Chapter 22 #2
“We already talked about it. He knows how much I love this place and how badly I’d miss my family. We’ll be back all the time, Dad. I promise.”
He stops looking at the sky and drops his chin to look at me. “I’m not ready to lose you,” he admits, and the sadness in his voice has me quickly getting up so I can scoot my chair next to his and rest my head against his shoulder.
“You’re not losing me, Dad. That’s never going to happen.”
“It better not,” he says, “or I will fly to New York myself and force you back for a visit.”
I grin, even though I know he’s not joking. The smile freezes on my face when he says, “Your brothers will have to find someone else to bet on while you’re gone.”
“What do you mean?”
He laughs and kisses the top of my head. “I always know where my kids are.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
I feel his shoulder shrug under my head. “You needed an outlet, and despite what you might think, I never wanted you to feel like a prisoner. I knew your brothers would keep you safe, and I also knew you were good enough to win.”
“It was a lot of fun,” I admit. “And I didn’t feel like a prisoner.”
He laughs at that and gives my hair a gentle tug. “You’re not supposed to lie to me anymore.”
“I’m not lying,” I tell him. “Okay, maybe I felt a little bit like a prisoner, but I always understood the reasons for it. I was never once mad at you for it.”
“I just wanted to keep you safe. At least I know Damien can do the same. He may not be my most favorite person right now, but I know he’d give his life to protect you.”
“You’ll like him once you stop hating him.”
He laughs at that. “Does Nyx like him at least? She’s the real judge of character here.”
“She loves him,” I say, making him give an exaggerated groan.
“Fine, I’ll put forth the effort if Nyx is okay with him. She’s too good of a dog to be wrong about something like this. I’m guessing you’ll be taking her with you.”
“I want to, yeah. Plus, it’ll give me even more reasons to come back and visit. She’ll miss her brothers and want to see them as much as possible.”
“Good thinking,” my dad says.
“I’m glad you’re not mad at Mom.”
“I told you I could never be mad at her.” He pats my leg and grins. “Besides, there’s no way she would’ve lasted the night. She would’ve told me before the sun came up. You know how bad she is at keeping secrets. Every Christmas I already know exactly what I’m getting.”
I laugh because he’s not wrong. Mom tries, she really does, but she has a really hard time keeping anything from us.
“Come on,” my dad says, standing up and motioning for me to do the same.
“What’s going on?”
“I texted Max before we sat down and asked him to bring Damien over. There’s no reason for you two to be separated if everyone already knows your little secret.”
I hug him again and say, “Thanks, Dad. I really think you’re going to grow to love him.”
He laughs and kisses the top of my head. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. I think I’m doing pretty good not killing him. We can work from there.”
I grin and say, “Okay, I can agree to that. You all learned to love Max, and this will be the same.”
“You’re an optimist, just like your mom,” my dad teases as we head back inside.
I look over at him and say, “She told me how you two meet. Smooth, Dad. Real smooth.”
He gives a good-natured laugh. “It worked. She fell madly in love with me and insisted I keep her.”
“Is that how that worked?” my mom asks, grinning from the kitchen.
He winks and walks over to her. “I skipped the part where I tied you up and brought you here because I couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing you again.”
“Well, you tied me up because you thought I was Kaylee,” my mom reminds him.
My dad grins and pulls her against him. “I would’ve still taken you that night, kiska, and we both know it.”
I share a look with my brothers right before I hear the knock at the door. Pointing my finger at my family, I say, “Be nice,” before running to let Damien in.
As soon as I fling open the door and see him, I jump into his arms. He catches me with a surprised laugh and then cups the back of my head, pressing his face against my neck while I wrap my arms and legs around him in a tight hug.
Neither one of us breaks the silence, both of us content to just feel the other while we convince ourselves that everything is okay and we can stop worrying.
When I cup his face and pull back to look at him, my mouth drops open in surprise. I’d been so happy to see him that I hadn’t noticed his bruised and swollen cheek.
“I’m fine,” he says before I can ask. “Your brothers and I needed to talk about some things, but it’s over now.”
I lightly brush my fingers over his bruised skin. “This is talking?”
The corner of his mouth tips up when he says, “We were all pissed. It needed to happen, besyonok, so stop worrying. How’d it go when you told your dad?”
Leaning closer, I say, “Surprisingly well. They’re all inside waiting for you.”
