Primal God (The Defiant God Brotherhood #4)

Chapter 18

Dimitri and I settle into an easy routine over the next few weeks that should scare me. Last weekend, the kids stayed at the Carter’s, and Dimitri and I didn’t leave his bed once. It was heaven. Thankfully, I have two best friends who didn’t mind keeping Raquel for me.

We go about our days as normal. Most nights, I sneak into his room and stay there until he has to leave in the morning. The kids are on a regular schedule and haven’t barged into my room looking for me. And we always lock the door in Dimitri’s room. The bad thing is that I feel too safe here and I know I’m not safe. I haven’t heard from Uncle Wolfe, but my gut tells me that won’t last forever. I have no idea what I’m going to do when he finally reaches out to me.

I roll my bottom lip between my teeth. I need to tell Dimitri about Raquel. Yeah, I’m scared, but it’s the right thing to do. Besides, I miss my baby so freaking much. Seeing her at playdates and on the phone isn’t enough. Not when I know what it could be like if she was here, with all of us.

Dimitri pads from the bathroom, a towel around his waist. Holy moly, every time I see this man in a state of undress, I fall for him a bit more. Ironically, that’s how I ended up in his room just now. He grabbed me after a dip in the pool and pulled me in here, ravishing me. We’ve become quite good at quickies. My pulse thrums at the thought. So, so good. And it’s a really good thing that I have extra clothes in here…

“What time is it?”

“Five.” I set my phone aside. “Are you sure you want me to go?”

“I’m sure.”

His friend, Brooks, invited him over for a family dinner. And Dimitri asked me to come. As his date.

“What if they say something in front of the kids?”

“No one will say anything.”

I sigh. “I’m just worried.”

Mostly because Clara has nearly caught us kissing several times. That kid must have a sixth sense. Each time she’s nearly caught us, she gives us a sly smile before skipping away.

Dimitri says, “It’ll be fine, minha vida . I promise.”

“So Brooks, Alessandro, and Grant are all in the Brotherhood?”

Dimitri told me this tidbit when he invited me.

“They are.”

“Are they going to be okay with you bringing a non-Brotherhood person to their dinner?”

He moves closer, brushing his lips against mine. “Yes.”

A knock on the door has us pulling apart and a moment later, the door swings open. Clara looks between us before smiling and rushing off.

I shake my head. “That kid.”

“Be thankful for that interruption. I was about to pull you into the bathroom for another quickie.”

I snort. “How romantic of you.”

The crazy thing is, I would have been down for it. I’m down for anything he has to offer, really.

“I better go make sure the twins are ready.”

Dimitri stops me. “If I haven’t already said it, you look beautiful, Lilith.”

My cheeks feel warm. I’m wearing black slacks and a dark purple top. My hair is down, and honestly, I feel like a million bucks. I call it the Dimitri Santos effect.

“Thank you.”

In the twins’ room, I find both Diego and Clara ready to go.

Clara asks me, “Nanny W, are you dating Papai ?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Just wondering.”

“Your Papai and I are friends.” Who bang. I snort to myself. “Okay, kiddos. Let’s go.”

Clara asks, “Are Diego and I going to be the oldest kids there?”

“I believe so.”

“Yay!” She turns to her brother. “We’ll get to tell the babies what to do!”

From what Dimitri said, the other kids are actual infants, but I don’t voice my thought to Whirlwind Clara. I notice that the twins found all the ducks that I hid this morning. They’re keeping them in a row on the bookshelf next to the book. It’s become a game that even Dimitri enjoys playing. Clara keeps begging us to hide some outside of their room. We’ll see.

We leave their room just as Dimitri comes out of Isadora’s room. She hasn’t called me momma again since that day, which is probably for the best.

Dimitri says, “Let’s go, Santos Family.”

I meet his gaze in shock to find him smiling down at me. Thankfully, Clara doesn’t say anything about the comment and leads the way down the stairs. The drive to Brooks Henderson’s house doesn’t take long and we’re soon pulling up in front of a house that’s smaller than Dimitri’s, and beautiful in its own way.

A sign on the front door proudly states the Henderson’s live there.

Dimitri says to me, “Alessandro and Isabetta live down the street, and Grant and Greer are a few blocks over.”

“That’s sweet that they all live so close.”

“It is, but I think I like our house better.”

Our house . Gah. I desperately want to believe that he means it in the way I want him to, but we’ve only just started whatever this is between us. Heck, we haven’t even dipped our toes in the ‘serious topics’ waters. You know, like the part where I’m being forced to marry someone else… Oh, and that he has a child with me he doesn’t know about.

He rings the doorbell and I’m shocked when a very famous pro-wrestler turned actor opens the door.

“Santos,” the man greets. “We were starting to think you weren’t coming!”

“Nice to see you, Brooks.” He turns to me and points. “Brooks, this is Lilith.”

Brooks holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Lilith.”

“Please, call me Lili, and it’s so nice to meet you.” I blush. “I’m a huge fan.”

