Chapter 23 Miko
MIKO
“The reception was a disaster,” I admit, catching Leo up to speed on what’s happened since he left.
“Yeah, but the wedding itself went off without a hitch,” Gio points out.
“And we learned a lot, even if we never made it past cocktail hour,” Raf adds.
“That’s true. And god, you should have seen Anika in her wedding dress—before those idiot Russians ruined it.” Just the thought of it makes me ache to hunt her down and take her back to bed. If there was something as an earth angel, she would be it.
“She could have given Sora a run for her money,” Sandro says as he reclines on the tufted leather couch.
Leo snorts. “Don’t make me laugh. Though I have to admit, you did well, brother.” He claps me on the shoulder, his signature smirk full of pride. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.” I can’t help my own smile when I think about the woman I get to share a bed with every night.
Not so long ago, the thought of marriage had been the farthest thing from my mind.
But now, I couldn’t dream of my life without Anika.
She’s a stabilizing force I never knew I needed.
“I’m sorry I missed your big day,” Leo says, his expression sobering. “Sincerely.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’d rather you be alive and Sora be safe. I knew it would be too risky.”
He nods, his shoulders lifting as if relieved of a heavy weight.
“I hope you guys know how much it means to me—what you’re doing.
You easily could have held me accountable for picking up the pieces since it’s my wife’s family who brought us to this state.
It doesn’t feel right to dip when it was my responsibility to take over after the Don. ”
The Don. It’s how Leo’s always referred to our father.
I know he and Don Augusta never really got along.
Not that the Don was a particularly warm or affectionate father figure.
But he did shape us into the men we’ve become, and I owe him everything when it comes right down to it.
Without him, I wouldn’t have had a family, a home, a future.
“Please,” Raf snorts. “We all knew how little you wanted the title. Which one of us was going to try and stop you?”
Leo chuckles. “Fair point.”
When it comes down to it, I might be the only one who could stop Leo from doing what he wants. I’m the only one who’s ever been able to manage him.
That’s just not who I am.
I’m not interested in forcing my brother’s inheritance on him.
Even if I wasn’t about to let our enemies walk after what they’ve done.
“We do miss you, though, brother,” Gio adds. He’s always been the nice brother, the empathetic one.
And after seeing how much Anika’s presence has softened me over the past month, I blame it on Stephanie—the woman Gio fell in love with when he was still young.
She’s gone now, a fate too many women suffer in our world. But Gio’s all the more open about his feelings because of it.
He knows it’s better to speak his truth than regret staying silent until it’s too late.
“I miss you guys too,” Leo says with a rueful smile. “I keep thinking that I could come back and at least help with the legitimate side of the business once you’ve taken back our territory and put a stop to the bastards trying to take it.”
Gio and I share a glance, and my middle brother’s face splits into a white-toothed grin. “I think that sounds perfect.”
He and Leo shake hands to seal the deal, and Sandro rises from the couch.
“A toast, to celebrate the Chiaroscuro brothers coming back together?” he suggests, grabbing the bottle of Hibiki Leo brought with him and pulling the stopper.
“Hell yeah,” Leo agrees.
It’s more than I’ve indulged in since our family home was destroyed, but something about having Leo home just feels right.
My guard comes down, and the smiles come easier as we joke and laugh like we used to before the world went to hell in a handbasket.
Even Raf seems more like himself again, though Genevieve’s absence is somehow more noticeable now that Sora’s in the room.
The two girls often sat together after dinner to share hushed conversations. Now, it’s Anika who keeps Sora company, but my wife seems somewhat distracted tonight—quieter than usual.
I wonder if having Leo and Sora in the house makes her feel excluded somehow. I never really thought about it before now, but when my brothers and I come together, we become something of a closed circle.
I imagine that couldn’t have been easy for Sora to navigate early on.
But she seems to have come into her own now, and she looks radiantly happy as Leo showers her with a level of affection I honestly never knew my brother was capable of.
It makes me all the more eager to have Anika to myself again.
But after my brother went so far out of his way to cross six state lines to visit with his pregnant wife, I can’t bring myself to cut the night short. I don’t know when I’ll get to see him again, and I’m grateful for the time we have.
