumed the night was at an end. I could not have been more wrong.