The Underworld Series, page 10
Once in his bedroom, he led me next to his bed. “Wait here,” he said, kissing the top of my shoulder as he walked to his closet. He returned in a new pair of pajama pants, still with no shirt, carrying a t-shirt. “Here. You can wear this,” he said, handing me his shirt. He turned around so I could slip it on. I used the towel to dry my hair.
“I can turn around now?” he asked.
“Yes, you can turn around now,” I said, still drying my hair.
He turned to face me, and his mouth fell open slightly. He inhaled sharply, “You might have to wear nothing but my shirt from now on.”
I blushed, looking down. He stood in front of me, taking the towel from me and throwing it over his shoulder. I laughed at his blatant disrespect for proper towel storage. He grinned at me, pulling me to him. “Now, I made a pinky swear, which I take very seriously. This means I’m going to have to hold on to you the rest of the night while you sleep.” He cleared his throat, “For protection.”
I smiled at him, reveling in how much he was opening up to me in such a short time. I never would’ve guessed he had this side to him that first night we met, but the more I saw, the more I wanted to see.
“For protection,” I said as I climbed into bed. He turned the lamp off and slid under the covers next to me. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me to him. His chest against my back was so warm. I sighed, hugging his arm that was around my body. I felt my body relax as I concentrated on his steady breathing next to me. I felt so safe in his arms. Like I had never felt with any man before him. I kept listening to his breaths get slower and felt his body relax as he fell asleep. His arms stayed snug around me, not letting go even in his sleep. I found myself hoping he would never let go as I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twelve
Adrik
I felt her stir in my arms, trying to reposition herself. I opened my eyes just enough to see that it was daylight outside and to make sure that she wasn’t wanting out of my grasp. She was still sleeping, her breathing still steady and heavier than it would be were she awake. Her head was on my arm, one of her arms draped over my chest. Instead of closing my eyes, I found myself watching her as she peacefully slept next to me. I gently brushed her wild hair away from her face. Her porcelain skin giving her a doll-like appearance when she was sleeping. Freckles dotted her face. Her long eyelashes resting on her cheeks. I could stare at this woman sleeping every day for the rest of my life.
She inhaled and made a small whimper noise. I gently raised my arm underneath her head, moving her to my chest. She barely stirred, only snuggling into my chest, and draping her leg over mine. I smiled, knowing she was sleeping peacefully with me. It made me happy to know that she felt safe with me. That her nightmares wouldn’t haunt her when she was with me.
My mind went back to the night before, as I gently twirled her curls around my fingers. She mentioned she was at her uncle’s house when her dream first started. What uncle? What had happened that night that she couldn’t say? If her uncle had hurt her, I would end him. How did she know about Anthony’s plan? She wasn’t even in the meeting room when I lost it on Anthony for disrespecting her. She couldn’t have known.
I sighed. I needed to stop thinking about that right now or my anger was going to get the best of me. I ran my hand down her back to the bottom of my shirt that she was wearing. It had ridden up and was exposing just the bottom of her ass. My hand found its way under the shirt to her soft skin. I started to run my hand up her back underneath the shirt when her hand caught mine and stopped it.
Without moving, she sighed. “I…I have scars.”
“Everyone has scars, solnishko. I have scars too.”
She stayed silent but sat up. She turned away from me and grabbed the bottom of the shirt, lifting it over her head. As she lifted her shirt, she revealed at least thirty lash marks crisscrossed across her back. Her milky white skin helped to camouflage them slightly, but they were evident. It was shocking. Her shoulders slumped and her head was down.
