I roll my eyes. “Keep dreaming, Zane. I’m spoken for.”
I can’t help but glance over him in his perfectly tailored tux. Zane is fucking hot, and he knows it.
“By who? Leo Perez?” He snorts.
I turn my body to face him and lift a hand when I see Ryder getting ready to move, stopping him in his tracks. I look Zane directly in the eyes, leaning closer to his ear. “You think you have what it takes to take me away from him?” I whisper, letting my breath brush against his ear.
“Yes. I do,” he says confidently. I smile, making him think he has me.
“What about from four other guys?”
He jerks his face back. “What?”
I smile bigger, but it’s not friendly. “You can figure it out, Zaney baby.” I pat him on his chest and step around him.
He grabs my arm to stop me. “What does that mean?” he growls.
I look pointedly at his hand and then back to him. “Unless you want to lose that hand, I suggest you remove it. I held Ryder off once; I won’t do it again.”
“You need Ryder to protect you now?” he sneers.
“No, but I’d love to watch him take out seven years of aggression on you.”
He drops my arm, giving me a long lingering look. “You do look beautiful,” he repeats softly before returning to his glaring date. I give her a smug smile before turning away.
“Dance with me?” Gage asks, coming up beside me and sliding an arm around my waist; no doubt he was on his way when Zane was talking to me.
I lay my glass of wine on the bar and hold out my hand. “Gladly.” He slides his hand into mine and leads me to the dance floor.
We may hate these things, but dancing around the floor to classical music is always fun. Dad beat dance lessons into me growing up because these types of events are common. I taught Gage later when Dad realized he was the perfect type to fit my date. When we were younger, and my dad was still alive, Gage and I would make an appearance, then disappear to get drunk somewhere when dad wasn’t watching.
Gage slides one arm around my waist when I slide my arms around his neck, gliding around the floor. We are much closer this time than we were at previous ones.
“What did Zane want?” he finally asks.
“Same old shit,” I shrug. “It doesn’t matter.”
“He’s glaring a hole through my head,” Gage grins and leans in to kiss me. That would answer one of the questions Zane is probably asking himself. He pulls back. “God, you look amazing.”
We dance two more songs; just when I’m about to find Leo, Alexey walks up behind Gage. “May I cut in?”
Gage gives him a stern look. “Watch your fucking hands.” With that warning, he pecks my lips, but he doesn’t go far. He leans against the bar, his eyes locked on me.
I slide my arms around Alexey’s neck, and to his credit, he is cautious about where he puts his hands. Alexey and Dmitri are walking wet dreams even without the tuxes, then you slap a tailored one on them, and they look like they stepped out of a magazine cover.
“You look radiant,Moye sokrovishche.”
Remembering what Holden said, I lift an eyebrow. “Cool it with the pet names.”
He chuckles. “Your men don’t like it?”
“You know they don’t.” I tilt my head to the side. “What did you need, Alexey?”
He casts a glance over my shoulder. “You know the boardroom in the back?”
“Yes.”
“Meet us there in five minutes.”
