Born into Chaos (Devils Will Rise: Melnikov Legacy #3)

8. Svetlana

Chapter 8

Svetlana

“ W ow,” I whisper, feeling like every muscle in my body has turned to jelly. My ears are still ringing from the orgasm he managed to pull from me, and I feel exhausted in the best possible way. Vitya cleans my pussy with his tongue, and every lick sends another shock of pleasure through my spent body.

The man is insatiable, and I may have bitched for the last two years about the mouth that never spoke, but, goddamn, it’s a talented mouth and I was wrong to ever say a word against it.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him while running a hand through his soft hair.

He kisses my clit and raises a dark brow. “For?”

I reach down and run a finger along his wet lips. “For ever saying anything bad about this incredibly talented mouth of yours.”

He gives me one of his gorgeous, full smiles, the one that makes my heart melt, and gives my pussy one more kiss before sliding his way up my body so he’s hovering over me.

“I can’t believe this is finally happening,” I whisper, afraid to even say it out loud in case it makes it all disappear.

His blue eyes soften when he looks down at me. He drags the back of his knuckles along my cheek. “If I would’ve known how sweet you are after you come, I would’ve eaten you out a long time ago.”

I laugh and smack his shoulder. “I’m being serious.”

“Me too. Imagine how many mall trips I could’ve avoided.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

He smiles and kisses my nose. “No, you’re not. Are you ever going to tell me what I did to deserve this last one. I still can’t figure it out.”

I think about letting him continue to wonder, but decide to just tell him the truth instead. “You didn’t do anything. I just wanted to spend the day with you.”

His face softens before he gives me another brilliant smile. “That’s so fucking sweet I can’t even be mad about it.”

I reach up and cup his face. It’s such a small thing, but being able to touch him just because I want to is something I thought I’d never be able to do. “Promise me that we won’t ever go back to how it was between us.”

He turns his head and kisses my palm. “I could never do that.” With a smile playing at his lips, he says, “Promise me that you’ll still love me after your dad cuts my dick off.”

I laugh and lock my legs around his waist. “Who said anything about love?” Pulling him closer, I kiss him slowly. He tastes of me, and I love that. I love that he’s the only man who knows what I taste like, and I love that even though he must be miserable, he hasn’t once demanded I do something to ease the ache in his cock. I love Vitya, I’ve known that for a long time, and the last few days have shown me that I was right to give him my heart, because he’s the kindest man I’ve ever met.

Breaking the kiss, I whisper against his lips, “Why would I ever leave when you have a mouth like that?”

I feel him smile. “True enough, but just so you know, I’m planning on keeping my dick.”

“I like that plan.”

He lets out a soft laugh, but it quickly turns to a moan when I slide my hand between us and palm the hard length of him.

“Sveta,” he warns, but I do what I do best and ignore him and keep doing what I want. I massage him through his jeans, trying to use what I’m feeling to picture him in my head, but I’m tired of just wondering about it.

“Stand up,” I tell him. “It’s my turn to see you.”

When he hesitates, I smack his ass. Hard.

“Jesus,” he laughs. “You’ve got some fucking nerve.”

I just smile up at him and pat his cheek. “Hurry before she wakes. We’re on borrowed time as it is.”

That gets his sculpted ass moving. When he’s standing, I kneel before him and start to unbutton his jeans. He watches me with a dark, heated look that makes my hands shake as I pull down his zipper. I lick my lips and wait while he reaches in to free his cock, and as soon as he does, my mouth drops open, because as big as I made him in my drawings, I hadn’t been generous enough.

“That’s a good position for you to be in.” He drags a finger along my opened lips. “But you’ll need to open wider, sweetheart, if you’re going to take me in.”

“Don’t let me choke to death,” I tell him. He smiles like I’m joking, but I’m definitely not.

Reaching down, he fists my hair and tilts my face to his. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to.”

“Tap my leg if it’s too much.”

“What do you mean too much? Why can’t I just pull back and tell you?”

