Chapter 38 #2
I swallow, realising that I didn’t think we’d be able to do any celebrating of anything before Sergi is dealt with. And then there’s the baby, which isn’t due until the second of January, but there’s the very real likelihood I’ll go into labour before then.
“Let’s get inside,” Hunt says gently, and after thanking the Corporal, we all get out, back into the frozen mid-December air.
A warm wool coat is draped over my shoulders as soon as I exit the car, smelling of juniper, black pepper, and vetiver. “Thank you, Nik.”
“I’ll always take care of you, Solnishko ,” he tells me, wrapping his arm around me and leading me towards the large warehouse doors. “Welcome home.”
“Is this where you’ve been staying?” I ask as Rowan opens a smaller door that’s cut into the original large wooden doors, which were obviously used for goods given we’re in an old industrial part of the city.
“No, this place Sergi has no idea about,” Nik replies, quickly ushering me in as the cars drive off into the night.
“Our penthouse on the other side of the river is where he thinks we’re staying, where we have been staying,” Rowan adds, flicking a switch, and I have to hold in a gasp at the stunning space before me.
It’s all metal beams and old weathered wood, and although the ceilings are high and there are lots of windows that overlook the river, it feels homey and is full of the exotic soft finishings that I love.
“Do you like it, Solnishko ?” Nik’s voice is hesitant, and I look up at him with tears in my eyes.
“It’s perfect. Our first home.”
My throat tightens at that. This is our first home, for all of us.
The flat Hunt and the twins have is lovely, but it’s not Nik’s, whereas this is.
I can see it in the touches of Russian culture around us.
There’s a set of colourful Russian dolls on the bookcases that span an entire wall and have an honest-to-god ladder on a rail against them with an icon in an elaborate gold frame, and an old shop sign in Cyrillic mounted on one of the exposed brick walls.
There are also touches that speak of my Shadows. A gleaming stainless steel and wood kitchen for Hunt to cook in, a desk with what looks like a DJ setup for Roman, and another desk with monitors for Rowan.
“We’ve started to make it baby-safe,” Hunt tells me, and I turn my watery gaze to him. “And there’s a beautiful enclosed garden, but we can change anything you want.”
“I love it,” I tell him, tearing my gaze away from his beautiful emerald eyes to look at our house once more. “How long have you been working on it?”
Roman comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into the heat of his body. “We bought it when you told us you were pregnant. The estate is great, but…” He sighs. “It’s not the best place to raise a family, and well, we’re thinking of our retirement too.”
I laugh, sinking into his hold. “A bit young to retire, aren’t you? Even Daddy.”
“Brat,” Hunt huffs, and he walks over to us, a smile on his lips as he cups my face in both his hot palms. “The Shadows are everything I’ve ever known, but it’s not safe, and now that we are to become fathers, we don’t want our kid—or kids to grow up without us.
” I swallow hard, my heart fluttering inside my chest. “We have others who can take over for us, and although you can never fully leave the life, we can take a step back.”
“You’d do that? For me?” My voice trembles because this is just so big. They’re the Shadows.
“We’d do so much more, Lamb,” Rowan states, coming to stand by Hunt. “Plus, someone has got to keep Niky boy here out of trouble, seeing as he’ll be a big important mafia boss and all.”
“Still not my name,” Nik sighs, using his fingers to gently turn my face towards him. “But he’s right. Running the Bratva won’t be completely safe, and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have at my back.”
“But they’re not Russian,” I blurt, and his lips tip up as he chuckles.
“They can still be made men, Malyshka .”
“I’m not wearing a fucking suit all the time,” Hunt declares, his enormous arms crossed over his broad chest. I gaze up and down his body, licking my lips at all the muscles he doesn’t bother to hide.
He raises a brow when I get back to his face, and I blush at being caught so blatantly checking him out.
“I don’t know, Daddy,” I purr, Roman nuzzling my neck and making heat zap down my spine. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you in one more often.”
I let my gaze wander again as Ro places soft kisses against my skin. An image of Hunt in a suit, his trousers undone, and me on my knees in front of him flashes in my mind, and a small moan leaves my lips.
“What did you just think about, Peaches?” Hunt asks, his voice low and husky as he closes the small distance between us.
His scent of rosemary and mint overwhelms me, along with a male musk because we’ve been travelling all day, and it should be off-putting, but it’s not.
Instead, it makes my head spin with need.
“How I’d like you in a suit so I could get on my knees for you, Daddy,” I confess, Roman sucking lightly on my neck. My eyelids flutter at the pleasure that rolls through me before I remember we are not alone.
“Don’t worry, Peaches. The others went upstairs to their rooms. Ours is on the ground floor,” Hunt assures me, no doubt seeing my slight panic that I was about to get hot and heavy with my guys regardless of Andrei, Dima, and Bubby.
“And we don’t need me in a suit for that, though I thought I was still under an Iris ban? ”
“No bans tonight,” I whisper, licking my dry lips. “I need you all tonight. Please.”