Chapter 7
Damien
It’s been five days since the ride in the woods, and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s avoiding me or if it just happened to work out like this.
Ev is thrilled that we haven’t been woken up at dawn to go surfing, but it worries me, makes me think that maybe it’s because she just doesn’t want to see me.
Max finds me sitting in one of their lounge chairs that overlooks the ocean and takes the seat next to me. He’s been gone all day, and he looks exhausted when I turn my head to see him.
As if he can read my mind, he says, “They’ve been busy. Some shit happened in the city that needed to be taken care of.”
He doesn’t elaborate on what exactly that shit was, and I don’t ask.
I’d never make him choose his loyalty like that.
Medvedev business is none of my concern, so when I just nod and rest my head back again, he does the same and we sit in silence for several minutes, both of us watching the sun start to set.
The wind is still cool, and when I slip a hand into my hoodie’s front pocket, the image of Sitka wearing the one I lent her fills my mind.
God, she’d looked sexy, standing in front of me, looking so small in my shirt while her grey eyes stayed locked on mine.
I’ve never wanted to kiss someone so badly in my life.
There’s a lot I want to do to her, and thanks to Dima, I now have visions of her laying out with her bikini bottoms wedged up her ass, both cheeks on full display, slowly turning a beautiful shade of red.
I wonder if they’re still red or if they’ve turned to the same golden-brown shade of her tanned arms.
I’d give just about anything to find out.
“Volodya can be a little overprotective,” Max eventually says, ignoring the huff of a laugh I give at the understatement. “When there’s even a hint of danger, he usually puts her on lockdown. I’m sure she’ll visit as soon as she can get away.”
“She pretty much spent that whole family supper reading,” I say, a gentle reminder to us both that I’m not the kind of guy she’d be in to if she knew the truth.
Undeterred, Max says, “And you didn’t. From what I could see, she didn’t seem to care that you hadn’t brought along a book of your own.”
“It’s more than that,” I tell him, “and you know it. Most guys don’t carry a book around with them like that, but it’s not a big deal because they could easily read one if they wanted to.”
Irritation runs through me, that antsy, pissed-off feeling I always get when I think about my brain’s inability to process letters like everyone else.
“I don’t want to talk about this,” I tell him.
He gives me the same respect I gave him earlier by not pressing the issue. Instead, he lets out a loud whistle, and when Wallace comes running over with his orange tennis ball, Max praises him and then throws it into the yard.
“Where’s Ev,” he asks after he’s thrown the ball several times.
“Studying,” I say, “because he just can’t help himself.”
“Maybe I should tell Misha and Yuri that he’s ready for his first surfing lesson,” Max suggests with a grin playing at his lips.
“That would be hilarious,” I tell him, “if my ass wasn’t also involved in this.”
“Might be worth it,” Max taunts.
“You don’t need to say anything. I have a feeling they’ll come for us when we least expect it.”
“That is their style,” Max says. “Those two are crazy.”
“I’m well aware.”
Max just laughs at my tone and throws the ball again.
When he starts speaking again, the easy mirth is gone.
I recognize the more serious, older cousin tone when he says, “You know I’ll have your back if this is the road you want to go down, Damien.
No matter what. You’re family, and I will never turn my back on that, even if it does make me an enemy of all my in-laws. ”
“I would never ask you to choose,” I tell him.
“It’s not a choice. It just is. Talia and Lyra are my life, and turning my back on them will never be an option, but I know my wife well enough to know she’d stand by my side on this one.
The rest of the Medvedevs are up for debate.
All I ask is that you’re sure before you make a move.
Because once you lay a hand on his only daughter, the only way it ends is with Volodya as your father-in-law and her crazy brothers as your in-laws. Just remember that.”
“I’ll remember it,” I tell him. “I would never fuck around with her and then toss her aside.”
He grins over at me. “I know you wouldn’t, but Luka isn’t here, so I feel compelled to step in and give the warning that he would.”
He’s not wrong. Luka would make damn sure I knew the consequences, and then he’d back off and trust me to make the right choice.
“Thanks, Max,” I say. “You don’t need to worry about this. I’m not jumping blindly into anything.”
“I know you won’t.” He tosses the ball again and asks, “So what’d you think of Sitka’s riding skills?”
A smile splits my face before I can stop it because goddamn, watching her ride that dirt bike had been the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
She may be tiny, but she’s just as fearless as her brothers and cousins.
