Page 13 of Leash Me, Daddy

“That device controls several essential systems.”

“It controls nothing from under my ass.” She chuckled.

Ivan considered the problem, then reached for his vodka instead. “I find your negotiating methods increasingly hostile.”

“You love my negotiating methods.”

He laughed and took her hand in his, pressing his lips to the tops of her fingers.

Riley leaned against Maxim when he murmured something in her ear. Amy cut Nikolai another slice of meat while continuing to criticize his taste in art. Sloane had one foot tucked beneath her chair and the other pressed against Nikolai’s boot. Kit eventually returned Ivan’s phone, but only after he promised to leave it alone until at least the second course.

Riley waited until dessert before deciding to ruin the evening for me.

“So,” she began, placing a beautiful apple cake in the center of the table, “now that everyone else is settled, we need to discuss Sergei.”

“We do not,” I said, taking another bite of my dinner.

“We absolutely do.”

Sloane’s eyes brightened with immediate interest. “Are we finding him a wife?”

“No. We aren’t,” I answered.

Amy glanced toward the empty chair beside me. “Someone sophisticated might suit him.”

“Someone quiet,” Riley suggested.

“Quiet would bore him,” Sloane said. “He needs someone with fire.”

“I don’t need anyone.”

Kit tilted her head, studying me with the same unnerving focus she used on suspicious network traffic. “Someone can be calm and argumentative. Those qualities are not mutually exclusive.”

Ivan nodded. “She has extensive personal experience.”

Kit kicked him beneath the table. He winced but looked pleased about it.

Nikolai leaned forward, his massive forearms braced on the table. “She should be fast.”