I hurried out of the bathroom, drying off as I went, and stepped into my dress.
The men who had intimidated me had just seriously broken me with their tenderness and care. And I didn’t know what to do with that. Was this a one and done? Would they sweep it all under the rug since I worked for them? Did they still want me? I opened my mouth, but the bravado I’d mustered up while we had sex evaporated.
All three of them walked out of the bathroom naked and made their way to the table.
“Thank you for tonight. It was more than I imagined possible.” I yanked the zipper on my dress, almost tearing it in my haste to cover myself. “I hope you have a wonderful rest of your night.”
I had no idea what time it was, but it didn’t matter. I shoved my feet into my shoes and turned toward the door.
“Peyton.” Leo called after me, but I didn’t even turn around.
5
VIKTOR
Perhaps I unleashed too much of my personality too soon. I stared at the door closing behind Peyton.
Leo stood, one hand outstretched. “Why did she leave?”
He almost sounded petulant, and one look at his face proved my assessment correct.
The outstretched hand closed, and he reached for his pants. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“No.” I kept my voice low but firm. “She might need a minute, Leo.”
Then again, she might regret tonight and be desperate for an escape. I could still smell her on me.
Could still feel the weight of her in my arms and hear the sounds she made as she came.
Her body flushed the most intriguing shade of pink. I’d never look at a flower without thinking of Peyton. Our flower. Our beautiful, blooming rose.
Just like Natasha.
I caught the thought and snapped it off at its root. I knew what it meant when a woman took up that kind of space in my head.
I’d been down that road once, and the end was a grave I had never been able to visit because the date carved in her stone should have been mine. I was not giving anyone that kind of power ever again.
“We shouldn’t let her run away.” Like Leo, Misha stood and pulled on his pants.
I worked my way into my clothing piece by piece, taking my time and using every minute to don the calculating coldness that made me the most calculated of our triad. “Have you forgotten who we are dealing with? Remember the woman who was in our office only this morning? The one who could barely look at any of us?” We’d ruined that image for good.
Peyton’s meekness was genuine, but so was the woman who’d been in our bed. She had given us her body and taken her pleasure. She had done all the things I commanded of her and enjoyed it.
My cock twitched as I buttoned and zipped my slacks. She’d been magnificent.
“We know where she lives, Viktor.” Misha gave me a look. Dressed and raring to go, he paced the room where Peyton’s scent lingered.
“Yes, we do.” I conceded that fact. Thanks to her employee record, and our ability to search anyone we wished on the dark web, we knew more than our fair share about sweet Peyton. “And how do you think she will feel if we show up on her doorstep unannounced?"
“She’s scared.” Leo said it with all the conviction in the world. As the charismatic head of our group, Leo wielded humor and charm like weapons and had an emotional intelligence I sometimes envied.
I would never admit that to him, but he likely knew it already. It was his superpower, this ability to walk into a room and navigate it with the complex dynamics of his personality.
He understood people, saw through their shields, and helped them lower their guard by meeting them in their insecurities.
“Scared of what?” Misha snorted and ran both hands through his hair.
“This was what worried me.” I pointed at each of them. “We agreed to tonight to assuage our curiosity about this woman we’ve been texting. Knowing it’s been Peyton this whole time is a bonus, but that does not give us the excuse to chase after her. We are Bratva. We do not chase women who run from us.”