16. Natalya
This first thing I notice is pain, the second is someone gently stroking my hand like they’re afraid to touch me anywhere else, and the third is the beeping of the machine next to me. I feel sluggish and opening my eyes takes more effort than I would’ve thought possible, but as soon as I get them open, I hear Dominic’s voice and then see his gorgeous, worried face as he leans over me.
“God, principessa, I’ve never been so scared in my life.” He kisses me so carefully, and I know I must look as bad as I feel. “You’re never leaving my side again.”
“That’s fine with me.” My voice is raspy and dry, and he quickly grabs a glass of water for me when he hears it. “I never wanted to leave you to begin with.”
The guilt on his face makes me instantly regret my words. I reach out and squeeze his hand, noticing the IV that someone’s connected me to.
“This is not your fault, Dominic.”
He hands me the water and shakes his head. “I’ll never forgive myself for what happened to you.”
“It was Andrik. He grabbed me and put a gun to my head when I was walking back to my room.”
The memory has the machine I’m hooked up to beeping even faster as my heart speeds up. Dominic eyes it warily.
“You’re safe, Natalya.” He sits down on the edge of my bed. “I need you to calm down, sweetheart.”
I take a steadying breath and then finish the last of my water. God, how long have I been asleep?
“He killed Vitya,” I whisper, and despite what Dominic just said, the beeping speeds up again when I remember all the blood surrounding his body. Guilt washes over me at knowing he died because of me, and when I start to cry, Dominic scoops me up and then takes my spot in the bed while keeping me on his lap. He makes sure all the cords attached to me are untangled and then wraps his arms around me, kissing my head and holding me while I sob against him.
“Vitya’s alive.”
I lift my head to search his brown eyes, but I know he’d never lie to me. “How?”
”Svetlana woke up after you were taken and came downstairs to search for you. She found Vitya and screamed for help. She stayed with him, putting pressure on his stab wounds the whole damn time. He’d lost so much blood and never would’ve survived the drive to a doctor, so as soon as she heard they had the same blood type, she demanded they do a vein-to-vein transfusion. She saved his life.”
“That sounds like her,” I say, taking the tissue he offers me. “She can be very stubborn.”
He raises a brow at me. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
“I’m not stubborn. I just know when I’m right.”
He smiles and kisses me again, gently running his fingers through my hair when I rest my head on his chest again.
“Why the hell does it hurt so much to breathe,” I ask him. “How many ribs did that asshole crack?”
“Three.” I can hear the anger in his voice, but he’s still so gentle when he touches me. “You also have stitches on your forehead, and just about every part of you is a shade of purple or blue. You’re going to be very sore for a few weeks, but he didn’t do any lasting damage, not physically anyway.”
Sliding his hand down, he cups my face and gently turns me so we can see each other. He looks like a man who’s just been through hell. His hair is a mess, there’s a darkening bruise on his jaw, it’s obvious he hasn’t been getting enough sleep, and I swear he’s lost a few pounds, but none of it takes away from how damn gorgeous he is.
I reach up and run my fingers along his cheek, feeling the coarse hairs against my skin. I don’t think he’s shaved since I left a week ago, and it looks good on him.
“I can tell you haven’t gotten enough sleep.”
“Of course I haven’t,” he tells me, not even bothering to deny it. “I can’t face my bed without you in it, and what little sleep I’ve been getting, I’ve been doing it on the couch in my office.” He drags the pad of his thumb along my cheek. “I’ve missed you so goddamn much. I knew I loved you before you left, but this week has taught me that I can’t fucking live without you.”
He gives me the sweetest smile and then reaches into his pocket. When he pulls out the large pink diamond ring, I’m too stunned to speak. I open my mouth and try, but nothing comes out, so I just end up gaping at him while he gives a soft laugh.
“This is not how I imagined doing this, and I swear I’ll make it up to you with the biggest, most beautiful wedding you can imagine, but I need to make you mine, principessa. I need to see my ring on your finger.”
I feel the tears start to fall again, and I have to force myself to stay calm because breathing deeply is too damn painful right now. The ring is gorgeous, like something a real princess would wear, and it’s so damn sparkly I find it hard to look away.
“You got me a pink diamond,” I whisper.
“Of course I did. I know what my girl likes.”
