Chapter 29 New Perspective #2
Evelina smiled over at Otto, letting herself appreciate his profile as he navigated the traffic. “More than I could have hoped for, really. We’ll talk tomorrow, Artem. I hope to see you well-rested.”
Otto was sure Lina was only telling a half-truth when she told Artem she wanted to disassociate for the rest of the day.
He could see she was planning something.
He knew her too well to miss the signs of her beautiful mind spinning with ideas.
But it was entirely possible she wanted time to digest or fully develop those ideas, and he certainly wasn’t going to call her out on that.
If he were honest with himself, he played along in part because he knew that the next thing she would have to do would be to dive into the realities of reconstructing the bratva.
And doing that would take her full focus.
He only had a vague clue as to what that might look like, even.
But he feared the weight of it would put another wall between them.
She still planned to step up as pakhan, despite that the clan had basically self-destructed. He wanted to support her through that, to see her achieve her vision, but he loathed the thought that in doing so he was helping her to leave him behind.
No matter what else changed, he was still no more than the adopted son of a Russian man. A mix-blooded soldier like him was a poor match for a pakhan.
Lina preceded him into the hotel suite when they returned, angling toward the kitchen space to set down her purse and phone. “I still kind of can’t believe Dante booked this for another five nights with no notice. That room we were in last night would have been fine, even.”
Otto shrugged. “I don’t think your cousin takes ‘no’ for an answer.”
Lina laughed softly as she faced him. “You had that impression, too?” Her eyes danced with amusement and a levity he hadn’t seen in them in weeks.
He couldn’t help himself. Whatever she was feeling in this moment, this was how he wanted her to always feel.
He scooped her up, capturing her next laugh in a kiss before striding into the sitting area and settling her on his lap.
He sucked on her tongue and dug his fingers into her ass, rocking her against him.
Lina surrendered to his kiss for a long minute before pushing at his chest and leaning back.
Her gaze was heated with desire when it clashed with his again, and she licked her lips.
“If you start that now, I won’t get to the very important stuff I wanted to talk to you about while we have this nice, cozy privacy. ”
Otto slid a hand up to the small of her back. “Maybe I just have a few other thoughts on what to do with this cozy privacy.”
Her lips lifted in a laughing smile that warmed him inside. She trailed her fingers over the curve of his shoulder. “Probably we have the time for both,” she said, “but I … I really do need to talk to you about something, Otto.”
He schooled his expression into calm, not wanting her to see the strange dread that chased the warmth from his chest, and politely adjusted her so she was sitting on his thighs rather than straddling him.
For both their sakes, he needed to not be thinking about the nearness of her pussy in that moment.
Her gaze became searching, but he had no idea what for.
She drew a deep breath and let her hands settle over his chest. “You know I’ve decided to completely rebuild.”
Otto nodded. “Of course.” He’d been with her every moment of the day while she’d taken advantage of having three more experienced cousins in town, willing and able to offer guidance.
He’d been by her side when everything had fallen apart, and he’d watched as she pushed herself up until she was standing tall despite everything that came at her.
Of course he knew. He settled a hand on her thigh.
“And I know you’ll do fucking great with it, Lina. ”
She blinked once before another smile teased her lips briefly. “Thank you,” she said. “But I … I actually mean….” She cut herself off and pulled his hand into hers, squeezing tightly. “Starting fresh means starting new. I want to wash off the old stink. I want to rebrand.”
Again, Otto nodded. He understood her words, but he wasn’t sure why she was saying them the way she was, to him of all people.
“No more ‘Nikolaev’ clan,” she said, her voice quiet but her words confident. “I was thinking we’ll rebuild … as the Voronin Bratva.”
Otto stared at her, feeling her words seep into his brain as slow as molasses. “Voronin,” he repeated, like he’d never said his own name before.
She nodded, not looking away, and held a little tighter to his hand.
“You never cared about running the chaos, so I’d do that part since I’m the one pushing it.
And you could stand up with me, assuming you want to, as my growly, head of security”—she swallowed visibly and a flicker of nerves danced through her eyes—“husband.”
Otto’s head swam, her softly spoken words mocking him as they reverberated in his mind.
Growly.
Head of security.
