Chapter 19
SERGEI
Ihad the worst fucking friends in history.
Nik had barely listened to my explanation that I was there to talk to Jess when he yanked me inside, pointed to the couch, and told me Jess was in the middle of something, but she would be right with me in the next ten minutes or so.
That middle of something? Turned out to be literally between him and Darius. I knew it was all three of them because I heard the distinct high pitch of Jess’s voice separately from Darius’s baritone.
For fuck’s sake, he could have just told me to come another time instead of leaving me out in the living room with nothing but a flimsy bedroom door through which I heard everything.
And how badly they needed a new bed.
I gave it one more month, tops, before the one they were fornicating on would collapse. No way was it holding up for long under the assault it was getting.
Technically, it was my fault for popping by unannounced, but Nik hadn’t needed to let me in.
Now I sat with jealousy burning in my gut when I thought of how Leo wouldn’t even let me inside his house.
He reluctantly answered the door but wouldn’t let me past the doorway.
At least he hadn’t slammed the door in my face yesterday when I brought him dinner. Not exactly, anyway.
He’d insisted we eat in his truck, so that was what we did in his driveway while I glared at the house in front of us and contemplated what the chances were of him still talking to me if I burned it down.
After eating, he’d allowed me exactly one kiss, which had left me disappointed, but then he’d asked me about my day.
I’d been so happy I’d gushed about the nightclub to which he’d asked about my job working as Maxim’s bodyguard.
He’d seemed more at ease that I was no longer working in that capacity.
I could sense his dislike of Maxim, so I’d quickly steered the conversation into a different direction. His work. He’d brought up the nurse and only learning about her death that morning. I’d had too many years of keeping a poker face to give anything away, but it had never been that hard before.
Ice cream could hardly make up for my part in covering up her death, but I took him to a dessert shop and regretted it after watching him lick his ice cream when all I could think about was that tongue licking my ass.
In that moment, I needed it more than I needed air.
And when he’d pointed out mine was melting from my neglect, then leaned over to lick the stickiness from my fingers, I’d almost lost it.
The little smirk on his face told me it was all deliberate, especially when he whispered in my ear, asking when I was going to bring him back to my place already. I’d almost given in and brought him there, but the loft I rented was bare bones.
I didn’t want to bring Leo to a dump to fuck.
So I was at Nik’s apartment to get Jess to help me choose a place. Maxim had given me the name of his realtor, and I’d set up several viewings for tomorrow. But I didn’t know the first thing about houses, and Jess was the most fashionable person I knew. I figured she could be of help.
After waiting fifteen minutes, the door finally opened, and Jess walked out, but not before I heard the moaning still inside.
Nik and Darius?
Fuck, they were still going at it without her.
From the fresh scent of cucumber and her slightly damp hair, Jess had just stepped out of the shower. She had on a purple robe belted at the waist that showed off her long legs and ample bosom. Her neck was covered in love bites.
“Hey, Sergei, sorry for making you wait.” She walked straight to the kitchen and got herself a bottle of water. “Want one?”
“Er, no, I’m good.”
Jess and I hadn’t spent a lot of time together, but I didn’t feel too awkward around her since she could fill the silence all by herself.
She had the gift of gab. But there was a bit of unease because she’d clearly just finished fucking two of my friends, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with that information. So I filed it away.
“Nik said you wanted to see me specifically?” She walked over to the couch opposite me and sat, crossing her legs, which pulled up the robe, showing more love bites on the insides of her thighs.
I jerked my gaze up to find her smiling at me.
“My mode of dress isn’t making you uncomfortable, is it?
I just thought I’d made you wait long enough. ”
“No, it’s fine. This is your home, and it’s my fault for popping by unannounced.”
“Which is a surprise. We hardly see you, and when you do drop by, it’s usually to talk to my men.” She executed a pout to perfection with her bottom lip poking out.
“Sorry again for intruding, but I wanted your help with something.”
Her eyes widened. “You want my help? Why, yes, of course? What is it? To be a spy? You want me to be one of those honeytraps?”
“What? No.” Nik and Darius would have never agreed to that. Wren had needed time to adjust to dating in the mob, but Jess seemed to have taken to it like a fish to water. “I want to buy a house, but I need some help choosing.”