I smile, but I still can’t stop looking at the sparkly ring in front of me.
“Eyes on me, beautiful,” he teases, waiting for me to look away from the huge, sparkling rock in his hand.
“I love you, Natalya. I could easily say I fell in love with you as soon as I saw you step out of Sveta’s car in those sexy heels and pink dress, but as beautiful as I thought you were, it was your sweetness that really caught my attention and the passionate way you stand your ground when you’re willing to fight for something.”
He smiles and squeezes my hand. “Also, your refusal to walk on the ground in your bare feet is the cutest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen.”
I smile and give a soft laugh. “Parasites are nothing to mess around with.”
He laughs and kisses my forehead. “I promise I’ll always carry you whenever you need me to. I will love and protect you and be faithful to you. I never want to be without you, Natalya. I want to marry you and raise a family with you. I want to fall asleep next to you, and the first thing I want to see when I wake up is your face.”
Hooking a finger under my chin, he looks down at me, searching my eyes and letting me see all the love in his.
“Will you marry me, principessa? Will you be my wife?”
“Yes,” I whisper, because saying no was never going to happen. I love Dominic, and I have to trust that everything will work out between our families. Not having him isn’t an option, so everyone is just going to have to get onboard with it. I love them all too much to lose any of them. We’re going to be one big happy family whether they like it or not.
“Yes?” Dominic asks like he’s afraid to believe that I’ve just said I’ll marry him, and it’s fucking adorable.
“Yes,” I say again. “I’ll marry you, Dominic, but I don’t need a big, fancy wedding. I just need you.”
“Well, you’re getting both, principessa.”
He smiles and slips the ring on my finger before cupping my face and pressing his lips to mine. I know he’s being gentle because every part of my body is sore from what that fucker did to me, but I need more. I need to feel him against me, to feel the connection that we share, and to be reminded of what we have.
My face is swollen and aches from the punches I took and the stitches in my forehead, but his lips help push it all away and make it impossible to think about anything other than the way his mouth feels on mine. I open for him, wanting more, and the groan he gives is filled with a longing that matches my own. His tongue swipes along mine, igniting little sparks of pleasure deep in my core. For a few blissful moments, I forget about the pain. I forget about the terror I’d felt when Alexei was hitting me. I forget about everything because Dominic won’t allow it to hurt me anymore. His gentle touch and deep kiss make damn sure that the only thing on my mind is him and his love for me.
He pulls back before I want him to, and when I try to bring him closer again, he smiles and softly runs his thumb over my bruised cheek.
“I want nothing more than to kiss you for hours, sweetheart, but you’ve been asleep for almost a full day and your family is dying to see you.”
“What?”
I start to sit up and then wince at the pain in my ribs. “I’ve been asleep that long?”
“Dr. Bianchi gave you a mild sedative, but your body was exhausted.” Keeping me on his lap, he lightly runs his hand up and down my arm. It’s soothing and makes me soften against him again.
“I need to tell you something, principessa, but I’m worried about how you’re going to take it.”
My body tenses at his words as dread runs through me. I’d been so out of it when they found me, but I don’t remember anyone in my family getting hurt, but now all I can think is that something awful happened that I’m not aware of.
“My family,” I start to say, unable to even ask the question.
“Baby, they’re fine,” he quickly says. “God, I didn’t mean to scare you. I would never not tell you something like that. Everyone is fine. I promise.”
Knowing my family is okay has my heart rate calming a bit, but I’m still too on edge to fully relax. “Then what is it? What do you need to tell me?”
He runs his hand down my arm again before bringing it to my stomach. I’m wearing a giant T-shirt that must be his, and he pushes it up so he’s against my bare skin. His large palm is splayed across me, and when he softly runs his thumb over my skin, I let out a soft gasp. There’s more to this than just him wanting to touch my stomach.
“Are you trying to tell me what I think you’re trying to tell me?” I ask him.
His warm brown eyes search mine, carefully watching me to make sure I don’t get too upset or stressed, but beyond the worry is a hopeful look, a look that’s dying to be excited about this and waiting for permission from me before he gives it full rein.
“Dr. Bianchi did a blood test when you were first brought here to check a few things, and one of the things he did was a pregnancy test.”
I rest my hand on top of his, on top of the life we’ve created. “But it’s so early. It’s barely been two weeks since we first had sex.”