He gives me a wink and keeps a tight grip on my hair as he uses his other hand to guide the head of his cock to my lips. Pre-cum covers his head, and as soon as it hits my lips, I’m licking and getting my first taste of him. I was afraid it wouldn’t taste good, but it’s oddly arousing to swallow a piece of him.

“Fuck,” he growls when I wrap my lips around him and give him a suck. “I’ve imagined you on your knees for me so many goddamn times, Sveta. Every time you made a smart-ass comment, I thought about fucking your sweet mouth. ”

I laugh around his cock, because that means he thought about me all the damn time. The vibrations of my laugh pull another groan from him, and when he slides in another inch, I briefly panic at the thought of all this dick going down my throat.

“Easy, pcholka ,” he murmurs. One hand still fists my hair while the other caresses my face. “I’ll never give you more than you can take, and don’t worry,” he says with a soft laugh, “this won’t take long.”

I nod as best I can and try to relax. I’m not much for giving up control, but that’s what I do for Vitya. With my eyes on his, I grab his thighs and let him use my mouth. I’m not a natural at this. I also wouldn’t say I look particularly sexy while doing it, but he doesn’t seem to mind that I’m gagging and crying and that spit is sliding down and falling off my chin. In fact, he seems to fucking love it, and the next time he slides in and hits the back of my throat, making me gag and my eyes spill over again, he growls my name and lets go.

The wet heat of him fills my mouth as I watch him come undone for me. The veins beneath his gorgeous tattoos stand out as he throws his head back and buries himself inside me. His hand softens in my hair. I can’t see anything but the toned stomach right in front of me, but I can hear his heavy breaths and the satisfied sigh he gives as he starts to grow soft.

“Goddamn,” he says with a laugh. He slowly pulls me off him. Staring down at me, he runs his thumb over my swollen, wet lips. “I knew this smart mouth of yours had to be good at something other than yelling at me.”

“Keep talking and next time I’ll use teeth,” I warn.

He just smiles and caresses my cheek. “There’s that stinger again.”

I try and hide my smile, but he sees it. Holding out his hand, he helps me up and then surprises me by pulling me in for a hug. It’s not an awkward, thanks for the blowjob hug, it’s a good hug, a great hug, the kind that completely envelopes you and makes you feel safe and loved. I relax against him, resting my head on his chest and listening to the steady beat of his heart while everything else fades away.

“I do love you. You know that, right?” I whisper the confession against his shirt, not sure if he was joking earlier or what exactly he feels for me, but I want him to know how I feel.

He kisses my head and whispers, “I love you, too, Sveta. I have since the moment I saw you leaning over me, begging me to not die. It’s why I asked your dad for the job. I felt I owed you my life, but I also just wanted to be near you, even though I knew it would hurt.”

I fist his sweater and look up at him. “Is that true?”

“I’ve never lied to you, and I never would.”

He cups my face and tilts me up to him.

“I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to live that night, but you looked so beautiful, and you were so determined to keep me alive. When you visited me in the hospital, I knew I needed to put distance between us. Even then, I knew you’d be my weakness.”

Reaching up, I lace my fingers behind his neck and pull him closer so his mouth is on mine. His hands slide down my body to cup my bare ass while he kisses me slowly. His cock is still pressed against my stomach, growing harder with each passing second. I’m all set to just lay back down again, but our luck runs out and Samantha wakes up. The soft cries coming from the kitchen are going to get loud fast if we make her wait too long.

He lets out a frustrated groan while I smile and give him another kiss. “Don’t worry. She’ll nap again soon.”

Giving my ass one last squeeze, he reluctantly lets go and takes a step back. He’s fully hard and jutting out from his opened pants, and I take a few seconds to appreciate the view.

“I thought I was being really generous when I drew you, but I wasn’t even close.”

He laughs and tucks himself away. “You drew me naked?”

I ignore his question and look around for my panties and bra. When I bend over to grab them, I hear him hiss out a breath.

“Jesus, Sveta. I’m trying to get my hard-on to go down.”

