Page 104 of Sinful Betrayal
Nina gasps before bursting into laughter.
“I would have paid good money to see that.” Dimitri chuckles. “Lucia has a wicked sense of humor.”
I nod. “That she does.”
“I hate you both.” Mikhail downs the rest of his drink.
“Don’t mind him, he gets grumpy.” Dimitri slaps Mikhail on the shoulder.
Mikhail huffs. “Can we go back to teasing Anton please.”
I shrug. “Or we could just have a civilized conversation like regular adults?”
“I like the teasing Anton idea,” Nina chimes in, and Dimitri throws his head back and roars with laughter.
Mikhail nods. “Has he told you about the time he crashed Alexei’s car and tried to hide the scratch along the side with a huge vinyl sticker of my face?”
I rub my jaw. “Oh shit, I forgot about that. Alexei was so pissed.”
“It was his favorite car.”
Dimitri looks like he’s about to self-combust from how hard he’s laughing, and Nina’s shoulders shake as she tries to stifle her giggles.
I’m more than happy to be the brunt of the jokes if it means I can hear Nina laugh, so my cousins continue to share variousstories from our youth that mostly involve me annoying Alexei, but Nina seems to be enjoying herself.
She leans into me. “I just need to use the bathroom.”
I wave at Yakov, who’s still over by the bar nursing a glass of water, and he comes over to escort her.
Nina rolls her eyes but doesn’t object as he leads her through the crowded room toward the toilets.
“So, what do you think?” I ask once Nina is safely out of earshot.
“She seems nice,” Mikhail says.
Dimitri nods. “I like her. She’s not too serious. I think the girls would like her too.”
The thought of Nina meeting Bianca, Zara, and Lucia makes me smile.
Mikhail frowns. “Something about her feels familiar. But I can’t put my finger on it.”
Dimitri chuckles. “Met many Russian ballerinas in your past,brat?”
“Fuck off.” Mikhail turns in his seat to face me. “Have there been any more threats toward her?”
I shake my head, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as I think of Igor getting his hands on Nina.
“No, but something’s coming. Igor’s not exactly known for giving up, and he’s been a little too quiet for my liking.”
Dimitri takes a sip of his drink. “Maybe the bastard has finally come to his senses. He knows any retaliation is going to result in a war, and he will lose.”
“Perhaps…” I muse. “But I don’t like the idea of him just being out there, biding his time. I hate the feeling of constantly looking over my shoulder.”
Dimitri shrugs. “That just comes with the territory.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when you’ve finally got a girl that…you know.” He smirks, and I roll my eyes at what he’s implying. “You always fear that something or someone is going to come and take her away.”