She glared at him over her shoulder, but he was staring at Boris. The two men watched each other for several long seconds.
“What did you do,” Nik finally demanded.
Angie immediately jumped to Boris’ defense. “Hey, hey, hey! He didn’t do anything.” She turned in the circle of his arms, careful not to touch him. “He was being a perfect gentleman. So back the fuck off.”
“I’m not talkin’ about you.” He raised an eyebrow at Boris. “I mean what did you do to Momma?”
Boris shrugged. “Nothin’ I haven’t done a thousand times before.”
Nik glared and spit between gritted teeth, “You’re disgusting.”
Boris became deadly serious. “I’m also your father. So watch how you talk to me, boy.”
Angie ducked under Nik’s arms and stepped between the two men. She put her hand on Boris’s chest. “Calm down.”
“Sometimes my boy forgets his place.”
“My place?”
Oh, man. This was getting bad. She never argued with her parents. There had never been a point. Of course, that also meant when they left again, she’d find someone to physically harm. Usually at the playground or the local diner.
But she was having a wonderful time so far and didn’t want it ruined by Nik’s bullshit.
With one hand on Boris’s chest and one on Nik’s, she stood between the two men. “Gentlemen. The last thing you want to do is piss me the fuck off. So why doesn’t everybody settle the fuck down. And try and enjoy this goddamn evening.”
Father and son looked at Angelina, then back at each other.
“Now, how can we turn down an offer like that.” Boris laughed. He took her hand from off his chest and kissed the back of it. “You know, Miss Angie, I would love for you to sit with me at dinner tonight.”
She grinned. “I’d love to.”
Her hand still on Nik’s chest, she felt that growl long before she heard it. She stepped away, not even bothering to look at him. The dinner announcement rang out over the room and everyone slowly made their way into the main ballroom where all the tables had been set up.
Angie took Boris’s offered arm. “You know, Boris, it’s such a pleasure to finally be around a gentleman.”
“Why, thank ya kindly ma’am.”
She didn’t even have to look back to know Nik still stood where she left him…glaring.
“Is that the girl your brothers stole?”
Nik nodded. He couldn’t believe his father had made him jealous. He knew there was no reason to be jealous. The man still loved Nik’s mother. Always had, to hear him tell it.
“Yes’m.”
“She’s a pretty little thing.” His mother, still so beautiful and reeking of class and old money, stepped in front of her son and straightened the collar of his jacket. “And probably not good enough for one of my sons.”
“It doesn’t matter one way or another if she is, Momma.”
“Oh? Are you trying to tell me you’re not interested?”
“I’m not interested.”
She sighed as she took her son’s offered arm. “I’ll never understand, son, why you insist on taking after me.”
“Well, mostly because you try not to embarrass the family.”
Boris pulled out a chair for Angie. “Sit, darlin’.”
“Thank you.” Boris sat down next to her and the pair smiled at each other.
“You know,” Angie delicately chastised, “you should have told me he was your son.”
“Now where would the fun be in that?” Boris leaned into her, but she still didn’t feel remotely threatened by his presence. “Now tell me true, darlin’. You ain’t got no man waitin’ for you back in Texas, do ya? Some cowboy with your name tattooed across his chest?”
Angie chuckled. “No. I don’t.”
“Good.”
“I thought Nik’s mom was your lady-love.”
“Oh, she is, darlin’. But I ain’t thinkin’ about me.”
Nik walked up to the table, pulling out chairs for his mother and sister. He looked up to find Angie and Boris staring at him. “What?” he asked in confusion.
Angie couldn’t help it. She began giggling, Boris joining her.
The dinner was another Boris Vorislav success and one of the few events one could find an enormous group of tigers at together. Nik spent the majority of the evening chatting with his mother and aunts, ducking the advances of some of the females, and avoiding some of the more aggressive males since he’d rather not kill someone at one of his father’s parties. Especially an important fundraiser like this.
He also spent a good portion of his evening making sure none of the males got too frisky with either his sister or his cousin. Their sudden transformation seemed to have gotten them a lot of male interest. He didn’t worry about Reena. She could handle anything and already had two cubs from two different males. But Kisa…well, he did worry about her. Of the entire family, she remained the best hunter among them. But only when tiger. As human her shyness became painful to watch. And he’d be damned if he’d let some overbearing prick push his baby sister around. But when he wasn’t worrying about that, he spent the rest of his time keeping his eyes on Angelina. To his great annoyance, the woman got along with his father like they were old friends. She also had the attention of almost every male in the room. Every time she got up to go to the bathroom or stretch her legs, every male eye focused on her.
He didn’t like it. Not one bit. And it bothered him that he didn’t like it.
His father finally walked away from her, leaving her alone at the huge table, and made his way over to his son.
“Boy,” he barked in way of greeting.
“Daddy.”
“This turned out well, don’t ya think?”
Nik shrugged. “Sure. But it won’t change a damn thing. They still don’t think we’re good enough.” And Nik blamed his father’s wolf-like-mating tendencies more than his past poverty.
Fierce gold eyes locked with his own. “They’re right. We’re not. We’re better. And don’t you forget it.”
Nik nodded. “Yes, sir.” He wasn’t about to start another fight with the old man. He did still respect him. His father was the toughest man he’d ever known. A door gunner in the war, those men had the shortest life expectancy. Yet his daddy survived to tell the tale. Put himself through school, made his own business, and was one of the wealthiest tigers on the East Coast. At the same time Boris never forgot where he came from. And he refused to be ashamed. God forbid his children ever were.
The man’s only weakness—Nik’s mother, Natalia. They’d been playing their game for at least thirty-five years and never seemed to tire of it. Personally, Nik didn’t like games. A person said what they felt and meant it. As soon as he thought a woman was trying to bullshit or manipulate him, he bailed.
“Now, listen up. All three of ya.” His brothers moved to stand beside him at his father’s order. “I want you to keep that little lady safe.”
“Excuse me?” Nik growled.
“You heard me. She’s a lovely little thing, and I don’t want you gettin’ lazy.”
Nik growled again. Why his daddy insisted on pissing him the hell off, he would never know. Especially when he was trying so hard not to rip the old bastard’s throat out.
“Daddy, that’s not fair,” Ban cut in. “Nik’s takin’ great care of her.”
“And maybe you should mind your own business,” Alek added.
“This family and everything that happens in it, is my business.”
“What’s going on?” Nik’s mother stepped in front of her sons. As if they were still cubs, she continued to protect them.