Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Katya
One Week Later
Leon and I are quick to get into a rhythm after our talk.
With him taking more time away from work, it’s been easy for us to spend a lot of time with the boys.
I’d say the last seven days have been nothing short of domestic bliss, at least on the parental front.
Bastian and Leo have taken to calling me their best friend, which I much prefer over the title of nanny, and I’m thankful that we never suggested it to them.
I’m sure it will be awhile before they feel drawn to calling me their mother, if they ever wish to.
But I won’t deny that I’ve already started hoping for that day to come.
It’s impossible not to love them, especially when you spend every single day with them.
They’re such sweet and happy little humans, and if someone told me they hung the moon, I’d undoubtedly believe them.
We’ve spent most of our days doing an assortment of fun activities together, as well as dipping our toes back into lessons and education for them.
And of course, eating. I don’t think mealtimes have ever been more important in my life.
Back home, we were hard pressed to have a full family meal together more than a couple times a week with everyone’s busy schedules.
We found different ways to squeeze in time with one another.
Here, though, I have breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily with Bastian and Leo, and nearly all of them with Leon as well.
He still needs to attend to important work things, of course.
But he manages to squeeze everything he needs to do into a few hours during the day, and some while the kids are long past down for bed.
I think we all know that he won’t be able to finesse his schedule to be so open forever, but his effort to make time for the family hasn’t gone unnoticed.
The kids have been thrilled to see him every day, and their happiness is positively infectious.
My mom has been hearing all about it in every phone call and every text I’ve sent her.
She adores getting photos the most, much to Leo’s delight.
The little blondie loves to take silly pictures and have me send them to his family members, Jade and Rayna being his usual suspects.
It’s been close to perfect, really.
The only thing that’s been missing is adult time.
Leon and I haven’t had much space to be alone since our conversation in the kitchen.
We haven’t been awkward with one another, quite the opposite, actually.
But the intensity that was once seemingly brewing between us has been calmed.
I’m not sure whether that’s been intentional or not, but in the time that we’ve spent together without the kids, our kiss hasn’t come up again.
The attraction is still there, at least it is on my end.
But we’ve tried to commit ourselves and our focus to the kids, rather than on whatever connection is bubbling under the surface between us.
I’m just glad that things haven’t become strained or strange when we interact.
We still share smiles, and laughs, and we get along easily.
Sometimes it’s like we can read each other’s minds with the way we bounce off one another.
Yawning, I pull myself up and off the couch, finished with my silly reflection.
The boys will be awake from their nap in around ten minutes now, and I shouldn’t let myself relax for much longer unless I want to doze off myself.
Leon picked a much too cozy sofa for my private living room, and I’ve taken to laying there and reading or playing on my phone while the kids sleep soundlessly in their room down the hall.
Leon’s routine apparently includes working out for the entire time the kids nap each day, and he disappears into the basement like clockwork.
He’s told me that I’m free to use the pool or the gym whenever I like, but joining him has never once been a consideration for me.
Working out is the last thing I ever want to do spontaneously or not.
And swimming is nice, but if I smell like the pool when the boys wake up, they’ll only want me to get back in so they can join me.
Chuckling to myself while thinking of our first time swimming together, I shake my head and start to walk toward the basement stairs.
I need to check in with Leon before the kids get up and make sure our plans haven’t changed.
We’re going out to dinner as a family for the first time tonight, but that isn’t for a few hours.
Leon suggested we let the boys pick a game or movie to watch and a snack to eat beforehand, but he also mentioned that we could do something to get their energy out if they woke up full of it again.
Sometimes after naps, I’d swear it’s like Leo chugged an energy drink instead of being asleep for an hour.
The sound of heavy rock music being muffled by the thick glass door of the gym meets my ears and I smile, thinking it’s almost cute.
Men love doing this no matter their typical music taste, I’ve found.
Ares typically listens to smooth, classic jazz, but when he’s in the gym, the loudest, most intense music fills the house like some kind of ritual.
I’m about to push open the door when the sight of slick, glistening skin stops me in my tracks.
“Holy shit,” I croak, going completely still.
The sight of my husband hasn’t hit me so intensely since our wedding day, and now for a completely different reason than the last. Leon is shirtless, wearing dark shorts that meet the tops of his mid-thighs, and he’s rippled with muscles that are straining from being pushed to the limit.
His blonde hair is soaked with sweat, looking darker than it ever has, and his veins are popping out all over.
I’ve seen his body before, noticing how he looked when we went swimming with the kids for the first time, but that was nothing like now.
He was in dad mode then, and I was so occupied trying to make sure Bastian and Leo were swimming safely that I didn’t allow my gaze to linger on him for too long.
But now, now he’s a wet dream. Emphasis on the word wet.
He looks like he’s in a movie, the fluorescent gym lights shining down on him from above, and the wall of mirrors making my view of him double.
