16. Soren
“ H ow the hell do you fuckers keep getting in?” I ask, staring at the banes of my existence, who are all sitting on my sofa, watching TV like this is the normal thing to do. Which…for the three of them, it sadly is. I need new friends.
“Your mother called,” Nico says.
I groan and head to my bedroom, not wanting or needing to hear anything else. My mother, as much as I love her dearly, is a pain in my ass, and it doesn’t matter that I’m a grown adult with a life, a new career, and a fancy new condo thanks to my scary new boss, she’ll insist on meddling in my life until one of us dies. And at this point, I’m convinced it’ll be me first, simply from sheer exasperation.
After a shower and change of clothes, I walk out to the living room once more to find the terrible trio still on the sofa.
“What, no homemade dinner this time?”
Nico laughs. “Nope. We ordered pizza, it should be here in like half an hour.”
I sit in the recliner and stare at the three pairs of gray eyes watching me intently. “Right, what did Ilyona have to say this time?”
“She thinks you’ve met someone,” Vonny answers.
Groaning, I roll my eyes and look up at the ceiling. “I told her I haven’t, and that I wanted to get settled before I worked on my love life.”
“Apparently she thought that was bullshit,” Dima says.
“What I don’t understand is why she called you.”
Nico snorts. “Really? You have to ask?” He mutters something in Russian that I don’t quite catch. I may know enough to swear, and can understand when my mother peppers our conversations with endearments, but it was never a language either of my parents deemed important enough for me to learn.
Though I’ve learned that the Amatos toss Italian around more often than my uncle’s Bratva does with Russian. Even Doc has muttered to himself in Italian on occasion, though not enough for me to consider learning the language—at least not yet.
“Ilyona said you wouldn’t consider having babies with one of us,” Vonny replies. “Which means you obviously have someone else lined up, even though you keep protesting.”
I stare at my friend, wondering how the hell that made any sense in their brain… Because I know it’s a thought the three of them share—they’re scarily in-tune with one another.
“I kissed my boss,” I say. Even if I wanted to keep my attraction to Doc a secret, they would have sniffed it out eventually. They all know me far too well.
“I’m assuming you mean the doctor, and not Boss, boss,” Dima says. “Because you’re still alive, and I don’t think Carter Amato would have left you whole had you kissed his husband.”
Rolling my eyes, I reply, “Yes, the doctor. I… There’s something about him that calls to me, on many levels.”
“Ahhh,” Vonny says. “I get it. He makes you want to do naughty things to him while you put him on his knees. Da, that would do it.”
Narrowing my eyes at the man, I say, “I don’t know how you know so much about my sex life, and I don’t want to know. It’s fucking creepy.”
All three of them smile in unison, looking like eerie mirror images of each other. Having grown up with them, it makes things a little easier. I know them, but fucking hell, sometimes even I wonder if there are three of them, or if I hallucinate that.
“You’re our best friend,” Nico says. “Of course we’re invested in your interests. So, this doctor is your type, huh?”
“Did we ever determine what his type is?” Dima asks his brothers. “Besides submissive?”
“Older,” Vonny says. “Probably arrogant, since he’s a doctor. Someone who won’t hesitate to drop to his knees, but stands up for himself as well. Sory isn’t the type to want someone who fawns all over him, unless that’s the game they’re playing.”
I am mildly disturbed. Not that I’ll ever tell them how close to correct they are. That they apparently know me this well is…concerning.
“Are you secret Russian spies?” I ask, only half-joking.
They laugh, and even that is eerily similar. I really want to know what I did in a past life to have to put up with this.
“We just know you, Sory,” Nico answers. “And, like your mother, we want to see you happy.”
“I’m twenty-five,” I point out. “There’s plenty of time for me to find someone.”
“Sounds like you have, no?” Dima asks.
I shake my head and run a hand down my face. “Someone who is not my boss.”
“Pfft.” Vonny waves me off. “Who cares. If this doctor is the one you want, who are we to disagree? I say, go for it. Unless he doesn’t want you?”
“Did you kiss him against his will, Sory?” Dima asks, concern etching across his face. “I know you like to play those games, but like, consent is a thing.”
Jesus, fuck, they’re going to be the death of me. “ No. ” I stress the word. “I didn’t kiss him against his will. Trust me, the little shit wanted it.”
It’s not until their facial expressions change that I realize what I’ve done. Heart sinking and accepting this is my fate now, I brace myself for whatever’s to come.