“Oh.” For a second, she sounded disappointed, then she grinned. “Of course I’ll help you. That sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely pay you for your time.”
“Sergei, you offer me money again, and I’ll tell my men you tried to solicit me. You’re a friend. Of course I’m not going to charge you.” Then she leaned in and smiled. “Not money at least, but I’m easy for a pair of red bottoms.”
Oh, she was a little scammer. I knew what those things cost since I’d gotten the last pair Maxim had bought her when she helped him out with Wren. She knew damn well the price of those shoes would be more than a day’s work.
But if it meant finally having somewhere to take Leo? Worth it.
“Deal.” I ironed out the details of picking her up tomorrow, then got to my feet. “Thanks again, Jess. I appreciate it.”
“No worries. I’m happy to help. In other ways too.”
She gave me a wink that made me squirm. Was she hitting on me? I knew she was in a relationship with two men, but I thought they were exclusive.
“Er, no thanks. I don’t think I could live down seeing Darius’s and Nik’s bare asses.”
Her smile brightened. “But you’d want to see mine?”
I started sweating and wishing I was better at this peopling shit. “That’s not what I meant at all. I don’t think of you in that way.”
“You don’t think I’m attractive?”
“Of course you are. But—I’m not into women. Okay?”
Jess stopped talking for longer than a second, then her eyes misted over, and before I knew it, her arms were around me, and she was hugging me so tightly her breasts squished against my chest. I almost panicked, and if I could speak, I would have yelled at Darius and Nik through the door to get their slightly deranged woman who’d just hugged me for no goddamn reason at all.
“Jess,” I croaked.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She took a step back and sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye.
Oh fuck, if I did something to offend her, I would never hear the end of it from Nik. Darius, too.
“Did I say something wrong?” I asked, noticing her wiping another tear.
“No, the opposite. You said something so right, and it just made me react even though it’s been years.”
I had no idea what she was talking about and thought it best to shut up in case I said anything else that would make her cry again. I’d sure as hell put up a fight, but Darius and Nik together would be hard to beat.
“Well, I’d better get going.” I nodded toward the bedroom door. “You can get back to what you were doing.”
She gave a laugh. “Nah, I’ve had my fun, and it’s my turn to make us dinner. It’s good for them to be alone sometimes, too.”
I nodded as if I understood their dynamic or even Leo’s and his husband’s at all.
I tried not to think about it, but I had this constant ball in the pit of my stomach, waiting for Leo to drop the other shoe that he was with someone else intimately.
My gut turned every time I thought about it, but there was no way I could tell him outright that I had no desire to be shared or to share him with anyone else, and I didn’t care if they were a fucking wizard in bed.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, I pulled up to Leo’s front door to have dinner with him like I’d done the day before.
I hadn’t asked if I could come over, but when I sent him a voice note asking him what he was in the mood for, he’d texted back with the name of his favorite Italian restaurant—apparently, Italian food was the way to his heart—the address, and his exact order down to the sauce.
LEO
Burrata with heirloom tomatoes and basil oil. No balsamic glaze. Extra flaky salt.
Lobster ravioli in a light saffron cream sauce. Sauce on the side so it doesn’t get soggy.
Truffle parmesan fries.
Grilled branzino, deboned, with lemon and capers.
A bottle of Chateau Margaux, 2015 vintage.
Tiramisu. But only if it’s made in-house. If not, substitute with panna cotta and berry compote.
Right there and then, I knew it had been a good idea to wait until I had a decent place to bring the aloof doctor with an expensive palate.
My apartment was not fit for a man with his taste.
I was accustomed to shoveling whatever food was most convenient down my throat, especially when I was working.
Leo, on the other hand, turned ordering takeout into something almost clinical in the way he dictated every detail.
I’d never spent that much on a single meal in my life.
The cost of the bottle of wine alone was enough to feed a frugal family of four for a month.
But this was Leo, and I would ensure he got exactly what he wanted when he wanted it.
As long as he wasn’t running from me, I’d buy him all the fifteen-hundred-dollar bottles of wine he asked for without a second thought.