I laugh and spread my legs a little more before looking up at him. The dark look he’s giving me is a power trip that I should probably never be allowed to have .

“See something you like, Vitya?”

He groans and scrubs a hand over his face. “I don’t suppose begging for mercy will help.”

I slip my panties on and slowly pull them up as I stand. “You’re a lot of fun to tease,” I admit, “but I’ll do my best to rein it in since we have a baby to take care of.”

Samantha gives another cry, this one a little louder and more insistent than the last, but before Vitya goes to get her, he closes the distance between us. One arm wraps around me and the other cups my breast as he kisses me. It’s a hard, searing kind of kiss, the kind that leaves me breathless and wanting more.

“Try to behave, pcholka ,” he whispers against my lips while pinching my nipple just hard enough to sting. “I promise I’ll reward you for it later.”

He smacks my ass before letting me go, but before he disappears into the kitchen, he says, “I want to see those drawings you did of me later.”

I groan at the thought of showing him my porny art while I hurry up and get dressed. I’m just finishing when Vitya walks in holding a smiling Samantha. Her face lights up even more when she sees me, and my heart aches at the sight of them—the man I love and the baby who’s already stolen my heart. I realize in that moment that I don’t want to ever let either one of them go.

“What if we keep her?” I blurt out.

His stunned face makes me wish I could take the words back, but then he smiles and kisses Samantha’s head as he walks over to me. He puts her in my arms and hands me the bottle he made for her.

“You’re very young,” he reminds me.

“I’m almost twenty-one,” I remind him. Sitting down, I adjust her in my lap and feed her while I look up at Vitya. “Can you walk away from her?”

His eyes run over the baby in my arms, a soft smile playing at his lips when she kicks her legs and starts making her happy baby noises.

“No, I can’t,” he admits. “But it’s not like I picked up a stray puppy, Sveta. I have to tell your dad and uncles. This is going to change everything.”

I smooth back her silky baby hair. “Everything’s already changed.”

He sits down next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders while he caresses Samantha’s head. “It has, and I worry that you’re going to decide it’s too much.”

I turn my head to look at him. “Have I ever backed down from anything?”

The corner of his mouth lifts in small smile. “No, but I don’t want you staying with me just because you’re too stubborn to quit.”

“I’m not, and I wouldn’t be. It’s not like I just met you,” I remind him. “And it’s not the amazing orgasms talking.”

He raises a brow at me. “You sure about that? You’re very agreeable after you come.”

“You should definitely remember that about me.”

He laughs, and the sound of it has Samantha letting out another happy squeal.

“I want to be with you, Vitya. I have for a very long time, and I was the one who just suggested we keep Samantha.” I look down at the baby whose brown eyes are studying the two of us as she finishes the last of her bottle. “I know it might sound weird, but I think you found her for a reason. I know you’re not supposed to tell me anything about the Bratva, but whoever you were with on the night that you found her, would that person have done what you did?”

“No,” he quickly says, “but he wouldn’t have hurt her. He would’ve made sure she was left at a hospital.”

“Would they have felt compelled to take care of her and comfort her, though?”

He laughs. “No.”

“Jesus, who were you with that night?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he quickly says, and before I can keep asking, he smiles and says, “You said we .”

“Huh?”

“You said we should keep her. ”

“I did.” I lift Samantha up and start to pat her back while she gnaws on her fist and hums, because she’s definitely discovered her voice and wants to make use of it every chance she gets. “I know it’s crazy, but look at our lives, Vitya. When have they ever been normal? I love you, and the thought of someone else raising and taking care of Samantha doesn’t sit well with me. I’d never stop worrying, and she’d be so scared.” I kiss the cheek that’s slowly becoming chubby and breathe in her sweet scent. “I can’t do that to her.”

Vitya kisses my head and helps me pat her back. “Neither can I, Sveta. We’ll figure out a way to make this work.”

I rest against him, feeling hopeful despite all the worries about how my family is going to handle this and how we’re going to make it work, but then I hear a noise that has me freezing and shooting Vitya a shocked look. “Was that a car door?”