“Sounds like it was more than just a kiss, Sory,” Vonny says with a smirk. “You’ve thought about this.”
“Don’t try to deny it,” Nico cuts in before I can reply.
Shaking my head, I sigh. “No, I wasn’t going to. Do I want to be talking about this? Hell no. But, I also know you fuckers aren’t going to let it go, either. And… I can’t deny there’s something about Doc. Something deeper than what I find with most people. Whether it be my looks or my age, or both, most people don’t take me seriously as a top or a Dominant.” Much less as a Daddy, but I don’t say that. I have to keep some things to myself . “I can’t confidently say that Doc isn’t one of those people, but he not only kissed me, he instigated it. And I like that. I want to put him on his knees, but I like that he isn’t afraid to speak his mind.” Even if half the time the shit he says isn’t appropriate.
“So you like him,” Dima says.
I shrug. “I don’t know him, not really, but, yes. I don’t know if this is something that can turn into more, or if he’s just looking for a way to pass the time, but either way, it’s not a good idea.”
“Why?” Vonny asks.
“Seriously? He’s my boss . And a pain in the ass. And…” I hesitate before saying fuck it . “He’s already in some weird friends with benefits thing with his bodyguard. I don’t know if I want to get mixed up in all that.”
“You think the bodyguard has feelings for him?” Nico asks. “I would assume your doctor doesn’t since he kissed you.”
I shake my head. “No, I talked to James, the bodyguard, after the kiss. He says they’re just friends. And he’s like you, Dominic, he doesn’t feel romantic attraction. He also assured me that while he’s not against relationships, he wouldn’t ever have one with Doc.” I smile at that a little. The horror in James’s voice was amusing, even amongst my internal panic. “I’m not worried about feelings from either side… well, a little, but it was never really about that. I’m not ever okay with being a side piece or homewrecker, so I would have shut shit down real fast if I thought it was going that way.
“I just… I don’t know. So far, I like my job. I like the people I’ve met, and as much as my mother says I don’t have to be a part of this life if I don’t want to, we all know that’s not true. She had an easier time because she didn’t marry my papa, and never allowed them to drag her into the business. She didn’t know anything, or at least, that’s what she allowed them all to believe.”
All three of them nod in understanding. We’re all distinctly aware that while my uncle gave his blessing and agreed that the Bratva isn’t a safe place for me, we also know he sent me to Cristian Amato for more than just my medical expertise. The Amato Family may be lax in some ways that the Petrovs aren’t, but they’re still all cut from the same cloth. The rules are still the same, and I know too much for any of them to willingly let me go.
Unlike my mother, I was born into this life. She got to leave when she needed to get away from my father, but I didn’t, and I never will.
“That being said, I can already tell how different the two Families are, and I like it. Yes, being as close to the main Family as I am means I will be under scrutiny, but I want this job. And I’m terrified of jeopardizing that. Because who do you think they’ll side with should things go south between us?”
Before anyone can say anything, my phone rings. Checking the screen, I see it’s the downstairs concierge. “Looks like the food’s here,” I say before answering and letting them know to send the delivery up.
“Before we stuff our faces with more cheese than we should,” Nico says. “I’ll say one more thing about your doctor: go with your first instinct.” His gray eyes bore into mine, and it’s hard to keep eye contact at the seriousness in them. “Of us all, you’ve always had the best instincts. It’s part of the reason our mother pushed us at you from when we were small, she was hoping you’d rub off on us.” I snort on that, because we all know, more often than not, it was the three of them influencing me and all the stupid shit we got into. “If you think this thing can be something more, even if it’s just for a little while, take the chance.
“Because you’re a good guy, Sory, and we want to see you happy. You say you’re young enough still, and that’s true, but you’re also right in that your age and looks are a deterrent for most people in the type of life you want. So if someone is telling you they see past that, and see you , then let them show you.”
There’s a knock on the door, and Dima gets up to answer it while I blow out a breath and turn Nico’s words over in my head.
I hate that he makes sense. That the little shit does is something I’ll take to my grave. I know better than to admit that something any of them said makes sense, or was even close to right, as given an inch, they’d take ten miles.
There are so many things that could go wrong with even thinking of the things I want to do with Doc…but, everything in recent months has been about figuring out the life I want to live, the kind of man I want to be, away from my family’s influence and the expectations of the Bratva.
I have the house, the job, and so maybe it’s time to find out if I can have the man, too.