3. Dominic
Iwatch the black Mercedes that’s parked next to me. The driver gets out, and as soon as I meet her whiskey-brown eyes, I know I’m looking at Vitaly’s daughter. A dark-eyed girl steps out from the backseat, reminding me so much of Matvey and Alina that I know it must be Yelena. I’m just about to say hi when the passenger door opens and my breath catches in my throat. The first thing I see is a tan, bare leg in the sexiest pair of goddamn heels I’ve ever seen. My eyes travel up her legs, catching sight of the matching pink dress she’s wearing and the curves that are impossible for me to ignore, until finally reaching her face when she stands up. Her long, dark hair is loose around her shoulders, and when her eyes meet mine, they’re the same pale shade of blue as Lev’s.
Fuck me. It’s principessa.
She steps around the door, and since her arms are filled with bags, she uses her hip to push the door shut behind her. Forcing my eyes off her, I take a breath and step closer. I’m carrying a bag of cannoli, but I reach out so I can help before she drops the bags of pretzels. When I grab a few, my fingers lightly brush hers, and I notice the blush that heats up her cheeks. She has a tiny bit of cinnamon sugar on her bottom lip, and all my instincts are screaming at me to lean forward and lick it off.
I don’t know what the fuck has gotten into me, but fantasizing about an eighteen-year-old is not something I’ve ever done before.
Wanting to get my mind out of the damn gutter, I say, “Let me guess, these are for your Uncle Vitaly.”
Her lips part in surprise before she lets out a soft laugh. “Well, they’re for everyone, but, yeah, they’re mainly for him.”
“He made me bring him cannoli from Italy.” I hold up the bag. “This has been a pain in the ass to carry around, so he better damn well eat all of it.”
“You know he will.”
I turn to see his daughter staring at me with a big smile on her face. God, she’s got his shit-eating grin and his eyes.
“Long time, no see, Dominic,” she says with a laugh. “You remember me?”
“Of course, Svetlana, but even if I didn’t, you have your dad’s eyes and smile.” I look over at Yelena. “You also have your dad’s eyes.”
She gives me a shy smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You too, Yelena.”
My eyes meet Natalya’s again. “And Lev’s daughter, of course.” I briefly run my eyes over her dress, not allowing myself to think about how damn good she looks in it. “I see you still like pink.”
“I do,” she whispers, giving me a surprised look that I remembered such a small detail about her.
“Hey,” Svetlana says, giving me the same wicked grin I’ve seen on her dad’s face more times than I can count. I know I’m probably not going to like whatever’s about to come out of her mouth, but her words are cut off when I hear her dad’s voice hollering at us from the porch.
“Dominic! Get your Italian ass over here! I’m hungry!”
No one else would ever dare speak to me the way the Melnikov brothers do, and for some insane reason I put up with it. Maybe it’s because it’s the only time I ever feel like a normal person. They’ve never treated me like I’m the heir to the Alessi Mafia. They joke around with me and give me hell, and I like that, not that I’ll ever admit it to the grinning fucker who’s still waiting for me to bring him his damn food.
“We brought cinnamon pretzels too, Dad,” Svetlana yells to him, making him smile even bigger.
I help Natalya carry the bags to the large, wraparound porch, and as soon as I’m close enough, Vitaly laughs and pulls me in for a hug.
“It’s been too damn long, Dominic,” he says, and then pulls back and laughs even harder. “Did you seriously wear an Armani suit to a cookout?”
“I did,” I say, handing him the bag I’ve carted across the fucking Atlantic for him. “Here’s your damn cannoli.”
He laughs and takes the bag, opening it and smelling the contents with a big smile on his face.
“How the hell are you still in shape?” I’ve known him for close to two decades now, and even though he has a bit of grey hair and a few lines around his eyes, the man is still as fit as the first time I saw him.
He laughs and pats his flat stomach. “It’s important to me that I look good naked for my wife.”
“Dad, gross,” Svetlana says, shaking her head at her father before taking the rest of the bags inside.
He laughs while we follow her into the large, white house. They call it the farmhouse, which immediately makes me think of something small and more on the simple side, but this is the exact opposite of that. The two-story house is huge with large windows that let in a ton of natural light and hardwood floors that are covered in decorative rugs. I can’t help but notice that Natalya stays by my side when we walk into a modern-looking kitchen where several women are busy preparing food.