Brooks doesn’t seem phased by my fangirl moment and motions us inside.

“Everyone is in the kitchen. Lots of hungry infants in there, so be prepared for the noise.”

We follow him through a massive living room to an even bigger kitchen. I stop. Holy crap. The President of the United States is here. I glance at Dimitri to find him smiling down at me.

President Carter says, “Santos. Good to see you.”

Dimitri says, “Everyone, this is Lilith.”

The men all look at me curiously while the women smile.

A pretty blonde says, “I’m Hannah. That’s Isa and Greer.”

Each respective woman waves when her name is said. I think the most interesting thing is that each woman is curvy like me. I know I shouldn’t expect men like the President or even Brooks to be with a typical Hollywood starlet, but I do. I mean, you rarely see men like that with women like me. So, yeah, this is a pleasant surprise.

I give a little wave. “Nice to meet you all.”

Clara grabs my hand and says, “Nanny W is our nanny.”

The way she says it as she eyes the infant in Greer’s arms makes me bite back a laugh. My girl has a possessive streak, it seems. Just like her father.

The other man in the room, Alessandro, says, “Nanny, eh? Funny, I thought she was a friend of your son, Dimitri.”

My cheeks are warm, and I pray to god that I’m not blushing.

Hannah says, “Well, everyone, the food is ready.” She turns to me. “The little ones can go to the living room. I have some playpens for the babies, as well as things for Clara and Diego.”

“Oh. Of course.” I turn to the twins. “Come on, kiddos.”

Guess maybe not everyone got the memo that I’m here as Dimitri’s date…

Greer snorts. “She doesn’t mean it how it sounded. You’re eating with us, Lili.”

Hannah’s eyes widen. “Oh my gosh! It did sound like that, didn’t it?” She shakes her head. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well because the twins have started teething.”

Brooks wraps his arm around Hannah’s shoulder. “It kills my Angel that we can’t help their pain.”

The way he looks at her with so much love melts my heart. I want that one day. I glance over to find Dimitri watching me with a small smile on his lips.

Hannah says, “What kills me more is breastfeeding teething infants.” She shakes her head. “This way.”

I never had a chance to breastfeed Raquel because I never could get her to latch. It was one thing I was looking forward to when I first found out I was pregnant. The thought has me pausing as I glance at Dimitri. I need to tell him. Tonight.

For now, I follow Hannah into the living room. Each playpen has the corresponding infant’s name on it. There are toys set out in different areas. It reminds me of a party a Kardashian would throw or something.

Greer, who is next to me, says, “Hannah can’t help but go all out. She’s an event planner.”

Well, that makes sense.

I put Isadora in the playpen, covering her with a soft pink blanket. Luckily Isadora settles in, closing her eyes. This kid loves her naptime. Clara and Diego find the toys that have been left for them and start playing. The other women put their infants down and we make our way to the dining room.

Dimitri pulls out my chair for me and then takes a seat next to Alessandro, with his wife at his side. Hannah sits across from me and next to her husband. President Carter and his wife are next to them.

The table is full of delicious looking food.

I say to Hannah, “I’m impressed that you were able to cook all this with twins who are teething.”

She snorts. “Girl, this is all ordered in. I barely took a shower today.”

Everyone laughs and settles into a comfortable conversation. At one point, Dimitri puts his hand on my leg and keeps it there, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

When lunch is over, Brooks says, “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us, we have some business to discuss.”

The men disappear to another room, and we go to the living room with the kids.

I ask, “Is that some kind of Brotherhood thing?”

Greer’s eyes widen. “You know about the Brotherhood?”

My cheeks flush. “Am I not supposed to mention it?”

“Well, no, but usually only spouses know about it.”

“To be fair, I’ve known about it for a long time because of an ex.”

I don’t mention that my ex is Dimitri’s son. I’m well aware of how that sounds.

Isabetta says, “To answer your question, yes, they left to discuss Brotherhood stuff. It happens a lot. You’ll get used to it.”

Hannah asks, “So, how long have you and Dimitri been together?”

I glance over to find both Diego and Clara listening. Oh god.

I dip my head in their direction and say, “Oh, I’m just the nanny.”

Greer hums under her breath, as if she doesn’t believe me, but no one presses the issue. Instead, Greer launches into a very animated story about her baby, Gracie, spitting up on a foreign dignitary.

We’re all laughing when the men join us. I can’t help but notice that Dimitri looks like something is on his mind as he sits next to me.

Isa asks, “Lili, do you ever make it out to Vegas?”

“I’ve never been,” I admit.

“You’ll have to come and visit. That’s where our primary residence is and now that I’m not pregnant, I can actually have some fun.”

Her husband lets out a low growl. “Not too much fun, right, Dolcezza ?”

She bats her eyelashes playfully at him. “Of course not, husband.”

I say, “That would be fun.”

Unrealistic since I have an infant, but fun.

