7. Ian
Iknow the minute Emily enters the club even though I can”t see her right away. I track her path through the trail of heads she”s turning. It”s like watching flowers turn toward the sun. As she gets closer, I can see the wolfish desire on their faces and my hands itch for a weed whacker.
The only thing keeping them from reaching out and touching her is Alexei’s icy glare. Seeing him guide her through the crowd, keeping the assholes at bay, is the only thing that soothes the possessive monster in my chest. I watch as his hand glides down the side of her nearly transparent dress to splay across her waist in a show of ownership.
If anyone else had put his hands on her like that, I’d be in the tabloids for fighting… again. I glance over the table at Oliver, and the look on his face tells me we’re thinking the same thing. For tonight, at least, she’s our girl, and none of us plan to let some drunk schmuck take her away from us.
When she briefly meets my eyes, I can’t help but notice a glimmer of guilt in them. Is she regretting coming out tonight or is she feeling guilty for a more interesting reason?
Oliver and I stand up when she reaches the table. Emily smiles gratefully up at us but looks away immediately. As she slides into the corner of the booth, her jacket slips off her shoulder. I catch a glimpse of a bite mark just below where her shoulder meets her neck before she hastily tugs it back into place.
That explains the guilty look. We’ll have to fix that if this lasts more than a night.
I rack my brain for a way to gently bring it up without making her feel on edge.
“Looks like you two had some fun on the way here,” Oliver says, winking at her.
I feel Emily stiffen next to me.
“I… I…” She trails off, staring into her lap.
So much for subtlety.
My head drops into my hands and I massage my temples. When I finally look up, I see Alexei is glaring at Oliver, who currently bears a strong resemblance to a kicked puppy.
“Damn it,” he says softly. “I’m sorry, Emily. I was hoping to make you laugh. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you.”
“You idiot,” I snap. “This is new for her. She was clearly nervous walking in, and the best thing you could think to do was pick at her.”
“I thought trying to lighten the mood was a good move,” Oliver says, holding his hands up in surrender.
“Clearly not,” I growl.
“Stop it, please,” Emily begs.
Even though her voice is barely above a whisper, we all freeze.
Alexei sighs. “Clearly, we’ve got some things to talk over before we start our night. Why don’t we start with some drinks?”
“And nachos,” Oliver pipes up. “What?” he adds after I glare at him. “Nachos make everything better.”
As I open my mouth to argue, Emily laughs and relaxes next to me, so I think better of it.
“Nachos too, then,” Alexei adds dryly. “Anything else?”
“Fried pickle chips?” Emily asks hesitantly. “I’ve been wanting to try them. I can get them and my drinks to. Just remind me to ask for a separate tab when the waitress gets here.”
“Absolutely not,” Alexei says.
Her nose crinkles adorably, and I have to fight the urge to kiss the tip of it.
“Do you really hate them so much that you can’t be at the same table as them? Are they not worth ordering?” she asks, confused.
Oliver laughs. “What my grumpy friend here is trying to say is that under no circumstances will you be paying for anything tonight. We are taking you out. I don’t know what kind of frogs you’ve been dating lately, but you’re with a couple of princes tonight and we don’t allow our woman to pay for drinks.”
Emily’s smile reaches her eyes for the first time tonight, and I’m struck once again by how stunning she is. Her amber eyes almost glow under the dim lights of the club, and the thick knot of hair on the top of her head is practically begging me to take it down and tangle my hands in it. I can’t help but picture that hair brushing against my chest as she rides my dick.
“Ian.” Emily taps my shoulder. “She just asked what you wanted.”
I glance at the edge of the table at the woman that had apparently walked up while I was in fantasyland.
“I’ll have a Negroni. Did we already put in for the nachos and pickles?” I ask.
The waitress smiles and nods.
“And you, Hon?” She nods at Alexei.
She’s brave. I’m pretty sure his own mother called him sir.
“Do you still have the Jasmine Tea Mocktail?” he asks.