He jumps up and peeks out the large window that overlooks the front yard and driveway. “Fuck,” he mutters.

“Who is it?” Fear races through me as I imagine my dad and uncles piling out of an SUV.

“It’s your brother and Yelena.”

“Val’s here?” I jump up with Samantha and rush to the window just in time to see my brother opening the passenger door of his burnt orange Jaguar to help Yelena out of it. He smiles at her like she’s his whole reason for breathing and then pulls her in for a hug. They’ve been careful to keep the physical aspects of their relationship hidden, but right now he thinks he’s alone, and when he cups her face and kisses her, I turn my head, feeling like I’m intruding on something private.

“Damn,” Vitya mutters. “Once your dad sees that, we won’t seem like such a big issue.”

He laughs at the look I give him and holds his hands up.

“I’m just kidding. I would never throw Val under the bus like that.”

“What are we going to do?” I ask him, looking around at the living room that’s covered in baby items. “There’s no hiding this.” I hold Samantha up, making her smile at Vitya. “Or this! ”

“Baby,” he says, cupping my face, and I smile at the endearment even as my heart races in fear. I’m really good at getting my ass in trouble, but I’ve never been so great at handling it when I get caught. “We’re going to figure it out, remember? Look on the bright side, at least it’s not your dad.”

Leaning closer, he kisses my cheek and then whispers in my ear, “No way in hell am I getting my dick cut off before I know what it feels like to be inside you.”

The sound of the front door opening has me sucking in a breath as Vitya kisses my cheek and then stands in front of me. I’m used to him taking the lead, so it’s not the first time I’ve been left staring at his broad shoulders, but he’s not facing a threat. It’s my twin, who would rather cut off his own arm than ever raise it against me, so I step around him, putting us side by side when Val and Yelena walk in.

My brother’s eyes widen as he takes in the sight of us, but when they land on Samantha, he says, “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Sveta?”

I narrow my eyes at him, even though I can tell by his tone that he’s not even remotely angry. My brother is used to my troublemaking ways, and he’s never once gotten upset with me, but that doesn’t stop me from asking, “Why are you just assuming that I’m the one who got us into this?”

He smiles and takes a step closer. “Because you’re my twin, and I know you better than you know yourself.” Looking at Samantha and then at Vitya, he turns his eyes to mine and says, “This has you written all over it.”

“Shows what you know,” I tell him. “I’m actually pretty innocent this time around.”

“She’s not lying,” Vitya says. “You might as well sit down. This is going to take a while.”

Yelena drops her jacket and kicks off her boots before coming towards me. She smiles at Samantha and then pulls me in for a hug while she whispers, “I tried to call, and I texted like thirty times.”

“My phone’s in the bedroom charging,” I tell her, grateful that they at least didn’t walk in while Vitya had me naked on the rug with his head between my legs.

“You’re such a cutie.” Yelena grabs one of Samantha’s swinging hands and kisses it. “Is she Vitya’s?”

“No, but that’s what I thought at first too.”

Yelena squeezes my shoulder because she knows how much that would’ve gutted me and because she’s one of the sweetest people in the world. She’s perfect for my brother, and I know how much it hurts her to have to hide how she feels.

“Come on,” Vitya says. “I’ll start on lunch while we explain everything.”

Before I go into the kitchen, I stop and do a quick diaper change, and then Val brings the playpen in so Samantha can kick at her piano while we talk. I turn the volume down as low as I can without her getting upset and then take the empty stool next to my brother. Vitya already has a cutting board filled with tomato and cucumber slices, and while he gets out the rest of the ingredients from the fridge, I start from the beginning and tell Val and Yelena everything that’s happened. Vitya makes our sandwiches while jumping in occasionally to add his own bits of the story, and by the time we’re finished, lunch is over, we’ve moved to sitting on the couch, and Samantha is in Vitya’s lap. Her back is against him, and his hand is resting on her stomach to help keep her upright. She’s kicking and flinging her arms and smiling at the new people in the room.