“A blood test can detect a pregnancy very early.” He keeps stroking my stomach with his thumb. “Tell me what you’re thinking, principessa. Are you happy? Is this too much? I know how young you are, and I don’t want you to feel trapped with me.”
I stop him before he can keep worrying about shit that I would never think.
“Dominic, I’m happy,” I tell him. “So unbelievably happy.”
His whole face lights up in the biggest smile I’ve ever seen him give.
“Is the doctor sure that everything’s okay, though? Alexei didn’t cause any damage?”
His smile falters at the reminder of what happened. “No, sweetheart. He said the pregnancy is early enough that everything should be fine. You’re going to be monitored very closely, though, just to make sure.”
“I bet I will be.” With a doctor living in the house, I’m guessing I’ll be monitored on a daily basis.
Dominic smiles and kisses my head. “I wonder if our baby is going to be half as stubborn as their mommy.”
I laugh as much as my ribs will allow. “Look who their daddy is. This poor kid doesn’t stand a chance at being even-tempered.”
“I’m not that bad,” he says with a laugh.
Looking down at our locked hands, I still can’t believe I’m pregnant. It’s so early I haven’t even started having symptoms yet. I imagine my stomach growing rounder with each passing month, and then I think about Dominic with a baby and my eyes start to tear up again, because even though I’m not having morning sickness yet, my hormones are clearly all over the place.
“Are you sure this is what you want? You always said you never wanted a family. What if you decide it’s too much? What if you decide you’d rather have the sexy, unattached supermodel instead of the wife who’s struggling to lose her pregnancy weight and a baby with colic and dirty diapers?”
He looks so hurt by my question that I almost regret asking it, but I need to hear his answer.
“Please don’t ever doubt how I feel for you, principessa. I love you, and I would never cheat on you. I don’t give a fuck about other women. I don’t want them. I only want you.”
Moving his hand so it’s now on top of mine with my palm pressed against my stomach, he gently squeezes me. “You and our baby are all I want. It’s true I never wanted a family, but that’s because I wasn’t with you. I never wanted a family with anyone else.”
Tears start spilling out because that’s really damn sweet. He kisses my wet cheek and whispers against my skin.
“I will love every stage your body goes through, and I won’t be able to keep my hands off you through any of them. That I can promise you, principessa. I will happily stay up all night long with our baby when they have colic so that you can sleep, and I swear I’ll learn how to change diapers and do feedings and bath time. I’m going to learn everything because you’re my family, and there’s nothing more important to me than that.”
He lets out a soft laugh. “Plus, I’m not getting any younger, and I kind of have my heart set on a big family.”
I pull back so I can see him and give him a wide-eyed look. “Since when?”
He shrugs his broad shoulders and smiles. “Since the moment I came inside you, sweetheart. It’s all I can fucking think about.”
He laughs at my shocked look and kisses me again. “Do you feel well enough to see your family? I’m guessing your dad’s about to tear down the door in just a few seconds.”
At the mention of my dad, I start to worry again. I don’t know how I’m going to tell him everything, and the last thing I want is to see anger or disappointment on his face. Dominic hears the machine that I’m going to detach myself from as soon as I figure out how, and furrows his brow in worry.
“I really hate that thing,” I tell him.
“I’d know you were upset even without it,” he tells me, and I believe him. He reads me so damn easily. “You don’t need to worry, though. Your dad knows about us.”
“He does? Is he mad?” I run my eyes over his bruised jaw. “Did he hit you? Is that where the bruise came from?”
I reach up to touch him, running my fingers lightly over his sore jaw before he grabs my hand and kisses it.
“I’m fine, baby. He was angry with me at first, but we’ve come to a sort of truce about it. Your Uncle Vitaly helped smooth things over.”
“He’s pretty good at that,” I say, easily imagining him cracking a joke in an effort to diffuse the situation. “I’m kind of surprised he did, though. I can’t imagine he’s thrilled about us.”
“He wasn’t at first, but I made sure they all know how much I love you. Once they realized I wasn’t just fucking around and being a dick, they decided it might be better to not kill me.”
He smiles, but I’m guessing he’s not completely joking. If my dad and uncles thought he was using me, they’d definitely try to kill him.
“Do they know about the baby?”