“Perfect,” he says, and I grin at the sarcasm.
“It really is okay now. I had a good talk with my family, and they’re ready to act like reasonable adults.”
He grins when he says, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Prepare to be amazed,” I tell him before lightly brushing my lips over his brushed cheek. I cover the swollen skin in soft kisses while I whisper, “I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry they didn’t listen to me when we came out of the woods.”
“Besyonok, you have nothing to be sorry for.” He lets out a soft sigh when I tangle my fingers in his hair and kiss the corner of his mouth. “This isn’t your fault, and if I’d been in your brothers’ shoes, I’d have done the same damn thing.”
Surprised, I pull back just enough for me to see him better.
He grins and says, “Baby, we came out of those woods looking like we’d just fucked the hell out of each other.
You’re their little sister. I understand why they were furious.
” He pauses for just a second before saying, “I’m not sure I understand all the it must be genetics jokes, though. You want to explain that one to me?”
“Not really,” I say, and he smiles at the groan I give.
“All right, fine. Apparently, my dad likes to chase my mom through the woods. Also, my brothers are really into it as well. These are details I shouldn’t know about my family and wish I could ignore the fact that I do, but it is what it is, I guess, and I’m apparently proof of our family’s odd connection to nature. ”
The full smile he gives me tugs at the corners of my own mouth, because I find it impossible to be on the receiving end of one of his smiles and not return it.
He leans in close and kisses me. “I think that’s perfect,” he whispers against my lips.
“I love that you love to be chased through the woods, and I really love how much you enjoy getting caught.”
I feel the heat of his soft laugh against my lips before he says, “I wonder if this is something that’ll be passed down to our kids.”
“I don’t want to think about that right now,” I say, making him laugh again.
“Yeah, me either. I’m starting to sympathize with your dad and brothers a lot more at the mere thought of some guy chasing our daughter through the forest at night. They went easy on me, and that’s only because they love you more than they hate me.”
“They don’t hate you,” I tell him.
“Maybe not, but they hated what I did, and I can’t blame them for that.” He gently bites my bottom lip, tugging it closer to him as the wet heat of his tongue brushes against me. “Especially since I’m going to do it again the first chance I get.”
The soft moan I give at his words has him letting go of my lip so he can kiss me properly.
I tighten my body around his, letting the silky strands of his hair run through my fingers as I suck his tongue into my mouth and groan at the taste of him filling my mouth.
I will never be able to get enough of this man, but right as I’m determined to at least get my temporary fix, I hear Misha’s voice from behind us.
“We’re trying our best to not kill him, but you don’t need to rub it in our faces.”
I pull back with a mortified groan and rest my face against Damien’s neck. He pats my back in sympathy, but the laugh he gives makes it clear he thinks my embarrassment is funny.
“Make some noise next time,” I tell my brothers.
It’s Yuri who says, “Yeah, I’m not so sure that would’ve helped.”
“Come on, besyonok,” Damien murmurs in my ear. “Let’s go hang out with your family and convince them our marriage is a good idea.”
“They’ll be welcoming you with open arms before the sun comes up,” I promise and give him another kiss before he sets me down and threads his fingers through mine.
We walk inside together, and not having to hide how in love we are is just as amazing as I knew it would be. Even though it’s been a big night for everyone, we stay up for hours, heating up leftovers and laughing while my family slowly embraces the idea of Damien becoming a part of our family.
When we decide to go to bed and my dad and brothers make no attempt to stop Damien from staying over in my room, I’m not sure which one of us is more surprised. Before they can change their minds, I grab Damien’s hand and lead him down the hall with Nyx right at our heels.
Once we’ve shut the door, I grab the waistband of his jeans and pull him closer. “I told you they’d love you,” I say before starting to undress him.
He watches me with a very amused grin playing at his lips. “Always so insatiable,” he murmurs.
When I free him from his pants, I raise a brow at him. “I’m not the only one.”
He eyes the fully hard cock between us. “This is entirely your fault.”
Wrapping my hand around him, I give him a squeeze, watching the way his eyes go heavy-lidded and his lips slightly part. I slowly work my hand up and down his length.
“If it’s my fault, then I’d better do something to fix it.” I run my thumb over his slit, smearing pre-cum along his head. When I lean down to lick him clean, he groans my name and fists my hair.