I did the only thing I knew to do. I sat up and kissed the back of her shoulder. I ran my hands lightly over her back. At first, she jumped at my touch, but eventually relaxed into it. After a few moments, I said, “You’re beautiful.” I kissed the back of one shoulder, across her back, to the other shoulder. I could feel her relax a little and her breath hitched like she was trying to hold back tears. I moved her hair out of the way and kissed the back of her neck. She leaned back to me, still silent. I moved so that she was sitting in between my legs and pulled her back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and just held her, like we were in the shower the night before. She leaned her head back against my shoulder, so I bent down and kissed her neck. She was clutching my shirt to her chest, but her grip relaxed the longer I held her. It wasn’t like her to stay silent for so long. I knew she was fighting demons of the past in her head.
She took a deep breath in. I could almost feel her gathering her strength. Before she could speak, I asked, “Uncle?”
She nodded but remained silent. I pulled her close and gently said, “You don’t need to tell me right now. When you’re ready. Right now, you just need to know that you’re my solnishko and that will never change.”
She reached up with one hand and quickly wiped her eyes. She leaned her head all the way back and looked up at me, over her shoulder. “Good morning,” she half-laughed, like she was still choking back a sob.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?” I asked, still running my hands over her naked body in my lap. My morning wood unabashedly poking her in her back. Her nakedness was not helping that go away anytime soon.
“Better with you,” she said more steadily this time. She smiled sweetly up at me. I felt my heart stop every time she smiled at me.
“Then we will have to do it more often. The pinky swear must be upheld.”
She laughed. Loosening her grip on the shirt, she inadvertently exposed more of her full breasts. Since she couldn’t see my face, I took the opportunity to ogle her. I have no shame. I’m okay with that.
She was, after all, a gorgeous woman, completely naked, in my lap, in my bed. It was yet another Herculean test of my will to not throw her down and take her right then. She had clearly been through rough experiences, though, so I wanted it to be her idea. I would wait.
Hopefully not much longer, I thought to myself as I stared at her half-exposed breasts, wanting desperately to feel them beneath my hands. Instead, I wrapped my hands around her shoulders, massaging gently. She moaned in appreciation. This was not going to help my morning wood, but I loved hearing her moan. I caught myself wondering what else I could do to her to make her moan louder.
Before it became too difficult to control myself, I kissed the crook of her neck and got up from the bed. I walked to the bathroom. I needed a cold shower, but I opted for splashing cold water on my face instead. When I came back, she had put the shirt back on. My shirt was big on her, falling slightly off one shoulder as she was still sitting up in bed. Her knees pulled up in front of her chest, giving me a view of her long legs. In short, she looked sexy as hell.
I caught her watching me walking back to the bed. Her bright eyes darkening ever so slightly as she bit her bottom lip. I crawled in front of her, reaching and swiping my thumb across her bottom lip so she would stop biting it. “You’re going to have to stop that unless you want me to lose all control right now.”
Her mouth fell open slightly and her eyes went wide for just a moment. She looked like she wanted to say something, but instead closed her mouth. I just smirked as I laid on my back in front of her. She looked me up and down a few times, then asked, “Will you show me the rest of your favorite places here today?”
“Of course, solnishko. Today, we can do whatever you want. It’s Sunday. Business can wait until tomorrow.”
Her eyes lit up, “I can spend the whole day with you?”
I nodded. She grinned, hugging her knees. She was adorable and sexy all at once. I was going to have to make a rule that she always had to wear my shirt to bed. I was struggling to not stare at her.
She jumped up. “I’m going to get dressed and then I want you to finish showing me around. I want to see everything!” she said, practically running out of my bedroom. I would’ve preferred to lay in bed with her for a while longer, but I could handle showing her the rest of the grounds. Dragging myself up, I went to get dressed as well. I grabbed a pair of jeans and another t-shirt and threw them on. In the bathroom, I ran my hands under the water and through my hair. I needed to shave, but I wasn’t going to take the time to do it right now.
I heard my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I checked the text message, from my spy at the private airport.
Flight path logged. Italy.
Hmm. This might be a distraction. Or he might be leaving. With his closest associate having been captured, he might be scared.
I’ll have people there. If he shows, that plane cannot leave. If he’s not there, let the plane leave.