Greer says, “Count me in.” When Isa looks at her with a lifted eyebrow, she says, “Come on. You know I’m invited.”

“I’ll be there, too,” Hannah says. “God knows this momma could use a break from teething babies.”

“Lili, what’s your phone number? I’ll add you to the group chat,” Isa says as she pulls out her phone.

“That would be awesome.” I say, meaning it.

A moment later, my phone buzzes in my purse.

Isa says, “We can chat about it later. I know how these men can be.”

Alesandro gives her a wicked look. “And how can we be, Dolcezza ?”

“You know the type. The steal-a-girl-from-a-wedding type.”

Alessandro tips his head, laughing. “It worked out for you, didn’t it?”

“It did,” she says, smiling up at him.

Dimitri leans in and says in a low tone, “I’ll fill you in later.”

But all I can focus on is how close he is. How I wish he would…

Clara pops up next to us at that moment and says, “ Papai , can we go home? Me and Diego want to go swimming.”

Dimitri nods. “Of course.” He stands. “It seems the little ones are ready to leave. Thank you for having us over.”

We say our goodbyes and make our way outside.

In the SUV, Dimitri asks, “Do you really want to go to Vegas?”

“It sounds fun.”

He nods his head. “Then I’ll make sure it happens.”

“What? You don’t have to do that.”

His hand covers mine. “I want to.”

He leaves his hand over mine for the entire ride.

At the house, the kids rush to their room to grab their swimsuits. I carry Isadora to her room and change her into a waterproof diaper and swimsuit. I know Dimitri is standing behind me before he speaks.

“My friends liked you.”

I turn, smiling. “I liked them.”

He moves closer until our bodies touch. “Good.”

“Good.”

“Nanny W! We’re ready!” Clara says from the doorway.

Dimitri’s eyes are full of laughter. “We’ll finish this later.”

“It’s a date.”

I scoop Isadora into my arms and carry her down the stairs, with Clara leading the way. Outside, I let Isadora walk to our favorite chair while the twins jump right into the water.

“Momma, look at me!” Clara yells as she jumps into the pool. When she resurfaces, her eyes are wide. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you momma.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. It happens.”

Her green eyes fill with tears. “It’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

“That we don’t have a momma. Even those stupid babies today all had mommas.”

A fat tear runs down her cheek and has me moving.

I sit on the edge of the pool, dipping my feet in the water.

“Honey, you have a momma. She’s just in heaven.”

“It’s hard to remember her.” Her lip trembles. “Diego says she was mean, but I don’t think she was. Do you?”

I glance at Diego to find him silently watching. Is there a chance that Serafina was mean to him? Joao mentioned her temper a few times when we were dating.

I choose my words carefully. “I think your momma loved you, Diego, and Isadora very much.”

“Then why did she leave us? She didn’t even know Isadora…”

Ouch. Why is this kid asking all the hard questions tonight?

Dimitri says from behind me, “Nanny W is right. Your momma loved all three of you, but she was also sick.”

“She was?” Clara asks.

“She was. And that sickness made her leave us.”

“Oh.” Clara is silent. “Do I look like her, Papai ?”

“You do.”

“I wish I looked like Nanny W.”

My breath hitches in my throat. I’m saved from saying anything because Clara turns to her brother.

“Race you to the deep end!”

Diego grins and takes off. Just like that, the topic seems to be put to rest.

Dimitri asks, “Are you okay?”

I stand and nod. “Yeah. Just wondering where all of that came from. How much did you hear?”

“All of it.” His gaze searches mine. “I’m so fucking lucky to have you.”

His phone rings, making both of us groan.

“Come and find me later.”

I smile. “I will.”

Once the kids are down, I sneak into Dimitri’s room to find him on the phone. I close the door, locking it and move toward him.

“I don’t care. I want it taken care of.”

He ends the call, tossing his phone on the bed.

“Is everything okay?”

His entire body is tense.

“Just some Brotherhood shit.” He spins, facing me. “Get naked. Now.”

His demand sends a rush of heat through me, and I quickly undress. He’s right behind me and as soon as we’re both naked, he walks me backward until I fall onto the bed. I barely have time to situate myself before he’s moving over me, entering me in a single thrust.

I gasp, because I wasn’t totally wet down there. My lack of lubrication doesn’t stop him and he rocks into me hard and fast, like he’s trying to get away from something.

I touch his arm. “What is it?”

“Nothing.” But the haunted look in his gaze says otherwise.

I grab his face with both my hands. “Hey. I’m here.”

Leaning up, I brush my lips against his until he’s kissing me back. Our kisses soon have me on fire and when he moves again, it doesn’t hurt.

“Yes,” I pant. “Fuck me, Daddy.”

Dimitri’s gaze is dark as he looks down at me.

I come with his name on my lips and he’s right behind me.

After he rolls off me, I ask, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” He stands. “I need a shower.”

I watch him retreat into the bathroom, feeling like something has shifted between us.

And I don’t like it one bit.