Husband.
He dragged in a breath. Had she really said that? Or had he hallucinated it? He had to have. Lina had no interest in marriage. As a concept, it meant only pain and confinement to her.
Lina lifted his hand and pressed his palm to her chest, over her heart. “Otto,” she said, emotion seeping into her voice, “I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Her fingers slid down to his wrist. “Do you … want the same?”
A low growl rolled out of his throat. “You know I do.” He knew he’d made that clear.
She smiled again and leaned forward, keeping his hand on her chest as she brought her face closer to his. When she spoke again, she spoke in a whisper. “Then marry me, Otto Voronin.”
It was a damn good thing he was sitting down, because he was pretty sure his knees gave out anyway. “Lina,” he finally managed, “are you—”
She nodded, her smile growing. “I want to break every toxic Nikolaev cycle. I want to marry for love, and know happiness. And that means it has to be you, Otto.”
Fuck. Otto crushed her to him, sliding both arms around her and tangling a hand in her hair as he slammed his mouth to hers.
He swallowed down her sultry laugh and groaned as their tongues slid together.
Fuck. His heart beat hard against his chest even as he broke the kiss.
“I ought to be mad you didn’t let me propose the way you deserve,” he said between heaving breaths.
The grin on her face was shameless.
He dropped a hand back to her ass and squeezed. “But hell yeah, baby. I’ll marry you.” He brushed his lips over hers. “And I’ll show you how it’s supposed to be.”
Lina melted into him. “I don’t have any rings,” she said, “so we might need to seal this engagement with a loud, messy orgasm. Or five.”
Otto swept his hands beneath her blouse and stared into her eyes as he half destroyed her overpriced bra.
“We’ll need an understanding,” he said. “Outside, and especially in front of the men, you’ll be in charge.
I’ll respect that in every way except where it endangers your safety.
” That really wouldn’t be much different.
Lina nodded before her face briefly disappeared as he pulled the shirt and unclasped bra over her head and tossed them aside. They both moved to their feet, hands dropping to divest each other of their respective jeans.
Otto kept talking. “But in private, we gotta be equal. Leave titles and ranks at the door.”
“Mm-hmm, absolutely,” Lina said as she switched gears and pushed his shirt up insistently.
Otto ripped the thing over his head, letting it fall, then followed her lead to work on his damn shoes.
“Except,” Lina said a moment later, “maybe in the bedroom … I kind of like when you take charge.” She offered him a flirty smile. “I’d be okay with a reversal in those situations.”
Otto shoved his pants down, unable to look away as Lina shimmied out of her snug-fit denim, and finally said, “I’ll show you a reversal, baby. Crawl back onto that sofa and put your ass in the air.”
She flashed him a grin. “God, it’s so hot when you talk like that,” she said as she settled herself into position. She folded her forearms in front of her shoulders and turned her head outward, her perfect, rounded ass on full display. “Like this?”
Otto groaned and wrapped a tight fist around his throbbing dick.
“Da.” He moved up behind her and stroked his hands over her soft skin before using a knee to widen her stance until she was almost precariously balanced on the sofa’s edge.
“Fuck, baby, you’re so sexy,” he said with a groan as he squeezed her unblemished ass.
He heard her take a deep breath, but he didn’t wait for her to reply before bending down and running his tongue the length of her.
She wasn’t prepared for it, and her entire body jumped before her pussy spasmed. A strangled moan escaped her and she attempted to rock backward, chasing his mouth.
Otto lapped up her dribbling arousal, teased her opening with his tongue, then flattened his tongue in a harder stroke along her clit.
When her body started to shake and her breathing turned to unsteady gasps, Otto retreated from her delicious pussy and repositioned to kneel behind her.
He took hold of her hips and ground against her, coating his length.
“You better be ready for me, Lina,” he said with a strained groan. “I don’t think five’ll be enough.”
Lina let out a breathless laugh.
Otto surged into her wet, addictive heat, burying himself fully in a single hard thrust. He curled one arm around her until his fingers settled on her clit, and then he was pounding into her while he tortured the little nub exactly how she liked.
She didn’t even try to muffle her scream, her back arching and her walls clamping down on him.
But he was just getting started.