“Dominic, so good to see you again!”
I smile at Alina and return the hug she gives me. We couldn’t get my sister back, but it’s always made me feel better knowing that at least she was saved.
“You look exactly the same,” I tell her, meaning every word of it. I pet the German Shepherd that’s standing by her side. “Who’s this guy?”
Alina smiles and pets his head. “This is Rasputin, but we all call him Raspy. Our daughter named him.” She laughs and looks at Yelena who’s taking a couple of the pretzels and disappearing down the hall.
“I was twelve!” Yelena hollers over her shoulder, making Alina laugh again.
I catch sight of Natalya’s pink dress as she walks further into the kitchen while I hug the other wives. The sound of several engines revving pulls my attention to the back window.
“Our husbands thought it would be a good idea to get the boys dirt bikes for Christmas one year,” Katya says, making it clear she didn’t think it was such a great idea.
“They didn’t get me one.”
I turn at the pissed-off tone and smile at the auburn-haired girl. She might look like Jolene, but this young girl is all Lev. She’s the exact opposite of her older sister. Instead of a pink dress and heels, she’s wearing Doc Martins, a black pair of jeans, and a black T-shirt. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and I give a small smile when I see the skull earrings she’s wearing.
“You get more like your father every time I see you, Mia,” I tell her.
She smiles like it’s the best compliment I could’ve ever given her and takes a big bite of her pretzel after dipping it into the icing.
“I bet your brother or one of your cousins will give you a ride if you ask,” Jolene tells her. “And you know your dad promised you one when you get older.”
“I don’t know why I have to wait until I’m older to do anything fun,” she mutters before grabbing another bite and then heading out the open French doors and onto the back deck.
I raise a brow at Jolene. “And here I was thinking Svetlana was going to be the handful.”
Everyone laughs while Svetlana looks at me from across the kitchen. “I’m an absolute angel,” she tells me with a straight face. “Always have been.”
“And modest too,” Vitaly says, coming up to stand next to his wife. He’s already made his way through two cannoli and is working on a third.
Katya looks over at him. “Are you even going to be hungry for supper?”
He winks at her and takes another bite. “You’d think by now you would have learned to never doubt me, wife.” He smacks her ass, and before she can say anything, he looks over at me. “Come on, the others are down by the grill.”
Before I follow him out, I walk over to the counter, setting the bags I’m still carrying down. I briefly meet Natalya’s eyes before forcing myself to look away. Her light blue eyes might look just like her dad’s, but he’s the last thing I’m thinking about when I stare into them. That girl is dangerous, and I need to stay the fuck away.
Taking the glass of whiskey Emily hands me with a smile, I follow Vitaly out of the house and onto the large back deck. We walk past several lounge chairs and a couple of hammocks and then down a few stairs to another level of the deck that’s just as nice as the first one, but instead of potted flowers and lounge chairs, this one has the biggest damn grill I’ve ever seen and two hot tubs. The yard stretches out in front of us, revealing an in-ground pool and several acres of woods beyond that circle around the house. I see the trails the dirt bikes have made and hear the distant rumble of their engines. It’s beautiful out here and peaceful and I can see why they love it so much.
“Holy shit, man, it’s good to see you.”
I turn and smile at Lev. The first night I met Lev, it ended with him shooting me and our families forming an alliance to take down the Lebedev Bratva. The shot had been a nasty one, and my shoulder still aches from time to time. It doesn’t surprise me at all that when he smacks my shoulder, he makes sure to hit the exact spot where the bullet went through.
“You are such a dick,” I tell him, making him laugh. “I can’t believe I saved your life after you shot me.” I think about the night we rescued Alina. It had been chaos, and it was pure luck that I happened to look over at just the right moment to see the man aiming a gun at Lev. I’d yelled his name, and he’d ducked just in time.
“Oh, come on now. You would’ve never forgiven yourself if you’d just stood there and let me die.”
I raise a brow at him. “I’m guessing I could’ve managed it.”
He just laughs and smacks my back again. “Did you see the kids yet?”
“Yeah, I got here the same time as Natalya.”
His eyebrow piercing glints in the sunlight when he raises it at me. “Did you notice she’s not at all the spoiled princess you told me she’d become?”