My stomach flips and erupts with a flutter that can’t be mistaken for anything other than desire.
If he thought he should apologize for watching me through the cameras, then I should certainly feel obligated to do the same for how I’m thinking about him now.
Leon lifts his arms up suddenly, stretching long and languid. The movement makes his shorts ride lower on his hips, drawing my eyes to the defined V he’s rocking. The V that leads to—
Oh. My. Fuck.
My throat goes tight and dry as my whole body freezes stiffly, realizing where my mind is going.
I want to know what his tight, wet body would feel like against mine if he picked me up and laid me down on the weight bench he’s standing in front of.
Something tells me that despite having a loveless marriage previously, Leon would know exactly what to do with a wanting and willing woman at his fingertips.
The music comes to an abrupt end, and my breath catches. As if sensing my eyes on him, Leon turns, finding me frozen in the door’s frame. His head tilts slightly, and I swear a smirk blooms on his lips. He waves me in turning to face me head on, rather than looking at me from the side.
“Get it together,” I hiss at myself, the words too muffled to be heard by him or anyone else.
Opening the door, I’m met with the air conditioned shift in temperature, making it even more surprising how drenched my husband is.
“You know you’re allowed to come in?” he asks, running a white towel over his forehead and then around the back of his neck. It hangs there when he’s done, somehow looking like a slutty little man accessory. “This is your house now too, remember?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt you,” I reply lamely. “I wasn’t sure if you were done yet.”
His eyebrows hike up, almost challengingly. Teasingly. “So you wanted to watch and find out?”
“I thought we established that watching was okay.”
“I didn’t say I was complaining.”
God. His voice.
I must be ovulating.
“The kids will be waking up soon, I just wanted to touch base. Dinner is still on for tonight?”
He takes the topic change in stride. “Yeah, we’ll leave around six. We’ll see what they want to do once they’re up. It’s a tossup whether Leo will want to climb up and down the walls or if he’ll still be sleepy and want to relax.”
“And Bastian will do whatever Leo wants to do,” I add on, smiling fondly. “He’s a really good big brother. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a kid be so patient with his younger sibling before. Especially that close in age. I haven’t seen them even bicker once since I moved in, you know?”
“Oh it happens sometimes,” Leon assures me, sighing. “It typically involves a toy or something equally as silly when either of them is overtired or overwhelmed.”
“Really?” I try to picture it. “I can’t imagine, they get along so well. And Bastian is such a calm kid.”
Leon shrugs lightly, and I try to pretend like I’m not staring at his big shoulders as he does.
“It’s not a regular occurrence but such is the way with siblings.
I think I’d be more concerned if they never fought, honestly.
It might be some kind of scientific phenomenon that should be investigated. ”
“Did you fight a lot with your brothers growing up?”
“Oh, constantly,” Leon bursts out, laughing as he says it.
“There were nine of us, and we were raised to be powerful, strong men. We fought over everything. Toys, clothes, cars, friends, who was better at something, who was taller, stronger, faster…it never ended. There was always some kind of sibling rivalry going on, but there was a ton of love too. Very much a ‘I can be mean to my brother, but I’ll kill anyone else if they try to do the same’ kind of situation.
And we all had times where we got along better than others. ”
“I can’t picture young mafia heirs with endless money fighting over clothes,” I point out with a disbelieving chuckle. “Couldn’t you just buy more of whatever was being fought over?”
“You’d think, Katya, you’d think.” His smile is reminiscent and contagious.
“As an older sibling, Apollo taught me to be tolerant of the younger ones just like he was with me once upon a time. I’ve tried to teach Bastian to do the same, but he hasn’t needed much help in that area.
It’s easy for him to be understanding and empathetic towards Leo since he saw him when he was going through a hard time. ”
I hum softly, remembering what he told me about how they came to share a bedroom.
“It’s a difficult balance siblings have to maneuver, you know?
The younger ones want to be the older ones, and the older ones just want to be at peace.
It helps when their parents don’t play them against one another, or keep double standards.
Dad was good at that, I think. He always made sure we were treated fairly, and that he shared his love equally as best as he could. ”
“I don’t know the rest of your brothers very well, but I think he did an incredible job with you,” I tell him softly. “You’re a great father, and I’ve never seen you be anything other than a good man.”
His lips twitch. “He’d be happy to hear you say that.”
Are you happy to hear me say it?
“I should shower before they wake up. Leo will tell me I’m stinky if I don’t.”
Are you sure I can’t just stare at you like this for a little bit longer?
“Okay.” I blink, stepping back before I say something horribly awkward. “I’ll go upstairs and wait to hear them in case they wake up before you’re done.”
“Thank you, Katya.”
My arms flare with goose bumps and it takes all of my willpower not to thank him in return for saying my name like that.
“You’re welcome, Leon.”