Chapter 11 #3
I watch her dress in a pair of jeans and when she picks a shirt that’s the same shade of green as the dress I’d asked her to wear, I swear I feel my heart swell a bit.
If I hadn’t enjoyed beating the fuck out of Xander so much earlier, I’d worry she was making me soft.
The truth is it had taken every ounce of willpower I possess to not slide my knife into him, and the only reason I hadn’t is because she’s right.
As much as I hate it, I can’t just go around killing people who piss me off by flirting with Cyn, no matter how badly I may want to.
It would be irresponsible of me, and it would put my family in danger, something I’m not willing to do.
That doesn’t mean I’ll let things slide, though.
I am who I am, and there’s no stopping that.
The corner of my mouth lifts at the memory of splitting Xander’s lip and the way his blood had looked spraying the brick wall I’d had him pressed against. It hadn’t been as satisfying as killing him would have been, but I think it’s a fair compromise.
After I’ve pulled on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, I send a quick text to Niki.
ME:
I need you to meet me at a little place called Bean Me Up.
NIKI:
Why?
ME:
I’ll explain when you get there.
NIKI:
Is this important?
I know Niki’s busy and was probably planning on working all night, but then I look over at Cyn, and the excited, hopeful look she’s giving me as she finishes getting ready is enough to have my fingers moving.
ME:
Yeah, it is.
NIKI:
Fine. I’ll be there in 15.
I put my phone away and then attach the knife sheath I’d had specially made to my leather belt and slip it through the loops on my jeans.
“Do you seriously never go anywhere without that?”
I lift my eyes to Cyn’s. “Never, especially not when you’re with me.”
“I really don’t think anyone is going to try and hurt me when I’m standing right next to you.”
I grin and buckle the belt before grabbing my knife and sliding it into the sheath that’s now resting along the small of my back.
Walking over to her, I tilt her face up and trail my finger along the light dusting of freckles that run under her eyes and over the bridge of her nose. “Have I told you how much I love these?”
She wrinkles her nose at me, making it clear she doesn’t share my opinion.
“Well, I do,” I tell her before she can tell me she hates them. “They’re sexy.”
She snorts out a laugh. “Nothing is sexy about me, Sasha.”
“Every single thing about you is sexy,” I correct. Not giving her the chance to argue, I smack the perfect ass that I will never get enough of and tell her we need to say goodbye to Chort or he’ll destroy things while we’re gone.
Grinning up at me, she says, “I don’t believe you. He’s an angel.”
“You are in for a rude awakening when it comes to him. No one in my family will touch him,” I tell her. “They’re too afraid he’s going to bite their hand off, and they’re not wrong.”
She thinks I’m joking, so she laughs and threads her fingers through mine when I offer her my hand. While she hugs Chort goodbye, I ask, “Do you have your inhaler?”
“I do. Don’t worry, I always keep it on me.”
“I will always worry,” I tell her. “Do you have your knife?”
She looks up, laughing when Chort licks her cheek again. “But I’ll be with you,” she says, and I shake my head.
“Anytime you leave this house, that knife goes with you,” I tell her. Walking over, I hold my hand out, waiting for her to take it before I pull her to standing. “You promised, Cyn,” I remind her.
“I would never go back on a promise,” she says while tilting her head to look up at me. “I just didn’t know you also meant when I’m with you.” Her eyes run over me. “There’s no way I’m going to need it when you’re with me.”
“I appreciate your faith in me, krovinka, but I still want it on you. I will always keep you safe, but I’ll breathe a little easier if I know you’re armed.” The corner of my mouth lifts when I tap the tip of her nose. “Even if you are a delicate stabber.”
“What?” Her laugh is cute as hell, and then she eyes me, trying to decide if she should be angry or not. “What does that even mean?”
“It means your movements don’t scream that you’re wanting to hurt someone. It’s more like you’re apologizing as you’re trying to stab. There’s a hesitancy there that we’ll need to train out of you.”
“So you’re training me now?”
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I am, yes. I hope you’ll never need to use any of this, but you have to know how to protect yourself. The night we met proves that, and besides, every woman should know how to defend herself.”
“That’s true. Okay, I’ll let you teach me how to not be a delicate stabber, but I really hope I never have to use any of this.” Her green eyes meet mine, and I see the worry in them before she says, “I don’t want to hurt anyone, Sasha. I’m never going to want to do that.”
I know exactly what she’s asking me, and I hate that she’s worrying for one second about this.
Threading my fingers in her hair, I lean closer and say, “I don’t want you to be like me, Cyn.
I’ve never wanted that, and I have no desire to turn you into anything that you’re not.
I don’t want to change anything about you.
I just need to know that if the worst case scenario happens, you can keep yourself safe until I can get to you.
That’s all I need you to do. Stay alive, no matter what, and then I’ll take care of the rest.”
Before she can start worrying about what-ifs and possible worst case scenarios, I say, “Nothing is going to happen to you, krovinka. I just like to be prepared, and knowing you’re always armed will make it a little easier for me to breathe.”
“Give me a sec, and I’ll go get it then.”