I think about his beautiful daughter, the principessa that I can’t seem to get out of my head and say, “Well, I didn’t spend that much time with her. She could be a complete ass for all I know.”
Danil barks out a laugh while Lev mutters something about Italians that I’m guessing isn’t all that complimentary.
“Hey, Danil. How have you been?”
He smiles and takes another drink before saying, “I’m great, man. Sorry to hear about your dad.”
“Thanks,” I tell him, “but we all knew it was coming.”
“So now you’re officially the don,” Roman says, coming to stand by us.
“I’m not kissing your fucking ring,” Vitaly yells over his shoulder while he flips burgers on the grill.
I groan and look at Roman. “I keep telling him that’s not how it works.”
Roman shrugs. “He’s stubborn. You’ll never convince him.”
“Stubborn’s one way to put it.” I take another drink and watch Matvey walk out of the house and over to us. He gives me an easy grin, the kind he would’ve never been able to manage before they got Alina back. He looks happy, damn happy, and when he stands next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder, giving me a side hug, I can’t mask the surprise. I’ve seen him many times over the years, but this is the first time he’s ever attempted physical contact.
“It’s good to see you, Dominic.” His voice is just as gravelly as ever, but that’s the only thing that’s the same. He’s even wearing a T-shirt, not caring that his scarred, tattooed arms are easily visible.
“You’re like a different man, Matvey.” I raise my glass to him. “I’m happy for you.”
He smiles even bigger and lifts his glass before taking a drink. At the sound of his daughter’s voice, he looks over and shouts something in Russian. Yelena’s walking with Valentin, both of them eating off the same pretzel while they walk towards the dirt bike that’s parked outside the large barn at the back of the property. She smiles and hollers back at him before shaking her head and laughing.
“She hates wearing a helmet,” Matvey explains, “but it’s the only way I’ll ever let her get on one of those damn things.”
“Mia really wants one,” I say, looking over at Lev.
Laughing he says, “Yeah, she only tells me that every damn day. She can get one when she’s sixteen as long as I think she can handle it.” He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “She also wants a motorcycle as soon as she gets her license, and we just compromised on piercings. She’s agreed to not pierce herself any more, and in return we’ll let her get her nose pierced when she’s seventeen.”
Vitaly laughs and points the spatula at Lev. “If she’s anything like her dad, then that’s not the only thing she’s going to want to get pierced.” To really emphasize his point, he lowers the spatula so it’s pointing right at Lev’s crotch.
“Fuck, brother,” Lev groans. “Don’t even say shit like that.”
Vitaly just laughs and goes back to grilling.
“I’m so happy I have sons,” Roman says while Danil laughs and raises his glass, clinking it against Roman’s.
“A-fucking-men, brother.”
I don’t bother saying that I’m fucking thrilled I don’t have either, because the men around me are obviously thrilled to be dads, and I don’t want to piss on their daddy parade.
“What about you?”
I look over at Roman. “What about me?”
“You came here alone?” he asks. “You didn’t bring anyone from Italy.”
“I did, actually,” I say, surprising them. “Two of my cousins. Dario and Alessandro will be staying with me in America.”
Vitaly walks over after putting more hamburgers on the grill and says, “Yeah, I think he meant did you bring anyone over who doesn’t have a dick.”
“Is that what he meant?” I ask. “I hadn’t picked up on that, Vitaly, thank you.”
Vitaly laughs. “We’ve missed having you around, Dominic. We need a grumpy bachelor around to even things out. We all noticed how you kept yourself scarce when all our kids were at the babysitting age.”
“Fuck yeah I did.” I shake my head at the thought of dirty diapers and screaming babies. “That was absolutely on purpose.”
“Like we’d ever trust you to watch our kids,” Lev says, reaching for his phone and swiping his finger over the screen until he finds what he’s looking for. “You look scared to death. You remember this? This is not the face of a man who I would trust to take care of my daughter.”
I look at the photo. It’s from Matvey and Alina’s wedding. Lev had put his daughter in my arms, and I hadn’t known what in the fuck to do with her. In the picture, Natalya is dressed all in pink with her back pressed against my chest and my hands wrapped snuggly around her stomach and butt because I was terrified I was going to drop her. Lev’s wrong, though. I don’t look terrified in the photo. She’s gripping my finger and looking up at me, and I’m looking down at her. I look puzzled and slightly surprised, if anything. I’d expected Natalya to scream, but she’d just smiled up at me like there was nowhere else she’d rather be.