Yes, sir.
I locked my phone and walked into my office. I looked through the files on my desk, searching for a specific file. Without thinking, I sat down to flip through the pages of the files. I got lost in my search, not realizing that Sephie had walked quietly in. She must’ve noticed me lost in thought as I was searching for my answer. She walked quietly enough to the bookshelves on the other side of my office that I didn’t hear her. She stood looking over the titles of the books, waiting for me to finish. When I finally looked up and noticed her there, I stopped to admire the view. She had a pair of skinny jeans on, which made her look taller than her 5’10” frame. She had a black t-shirt that hugged her curves in just the right way. Her hair falling loose over her back. I leaned back in my chair to admire the view. She heard my chair squeak as I leaned back and turned to face me.
“Should I come back later?” she asked. Her arms were folded under her breasts, which just served to make them more prominent.
I thought back to the other women I had been with. They all hated when I worked, but they loved the benefits of my work. They would pout and throw fits when I worked, like children needing constant attention. Sephie was different. I had completely taken her away from her world. I was all she had at the moment, and she was still concerned about interrupting my work.
I stood up from my chair, closing the distance between us quickly. I grabbed her around the waist, picking her up off the floor and spinning her around once. “Please don’t go anywhere. No more work today, solnishko. Promise.”
She squealed as I spun her around, wrapping her arms around my shoulders to hang on.
“Let’s get some breakfast first. Wouldn’t want your stomach to wake the dead again,” I said, as I put her down.
She laughed at me, adding, “I would kill small woodland creatures for some French toast right now.”
“Then, come. We must go to the kitchen. To save the animals,” I laughed, leading her out of my office. I never found my answer, but it would wait until later.
When we got to the kitchen, Tori was there making breakfast for the guys. The smell of bacon filled the air, making my stomach grumble. Andrei and Ivan were sitting at the bar on the island. Viktor, Misha, and Stephen were lounging on the couches in the next room.
“Morning, Boss. Miss Sephie,” Andrei said, as he nodded toward both of us.
Sephie’s face lit up when she saw them. She walked to Andrei first, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. Even sitting, he was still almost as tall as her. “Good morning,” she said, hugging him tight. Ivan watched, with an eyebrow raised. She let go of Andrei and wrapped her arms around Ivan, telling him good morning as well.
Ivan said, “Why do you hug him first? I’m better looking. You should hug me first.” Without missing a beat, she looked at him and said, “You’re going to have to get that murderous aura under control if you want to be hugged first, Ivan the Terrible.”
“Humph.”
She giggled and leaned in to kiss his cheek sweetly. He blushed while Andrei laughed. Andrei’s laughter brought the other guys into the kitchen. I stood leaning against the island, watching her interact with them. I caught Tori staring wide-eyed while Sephie hugged Ivan. She looked at me when Sephie kissed his cheek, clearly not sure that I would be okay with it. I could be jealous, but not with her and my men. I trusted them completely. Andrei told me immediately that she had offered to marry him. He thought I was going to be mad at him, but I just laughed. Watching her with them, I realized that I trusted her just as much as I trusted them. She loved them, but she didn’t look at them the same way she looked at me. There was no need for jealously. I just shrugged my shoulders at Tori when she looked surprised to see Sephie kiss Ivan’s cheek.
As soon as Viktor walked into the kitchen, he held his arms out to her. “Miss Sephie!” he said in his booming voice.
She ran to him, jumping into his arms. “My favorite bodyguard!” she exclaimed. All four other men said in unison, “Hey, wait a minute!”
Viktor laughed as he put her down. Looking at the other guys he said, “You guys just need to be better looking. It’s simple, really.”
She smacked his arm lightly. “Don’t get cocky. I’m still marrying Andrei.”
Misha stepped in, grabbing her hand, and pulling her close to him, in a dance position. “But Miss Sephie, Andrei can’t dance. How can you marry a man who can’t dance with you at your own wedding?” He led her in a few tango steps around the kitchen. She was trying hard to conceal her laughter as they danced.
