Chapter 5 Katarina #2
Both Aiden and Dorian wore their version of a suit…
meaning they had the pants and the button-down shirt but no jacket and no tie.
Dorian had rolled up his sleeves and tied his hair back in a bun—a look that I hadn’t realized really turned me on.
Who would have thought…man buns were hot.
Aiden let his wispy blond strands run free but tucked them behind his ears when they broke loose.
Blaise stayed by the fire, but I didn’t miss his intense gaze.
I lifted my glass in salute to him ever so slightly and thought I saw the barest hint of a smile crack his stoic face.
Dorian ran his fingers through my hair, letting his hand brush against my neck several times.
The goosebumps came rushing back, and I had a sneaking sense that all the men in here would be able to tell what his touch was doing to me.
“My, my, Katarina,” Dorian cooed. “You are wound quite tightly, are you not?”
“Excuse me?”
“When is the last time you had sex?” Aiden cut in as a way to explain.
“Enough,” Roman said, saving me from the embarrassing answer. “Let’s show our guest that we can be gentlemen tonight, okay?”
“You’re no fun,” Dorian whined while giving me a wink. “I’ll get it out of you eventually.”
Get what out of me? The truth about my nonexistent sex life or the reason why I didn’t date anyone?
“Katarina, you can sit here,” Roman said, holding out a chair in the middle of the settings.
I took my seat and immediately Dorian and Aiden grabbed the chairs on each side of me.
It made me smile and blush, so I used my napkin as a distraction while I set it on my lap.
Roman sat at the head of the table, with Pasha to his left and across from Aiden.
Blaise sat down opposite me, being sure to avoid eye contact at all costs.
He was a puzzle, this one. A puzzle I wanted to solve.
Someone brought out a full platter for Grim, who didn’t follow any protocol and immediately began scarfing down the steak and chicken and…was that salmon? Wow. My boy had never eaten so good before, let alone off a literal silver platter.
I smiled at Roman. “You are spoiling my dog.”
“He’s more than just a dog,” he said cryptically.
Before I could pry him for more of an explanation, he clapped his hands together and the staff lifted the lids off the platters. “I wasn’t sure what you might like,” he told me. “So tonight, we have a little bit of everything.”
Dorian squeezed my thigh at the same time Aiden brushed his hand across my back, pretending to lean over to see the spread. Chills shot through my skin from their touch, and I wondered not for the first time, what a night with each of them might feel like.
Grim let out a low rumble, once again reminding me to keep my not-so-pure thoughts in check.
Blaise watched the interaction between Grim and me, and then me and the men sitting beside me.
His face gave little hint of what he might be thinking, but when his foot brushed up against mine underneath the table, I wondered if I’d pegged him all wrong.
Had he done that on purpose? Was that heat that jumped between us?
He pulled his foot back so quickly that I thought maybe I’d imagined the whole encounter. And when I tried to make eye contact with the beast of a man sitting across from me, and he wouldn’t look me in the eye, I convinced myself that I’d let my thoughts get the best of me.
“Crabs?” Dorian asked with a wicked smirk. He was holding a blue crab in his hands and wiggling it around in front of my face.
Giggling, I asked, “How old are you?”
“Old enough to know better,” Roman cut in. But his voice was light and teasing.
“Yes, I would like some crabs please.”
Dorian laughed like a child as he placed the crustacean on my plate. The conversation quickly focused on everyone passing around the different platters and making sure I tried one of everything.
“Oh, not the oysters,” I said, quickly stopping Aiden from adding them to my already full plate.
“No oysters, Kitty Cat?”
I shook my head. “No. They’re gross.”
“They’re an aphrodisiac,” he quickly added, getting a snicker out of Pasha.
“Sure. But when they’re raw like this, they taste like a ball of snot.”
Roman almost spit out his wine as he choked on his laugh. “You heard her, Aiden. No oysters for Katarina.”
Aiden nudged my shoulder and sucked down an oyster right in front of my face. The slurping sound grossed me out but the way his thigh rubbed up against mine made up for it. “Your loss, luv.”
Dorian’s hand dropped beneath the table, and he started to run his fingers up and down my thigh…
right where the slit was. I coughed to hide my reaction, tipping back my glass of wine and wondering how I was going to get through tonight.
It looked like I was definitely going to need some alone time in the tub after this dinner.
The men continued to converse and tease each other about different things as they finished loading up their plates. And once everyone’s wine glasses were topped off, Roman dismissed the staff and declared it time to dig in.
My heart flip-flopped while watching the guys.
They were an interesting bunch of creatures, but the thing that struck me the most, and made me sad, was that they were a family.
It didn’t matter where they came from or what they were.
These guys all had a special bond that made my eyes well up with tears.
“Are you okay?” Pasha mouthed to me from across the table.
I quickly wiped my eyes and took a sip of wine to push down the lump in my throat. I’d never had a family like this. And even if I wasn’t going to be a part of this group for long, I was happy that I could have at least one moment like this in my life.
And it would be a moment I would always cherish.