When I look away from the photo, the first thing I see is Natalya staring at me. The same blue eyes meet mine, but everything else has changed about her. She’s not a little girl anymore. She’s a woman, a beautiful woman, but she’s also completely and absolutely off-limits.
“Hey, princess,” Lev says, waving her closer. “We were just talking about you.”
She comes to stand by her dad, smiling when he shows her the picture of us. “Oh my god, I forgot all about that photo.”
“You’re the first baby he ever held,” Lev says. “Can you tell?”
Her blue eyes study the picture, a soft smile playing at her full lips, and I can’t help but notice that her top lip is slightly bigger than her bottom one, and fuck do I like that. She’s wearing some sort of pink, glossy lipstick that’s putting all kinds of inappropriate images in my head. The last thing I want to be thinking about while standing next to her dad is how goddamn beautiful those lips would look stretched around my cock.
“I think he looks pretty relaxed,” Natalya says, giving me a quick smile. She swipes her finger over the screen, spending a few seconds doing something I can’t see before handing the phone back to her dad.
Lev takes it, slipping it into his back pocket while saying, “He thought you were going to end up spoiled rotten.” He wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. He has to lean down quite a bit to do it, because even though she’s still wearing those fucking amazing heels, she’s still a good foot shorter than all of us. “Jokes on him, princess, because you’re an absolute sweetheart.”
“There’s no way any of you would’ve let me grow up to be a brat.” She laughs and looks at her dad and uncles. “Besides, all any of you had to do was look at me like you were disappointed and I’d burst into tears.”
Vitaly gives a big smile. “Remember the time you and Yelena spent the night and my wicked daughter convinced you both to watch a scary movie that she knew she wasn’t allowed to see?”
Natalya groans at the memory. Her uncles laugh while Lev looks at me and takes over. “A jump scare made Natalya scream, scaring the hell out of Vitaly. He came running in the room to find three terrified girls and Val, who’d been trying to calm them down, but it obviously wasn’t working.”
“As soon as she saw my face,” Vitaly says, cutting in to finish the story, “Natalya started crying. She jumped in my arms, still shaking from that goddamn movie, telling me she was sorry. God, the three of them had to sleep with nightlights for like a month after that.”
“It was a really scary movie,” Natalya says in her own defense, “and we were ten.”
“Yeah, that’s why we said you couldn’t watch it,” Vitaly tells her. “Poor Val had his hands full trying to keep you girls out of trouble.”
“Yeah, my brother’s such a saint.”
We all turn to see Svetlana walking over, a coke in one hand and a cannolo in the other, looking every bit like Vitaly’s daughter.
Looking over at me, she smiles and raises the cannolo higher. “These are delicious. Maybe I should move to Italy.”
Vitaly points the spatula he’s still holding at her. “Don’t you dare. I will fly over there and personally drag your Russian ass back here.”
“I was born in America,” she reminds him.
“I’m Russian. Your mom is Russian. You, sweetheart, are Russian. I don’t give a damn what country you were born in.”
Svetlana laughs, clearly enjoying riling her dad up. She takes another bite right as the sound of revving motors grows louder and several dirt bikes emerge from the path in the woods. They’re all wearing dirt bike helmets, so I’m not sure who is who, but Yelena is clutched around, I’m assuming, Val, and there’s a much smaller body on the back of one of the other bikes, so Mia must’ve slipped out to join them at some point. When she pulls her helmet off, there’s a huge smile on her face. She’s an adrenaline junkie in the making, and I can only imagine the shit she’s going to get up to when she’s older.
As if sensing my thoughts, Lev sighs from beside me. “I was kind of hoping she’d outgrow her love of danger, but it just keeps getting worse.”
I look over and laugh. “Just wait until she starts bringing guys home.”
The look he gives me makes me give another laugh. “My daughter is never going to bring guys home, not unless she wants me to shoot them.”
I smack his shoulder and finish my drink. “You can’t just go around shooting everyone who pisses you off. You have to learn to use your words, Lev.”
Before he walks off to join Jolene, who’s just stepped outside with the other wives, he says, “Perks of running a Bratva. Yes, I fucking can.”
