Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
QUINN
Nalla growls when I lift the bandage on her leg, and Roshka hops to his feet, prowling over.
“It’s okay,” I explain softly, moving slightly so he can come see what I’m doing that’s upsetting her.
He gets his nose right into where I’d like my hands to be, but by the looks of it, he needs the reassurance his mate is okay.
I get it. I’m exactly the same. And I follow his lead, twisting to watch Santiago supporting Kade as he limps out the kitchen doors. As soon as they disappear from view, I look in the opposite direction and time it perfectly with Aleksei checking in with me.
He gives me a wink, then runs his fingers over his face, miming that I should close my eyes.
I shake my head, disagreeing, but I lower my gaze so I’m not watching.
Part of this is undoubtedly difficult for Aleksei, which is why I lean into the moment instead of pretending it isn’t happening and it’s not hard for him to do.
There’s a soft grunt from Aleksei and one from Sergey before Aleksei’s breathing changes, and long, drawn-out seconds pass before Sergey’s pained breathing stops.
Roshka gets up as soon as it happens, and I watch as something incredibly touching and private transpires.
Roshka uses his enormous body to block Aleksei from seeing his brother.
The man and dog stare at each other, communicating things that words could never properly convey; it’s shared grief, pain, and relief.
Roshka licks Aleksei’s face before the dog somehow takes another step, closing all the distance between them.
Once Roshka is as close as he can be, he lays his massive head on Aleksei’s shoulder.
Nalla shifts slightly, so she can watch and be a part of it. Her tail thumps when they both look back at her. The bond these three share transcends past normal dog-and-master relationships. These three have gone through some shit and come out the other side, better and stronger.
Aleksei speaks to Roshka in Russian, his voice low and deep. I don’t understand a word he says. He starts to laugh, it’s not like a belly laugh, but it’s still a nice sound to hear.
They share another brief moment before Roshka stands up and walks. He doesn’t move around Aleksei; he sets his course straight and practically bowls his master over on his drive to return to Nalla.
Aleksei rolls up to standing, reholsters his gun, and wipes the blade that he used to end Sergey on a napkin from the table, coming over to us.
“We have to leave,” he says as he leans down to kiss Nalla’s head, talking softly in Russian, his face next to hers.
She struggles to sit up, and he places his hand firmly down on her to stop her.
“Did Santiago tell you he’s abducting you?” he asks, turning to face me.
I nod back quickly.
Aleksei looks different, the lines on his face more like smile lines than worry wrinkles.
His presence is different too. Everything is more intensified; his scent is omnipotent.
He hasn’t gone back to hiding his designation.
His presence is stronger and more impossible than ever to ignore, and I like it a lot.
This truer version of who he is suits him better.
I have to focus on breathing, instead of responding in a hundred different ways.
Past the adrenaline and the relief, he looks ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.
“I need to do a few things before we get the chance to spend some much-needed time talking and screwing, eating, sleeping,” he says. “I want nothing but the chance of getting to properly know each other with words and touch, scent and bites.”
Surprise dances over my face, which only makes him smirk in challenge.
“Drop your shields, maya, and you’ll know why I can read your thoughts so well.
I promise we don’t need to hide this anymore.
” He reaches down and brings my hand up to his mouth.
With a firm bite, he shows me what he’s referring to, his teeth falling into the exact alignment of the scar he left behind.
“This bond of ours is waiting for you now. Me? Ty moya prichina.”
“What does that mean, Aleksei?”
“What part?”
“The end.”
“Ty moya princhina?”
I nod.
He smirks, his eyes filling with dare and heat. “You tell me what you think it means, only using our bond.”
I take a slow breath, exhaling even slower, but that’s mainly to blow his scent away.
I can barely remember my own name when all I can breathe is him.
And it’s better and worse, because in the air is Kade’s scent and Santiago’s still, and when the three of them mix together, I’m in my own version of the world’s most divine perfume.
I feel a lot of things, but it’s hard to discern through the events of the evening, particularly because they’re still littered around us.
I can feel a well of energy, but that’s it.
He kisses my hand but doesn’t give me crap about not being able to read too much into the sensations.
“See, that’s how I know ‘we’ are real. And we will be stronger together.
You tried because you wanted to make me happy.