She’s not reckless, though. Sitka knows how to handle her bike, and she’d never be a liability because she’s too busy showing off.
Even with her helmet and goggles covering her face, I could tell she loved every minute of racing on those trails.
Sitka is an adrenaline junkie, and there’s no denying how sexy I find that.
“She’s good,” I finally say.
“She is,” he agrees. “She always beats my ass when I ride the trails.”
He’s not pissed about it. Max is not the kind of guy who’s going to feel like his manhood’s been taken from him because a woman can race faster than him.
“Last time,” he tells Wallace before throwing the ball again.
Standing up, he stretches and looks back at the house that’s lit up behind us.
“I’m gonna go help Talia with Lyra’s bath.
Don’t let Wallace guilt you into throwing the ball.
He’ll keep you out here all night. I wish I had half his energy. ”
I laugh and hold out my hand for the tennis ball when the exuberant dog comes running back to us. “You’re not an old man yet, Max.”
“I’ll be good as new after I get some sleep. Nina and Vasya are watching Lyra tomorrow night, and it’s sad how much I’m looking forward to an uninterrupted night of sleep.”
“It’s only sad if that’s all you do,” I say.
He grins and smacks my arm on his way past. “Yeah, that’s never going to happen.”
I throw the ball for several more minutes while it grows darker around us. The wind picks up, and I’m about to devastate Wallace by calling it quits when I get a text.
DIMA:
We’re hitting the clubs. Get Ev and meet us over here in 20. We’re taking the bikes.
In classic Medvedev style, it’s not a question. I debate telling him I don’t want to, but if there’s even a sliver of hope that Sitka might be tagging along, I have to take it. Even if she doesn’t go with us, maybe I’ll end up seeing her afterwards.
I tell him we’ll be there and then go back inside to find Ev. Wallace runs in after me, racing up the stairs in search of Talia while I knock on Ev’s door before walking in.
He looks up from the book he’s reading. “That could’ve been really awkward,” he says.
I laugh and sit in the chair while he takes his glasses off and sets them aside.
“I took a gamble that you weren’t jerking off without first locking the door.
” I look at him and gesture towards his body, the one that’s calm, fully clothed, and obviously not in a post-orgasmic state.
“Looks like I was right. Besides, if you’re jerking off to your law textbook, we have way bigger problems here. ”
He fights a grin while he tells me to fuck off. It completely disappears when I tell him about the text I just got.
“So we’re going clubbing now?” he asks. “You know, that thing that you and I never do because we both hate it. That’s what we’re doing tonight?”
I shrug and say, “It might not be all that bad.”
“You’re just hoping Sitka will be there.”
I don’t deny it, but I also know the possibility is very slim. Maybe they make allowances, though, if she’s with her brothers.
When I stay quiet, he groans and says, “Fine, let’s go see what these crazy fuckers get up to at night.”
While he gets ready, I slip into my own room and yank my hoodie off, switching the T-shirt I’m wearing underneath for a thicker long-sleeve tee.
With my hoodie back on, it feels a lot warmer, but I’m guessing I’ll still get cold, so I grab my leather riding jacket and gloves, not caring if I’m dressing like it’s winter.
Ev meets me upstairs, just as bundled up as I am, neither one of us giving a fuck if everyone else is in T-shirts.
Max and Talia meet us in the living room with a sleepy Lyra.
She’s freshly bathed and fed and wearing a cute pink sleeper.
I reach for her without thinking. She smiles up at me and immediately grabs at my jacket, fisting the collar in her small hand.
I quickly learned after my cousins started having babies that I’m a complete pushover when it comes to them.
I know it, and they can easily sense it.
When Lyra babbles out a long string of sounds that I’m sure make total sense to her, I grin and kiss her head, breathing in the sweet scent of her baby shampoo.
A big part of me would much rather stay here and babysit, but I can’t resist the slight chance of seeing Sitka, so I kiss Lyra’s chubby cheek and hand her back over to Talia.
I’d feel embarrassed about my complete lack of desire for clubbing if Ev wasn’t right next to me asking, “You sure you don’t need me to babysit tonight?”
“Go have fun,” Max insists. “At least you know you’ll be on land.”
“Maybe,” Talia says, giving us a wicked grin. “They’ve been known to night swim.”
“Talia,” Ev groans, “don’t say things like that. Your family is crazy. I’m sorry, but it has to be said.”
She gives a good-natured laugh and says, “Takes one to know one.”