Chapter Twenty-Six Ellie
Afew minutes earlier…
“Wait, so you mean to tell me Andres hasn’t started the whole twenty questions every time you get up to pee thing like the rest of them?” Sofia asked, giggling as she sipped some wine mixed with lemon lime soda.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, she just means the whole possessive vibe the boys have,” Meredith explained, rubbing her slight baby bump.
“Possessive vibe?”
“Yeah, like when you’re in bed and he’s all like tell me you are mine, show me you want me or no orgasm for you,” Destiny said in what had to be the worst male voice ever.
I almost choked on my drink.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so hard. Or ate so much.
Goddamn.
Everything was amazing.
The food.
The drinks.
The women.
The jokes.
The laughter.
And it was exactly what I needed.
“Marat does that? I swear to God, if Adrik threatens to withhold my orgasm, I’ll kick his ass.”
“His fine ass,” Meredith added.
“Truth. My husband has a fine ass. As do all our men, I must admit.”
I giggled some more. The girls were fantastic about teasing one another and making outrageous comments about each other’s men. But it was all in good fun.
There was such a strong bond between them. It made me feel blessed to be included.
We shushed as one of our servers came in with the next course. Apparently, Adrik had reserved a private room for us, a special six course menu, and a slew of servers to see to our needs.
It didn’t escape my notice they were all female. And when I remarked on it, the wives of wolves just snorted.
“As if they would allow men to wait on us,” Destiny said, shaking her head.
“Your husband is one of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen, you mean he’s jealous?” I asked, disbelieving.
“Oh, Marat knows he’s a handsome devil, but if you want to talk proprietary, the man is a beast. And I mean that in the best possible way,” she told me, and her eyes were sparkling with delight.
“You better be talking about me, Dumplin’,” the man himself said, walking into our private dining room bold as brass.
Stunned, my gaze flicked to the doorway where I saw not just Marat, but Adrik, Josef, and, oh, myovaries, Andres, too.
Sexier than anyone had a right to look, he wore a black shirt and a slate gray suit. The top three buttons of his shirt were undone, giving me a tantalizing view of dark chest hair.
I loved that he wasn’t one of those men who waxed or shaved or whatever. I liked my man real. And he was as real as it got.
Andres stalked over to my side of the table and my mouth went completely dry. The other men were saying hello to their wives, but I wasn’t paying them any mind.
All my attention was on him.
My larger-than-life husband.
This man, who seemingly came out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Who I took one look at and just blindly trusted with mine and Sammy’s lives.
Maybe I was a fool.
But there was just something about him that said don’t worry, I got you.
I just knew he would take care of us. Call it a sixth sense, or just call me a fool. It didn’t matter.
I trusted Andres. Even if this was the first time, I truly admitted that to myself.
I’d had bad and mean and rough. I’d been married to a man who saw me as little more than a pawn. Andres was the first man who saw me for me.
He saw all my dark and dirty, all my ugly. And still, he’d said yes.
My heart squeezed so hard, I gasped. Andres frowned, canting his head to the side like he knew exactly what I was feeling.
He was like this big, sturdy oak. A tall, unbreachable tower. A natural born protector, taking me and Sammy under his wing. Giving us shelter. Keeping us dry and warm.
His hand gripped the back of my neck as he came right next to me, and he crouched down.
“You good, Lupina?”
A hum of contentment moved through my blood as I smiled at him. I lifted my face, and he leaned in, kissing me on the mouth.
Holy. Shit.
Our lips remained closed, but still. It was incredible.
The man could kiss. I was still smiling when he pulled back with one last peck.
“Yes, Husband. I’m perfect.”