Dominic shakes his head. “No, I wanted to tell you first.”
I sigh and try to muster up some courage. “Okay, let me go to the bathroom since I’m about to burst after sleeping so long, and then we can bring them in.”
He helps me get out of bed, and then I have to spend several minutes convincing him that I’m okay to pee by myself. He still insists on standing right outside the door, but I’m too exhausted and sore to worry too much about him hearing me use the bathroom. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting.
Once I’m settled back into bed, he makes sure my IV pole is back where it should be and still dripping fluids into me, but when he goes to reattach my heart monitor, I shake my head.
“I’m fine. I don’t need that thing.”
He raises a dark brow at me, but I don’t budge.
“If Dr. Bianchi thinks I still need it, I’ll reattach it, but I’m fine for now. I don’t want that damn thing beeping at me while I talk to my family.”
He looks like he wants to keep arguing with me about it, so I holler for my dad before he can get the words out. His mouth drops open right before my dad comes barreling in to see me. Dominic cups the back of my head and leans in close, pressing his mouth to my ear so only I can hear him.
“Oh, principessa, be happy I love you more than life itself.”
I let out a soft laugh and kiss his cheek. “I love you just as much.”
He kisses my ear and then pulls back so he’s standing beside my bed. My dad stands at the end of it, looking between the two of us but not saying anything. He looks as exhausted as Dominic does, and my heart breaks at the sight of him.
I look up at Dominic. “Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”
He kisses my forehead and tells me he loves me and to call when I need him. I smile at him and squeeze his hand before he walks out, leaving the two of us alone. I’ve always been close to my dad, and it kills me to have this distance between us. I meet his eyes, and when the corner of his mouth lifts up, moving his lip ring in a smile that’s as familiar to me as my own, I start to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Dad,” I start to say, but before I’ve even gotten the words out, he’s sitting on my bed and pulling me in for a hug.
“I’m the one who’s sorry, princess. I’m your dad. It’s my job to keep you safe, and that bastard just took you. Hell, I’m the one who assigned him to the house.”
“It’s not your fault. No one could’ve known he’d switched sides, and I’m okay now. That’s all that matters.”
“He’ll pay for his betrayal with his life, but it doesn’t change what happened to you.” He pulls back just enough to get a good look at my face. “I once saw your mom looking like this, and I swore I’d never let it happen to anyone else that I love.”
I’ve never seen my dad cry before, but I swear he’s seconds away from it now. His blue eyes look glassy, and his voice is thick and trembling slightly.
“I failed you, and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
I grab his hand and shake my head. “You found me and saved me.” I wave a hand at my body. “This will all heal, and you got there before he could do anything worse.”
“God, I don’t know what I would’ve done if we’d gotten there any later,” he admits, looking horrified at the idea of it.
“You got there in time,” I remind him. We’re both sitting on the edge of my bed, so I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling like I used to when I was younger and my dad was the safest place I could ever imagine being. He’s always been my hero in so many ways, and I may not remember every detail of my rescue, but I do remember using the last of my strength to call out for Dominic instead of him, and I imagine that must’ve broken his heart.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about Dominic, Dad. Please don’t be mad at me, because I can take a lot of things, but you being disappointed in me isn’t one of them. I swear I never meant to hurt you. It just sort of happened, and we were going to tell you as soon as the Zolotov threat was taken care of.”
He cups my hand in both of his and kisses the top of my head. “I could never be mad at you, princess. I’m just not capable of it. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t furious at him, but never at you, honey.”
“Please don’t be mad at him.” My words are shaky, and when he hears how upset I am, he pulls back so he can see my face.
His eyes search mine, and after several seconds I see his lip ring move as he gives me a soft smile and shakes his head like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“You really do love him, don’t you?”
“Yes.” He’s been holding my right hand, and when I put my left hand on top of his and he sees the large diamond on my finger, he mutters something that I’m happy I don’t catch.
“He doesn’t waste any time, does he?”
“Dad,” I say, and he smiles at my tone. “Seeing me like this terrified him, and we both want to be together, so why wait?” I give a soft laugh and add, “Plus, it’s not like he’s getting any younger.”
My dad laughs and gives me a wink. “The next time he pisses me off I’m going to tell him you said that.”
