Chapter Eight
Viktor
Thankfully, Vanda will be okay.
She’s bruised and sore, moreso because of her age. The vet says we’ll have to monitor her for a while, but she’ll live.
It scares me…how small she feels. How fragile. How close I came to losing her…and losing Natalya with her.
The car ride back to the apartment is quiet except for Natalya’s soft sniffles beside me. She tries to hide them, but I feel every shudder of her breath. I rest my hand on her thigh, rubbing slow circles, grounding her…grounding myself.
When we reach the building, Pavel and Marko jump out first, scanning the street. Only when they nod do I open the door and step out, holding Vanda carefully against my chest.
Natalya keeps touching Vanda’s paw with shaking fingers, whispering things like “good girl” and “almost home.” Her voice is gentler than I’ve ever heard it. Rawer too. I don’t interrupt. I don’t tell her to calm down or breathe.
She’s earned every shake in her hands.
When the doors finally open, we head straight for Andrei’s room. It’s the quietest, darkest space in the apartment, far from anything that might stress the dog again.
I lower her carefully onto the folded blankets that Natalya arranged on the floor. She whimpers once, shifting her head, then settles with a tired sigh.
Natalya kneels beside her immediately. “Hey, sweetheart,” she whispers, stroking the fur between Vanda’s ears. “You did so good. You were so brave. My perfect girl.”
My throat tightens.
There’s still some dried blood on Vanda’s fur—not her own. The bastard who hit her is likely bleeding out somewhere on the shop floor. Pavel said they’d left both attackers alive for questioning, but that won’t last long.
I crouch down beside them and let my hand rest gently on Vanda’s ribs. Her tail gives the weakest wag I’ve ever seen.
“You protected her,” I murmur, voice low, barely above a breath. “You did your job better than most men I know.”
Her tail thumps once. Just once.
I let out a breath that feels like it’s been stuck in my chest for hours.
“She’s a good girl,” Natalya whispers.
I nod. “The best.”
Vanda nuzzles her nose against Natalya’s hand before drifting into a heavy, medicated sleep, her breathing even.
Natalya tries to stand, but she staggers and she sinks back onto her heels. I slip an arm around her waist and pull her to her feet.
“Easy,” I murmur. “You’ve been running on adrenaline.”
She leans into me, her forehead pressing to my chest. “I kept thinking…if I’d held onto her tighter…if I’d run faster…”
“Stop.” I take her chin gently, lifting her face. “You did everything right.”
“But she got hurt—”
“She saved you,” I cut in quietly. “I’m sure she’s proud of that.” Natalya’s eyes fill again, tears threatening to spill. I brush them away with my thumb. “Don’t you dare blame yourself.”
She closes her eyes, breathing in deeply like she’s trying not to fall apart again.
I pull her fully into my arms. She melts into me without a fight, her body relaxing against mine.
I hold her for a long time, until she finally stops shaking.
Then I brush my lips to her temple and lead her gently out of the room, keeping an arm around her waist in case her knees decide to give out again.
We move into the living room where I ease her down onto the couch, adjusting the cushions behind her.
She leans back with a tired sigh. I grab the blanket draped over the armrest, shake it out, and tuck it carefully around her legs.
“Warm enough?” I ask quietly.
She nods, giving me a small grateful smile.
“What would you like to eat?” I ask, lowering myself to the couch beside her.
Her lips curve slightly. “Pizza?”
The knot in my chest loosens a little. “Pizza it is.”
I place the order for pizza and some sides. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait for too long. The delivery arrives in less than an hour and soon we curl up together on the couch, sharing slices from the same box like two people who haven’t spent the entire day fighting for each other’s lives.
She leans her head on my shoulder, legs tucked under the blanket, her body softening more with each bite. We eat in silence and it’s just so perfect—how in moments like this, we don’t need to say anything.
The front door suddenly bursts open.
“Natalya!” The two voices overlap, equally furious—frantic.
Natalya jerks upright, startled, just as Andrei and Mikhail practically storm through the living room. They’re still in their coats, their eyes wild with worry.
Andrei reaches her first, grabbing her face in his hands like he needs to confirm she’s real.