She runs off to do what I’ve asked, and I keep my eyes on her the whole time. Keeping my voice low, I scratch Chort’s head and say, “I’m glad you like her because we’re keeping her.”
He grunts his approval and leans into my touch.
A few minutes later she’s on the back of my bike, her arms securely around my waist, thighs pressing in against me, and a curious pair of hands that can’t resist exploring every time I have to stop at a red light.
When I park in front of Bean Me Up and pull off my helmet, she must do the same, because before I can even turn my head, I feel her lips pressing against the nape of my neck in a sweet kiss that manages to both steal my breath and force all my blood back to my cock.
God, this woman’s going to be the death of me.
I squeeze her thigh and then wait for her to get off before I do the same.
Resting our helmets on the seat, I look down at her and brush her thick hair off her shoulder.
The braid I made of her hair is still in my pocket because I like carrying it around and having it close, but I don’t need to reach in and run my finger over it because the real thing is standing right in front of me.
She smiles up at me and reaches for my hand. I’m about to take it when I look down and notice her shoe is untied. Without a second thought, I squat down and grab her laces.
“What are you doing?”
I raise my head and give her a wink. “I’m tying your shoe, krovinka.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she starts to argue, but I ignore her and finish securing the knot.
My eyes run over every inch of her body as I slowly stand, and then I cup her face and say, “I wanted to. I like taking care of you, and the last time you bent over to tie your shoe some asshole made a comment that I really didn’t care for. No one needs to be thinking about this ass but me, Cyn.”
The corner of her full mouth lifts up. “You’re thinking about my ass?”
I groan and kiss her. “Only every second of every day.”
“Hmm, so about as often as I’m thinking about yours then.”
I laugh before I can stop it, and when I turn my head, I see my cousin leaning against the corner of the restaurant, watching us with a mixture of surprise and a good dose of What the fuck?
“My cousin’s here,” I tell Cyn, and then I lean down to kiss her once more before taking her hand in mine and leading her over to where he’s waiting.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” he says in Russian as soon as we’re next to him.
I ignore him and say in English, “This is Cynthia.” Turning my eyes to Cyn, I say, “This is my cousin Nikita, but everyone calls him Niki.”
“Hi,” she says, giving him a big smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too, Cynthia.”
She hurries up to say, “You can call me Cindy. Everyone does.” Her eyes dart to mine. “Well, almost everyone.”
I keep my arm around her shoulders, wanting her body close to mine, and Niki doesn’t miss a single detail.
In Russian he says, “I thought you wanted the feed so you could watch her and make sure she didn’t say anything about that night. I never in a million years thought it was because you’d fallen for her.” He gives a soft laugh. “No offense, but I thought you might be planning on killing her.”
I shrug and kiss the top of Cyn’s head, taking the time to inhale her coconut-scented shampoo while I do it before I say, “I’m just as surprised by it as you are.”
“So what’s the emergency?” He smiles over at me. “Or is this it?”
“She has a friend joining us and asked if I could invite someone.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, he’s groaning and narrowing his eyes at me.
“So by emergency you meant you need me for a double date?” he asks. “Goddammit, Sasha, you know I’ve got work to do.”
“What’s going on?” Cyn asks, looking between the two of us. “I’m only in beginner’s Russian. I think I caught about five words out of that entire conversation.”
I grin and give her a wink. “See how much you’re learning already, krovinka?”
“Krovinka?” Niki asks, and still speaking Russian adds, “I feel like I’m losing my mind here, Sasha. Seriously, what the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. I stick to Russian while I look down at Cyn and slide my fingers along her shoulder until I’m cupping the back of her neck in a possessive grip that feels completely natural and all kinds of right. “I just couldn’t walk away from her.”
“Does anyone else know about this?” Niki asks.
“Mia,” I tell him. “And I’d like to be the one to tell the others.”
“They won’t hear it from me,” he says, and I know he’ll keep my secret for as long as I need him to.
That’s the thing about Niki. The guy’s a vault.
He carries around information on everyone thanks to his ability to hack into any computer and watch through any camera.
It’s a good thing he’s not a gossip like our Uncle Vitaly.
He looks between Cyn and me again, clearly still getting used to seeing me show affection to someone, and asks her. “So how did you and Sasha meet?”
Cyn’s face turns a pretty shade of red, and when she gives me a wide-eyed look and starts to fumble over her words, Niki laughs and says, “I’m just messing with you. I know all about your fucked-up meet cute.”
“It was pretty fucked up,” she admits with a relieved grin.
“It wasn’t that fucked up,” I say. The memory of how she’d looked with blood streaked along her cheek hits me hard, and I can’t help but grin. “It was kind of sweet.”
“Nice to know you haven’t completely changed, cuz,” Niki says, and before I can respond, his attention is pulled from me and centers on something behind me.
My hand instinctively slips under my shirt, but then I hear Cyn say, “Hey, Sav, we’re over here!”
Niki keeps his eyes on the tall blonde walking towards us, and when he does finally look over at me, I say in Russian, “Looks like I’m not the only one who got knocked on his ass.”