I laugh again and then wince at the pain in my ribs. My dad’s eyes narrow, anger and hurt radiating off him as he looks me over.
“I’ll tell Dominic to make sure your ribs stay iced. That’s what I did to help your mom.”
“What happened to her?” He looks like he doesn’t want to tell me, but I just sigh and say, “You guys have way too many secrets. Does it really matter if I know?”
“We just wanted to protect you from the world, from how ugly people can be.” He lets out a breath and gives my hand another soft squeeze. “Not that it’s done any good. Violence has a way of finding our family.”
“You all gave me and my cousins the best childhood any kid could ever hope for, Dad. We were surrounded by love and always felt safe, but I’m not a little girl anymore. I can handle whatever you want to tell me.”
“You’ll always be my little girl, princess. That’s never going to change.” After a few seconds, he sighs and pats my hand before scrubbing it over his jaw. Like Dominic, he hasn’t shaved in several days, and he looks like he could easily sleep for a week straight.
“I met your mom because her brother was into underground fighting. I regularly kicked his ass, and he kept coming back for more. Your mom approached me one night because she wanted me to teach her how to fight so she could defend herself. I realized her brother was beating her, and that didn’t sit well with me.”
My heart breaks for my mom. She’s one of the happiest people I know, and now I know why. People are rarely that happy unless they’ve first been in a shit situation. If you’ve always known good, then it’s easy to take it for granted. My mom never has, though. Every time she sees my dad, her eyes light up, like he’s her everything. I could’ve easily ended up a spoiled brat who never appreciates how good she has it, except I was raised by a family who has endured pain, and they handed those hard-earned lessons down to their kids. I owe my family everything.
My dad brushes my hair behind my ear. “I fell hard and fast for your mom,” he admits with a grin. “And I’ve never regretted it for a second. She’s my whole world, and she gave me you and Sasha and Mia. I can’t imagine my life without any of you, and if you think falling in love with a stubborn Italian is going to push me away from you, then you don’t know me at all, princess.”
I wrap my arms around him and give him as tight of a hug as I can manage. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, honey, more than you can imagine and nothing will ever change that.”
“I have one other thing I need to tell you.”
He rubs a hand over my back like he used to do when I was little. “Lay it on me, kiddo. If I can handle my daughter being engaged to Dominic fucking Alessi, then I can handle anything.”
“You sure about that, Grandpa?”
I feel his whole body go still, and his voice is barely a whisper when he asks, “What did you just say?”
Pulling back so I can see him, I take a breath and say, “I said you’re going to be a grandpa.”
“Jesus, I thought that’s what you said.” He doesn’t look angry, just completely knocked-on-his-ass stunned. “How long have you known?”
“About twenty minutes. I had no idea, Dad. I would never have hid a pregnancy from you and Mom.”
His face pales when he realizes what this means. “That fucker beat you while you were pregnant?”
“Dr. Bianchi said the baby is fine. I’m in the very early stages, Dad, less than two weeks pregnant.”
“Jesus,” he says again. “He was already going to get a slow death, but I’ve just tacked on a few excruciating hours for endangering my grandbaby.”
I don’t bother trying to talk him out of it, and the truth is I don’t want to. I hope Alexei dies a painful death and he’s forced to shit himself before he takes his last breath. The bastard doesn’t deserve an ounce of mercy, and he’s sure as hell not going to get any from me.
He laughs and shakes his head. “Your Uncle Vitaly is never going to let me hear the end of this. He’s already trying to get Dominic to call me Dad.”
“He isn’t,” I say, trying not to laugh.
My dad lifts a pierced brow at me. “He is.”
I know he’s dying to bring my mom in, but before he calls for her, he cups my face and looks at me. “Are you happy, Natochka?” He only ever calls me that when he’s feeling especially sentimental, and hearing it has me getting all emotional again. “Is this really what you want, because if you’re unsure, even if it’s just a little bit, I want you to know that your family will take care of you no matter what. We’ll help you raise this baby, and you’ll both be surrounded in love and want for nothing.”
I give my dad a wobbly smile as I fight the tears because I know he means every damn word of it. “Thank you, Dad, but I really do love Dominic, and I want to marry him.”
He kisses my forehead and then gives me a playful wink. “You can’t fault me for trying.”
I laugh because I know he’s joking…kind of.