You are my reason. That’s what it means.
My reason is that I want to become a better person and give you whatever your heart desires. ”
I don’t need to try to read our bond to know he wants to keep talking, but he also has to go.
“Nalla is ready to go in the car,” I tell him. “I’ll need to sew her wound and dress it properly.”
Aleksei flicks his eyebrows up. “You can read our bond! I am taking you two somewhere safe. No one knows about it. You’ll be able to help her there.”
He scoops her up into his arms, then stands up. Like straight up. He benches presses a hundred-pound dog like she’s light as a feather.
Santiago pushes the kitchen door open, and given the way Santiago looks Aleksei up and down, I think he’s going to help Aleksei, but he doesn’t. He chuckles, dropping the keys to the car on the table before smiling like he won the lottery.
“Perfect. You take the dog, and I get our girl.”
Either Aleksei doesn’t get the slight sarcasm, or he doesn’t care; he just heads out the kitchen doors with Nalla.
I go to hold the door open so Roshka can follow them, but he stays with me.
“He’s so fucking cocky. Quinn, this is coming from a good place, but are you one-hundred-percent sure about him?”
I don’t mean to, but I laugh at the absurdity of Santiago’s question. Although, I also know I’d respond the same if Aleksei asked. I get it, though; we’re an odd bunch, but with each passing second, I see more and more that they’re my odd bunch.
“If I say I’m as sure about him as I am about you, does it put it into context?”
Santiago pulls a face and uses his hands, gesturing a very cheeky and conceited “maybe.”
“Now who’s being cocky.” I growl, earning a big cloud of his scent to come barreling my way.
His sensual, warm, and very sweet amber scent is the only thing I can breathe, while his smug grin gets bigger and bigger as he comes closer. “You have no idea how cocky I can be, bebe.”
I take a step away. I can’t let these Alphas walk all over me, no matter how good it sounds. I can have fun, though. “Hmmm, I disagree.”
Santiago’s eyes darken. He probably remembers exactly what I’m talking about. Back at the hotel, I discovered firsthand how cocky he can be. I got to spend an afternoon being completely owned by him. I can’t say I didn’t like it, which he also knows.
I stare him down, making his smile grow and his Alpha side become even more pronounced until he stalks forward, like a leopard on the hunt, and I’m trapped by him.
“Amante, don’t speak like that,” he growls, leaning down to run his nose against my jawline. And him calling me lover does lots of things to the inside of my panties. My scent is laced with lust.
He takes a deep breath before talking again. “As easy as I can worship, I can leave you begging too.”
Santiago looks so serious, and the thought of him denying me anything is the opposite of what I know is true.
Santiago is a giver. And he’s exceptionally good at it too.
Still, we’re in the middle of today’s drama and have hours left to go, by the sounds of it, so if he needs to be more dominant, who am I not to encourage him or shock him?
“Do you know I like it hard and fast as often as I like being romanced? I mean, doing anything with your partner is effectively being romanced, but…”
He moves fast, wrapping his hand around my throat, his hand pushing my chin back so I can avoid looking at him. “I get what you are saying, Quinn!”
I press harder against his grip, my eyelids fluttering to a close, all those pills I’d taken not doing a fucking thing for me anymore, not after today’s death lingers around us.
Not after their promises of forever. But it’s not just Santiago that’s getting me in a flutter; he’s just the final piece in the puzzle.
We still have a lot to figure out, a ridiculous number of issues need to be resolved, but with each piece slowly but surely falling into place, the completed picture is becoming clearer.
Roshka gets tired of waiting and starts forcing Santiago and me apart.
“This dog is an issue, as much as his master is,” Santiago hisses as he grips my other hip to stop Roshka from inserting himself between us, but it’s a losing battle.
He doesn’t stop moving me until he’s happy.
I swear it is blatantly obvious the more time I spend with Roshka that he mirrors his owner in a lot of his actions and thoughts.
He parks his butt on my feet, then stares me down.
He truly is an intimidating animal, and while I know his weaknesses—Aleksei and Nalla—and he already knows mine, we don’t sort out much because Aleksei interrupts us.
“Roshka,” he snaps, and the dog leaps into action, racing off. Aleksei calls me over, “Come, come.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
All the questions are starting to get more important again.