Chapter Fifty-Four
Sephie
We walked back to the front of the apartment to find Adrik listening to Mr. Turner tell stories from his time at the hotel. Adrik probably knew most of the people Mr. Turner was talking about. I walked to Adrik. He opened his arm for me as I walked up. I stepped next to him, wrapping my arm around his waist as we stood listening to Mr. Turner’s story.
After he finished, Mr. Turner looked at me, smiling. “Miss Sephie, I don’t think you’ll be needing my services any longer.”
I laughed, forgetting that I used to ask Mr. Turner to find me the perfect man while he was at work. Adrik looked between me and Mr. Turner, a confused look on his face. “I used to ask Mr. Turner to please find me the perfect man while he was at work.”
Adrik’s face softened, as he kissed my forehead. “Turns out I found him while I was at work,” I said, hugging him a little tighter. He looked at me, slightly surprised, but quickly masked it.
We spent more time talking to both Ms. Jackson and Mr. Turner. It was starting to get late, for them, so we took our leave and went back upstairs. In the elevator, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out, looking at it.
“The guys are ordering Chinese. Sound good?”
“Yes please!”
He responded to the text, putting his phone back in his pocket. He looked at me, like he was thinking about something. Finally, he said, “the perfect man? Really?” Then he added, “I’m far from perfect, solnishko. I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’ve not been a good man for most of my life.” He looked down at the floor.
“You’re perfect for me, Adrik. You’re good to me. You’re good to the people that matter to me. I know who you are. I knew when you walked into the restaurant that night, but when I look at you, I see the good in you.” He looked at me, pulling me to him. “You say I’ve brought light into your life, and maybe that’s true, I don’t know. But you’ve made me less afraid of the dark and what’s found there.”
His lips crashed into mine. He reached over and stopped the elevator, pulling me tightly against him. His kiss was unrelenting, like he was desperate for me. Just when I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, he stopped with his lips still close to mine, his breath coming heavy. His eyes were closed, like he was trying to gain control of himself. I placed my hands on either side of his face, kissing him gently once more.
Without a word, he reached over and started the elevator again. He pulled me back to him, his thumbs tracing circles on my back as he held me close. I rested my head against his chest. We rode the rest of the way to his penthouse in silence, him holding me close.
The next day went by fast, as I had more to do during the day to keep myself busy. I spent time with Ms. Jackson, along with Andrei, much to her amusement. I also got to spend time with Adrik in the middle of the day when he had a break in his schedule. I could get used to this kind of day.
When he was done for the day, he asked “would you like to go see your friend Max tonight? Is he working? We can go
to the restaurant.”
“Really? You would go there with me?”
“Of course. You haven’t seen him in a week. You should go to see him.”
“Oh, thank you! He’s going to be so surprised!” I said, hugging his neck.
We walked into the restaurant, with Viktor and Andrei in front, Adrik and I in the middle, and Ivan, Misha, and Stephen bringing up the rear. Max looked up from the bar when Viktor and Andrei stepped inside the door, vaguely recognizing them, but not seeing me behind them yet. When Adrik and I stepped forward, Max saw me and literally jumped over the bar to run to me.
Out of habit, all five bodyguards stepped closer, essentially boxing us in, using their bodies as shields. I laughed and tapped Viktor on the shoulder. “It’s Max. He won’t hurt me.”
“Sorry, sestrichka. Habit,” he said, stepping aside.
I stretched up and kissed his cheek. “No need to be sorry. Thank you for being so da mn good at your job,” said as I stepped around him to get to Max. He hugged me tight, exclaiming, “I missed you SO much!”
Once he released me, Adrik caught my arm, whispering in my ear. “We’ll be right over here. Go, catch up.” They all turned to sit at a table close to the door, where they could clearly see the bar and the front door.
I walked with Max back to the bar, so he could get back to work. I got plenty of looks from his fan club as we came back. They had all witnessed Max jumping over the bar to get to me. He pulled me behind the bar, so he could talk to me as he kept working.
“Where have you been, gingersnap?”
“Um, somewhere safe. I’m not far from here now, though, so we can hang out again.”
He turned his back to the customers at the bar, so they wouldn’t hear him. “Are you okay? Like for real? They didn’t kidnap you or anything?”
I laughed. “I mean, it depends on your definition of kidnap, I guess. I’m fine, Maximus. More than fine. I’m great.”
He looked at me, skeptically at first, but he could see the happiness on my face, so he relaxed. “Okay, well give me the safe word at any point if you need to.”
“Max, I don’t think I’ll be saying ‘Saskatchewan’ anytime soon.”
“You just said it! You’re in trouble, I knew it!!”
I laughed, pushing him away from me. As he went back to making drinks, I stepped beside him, leaning into his shoulder. “I missed you, Max.”
“It’s because of my face, isn’t it?” He slammed an ice cube into a glass. “Da mmit, these devastatingly good looks are a
curse!”