Sinful Promise (Koslov Bratva #6)

11. Danil

11

DANIL

Despite seeing Emily every day over the past week, it’s only been from afar, and I’ve missed actually being able to talk with her in person. We’ve communicated over text because I’ve been worried that I won’t be able to keep the fact that I’ve been following her every move a secret. But she’s going to get suspicious if I keep my distance for too long. So, I figure there’s no harm in dropping by the penthouse to see if she wants to watch a film.

Though, it seems Emily might have to fight my niece and nephew for my attention because the moment I step out of the elevator, my nephew catches sight of me.

“Uncle Danil!”

Zara appears on the stairs, carrying Sasha on her hip.

I bite back a laugh at the look of relief on Zara’s face, which makes me feel less guilty about showing up unannounced.

“What are you doing here?”

It’s scary how much she looks like Emily. If it weren’t for the height difference, they could almost be mistaken for twins, with their identical green eyes and honey gold hair.

“Thought you might need a hand. How’s my favorite niece and nephew?” I pick up Ben, who is dangling on my leg.

“Hungry!”

Zara adjusts Sasha on her hip. “You literally just ate.”

Sasha’s a lot quieter than Ben, but no less energetic.

I offer her a smile, and she buries her face in Zara’s hair.

I tickle Ben. “You inherited your father’s appetite.”

“Oh, there’s no questioning their genetics, that’s for sure.”

Both twins are exact replicas of Dimitri, with dark hair that is slightly curled and dark brown eyes. Even their personalities are exactly like his.

Zara carries Sasha into the kitchen. “Your timing is perfect, actually. I need to run to an appointment, and Dimitri was meant to watch the kids, but he’s stuck in a meeting.”

“Is that your way of asking if I’ll watch the twins for you?” I head over to the fridge to find a snack for Ben, who is wiping his sticky hands all over my suit jacket.

“I’d ask Emily, but she’s been locked away in her room all morning working on a paper, and I don’t want to disturb her.”

“I’d be happy to watch the twins for you.” I hand Ben a fruit pouch. “You guys don’t mind hanging out with Uncle Danil, do you?”

“Uncle Danil!” Ben claps his hands together, and I laugh.

I never thought of myself as much of a kid person, but now that I have so many nieces and nephews, I can honestly say that I love being around them.

“You are an absolute lifesaver. Dimitri should be home by the time they’re up from their naps. There’s lunch in the fridge and whatever you do, don’t let Ben persuade you to give him chocolate buttons before his nap, otherwise, he won’t sleep.”

“Choccy buttons!” Ben throws his hands in the air once more and simultaneously squeezes his fruit pouch so that it explodes.

“Oh, Ben, honey.”

“I’ll clean this up; you should head out before you’re late for your appointment.”

Zara grimaces, but then she glances at the time on her watch.

“Be good for Uncle Danil.” She kisses Sasha on the cheek before handing her off to me. “Behave, Ben.”

“No.”

“Are you sure you’re okay doing this? They can be a handful.”

I usher Zara over to the door. “We’ll be fine. If it all goes to hell, I’ll ask Emily for help.”

After I assure Zara half a dozen more times that I’ve got everything under control, she finally leaves, and then it dawns on me that I have to now somehow entertain two energetic toddlers.

“Why don’t we bring Auntie Emily a cup of tea?”

“And choccy buttons!”

By the time I manage to usher both kids up the stairs, I’m sure Emily’s tea is probably cold, but hopefully, she'll appreciate the gesture, regardless.

“Knock gentl?—”

“Auntie Emily!” Ben yells at the top of his lungs as he bangs his chubby fists on the door.

I cringe as the sound of footsteps comes from the other side of the door, but when the door opens, and Emily’s green eyes find mine, it’s like the breath has been stolen from my lungs.

For a second, we both stare at each other.

Her blonde hair is loose around her shoulders, and she’s wearing an NYU T-shirt and a pair of shorts that leave very little to the imagination.

I clear my throat and plaster an easy smile on my face. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to make good on my promise. I’m here to babysit.”

“Really?” Emily’s eyebrows shoot up, and I hold my hand up to my chest in mock offense.

“I never break my promises.”

Emily rolls her eyes.

Ben jumps up and down. “We brought you choccy buttons!”

I laugh, handing her the bowl of half-eaten chocolate and the lukewarm cup of tea. “Here. Study fuel.”

“Oh, wow, this is…very sweet of you. How many of these did you eat, Ben?”

Ben glances at me, and I hold my finger to my lips.

He smiles at her. “None.”

“Danil. Don’t teach them to lie.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I try to hold back a smile.

