He added the last part of the sentence menacingly. I had expected that tone from Nikolay, but Mikhail?
I pulled back and looked at him. He cupped my cheek. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look?”
I shook my head, looking down at his tie shyly.
“No? I should have said it the moment I laid eyes on you. You look beautiful, kotyonok.”
I leaned up to his ear, aware Gabriel was present in the room. “Thank you.”
He bent down and kissed my forehead. That was such a sweet thing to do, coming from such a dangerous man, and I reveled in every little moment, letting my eyes roam over him.
Like Damien, he was in a suit, though his was a dark gray that brought out the blues in his eyes perfectly. He looked handsome.
Nikolay was the only one not in a suit. He was in fitted dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt showcasing his bulky form and powerful arms.
I squirmed. I didn’t know where to look. I wanted to take them all in.
Nikolay came up and pulled me away from Mikhail. I looked at him with a disgruntled expression.
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, you can wear what you want. But you are to stay close by our sides all evening.”
I stretched up near his ear. “I wasn’t asking for permission. Besides, you brought this dress for me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t fucking buy that. I had a personal shopper buy it, and I will be having a word with her.”
I grabbed the collar of his shirt. “Don’t. I like this dress. Are you telling me I don’t look pretty?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “That’s not what I’m saying at all, princess. You look … pretty.”
The word seemed to be wrung out of him. But I’d take that as a compliment. I smiled at him. He let out another small sigh before wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and leading me gently out the front door. “Let’s go.”
I caught Damien’s eye as we walked past. He winked at me, making my heart stutter in my chest. I turned and hid my smile in Nikolay’s chest.
We got into the waiting car parked out front. And, I was happy to note that Gabriel’s companion wasn’t coming with us. I didn’t even care what the reason might be. We filed into the spacious car, with Gabriel and Damien taking the middle seat and Mikhail, Nikolay, and I in the very back. I grabbed Mikhail’s hand and rested my head on Nikolay’s shoulder.
Surrounded by the three men I loved, I had never felt safer.
We didn’t speak much on the ride over there, but Damien and Gabriel were talking about something that sounded like work. Unlike the times when I was with my father, I didn’t want to know what went on in their work.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care.
It was that I was afraid to find out what it might be. Considering how much I loved them, I realized there was very little they could do to make me turn on them, but fuck, there was a line.
I took a deep breath.
“All right, kotyonok?”
I turned and looked at Mikhail, nodding slightly. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. “You have nothing to worry about tonight. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Damien clarified from the front. I hadn’t realized he was listening. I looked over at him. It was too dark in the car for me to really see him, but I had a feeling his eyes were focused intently on me.
I nodded, even if I wasn’t sure he could see it and rested my head back on Nikolay’s shoulder. He had his big hand resting on my thigh.
I wasn’t paying attention to where we were going, but when the car pulled up to a stop in front of a building, I was suddenly blinded by all the lights.
This … was not what I was expecting.
For one, it was brightly lit, not dim as I imagined. And there were a lot of people—well-dressed men who all looked like they exuded power, and each had a woman on their arm. Women who looked like they knew what they were doing.