I smile because he’s not wrong. We spend the next couple of hours eating and catching up. Their family is loud and boisterous and I end up laughing more than I have in a very long time. By the time dessert is done, my jacket is off, the sleeves of my white, button-up are rolled to my elbows, and I’m forcing myself to switch to coffee because I’ve had way too much to fucking drink.
Roman whispers something in Emily’s ear before kissing her cheek and then giving her ass a soft pat when she stands up from his lap. She cups his face and smiles at him like she’s just as much in love with him as when I first met them. All the couples around me are that way. They’re constantly touching one another, sharing secret, heated looks, and whispering in each other’s ears. The kids aren’t fazed by it, which tells me it’s not at all out of the ordinary and just something they see every day. My family has always tended to be a little more closed off about our feelings, unless we’re angry, then the whole fucking world knows it, but the sweet stuff? That’s not something an Alessi man shows in front of others. It’s seen as a sign of weakness, and appearing weak is a sin that’s just one step below betraying your blood. Unforgivable.
Emily kisses Roman once more before grabbing her drink and heading inside. The rest of the women follow her lead and kiss their husbands before doing the same. Their daughters stand to join them, along with the younger boys. My eyes briefly meet Natalya’s when she leans over the table to grab another water bottle. My eyes run down the curve of her neck, noticing the way a light blush hits her cheeks, and when our eyes meet again, her lips part ever so slightly, and it’s enough to make my cock stir in my pants. The look only lasts a few seconds, but it feels so much longer before she turns her head and walks inside. I force myself to not stare at her retreating ass.
When I look back around the table, I see that Luka, Maxim, and Val are still sitting by their dads.
“They need to learn how things work,” Roman says. “Do you mind?”
I look at the boys and give them a nod. “Not at all.” I trust the men around me, and if they want their sons in on this, then it’s fine by me. Bratvas may not be run in the same way mafias are, but we all know that loyalty and secrecy come above all else. I have no doubt that’s been drilled into the three eighteen-year-olds who are watching us but smart enough to not say anything. They’re here to learn, not participate.
Danil rests his forearms on the table and meets my eyes. “I know your men have been giving you updates, and for the most part things have been pretty damn peaceful. We’ve had some local gang shit, but nothing that wasn’t easily squashed.” He flicks the fingers of one hand out when he speaks, making it clear that getting rid of them didn’t even qualify as a slight headache. “There have been a few attacks on our men in the southern part of our territory, though.”
My brow raises in interest, waiting for him to go on, but it’s Matvey who takes over.
“We think it might be another Bratva.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask him.
He shrugs his shoulders and leans back in his chair. “Our men heard them speaking Russian. They were too organized and too well-equipped to be a local gang. This was someone coming in from the outside.”
I take a drink and think about what he’s said. “Any ideas on who it could be? My men tell me everything’s been quiet on our side. Whoever it is, they haven’t stepped foot on the east side yet.”
“We don’t know who it is yet,” Danil tells me. “I’m working on it, but there weren’t any security cameras in the area where the attack happened, and so far everything’s quiet, no rumors about anyone new trying to move in.”
I can hear the frustration in his voice, and I’m guessing he’s spent a lot of hours on his computer trying to figure out who could be behind this.
“Let me know if you need anything from me,” I tell them. “I’d like to continue working together now that I’m back on a more permanent basis. Dario and Alessandro will be handling my clubs, and I’ll tell them to keep an ear out for any news. Anything you need from me, just let me know.”
“Good to know,” Roman says, giving me a grin. “It’d be a real pain in the ass to go to war with you.”
“Tell me about it,” I groan. “Who the fuck has time for that?”
Lev looks over at the young men who are silently taking in every detail of what’s going on. “I hope you three appreciate how many people we had to kill to get to this point. Enjoy the peace we’ve bled for.”
“Yeah,” Vitaly says with a laugh, giving his son a smack on the back. “Don’t fuck it up.”
“We’re not planning on it, Dad,” Val tells him.
I can tell it’s lesson time, so I take another drink of coffee and sit back to listen. Roman watches his own son. Luka looks so much like his dad, right down to the stern expression on his face, like he’s already carrying the weight of his family on his shoulders.