I can see the toll it’s taking on Anika, though, and she excuses herself shortly after dinner to turn in early.
It’s probably not a bad thing as my brothers grow more rowdy as the night goes on.
It feels good to have Leo home—even if we’re crashing in the Novikov compound until we have the numbers to reclaim the ruins of our family home.
“Alright, Leo. I think it’s time we start back,” Sora says, finally, her hand smoothing softly over the small baby bump that shapes her dress.
“Of course, cattiva,” Leo says with open affection, and he presses a kiss to her forehead before helping her up off the couch.
“Thanks for coming to visit,” I say, grasping my brother’s hand and pulling him in for another gruff hug.
“I’ll make it happen more often,” he assures me, clapping me on the back. Then he moves on to give Gio and the twins a hug.
Sora hangs back, a soft smile on her lips as she watches the exchange.
For the briefest moment, our eyes connect, and the color that stains her cheeks before she looks away gives me pause.
She’s always given me a wide berth, but I thought that was because of Leo’s rather territorial nature.
I heard about how mad he got at Gio for trying to befriend her when she first became his wife, so I’ve kept my distance.
But Sora almost looks… ashamed.
I don’t have time to dwell on it as Leo ushers her toward the front door, and we wave them off. Then I head up the steps to join Anika, more than ready to climb in bed with her.
She’s in the bathroom when I arrive, already dressed in a pair of sexy little booty shorts and a matching tank top.
Her face is clean of makeup, her hair tied in a messy bun atop her head as she brushes her teeth.
Stepping up behind her, I grasp her hips and dip low to breathe in the warm cinnamon-rose scent that clings to her skin.
I press several kisses along the curve of her neck, relishing the goosebumps that rise in my wake as I pull her back against me so she can feel how much I want her.
“I missed you today,” I murmur, brushing another light kiss across her skin and nuzzling the soft skin behind her ear.
Rather than respond with enthusiasm, Anika leans forward, bending over the sink to spit.
Taking the hint, I release her, taking my spot in front of the second sink so I can brush my teeth.
She gives her teeth a quick floss, her eyes uncommonly intent on the task at hand.
Then she silently turns and leaves, heading into the bedroom ahead of me.
Maybe my read is off, but it seems like something is troubling her.
What that might be, I can’t say.
Unless I missed something, today seemed like a perfectly pleasant day.
Then again, I know my brothers can be a lot when we’re all together. Maybe it was more than she was ready for.
I doubt she’s seen the kind of dynamic we have before, especially since she was an only child.
Finishing my bathroom routine, I follow her into the bedroom, pulling my shirt over my head and tossing it in the hamper. “Are you alright?” I ask, my eyebrows pressing into a frown as I study her.
She’s not watching me undress, and while that seems like a silly cue to pick up on, I think it’s the first time that’s happened since our wedding night.
“I’m fine,” she says stiffly. “Just tired.”
Quirking a brow, I prowl toward her crawling up the bed until I’m hovering over her. “Even too tired for sex?” I tease, leaning in to nip at her throat.
Over the past several weeks, sex seems to be the one area of our connection that has improved the most.
No matter what we might be working through in other areas of our relationship, it always seems to be our bridge back to each other.
And now that she’s not scared every time I come near her, she’s proven to have quite a sexual appetite. A fact that makes it nearly impossible to get out of bed each morning.
Anika’s lips curve into a sensual smile, her eyes igniting with anticipation as she lies back, her fingers brushing across the bare skin of my chest and abs. “No, I think I’ll be able to stay awake for that,” she murmurs, her eyes dilating.
A low snarl of appreciation rumbles through me, and I pounce playfully, bringing my lips crushing down on hers as I get swept up in the moment.
Anika’s lips part, and I delve past them, my tongue tangling with hers in an intimate dance.
Heat races through my veins as she lets out one of those soft moans that drive me crazy.
Whatever was on her mind earlier seems to be gone now as the air between us electrifies, and a bold desire to possess her makes my heart pound.
Whatever else might happen, Anika is my woman.
I own every gasp of pleasure, every addicting orgasm she has to give, and like a druggy who’s gone too long without a fix, I’m itching for the sweet relief that only she can give.