“Malinkaya,” he yells, hollering for my mom who bursts through the door in record time before running over to me and wrapping me in a careful hug while she sobs into my hair. My dad holds the two of us and lets us cry, telling us both that he loves us until he finally says, “You two are breaking my heart here. Please stop crying.”
My mom kisses my head and then leans into my dad’s embrace, letting him comfort her. He whispers something in her ear, and I see her nod before she looks back over at me.
“Are you okay? I’ve never been so scared in my whole life.” She starts crying again, and my dad puts her on his lap and holds her, whispering in her ear and rubbing her back until she’s sobbed herself out.
“She’s fine, malinkaya. I would never lie to you about that,” my dad tells her and then looks over at me, giving me the chance to speak if I want to, but also letting me know that all I have to do is nod and he’ll do it for me. I smile at him, grateful for what he’s offering but knowing I need to be the one to do it.
“Mom, there’s something I need to tell you.”
She wipes the tears off her cheeks and then wraps an arm around me, pulling me in closer. “What is it?”
I hold up my left hand and give her a smile. “Dominic’s asked me to marry him, and I’ve said yes.” Before she can process what I’ve just said, I go ahead and lay the rest of it on her. “And you’re going to be a grandma. I’m pregnant.”
My mom’s eyes widen, but then she smiles and kisses my head. “Are you happy?”
“Yes,” I whisper, squeezing her hand back. “I’m so happy, Mom.”
“Then so am I.” She kisses me once more and then turns to my dad. “I can’t believe we’re going to be grandparents.”
“I know. We look way too young for that,” my dad says with a laugh.
My mom laughs and grips my dad’s arm. “I just realized that I’m going to be younger than my son-in-law.”
My dad laughs and kisses my mom. “That’s so fucked up,” he says with another laugh.
“You two can stop laughing now,” I tell them, fighting my own smile.
“You gotta admit it’s kind of funny,” he tells me.
I don’t admit anything, and when Mia pokes her head in the door, I’m saved from having to. When I wave her in, Sasha comes in right behind her, and they both give me a hug and ask if I’m okay.
“Holy shit,” Sasha says when he notices my ring.
“Language,” my mom reminds him.
“Sorry, Mom, but look at that ring.”
“Are you really marrying him?” Mia asks.
“I am,” I tell her, and since it might as well all get out in the open, I add, “and I’m pregnant.”
“Eww,” is Mia’s response, but she gives me a smile to let me know she’s only partly serious, while Sasha kisses my head.
“I’m happy if you’re happy, sis,” he tells me, and I love my family so goddamn much that I start to cry again.
“Dominic,” my dad shouts, and when my gorgeous fiancé steps back into the room and sees me crying, he’s by my side in seconds, cupping my face and leaning down to see me better.
“What’s wrong, principessa?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy,” I manage to sputter out.
His shoulders visibly relax when he realizes I’m okay, and then he kisses me and scoots me back up into the bed and hands me a glass of water. My dad watches him like a hawk, making sure he’s taking care of me like he should.
“You need to ice her ribs,” my dad tells him.
Dominic raises a brow at him. “I iced them while she was sleeping, and I’ll be doing it again. Don’t worry, Lev. She’ll be taken care of. My doctor will be watching her around the clock and so will I.”
“Lovely,” I say, knowing I won’t be able to take a breath from here on out without someone making a note of it.
“It’s nonnegotiable,” my dad and Dominic say at the exact same time.
I look between the two of them and then turn to my mom, who’s trying very hard to not laugh.
“I mean, they’re not wrong,” she finally manages to say. “For a second there, I was afraid that I’d constantly be worried about you, but seeing as you’ve chosen to marry a man who’s exactly like your dad, I guess I can stop worrying.”
My dad looks at her and frowns. “We’re not alike.”
“You’re both incredibly protective of Natalya.” She holds up her hands and laughs. “That’s all I’m saying.”
The two most important men in my life look at each other, and it’s an awkward few seconds before my dad finally lets out a soft groan and extends his hand out to Dominic.
“I’ll kill you if you hurt her,” my dad says, and that’s the closest thing to a welcome to the family that Dominic is going to get.