“Never start shit if you don’t have to,” Roman tells him. “Don’t ever start a fight unless you’re absolutely certain you can not only win, but also decimate the other side, because any survivors are going to be threats that you’re going to always be worrying about.”
Luka nods his head, taking in everything his dad is telling him while the other two listen in just as hard. Max scrubs a hand over his face, reminding me that Danil once told me he was a gifted pianist. His long fingers look like they should be playing intricate pieces of music instead of holding weapons and taking lives, but we don’t always get to choose our path in life. I almost start to feel sorry for him until I see the look in his grey eyes. He’s hungry for this, just as much as his dad and uncles and the two cousins beside him. He may have another side to him, a softer, gentler side, but that’s not all that’s living inside him. Val, on the other hand, is a little harder to read. He’s quieter than I expected, considering who his dad is, but I get the feeling that not much gets by him.
Vitaly grins. “Don’t start shit you can’t finish, but,” he says, drawing the word out, “if someone fucks with your family or tries to encroach on your territory, then you have to do whatever it takes to send a message.”
“And sometimes that message is very bloody,” Lev says, making his brothers give a few soft laughs.
The boys smile, already impatient and anxious to make their own mark on the Bratva they’ve been born into. We talk for several more minutes. They fill me in on the new clubs they’ve opened. Pink, the strip club that Vitaly turned into one of the most respected gentleman clubs in the city is still bringing in a hefty profit every month, but they’ve also branched out and opened up a couple of nightclubs, one of them near the city’s most prestigious university, hoping to draw the rich students in.
“Like moths to a fucking flame,” Vitaly says. “Those rich kids can’t spend their parents’ money fast enough.”
“You selling there?” I ask.
Roman answers for him. “A little, but it’s never going to be our main source of income. We’ve got a few guys supplying pills. The nightclub makes it easy. We always have sellers there on the weekends. The students pay a cover charge, buy overpriced drinks, and then spend a small fortune on pills that will help them forget about their stressful classes for a few hours or help them stay up all night to study for them.”
“And there’s Lev’s thing,” Vitaly says with a grin.
“How is the underground fighting business going?” I ask, giving a soft laugh. “You started something huge all those years ago when you took Sebastian out.”
His lip ring moves as he gives me a big smile. “Paying to fuck and paying to watch a fight—I’m guessing those have both been lucrative businesses since the first currency system was put into place.”
“True enough,” I agree, “especially when they know it’s a fight to the death. People are so damn predictable. Violence, sex, and money, it always draws a crowd.”
“Speaking of,” Matvey says, “what are your plans with La Dolce Vita?”
“I’m keeping the main nightclub area, but I’m going to add a second floor. It’ll have very restricted access to only a select few.”
“What the hell is going to be going on up there?” Vitaly asks with a soft laugh.
“Gambling. High-stakes only.”
He grins at me and nods his head. “Fucking nice, man. That’ll bring in some good money.”
“It will,” I agree. The Alessi family has always been involved in real-estate in this city. That’s what we’re known for, and that’s what we use to hide our money, but I’ve been wanting to branch out for years, and now feels like the right time. I bought the nightclub under an LLC, making sure my name is completely hidden from everything, and the plan is for the upper level to be private and word-of-mouth only. I want to appeal to the men who have money to spend and don’t know when to quit and walk away from the table. Too much money and zero self-control, that’s the crowd I’m looking for, and I have no doubt I’ll find it.
After a few more minutes of small talk, I tell them to let me know if any more attacks take place and that I’ll inform my men of what’s going on and tell them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. When Luka stands up, I notice the large tattoo on his left, inner forearm.
“May I?” I ask, motioning for him to hold his arm out.
He smiles and leans closer, giving me a better look at it. It’s an image of the Grim Reaper, and it stretches from the crook of his inner elbow all the way down to his wrist. The cloaked skeletal figure is wearing a black robe, the hood tilted back so the wicked grin he’s giving is visible. The scythe he’s carrying is dripping bright-red blood, the only spot of color on the entire tattoo, making it stand out even more. There’s a black raven perched on his shoulder with its head cocked to the side like it’s studying me, and beneath the whole thing is a sentence in Russian.
“What does it say?”
“Brothers in blood, in life, and in death,” Luka says. I hear the pride in his voice when he speaks the words. None of the kids have accents, but I know they all speak Russian fluently.