“We do. All right, I’ll put that in for you.” She gives us a lingering look. “Unless there’s anything else I can get you?”
I feel Emily bristle beside me.
“Thank you, Hon.” She practically spits the word. “But we’re good here.”
I pinch my lips together to keep from smiling, but Oliver can’t keep the grin off his face so he tries to hide it behind his hand.
“What are you two laughing about?” Emily scolds after the waitress scurried off. “The two of you looked ready to murder any guy who so much as looked at me when I was walking over here, but it’s funny when I get a little jealous?”
“I found it rather charming,” I admit.
I’m rewarded with a smile and a squeeze of my hand.
“I found it funny,” Oliver admits, then quickly adds, “Do you honestly think we’d even glance at anyone else when we’ve got a literal goddess at our table?”
Emily shakes her head at him. “Are you always this good at getting yourself out of trouble, McKenna, or are you just trying to impress me?”
“How about both?” he teases.
The waitress comes back bringing our drinks, our appetizers, and unfortunately, the tense mood from when we first sat down.
Alexei looks at me and nods once as soon as the coast is clear. I’m not sure how, but somewhere down the line, I ended up being appointed as our group’s emotional spokesperson. I don’t mind, though. I’ve always found it easier to let my feelings live on the surface even if it’s gotten me into trouble.
I reach over and grab Emily’s hand. She startles but doesn’t pull away, so I take it as a sign to continue.
“Emily, we owe you an apology. Don’t say anything yet, just hear me out. We got carried away in the stairwell. All that talk about informed, enthusiastic consent, and clearly, we didn’t give you enough information based on the guilty look you gave us when you came in with Alexei. The three of us were so drawn to you that none of us thought much further than getting you to say yes. That’s not how we do things,” I tell her.
“Do you do this sort of thing often?” she asks with a vague gesture at the three of us.
“Not often, but it’s happened once or twice before,” Alexei answers.
“And you have a routine? You just fit the woman in like a cog in a machine?” Emily bites her lip nervously.
“Not at all.” I shake my head. “Every dynamic is different, and it’s a rare woman who can capture the attention of all three of us. Try thinking about it like the scientific method, if it helps. The method stays the same, but the experiments are different.”
She nods encouragingly. “I’ll try. Go on.”
“Part of what we were too distracted to tell you about the four of us being…” I pause for a moment as I search for the right word.
“Involved?” Emily suggests.
“Sure, involved,” I say, grateful she’s willing to listen. “When the three of us are involved with a woman, it doesn’t always have to be all four of us together like when we were in the stairwell. It’s usually that way, but life happens and we’re all different people. We want you to have relationships with us separately as well as us all together. When we say you don’t have to choose, we mean it, so there’s no need for guilt.”
Alexei clears his throat aggressively, so I take the hint and get to the point faster.
“What I’m trying to say is that I’m not going to care if you spend time with just Alexei or just Oliver, and they’re not going to care if you spend time with just me or with any possible combination of the two of us. We’re all adults here. If one of us is feeling neglected, we’ll tell you. I hope we never make you feel neglected.” I smile. “But we expect you to tell us if something is bothering you, especially if you’re dealing with guilt or uncertainty. I know I’m probably beating a dead horse, but whatever happened in the limo with Alexei is only important if you didn’t like it. When it’s one of us, two of us, or all three of us, there’s absolutely nothing to be guilty about. The only real rule we have is that if you agree to be with us, it’s only us, just like it’ll only be you.”
“I’m not sure what to say,” she says, fiddling with the zipper of her jacket.
“It’s not a marriage proposal,” I start.
“Yet,” Oliver interrupts with a grin.
“Not helping,” Alexei growls.
“Emily,” I say, savoring the taste of her name on my lips, “you’re in control of how far this does or doesn’t go, whether it’s one night, a couple of months, or years, but for however long you want this, I promise it’ll just be the four of us. I’m sorry we rushed into it without saying all this first, but that’s all our cards on the table. So, what do you say to starting our date over?”