“Misha, you surprise me. You’re so … cultured,” she curtseyed to him once he let her out of the embrace. He bowed low to her. “Milady.”
Stephen stepped in and said, “Do you really want to marry a guy you need to worry about leaving you for another man though?”
Laughter erupted in the kitchen. Even Tori ended up laughing at Stephen’s joke. Sephie was speechless, which was impressive given her constant comebacks. She simply gave Stephen a high five and then smacked his ass. “Good game,” she said.
“Thanks, coach.”
Tori was setting out plates of food for the guys as Sephie walked back to me. She was smiling at me, with that spark in her eye that only I could see. I extended my arm to her and pulled her in front of me. I wrapped my arms around her from behind.
Tori looked at me, “What can I get you for breakfast, Boss?”
“Sephie threatened violence against small animals if she doesn’t get French toast, so we better make that happen. Don’t want animal rights activists picketing outside.”
Tori looked puzzled, but nodded her head. “Right away, Boss.”
Sephie added, “I mean I wouldn’t really kill small woodland critters. I would think long and hard about it, but my follow-through is shit.”
Andrei choked on a piece of bacon as he laughed. Tori set a new glass of orange juice in front of him, a look of concern on her face. “Drink this,” was all she said. He looked sheepishly at her and grabbed the glass.
Sephie caught the exchange as well and looked over her shoulder, catching my eye. She smiled at me knowingly.
It didn’t take Tori long and Sephie had her French toast. We finished breakfast while the guys hung around and talked in the kitchen. Tori finished up and excused herself. Andrei’s eyes were on her the whole time as she walked from the kitchen. Sephie caught him watching her. She caught my eye and looked back to Andrei, raising her eyebrows several times in a row. I laughed, shaking my head. I had never noticed that Andrei had his eye on Tori until today. Sephie really had a way of bringing out the best in everyone without even trying.
Chapter Thirteen
Sephie
After breakfast, we were all standing in the kitchen. I asked Ivan how his stitches were holding up. “Let me check it. You might need a bandage change,” I said, trying to peek down the back of his shirt. He didn’t hesitate this time to take his shirt off for me. I peeled back part of his bandage to look at how it was healing. It still looked red and angry, but no signs of infection.
Adrik walked over to inspect the stitches while I had the bandage pulled back. “You did this?” he asked, looking surprised.
I nodded my head, as I put the bandage back in place. Pressing the adhesive to his skin once more.
“Where did you learn how to do that?” Adrik asked, still surprised.
“Ms. Jackson. She used to be a nurse.” I lifted the sleeve of my shirt to reveal a small scar on my upper arm. “I can be clumsy and I hate doctors, so she stitches me up when needed. She taught me how to do it.”
Adrik ran his thumb over the scar on my arm. He leaned closer and kissed my forehead. I knew he was wondering about the scars on my back as well, but I didn’t want to talk about those in front of everyone. “I definitely owe my thanks to Ms. Jackson,” he said.
“There’s still the matter of Bingo to be discussed,” I said, laughing.
Ivan, as he was putting his shirt back on, turned and asked, “Bingo?”
Viktor, the only one in the know on the matter of Bingo night, just started laughing. “Don’t worry, Ivan. You’re going to love it.”
I tried not to laugh, but couldn’t help myself. Ivan looked so confused. “Ms. Jackson requested that you all accompany her to her friend’s place so she could ‘show you off,’” I said, adding air quotes for effect. “But I suggested Bingo as more of her friends would be there.”
“What is Bingo?” Misha asked.
“It’s a game that old people play. It’s an easy game to play. You’ll catch on quick, don’t worry,” I said, grinning.
They all looked toward Adrik. I knew they would all do it if he said the word.
“It’s on the table. But we need to find Anthony first,” Adrik said, matter-of-factly.
