Hunter rolled his eyes and pushed Svetlana away. She launched herself at him and started licking his neck.
“Stop the car!” Meg yelled to the driver.
He pulled over, and Meg grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car.
“You can’t seriously get out here!” Hunter yelled at her.
“I’ll take an Uber to the train station.”
“You took the train from Harrogate?”
“I didn’t very well drive,” Meg countered and slammed the door.
Hunter wrenched it open and jumped out of the car after her.
“Just keep driving,” Blade told the driver. “They can work it out.”
I looked out the window at the two of them arguing. “Should we leave them?”
“Maybe they’ll kiss and make up,” Weston said.
Svetlana pouted. “I guess I’ll just wait for Hunter to get back.”
“I don’t think so,” I told her. Someone had to draw some boundaries. “I’m sure the driver would be happy to take you home.”
* * *
“Celebratory drink?”Blade offered when we were back in the condo. “I think that went very well.” He poured us each a cognac. “You were very impressive.”
“Why?” I teased. “Because I stroked your ego and told them how wonderful you are?”
“You don’t think I’m amazing?” he said in mock indignation.
“I don’t know. You have terrible taste in clothes!” I joked, pulling at the dress.
“But I did buy you that new purse,” he said, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me back against his chest. I rested my head against him.
“This is against the rules,” I reminded him. But I had had too much wine to care too much. Besides, what if one of his brothers was spying on us? We couldn’t act like two caged prisoners when we were alone. And he was doing that thing with his fingers on my scalp. The tension in my forehead started to dissipate.
I moaned slightly. “You and your magic hands are going to make some girl very happy one day.”
“Is your mind always in the gutter?”
“I’m not the one who sleeps nude,” I murmured.
“You don’t wear a bra,” he said, his hand drifting down my neck.
I shivered. “You know the sad thing? You’re probably the closest I’ll ever get to being in a real relationship,” I said, closing my eyes. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, let alone lived with a man and slept in his bed. I didn’t think I was missing much, but then I didn’t know free massages came with the package.”
“It’s only at the diamond level,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “If you just order the basic boyfriend package, the best you get is piles of his dirty laundry.”
“You are a good guy,” I told him. “I meant what I said. I admire how you are with your brothers. I’m a little jealous, to be honest. When my dad brought me back after my mom was arrested, I thought, ‘Oh, cool, I’ll have a sister and a mom, and we’ll be a real family.’ Joke’s on me.”
Blade tilted my chin up. I opened my eyes.
“I’ll always be here for you. Even after all of this is over,” he said. Then he slowly leaned in. Our mouths were almost touching.
“Kissing in private is against the rules,” I whispered.