“Svetlana designed it,” Vitaly says with a proud grin. “It’s based on a tattoo that Matvey has, but she tweaked it a bit. They wanted a tattoo that’s all their own, and every male in the family will get it when they turn eighteen.”
I thank Luka for showing me and look over at Lev. “You know Mia’s going to want one.”
He sighs. “She’s already asking for it.”
His brothers laugh while we all stand to go in, knowing everyone else has waited long enough. I’m about to make my exit when Danil says, “Don’t even think about it. We’re about to play some pool. You have to at least stay long enough to get your ass kicked by Matvey.”
I relent and grab my coffee cup. “Maybe one game.”
When Svetlana sees us walking towards the French doors, she opens them and runs her eyes over us. “Come on, Dad. I’m stepping in for Val. I know we can beat Uncle Matvey and Aunt Alina this time.”
“Hell yes we are, sweetheart. Get ready to pose for some celebratory photos, because we’re documenting this win so we can constantly remind them of it.”
Svetlana laughs, but I notice the way she keeps looking over at me. I’m not sure what she’s up to, but when she goes out of her way to keep everyone distracted, leading them down the hall while Natalya slips out onto the deck with me, I’m more than a little curious. She turns her light blue eyes up at me and gives me a nervous smile. She must’ve recently reapplied her lip gloss, because her lips are glistening ever so slightly, and I have to force myself to not stare.
“What’s going on, Natalya?”
She meets my eyes and swipes her tongue over her bottom lip, making me nearly groan. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“About?”
Turning her head, she looks in to make sure no one is watching and then takes a step closer. I raise a brow at her, waiting to see where this is going. She fidgets, shifting her weight from foot to foot and swiping at her dress in an effort to keep her hands busy.
“You might want to just say it,” I tell her. “I’m guessing someone is going to come looking for us in a few minutes.”
She gives another nervous glance towards the window. “I just,” she starts and then stops. Looking back up at me, her cheeks turn even pinker when she says, “I was wondering if you could get me and Svetlana into your new club.”
I let out a soft laugh. I’ve been propositioned by enough women to know that it wasn’t what Natalya was doing when she cornered me on the back deck, but I hadn’t been expecting this.
“You have to be twenty-one to get into La Dolce Vita,” I remind her.
She looks up at me and huffs out a breath. “You’re the owner. Surely you can bend the rules a little.”
“Bend them for the Bratva principessa whose father and uncles are men I do business with and who would be furious if they knew I’d snuck their daughters into a nightclub?”
“We’re not going to drink or do anything wrong.” When she sees the disbelieving look on my face, she adds, “We’re not. We just want to see it. In case you haven’t noticed, our parents are a little strict.”
“They’re that way for a reason, and I think you know that.”
“I do, but we’re going stir crazy, and what better way to let off a little steam than while under the protection of one of their oldest friends?”
I laugh at the smile she gives me. It’s a pretty please mixed with desperate hope, and it’s fucking adorable. As beautiful as she looks under the moonlight begging me for something, there’s no way in hell I can give her what she wants. I’ve already broken enough unwritten rules by thinking about her in a sexual way, and I’m not about to add to it by sneaking her underaged ass into my club behind her family’s back.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”
She surprises me by gripping my arm when I turn to go inside. I look down at her small hand on my inked forearm, clenching my jaw at the sight of her pink nail polish against my skin, unable to not think about what her hand would look like wrapped around my dick, glimpses of feminine pink as she works me up and down in long, slow strokes.
Her skin is hot against mine, and when I lift my eyes to hers, her lips part in a soft gasp. Whatever she sees in my eyes has her releasing her hold on me and taking a step back.
Wise choice, principessa.
I look down at her, noticing the slight flush to her chest and the way her breathing has picked up the tiniest bit. I have no doubt that if I were to close the distance and lick my way along one of her pulse points, I’d find it racing beneath my tongue.
“I’m going to go inside and pretend you didn’t just ask me this. I suggest you forget about this crazy idea. There are a lot of dangerous men out there, principessa. It’d be best if you kept your ass inside where it’s safe.”
Without waiting for a reply, I turn and walk back inside, leaving her on the porch with a stunned look on her beautiful face and a pissed-off look in her eyes.