“You’re okay,” he breathes, relief and anger warring in his eyes. “Bozhe moy, you’re okay.”
Mikhail stands behind him, jaw locked, scanning her from head to toe as if expecting to find some hidden wound.
“I’m fine,” she assures them softly. “I promise. I’m okay.”
They both sag with visible relief.
Then Andrei turns to me, his eyes sharp. “What the hell happened?”
I give them the concise version of the day’s event, enough to give them a full picture without going over triggering details.
“They won’t bother you again,” Mikhail says quietly. “Alexei made sure of it.”
But Andrei doesn’t relax. Instead, he narrows his eyes at me. “And what exactly is going on between the two of you?”
Natalya stiffens beside me.
I reach for her hand without thinking. She lets me take it, but her gaze flickers nervously between me and her brother.
“We’re together,” I say plainly.
Silence.
Then Andrei’s expression slowly shifts into something more incredulous than angry.
“This is how you look after her?” Andrei says flatly.
Natalya’s shoulders dip, a shadow passing over her eyes. It hits me instantly—she probably thinks all of this happened because her brothers asked me a favor.
“No,” I say quickly, turning toward her. “Natalya, look at me.”
She does and I cup her face in my palms. “Yes, I agreed to watch out for you because of your brothers. That’s how it started. I won’t pretend otherwise…” I let my voice trail off, hoping she sees the truth somehow. “But that isn’t why I stayed. That isn’t why I’m here. That isn’t why I…love you.”
Her breath catches but she doesn’t say anything. Andrei’s brows shoot up, but he doesn’t interrupt.
I stroke my thumb along her delicate jawline.
“Everything I’ve done—everything I feel—it has nothing to do with them.”
For a while she doesn’t say anything. And just when I’m starting to think of other million ways to convince her, she breaks into a big smile.
“I believe you, Viktor…”
My chest contracts at her words, my heart unable to fathom what the hell I did to deserve such a gorgeous, amazing woman.
Andrei watches us for another beat before giving a resigned sigh.
“She’s happy,” he mutters. “And she’s safe. That’s all I ever cared about.” He looks at me. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“You won’t,” I say simply.
Mikhail claps a hand on Andrei’s back. “Our family tree is starting to look more like a wreath,” he says, shaking his head comically.
Andrei shoots him a murderous look but Mikhail shrugs unapologetically. Andrei rolls his eyes, throws Mikhail’s hand off with a grunt and stalks toward his room to drop his bag.
“Dramatic much?” Mikhail murmurs with an unrepentant grin, following after him.
Natalya glances at me, her eyes twinkling with mischief just as Andrei’s low growl echoes through the house.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS A DOG DOING IN MY GODDAMN ROOM?!”
Natalya bursts into laughter, covering her mouth with both hands as Andrei storms back out.
“A dog?” he demands. “We have a dog now? Anything else you want to spring on me before bedtime?”
“Um, no?” she says in between snickers.
He groans into his hands. “I leave you alone for less than a week, and suddenly there’s a dog, a territory war, and you’re—” he waves vaguely at us “—dating Viktor Balshov?!”
Mikhail snorts. “The ‘war’ was a skirmish at best. Come on, man. I’ll buy you a beer. Maybe three.”
Andrei mutters something in Russian that sounds suspiciously like a curse, but follows Mikhail.
The moment the door closes behind them, the apartment falls quiet again. Natalya turns to me slowly, her eyes softening as she cups my face in her hands.
“I love you, Viktor.”
My chest tightens, fierce and hot and for the first time in many years, I feel a push of what might be tears behind my eyelids. “I love you too.”
She kisses me—or maybe I kiss her…But soon, we’re both naked in her bedroom—a tangle of limbs.
And I watch her face, the twist of pleasure in her expression as I slide my hands between her legs, slipping two fingers inside of her.
She lets out a breathless sigh, her eyes falling close as she lets herself get lost in the sinful pleasure of my fingers.
And when she’s all wet and mindless with desire, I replace my fingers with my cock…filling her up and pushing close to the brink, only to bring her back. I thrust hard and fast, fueled by her moans, her little whimpers and the sound of my name on her lips.
And when she finally lets go, her body quivering uncontrollably beneath mine—I’m right behind.
Falling.