My brother and Yelena smile at how cute she is before Val says, “You don’t have much longer before Dad gets curious and comes out here. I told him I’d come out and check on you, but that’s only going to hold him off for so long. He’s not crazy about you being out here alone with Vitya.” My brother smiles and says, “He suspects that your bodyguard has feelings for you that go beyond work.”

“He’s right,” Vitya says, reaching out to squeeze my thigh. “I love your sister, Val, and I’m done pretending that I don’t.”

I rest my hand on his and thread our fingers together while I look at my brother. We took a gamble by telling him. Val is a full member of the Bratva now, and he could make this incredibly difficult for us, but I know he won’t. He loves me too much to do that, so when he just sighs and leans back against the couch, I smile at him and say, “Thanks, womb buddy.”

He laughs at the nickname I’ve used since we were kids and shakes his head at me. “Just because we shared a womb doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to save your ass when Dad finds out.”

“I know,” I tell him. “We just need a few more days to figure everything out.”

“Are you sure her parents are dead?” Yelena asks.

“Her mom definitely is,” Vitya says, “and I’m pretty sure her dad is too. If he is alive, then he shouldn’t be for allowing his daughter to be treated like that.” He kisses the top of Samantha’s head while she squeals and smiles up at him. “She was so dehydrated when I found her that she couldn’t even cry for help.”

Yelena gets teary-eyed at the very thought of it and looks over at Val. “We should get Niki involved. I bet he can find out more about her. If we can find out for sure that her parents are dead, then it’ll make it easier for her to be adopted.”

Val’s face softens when he sees how much this is upsetting Yelena. He reaches out and brushes back a strand of her dark hair. Her eyes widen at the obvious public display of affection, but instead of backing off, my brother mutters a quick, “Fuck it,” and pulls her into his lap.

“Val!” Yelena whisper-shouts the word and quickly looks over at us.

My brother kisses her cheek, and I’ve never seen him look as happy as he does right now with her in his lap. I knew he was completely head over heels for her, but this is the first time I’m seeing it right in front of me like this.

Val just smiles at Yelena and keeps her firmly in his lap. “I’m so tired of putting distance between us, and Sveta already knows I’m in love with you.” He looks over at Vitya and laughs. “And we’ve got Vitya by the balls right now, so it’s not like he’s going to be saying anything.”

Vitya sighs. “I really wish your family would leave my genitals out of this. ”

Val laughs. “My dad threaten to cut off your dick?”

“The day he agreed to give me the job and with a very dull knife,” Vitya says in a tone that makes it clear he’s still a bit haunted by the image.

“Do you really love my sister?”

I’m about to tell Val to stop with the interrogation, but Vitya quickly says, “I do, and I’d never do anything to hurt her.”

“I believe you,” Val tells him. “Anyone else would’ve quit long ago, but you put up with her attitude every damn day and kept coming back for more.”

“I am not that bad,” I tell them, but Val just laughs while Vitya gives a noncommittal grunt and Yelena gives me a sympathetic smile. Samantha lets out another squeal, so I kiss her head and say, “At least someone likes me.”

Vitya is kind enough to say, “Yeah, but she also smiles while she fills her diaper, so, I mean, her tastes probably shouldn’t be trusted.”

I look over at him, but he’s giving me such an adorably huge smile that I can’t even get mad at him for teasing me.

“You’re lucky I love you so much,” I tell him.

He gives me a wink that lets me know I’m in big trouble. How am I ever going to win any arguments if one look from him has me almost squirming with the need to jump in his lap? Reading my reaction, he pulls me closer and kisses my head.

“I’m the lucky one, pcholka. Don’t ever forget that.”

My brother watches us and says, “I’ll do everything I can to help ease Dad into this.” He points to me and looks at Vitya. “He can be just as stubborn as this one, but I think I can get him to listen to reason.”

I don’t bother defending myself on this one. He’s right. I can be as stubborn as a mule.

