Chapter Twenty-Five Maksim #2
“I still am.” With a wink, I added, “That’s why I’m going to have a bodyguard stay to keep an eye on the house.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do.”
She reached out to cup my cheek. “You really are the most decent underworld king I’ve ever met.”
I threw my head back with a laugh. “What a compliment.”
“I’m just calling it as I see it.”
“And I appreciate that.”
Creasing her brows with worry, Sarah asked, “What about your treatment?”
“It can wait until t-tomorrow.”
“But we’ve been trying so hard to accelerate it.”
“One day without t-treatment isn’t going to matter to me. But leaving tonight will matter a lot t-to your parents. And to you.”
To my surprise, Sarah leaned in and kissed my cheek. As she pulled away, she stared intently into my eyes. “Thanks, Maksim.”
“You’re welcome. If you need anything, I’m just a phone call away.”
She nodded. “I know.”
I patted her shoulder before walking through the foyer and out the front door. I’d almost made it to the car when I heard Sarah calling my name. Whirling around, I saw her come running out of the front door. I turned to walk back up the driveway to her.
“What are you d-doing?”
She stood there, wringing her hands and biting her lip. “Sarah?”
“I know I shouldn’t ask this of you, but…”
“But what?”
“Will you stay?”
I furrowed my brows. “Here at the house?”
She nodded. “But more with me.”
My heartbeat accelerated in my chest. “You want me to?”
“Yes, please.”
“Then of course I will.”
Relief flooded Sarah’s face. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Jerking my hand at the SUV, I said, “Just let me tell Lev since he was picking me up.”
“Okay. I”ll go check on Mom and Dad.”
With a grateful smile, Sarah then made her way back up the driveway. I turned and went over to the SUV. When I knocked on the window, Lev brought it down. “Ready?”
“Change of plans.”
“Seriously?”
Nodding, I replied, “Sarah asked me to stay tonight with her.”
Lev waggled his brows. “Damn, bro, you really put the moves on her. I mean, it’s only been a week.”
I scowled at him. “It’s not like t-that.”
“I know. I mean, what woman would ask you to get busy at her parents’ house.”
I snorted. “Mudak.”
“Excuse me? I had Rolan drive us all the way out here to pick your ass up.”
Glancing past Lev, I eyed the bodyguard sitting in the driver’s seat. “I owe you my t-thanks for such a difficult work evening.”
He grinned. “You’re welcome, sir. I have to say it wasn’t easy pulling him off the dance floor when I got Oleg’s text.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I teased, causing Lev to scowl.
“That’s another reason to be pissed. I could be fucking a very beautiful redhead at the moment.”
“I’m truly sorry. Maybe you can go back to the club and find her.”
“Doubtful.”
“Well, anyway, I appreciate the effort.”
“You need any reinforcements here?” Lev asked.
“I’ll have Oleg or Vasily come back out at dawn.”
Lev cocked his brows. “You’re not just Maksim now–you’re our pahkan.”
“Do you really t-think some of our enemies have been waiting to attack me on the off chance I’m out in the burbs?”
“You never know.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m p-packing.”
“And not a pussy,” Lev teased.
“Exactly,” I mused.
“All right. Take it easy, brat.”
“You too.”
After watching their taillights fade in the distance, I started back up the driveway. When I got back in the house, Sarah stood surveying the damage in the dining room. Turning to me, she sighed. “I feel like such a bitch for hating him right now. It isn’t like he chose this life for himself.”
“If he’s not t-taking his medicine, he is.”
Tears pooled in Sarah’s eyes. “I was just thinking how selfish I am for being mad because I’d hoped to pass that china on to my daughter one day.”
I cocked my brows at her in surprise in the reference to children. Considering her profession, I don’t know why I was surprised by her admission. Not to mention how good she was with Sammy and his friends.
“D-Do you want kids?”
“Absolutely.” With a somewhat panicked smile, she added, “Maybe.”
“Why the maybe?”
She swiped her cheeks of tears. “Because of genetics.”
“You’re afraid you might have a child with schizophrenia?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“You d-don’t have to be afraid, Sarah. You can have g-genetic testing, and if you’re a carrier, then you can just use an egg donor or adopt.”
Her brows rose in surprise. “How do you know all that?”
I tore my gaze from hers to stare down at the floor. With my breath coming harsher, I replied, “Because of my stuttering.”
Sarah gasped. “Oh Maksim.”
I continued staring at the shards of floral china on the floor. “Before my father d-denied me as heir, he’d told me I would need t-to use a sperm donor so I didn’t pass on my d-defect.”
Swallowing hard, I replied, “I t-told Dima it would b-be his son who would b-be the next heir. Even if I had one, I couldn’t g-guarantee he wouldn’t be d-defective.”
With my emotions swirling, there was no way I was keeping my stutter under control at that moment. The next thing I knew Sarah pressed herself against me. As she wrapped her arms around me, I clenched my eyes shut to keep from crying.
FUCK. That was the last thin I wanted to do in front of her. One more thing to make me feel emasculated.
“Look at me,” she demanded.
Shaking my head, I gritted out, “No.”
“Fine. But I’m still going to say what I planned.”
“Your stuttering is not a defect. You are not defective. You have everything a woman would want in the man to father her children.”
At her last declaration, my eyes snapped open to take in Sarah’s appreciative stare. “You really mean t-that?”
“Absolutely.”
Leaning over, I rested my forehead against hers. “Thank you,” I murmured.
“You’re welcome.”
When I stared into Sarah’s eyes, I saw what had to be reflected in my own.
Longing
Desire
With my heartbeat accelerating, I brought my hand to cup her jaw. When my thumb traced her lip, she closed her eyes.
Although I wanted to devour her lips and ravage her mouth, I tilted my head and prepared to brush my lips gently with my own.
But then a knock came at the door, causing Sarah to jump back and untangle herself from me. “It’s probably the cleaners,” I said.
Her brows furrowed. “Cleaners?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want you or your mom having to clean up Silas’s mess.”
“Oh,” she murmured as her eyes grew teary.
After cracking the door, I saw it was the wives of two of our soldiers. They gave me hesitant smiles. “Good evening, Mr. Korolov,” the older of the two said.
“Good evening, Vlada.”
Surprise flashed in her eyes that I knew her name. My father barely knew the names of his soldiers, least of all their wives. Except for the ones he fucked.
Dima joked that I would be the good cop to his bad cop as co-pahkan–the heart of our team. One way I planned to do that was by knowing the men who worked for me and their families.
Turning to the woman beside her, I said, “Nice to see you, Raisia.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied more to the foyer floor than to myself.
“Please come in.”
After opening the door wide, the women came inside. I motioned to Sarah. “This is my friend, Sarah. Her parents experienced a break-in t-tonight.”
At my lie, Sarah’s brows popped wide to which I gave a slight shake of my head. “We just need the living and dining rooms cleaned.”
“We’ll get right on that, sir.”
“Thank you.” Taking Sarah by the arm, I started leading her to the kitchen. “Where are your parents?”
Sarah smiled. “My parents have a huge ensuite. Dad took his leftovers there.”
“I gotta say I’m a little hungry myself.”
“Me too.” Jerking her thumb at the fridge, Sarah asked, “Want me to see what they have?”
“I’d love it.”