Sasha tugs on Emily’s shorts. “Play with us.”

My eyes flick to her bare legs, and my mouth fills with saliva. I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to have them wrapped around my waist as I kiss her deeply.

When I glance back at Emily, I notice a soft pink blush staining her cheeks.

Does she like the fact I was looking at her legs?

Emily turns my attention away from her very bare legs to the twins. “I have to finish my homework. But I promise I will play with you later.”

I clear my throat. “We’re going to go play outside so I can wear them out.”

“They’re not dogs.” Emily laughs, her green eyes lighting up.

“It’s the same principle, right? Feed them, walk them, train them not to piss in the house.”

“Danil!”

“Shit, sorry. You guys didn’t hear that.”

Emily shakes her head at me, but she’s grinning so hard that I don’t feel the least bit bad for swearing in front of the twins. It was worth it just to make her smile.

After bribing Sasha and Ben with another handful of Emily’s chocolate buttons, I take them down to the communal garden around the back of the apartment building. Somehow, I carry both of them and their balance bikes and various balls.

By the time we’re outside, I’m sweating buckets.

I shrug out of my jacket and undo a few buttons on my shirt as well as roll up the sleeves.

“I did not think this through.”

I glance up at the sky and wince at the sun that is beating down over us.

For the next hour, I run around after the twins, pushing them on their bikes and playing catch. It’s surprisingly fun and making them squeal with laughter is intoxicating.

Sometimes, I can get so caught up in all the dark stuff that comes with my work within the bratva that it’s refreshing to get to act like a kid again.

I envy their innocence.

On more than one occasion, I glance up and I could swear Emily’s looking out the window at us, and I can’t help but smile.

I’ve missed her.

I groan as I come back down the stairs after putting the twins down for a nap. “Holy shit, those two are hard work. I’m exhausted.”

Emily is sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and a textbook balanced on her knee. “You barely lasted two hours!”

Emily laughs, closing her textbook as I approach and tossing it on the floor.

I plop down on the couch next to her, trying not to eye her bare legs. “Is that all it’s been? It feels like days. I don’t know how Zara and Dimitri do it.”

“Me neither.”

“They are pretty adorable, though.”

“They sure are.”

“Shouldn’t I be napping when the twins nap? Isn’t that how it works?” I adjust myself so that I’m lying sprawled on the couch with my head resting in Emily’s lap.

“Danil, don’t you dare fall asleep!” She whacks my shoulder playfully.

I snuggle against her soft thighs. “Shh! Time for Danil’s nap.”

She laughs. “You are so annoying.”

I grin up at her and when our eyes meet, her cheeks turn a soft shade of pink.

I’m suddenly all too aware of how close we are, but neither of us makes any attempt to move.

My cheek brushes against the soft skin of her inner thigh, and the temptation to press a kiss to her skin is almost too much to bear.

My mouth suddenly goes painfully dry.

“I can’t be that annoying, otherwise you wouldn’t hang out with me all the time.” My voice is thick with need.

“I like hanging out with you.”

She gingerly reaches out and brushes the hair out of my eyes.

The feeling of her fingertips grazing my skin makes me shiver.

Having my head in her lap while she’s wearing a tiny pair of shorts is making me painfully hard. What I would give to be able to slide those shorts down and bury my face between her soft thighs…

I really should move.

At this angle, there’s no way for me to hide my erection, and if Emily were to notice how turned on I am… Well, it wouldn’t exactly scream friendship, and I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.

But then again, the way her eyes keep flicking to my lips has me wondering if perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for her to notice after all.

I suddenly realize that neither of us has spoken in a few minutes, and Emily is still playing with my hair. There’s something strangely intimate about it, and I don’t want her to stop.

While I’m no stranger to showing her affection through hugs and the odd kiss on the cheek, I’ve been careful to keep things platonic between us.

But at this moment, what I want to do to her is about as far from platonic as you can get.

As if Emily can read where my thoughts are going, she snatches her hand away and clears her throat. “Come on, you just need a little pick me up.”

I guess the moment’s over.

I begrudgingly lift my head off of Emily’s lap and follow behind her into the kitchen while subtly adjusting my erection.

She grabs two glasses from the cupboard and loads them up with ice.

Watching her move around the kitchen in those tiny shorts that barely cover her ass is not helping the situation.

I quickly give my cock a squeeze, hoping to kill the ache, but it only makes it worse.

“Please tell me you’re going to add liquor to those glasses.” I slide onto one of the stools to hide how fucking turned on I am.

“You’re babysitting. You can have soda, and that’s it.”