My fiancé knows this, so he just smiles and says, “I expect nothing less. I’m fully aware that you and all of your brothers and sons will gut me slowly if I ever do anything to hurt Natalya, and as you can see I’m not even slightly worried about it because I will never hurt your daughter.”
I can tell this is a conversation they’ve had before because my dad just grunts and says, “You better fucking not, or I swear to god I’ll shoot you again, and this time it won’t be in your goddamn shoulder.”
Mia looks ecstatic at the possibility of violence while Sasha studies the two men, his face a mask of indifference. I never really know what’s going on inside my brother’s head, and I’m not so sure I want to.
“Okay,” my mom says, attempting to diffuse the situation. “I’ll let everyone else know you’re okay. The family’s going to want to visit you soon to see for themselves that you’re fine, especially Sveta and Yelena. They’ve been worried sick about you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I return her hug and kiss, and even though I’ve slept for a day, I’m already getting tired again.
“I love you, honey,” my dad says, kissing me on the head before Mia and Sasha give me a hug goodbye.
I’m already yawning by the time they get to the door. Once they’ve left, Dominic sits on the edge of the bed, looking down at me like he still can’t believe I’m here and okay.
“Can I please go back to your room? I don’t want to stay down here.” He looks like he’s about to insist I stay here, so I cut in before he can. “You can watch over me just as easily up there, except the bed is a lot more comfortable.”
He leans closer with a smile on his face. “I wasn’t going to tell you no, principessa, and it’s our bedroom, not just mine.”
Turning his head, he yells for Tony, and within a few seconds the man I remember hooking me up to everything comes rushing in. He looks me over, making sure I’m okay. He doesn’t seem thrilled when he sees that I’m no longer connected to the beeping machine I now detest, but he doesn’t demand I put the cuff back on. His dark hair is disheveled, and he looks like he’s only a few years older than me. His glasses are slightly crooked like he’s just thrown them on, but even with them partially hiding his face, it’s obvious the guy’s good looking. My heart belongs to Dominic, though, so even if I was connected to that damn machine, my heart rate wouldn’t show a spike right now.
“I’m taking my fiancée upstairs,” Dominic tells him. “Can she be disconnected from her IV, or do I need to bring it upstairs with us?”
It’s clear Dominic isn’t asking for permission to move me, so Tony just comes over to check the IV bag and then he takes my temperature and gently feels my ribs and inspects my face.
“She’s okay without the IV. She needs to eat something and keep her fluid intake up, though, and she needs to rest as much as possible. Her ribs are going to be very sore for the next couple of weeks.”
“She’ll get everything she needs and then some. I’m not letting her out of my damn sight, and you can just as easily check on her upstairs as you can down here.”
Tony pauses at Dominic’s tone before giving a slow nod of his head while gently removing the IV needle from my hand. He’s good, and I barely feel the sting of the large needle being removed. “Of course, Mr. Alessi. I’ll be up to check on her later.”
I’ve got to give the guy credit, he doesn’t go pale or look like he’s about to shit himself. Tony isn’t a hardened criminal, not yet anyway, but he’s holding his own against my fiancé, and I see the respect in Dominic’s eyes before he buries it deep.
“Text me first. I don’t want her disturbed if she’s sleeping.”
Tony puts a bandaid on the back of my hand. “Yes, sir.”
I don’t bother telling the two alpha males that I’m sitting right here and they can stop talking about me like I’m absent. I’m too tired, and I know Dominic’s overbearing ways are because he loves me and he’s terrified something else might happen to me or our baby.
When I start to yawn, Dominic nudges Tony aside and carefully scoops me into his arms, keeping the blanket wrapped around me so I’m not flashing my butt. He kisses my head and carries me out the door.
I turn my head and quickly say “Thank you” to Tony before we disappear down the hall.
“My fiancée is so damn sweet,” he tells me with a small smile playing at his lips.
“He helped me,” I say. “The least I can do is say thank you.”
“He’s getting paid a lot of money to do that, principessa, and he knows I would’ve killed him if he hadn’t.”
“I’m going to assume you’re joking.”
He lets out a soft laugh and gives me a wink. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart.”
I’m too tired to get into a discussion about when it’s appropriate to kill someone and when it isn’t. I’m guessing it wouldn’t do any good anyway, so I keep my mouth shut and rest my head against his chest. I’m asleep before we’ve even made it up the stairs.