“Thanks, Val,” Vitya says, and I add, “You know we’ll do the same for you when the time comes.”

He tightens his grip on Yelena and nods at us. “Thanks. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Yelena smiles at him when he turns to her and cups her cheek. He sees something in her dark eyes that has him whispering a few words that I don’t catch as he caresses her cheek with his thumb. He waits until she gives a soft nod, and then he turns back to us and completely changes the subject.

“So what should I tell Niki?”

“I already asked him to scrub the security footage from the private elevator, so when you talk to him, tell him I’m sorry for fudging on the details a bit.”

Val laughs. “That’s hilarious if you think he doesn’t already know. You think he’s going to scrub it without watching it first? Hell, he probably hacked into the CCTV cameras and watched you three drive out of town.”

“God, he has so much dirt on all of us,” I tell them. Laughing, I say, “If he ever decides to start blackmailing, we’re all doomed.”

“Tell me about it,” my brother says, giving Yelena a quick look and making it obvious that our cousin has some damning evidence on the two of them as well. Lucky for us all, Niki is an absolute sweetheart and he’d never rat any of us out.

We sit around talking until Samantha starts fussing for her next bottle. After I grab it from the kitchen, Yelena walks over and asks, “Can I give it to her?”

“Yeah, of course,” I tell her right before Vitya puts Samantha in her arms and I hand her the bottle. “Aside from one rare screaming fit, she’s a very easygoing baby.”

Yelena holds her in one of the chairs and feeds her while my brother sits on the couch next to me and gives Yelena an adoring sort of look and Vitya heads back into the kitchen to start supper. Val eventually pulls his gaze away and looks at me.

“You sure this is what you want? It’s a lot to jump into, Sveta.”

I can tell my brother is just being protective and that he’ll support me in whatever I decide, so I’m not surprised at all when I nod and say, “I’m sure,” and he just smiles back at me and says, “Then you know I’ll have your back. I’m not going to say anything about this to anyone, but you know it can’t stay hidden for long. I mean, they’re going to notice something is up, and Vitya can’t be your bodyguard if he has his hands full with a baby.”

“I know. We’re going to say something soon. I want to see what Niki can find first, and I figure we have a few more days before Dad comes snooping around.”

“If you’re lucky,” Val says. “Mom’s getting curious, too, by the way. It’s not just Dad.”

I lean my head back against the couch and sigh. “I’ll text them both and let them know we’ll come back after the weekend. If I give them a definite return date, maybe that’ll buy us some time.”

“Maybe. I’ll do my best to keep them in the city.”

“Thanks, Val.”

He looks over at me and smiles. “I’m going to miss our ‘80s movie marathons.”

“Oh, those will never end,” I tell him. “Even when we’re both married and living in separate houses. We’ll just have a few more butts on the couch.”

He smiles at the thought and jerks his chin towards the chair. “I noticed you named her Samantha.”

“It’s a classic movie, and one day we’ll watch Sixteen Candles with her, and she’s going to think her name is the coolest thing ever.”

“Definitely,” Val agrees, giving a soft laugh. He keeps watching Yelena feed Samantha, and the longing in his eyes breaks my heart.

We’ve been keeping our voices low, but I lower mine even more when I say, “One day you won’t have to hide anymore. We’re both going to be out in the open with the people we love, and it’s going to be fucking amazing.”

The smile he gives me is more sad than anything else, but he nudges my arm and agrees, “One day.”

Raising my voice, I say, “I hope you two like babysitting, because after all this is over, Vitya owes me like a hundred date nights.”

“I do?” Vitya hollers from the kitchen.

“Yes,” I holler back. “You haven’t let me do anything for the last two years, so you owe me some fun nights in the city. ”

His reply is just a simple, “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Yelena laughs and says, “Don’t worry. We’ll babysit this cutie anytime you want. In fact, Val and I are going to crash here tonight, so we can watch her for you. We can use the room upstairs that Natalya and Dominic always stay in. There’s a crib up there and everything.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I start to say, but she just shakes her head at me and starts to burp Samantha. Yelena has always been good with babies. She’s a natural at it, and Samantha looks perfectly happy to stay in her arms.