“Going straight for the heavy stuff.”

Emily crosses over to the fridge and pulls out two cans of soda.

She sets the cans down on the island. “You’ll thank me.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Well, I don’t think your brother would be very pleased to come home and find you drinking when you’re meant to be watching his children.”

I can’t help but notice that she’s refusing to look me in the eye.

Did I make her uncomfortable by how close we were on the couch?

Shit. I need to rectify this.

“I think you’ll find that I’m more fun when I’m drunk.” I reach for a can of soda and a glass.

“Says who?”

“Uh…Dimitri?”

“Dimitri is an unreliable source.” Emily laughs, opening up her own soda.

“I don’t remember the last time we actually had a drink together. Do you?”

“It was at Nina and Anton’s wedding.”

“Ah, yes, the infamous tequila debacle. What is it with you and tequila, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Emily mutters, but her lips twitch with a hint of a smile.

“I guess you’ll just have to promise you’ll have a proper drink with me when I’m not watching the kids. And when I say proper, I mean bourbon.”

“Bourbon? It sounds like you just want to get me drunk.” Her eyes finally meet mine. “You’re not planning on taking advantage of me, are you, Danil?”

I don’t miss the way her eyes flick to my lips, and I automatically wet them with my tongue.

Maybe I didn’t make her uncomfortable after all. Maybe I turned her on…

“Do you want me to, Emily?” I lean forward, resting my forearms on the counter.

I watch with smug satisfaction as Emily’s throat bobs.

She ignores my question and picks up her drink before coming to sit on the stool next to me.

I nudge her knee with my own. “You didn’t answer my question.”

She looks at me out of the corner of her eye, and her cheeks flood with color. “Maybe…”

Oh, fuck.

“Maybe?” I reach out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Her breath catches as my fingers graze her cheek, and the last of my restraint snaps.

“Believe me, I could sweep you off your feet without intoxicating you, Mullens.”

“How would you do that?”

“You’re asking me how I’d seduce you?”

My cock is straining against my zipper at the thought of finally getting my hands on her.

Emily shrugs before turning to face me.

“Or maybe…you could just show me…”

I bite back a groan.

She wants this .

I wrap my hand around the back of her neck to hold her steady as I lean in.

Just before our lips are about to touch, I pause, making sure she definitely wants this.

From the way her green eyes are slightly glazed as she stares at my mouth, it’s clear that she does.

At the first brush of my lips against hers, I fear my cock might actually explode in my pants.

I’ve dreamed about kissing Emily Mullens for what feels like years, so I don’t want to rush this. I want to take my time.

Emily is hesitant at first, letting me set the pace. She tastes like chocolate, and I can’t help but smile against her mouth as I think of the chocolate buttons I brought her earlier.

I lick along her lower lip, reveling in the sweetness of her.

When she eagerly parts her lips, and my tongue brushes against hers, it’s game over.

I can’t hold back my moan as my cock strains against my zipper.

I’ve never enjoyed kissing a woman as much as I enjoy kissing Emily. I could do this for hours and be satisfied.

Usually, I waste no time getting a girl naked, but Emily isn’t just any girl.

She’s the girl.

Emily’s fingers sink into my hair, and the next thing I know, I’m lifting her up beneath her thighs and moving her into my lap so that she’s straddling me.

“Danil,” she gasps against my mouth as she feels how ready I am.

I pull her mouth back down to mine and kiss her fiercely, not wanting to break our connection.

She wraps her arms around my neck, and I let my hands trail down her back until I’m gripping her ass through those tiny shorts.

I’m actually in heaven .

“Danil?”

I pull away from Emily at the sound of my brother’s voice.

Or maybe this is hell.

She’s straddling my lap in the middle of his kitchen, her lips swollen from kissing me, and my fingers are currently digging into her ass.

Dimitri’s heavy footsteps head toward us.

“Shit.” I jerk up, and she slides from my lap so fast I have to steady her.

“I should get back to studying,” Emily mumbles without meeting my gaze.

Before I have a chance to apologize for pulling away so quickly, she hurries past me and disappears up the stairs.

Well, fuck.

That was not how I wanted that to end. If anything, I stupidly thought I would carry her upstairs and show her what else I can do with my tongue.

Instead, it looked like I couldn’t break away from her fast enough. Or worse, that I was embarrassed at the idea of being seen kissing her.

“You fucking idiot, Danil.” I run my fingers through my hair.

The last thing I want Emily to feel is rejected, but I couldn’t risk Dimitri catching us. It would spark too many questions that I’m not sure either of us is ready to answer.

It would just be so much easier if Emily would realize how much I want her.