“We’re happy to do it.” She darts her eyes to the kitchen and whispers to me, “It’ll give you two a chance to be alone.”

I think about what happened earlier and mutter, “We do have unfinished business.”

Yelena laughs while my brother groans and says, “I don’t ever want to know what that business is. Keep your secrets, Sveta. I don’t want to hear them.”

I laugh at the horrified look on my twin’s face and spare him the details while I wiggle my brows at Yelena. She gives me a thumbs up, knowing exactly what I’m talking about. Samantha lets out a happy squeal, sensing the excitement in the room but having no clue what it’s about. Yelena kisses her cheek and then gets up to put her in Val’s lap. My brother is used to holding babies thanks to Isabella and Roma, so he handles her like a pro, supporting her head and smiling down at her as she kicks her feet and beams up at him.

“Hey, Samantha. Look at how strong you are.” He laughs when she squeals and flings her arms out. Yelena watches them with a big smile on her face and then takes several photos of the two of them.

“It’s nice to see you both like this.” I look between my brother and Yelena, not doubting for a second that these two were meant to be together. We may have been raised as cousins, but we’re not blood related, and there’s no law against it. It might be a bit taboo to some, but when has our family ever worried about following the rules? We just need to convince our parents to open their minds a bit .

“You don’t ever have to hide how you feel in front of me,” I tell them.

“It’s nice to not have to hide,” Yelena says, “but it also makes it easy to slip up when we’re with everyone else.”

Val reaches out and grabs her hand, pulling her closer to him. “It’s just one day, Yel. We can give ourselves one day.”

With one arm securely around her waist and Samantha in the other, he looks up at her, waiting to see what she’ll say. Yelena cups his face and looks down at him. Her dark eyes search his, and when he gives her a wink, she smiles and leans closer so their faces are almost touching.

“Fine, but you better not slip up and accidentally grab my butt in front of my dad.”

Val gives a soft laugh. “I promise I won’t.”

When he pulls her down onto his lap again, I grab Samantha and tell them I’m going to check on supper. We head into the kitchen, but Vitya is nowhere to be seen. Keeping her against my chest, I walk over to the French doors that lead out onto the deck.

“There he is,” I whisper to Samantha, turning so she can see Vitya. He’s cooking on the grill, even though he’s got to be freezing his ass off, and his back is to us, so I take my time running my eyes over him.

“God, he’s a beautiful man.”

Samantha hums and chews on her fist while I ogle the man who saved her. When he looks over his shoulder, he catches me in the act of eye-fucking him and gives me a wicked grin that I feel in my core.

“We’ve been caught, Sam.”

She notices Vitya walking closer and squeals with the kind of happiness that’s completely genuine and uninhibited. Her whole cute little face lights up at the sight of him. I know the feeling well, so I kiss her cheek and then prepare to hand her over as soon as he walks inside, knowing she’s going to want to go to him.

When the door opens, I turn to shield Samantha from the cold air that comes in with Vitya. He wraps his arms around the two of us, burying his face in my neck and kissing me right behind my ear .

“You’re freezing,” I tell him, laughing when he nips at my earlobe. “You need to put your jacket on.”

I feel the heat of his breath when he gives a soft laugh. “I’m fine. Stop worrying.”

“You won’t even let me step foot outside until I’m wearing my hat and gloves, but you get to go out in just your shirt?”

He kisses Samantha’s head and says, “Yep.”

“That’s not fair.”

Grabbing Samantha from me, he gives me another wink and says, “You know it’s just going to get worse, right?”

I follow him back to the counter. “No, I don’t know. What do you mean?”

He smiles and pats Samantha’s butt while he says, “If you thought I was overprotective before, you’re in for a shock. That was me holding back, sweetheart.”

I step closer and run my eyes over him. “We’ll see about that.”

When I turn to walk away, he smacks my ass. “Yes, you will.”