Chapter 62 Kratos
Coming home is almost strange after so much time away, but it’s also refreshing. So much has happened since we left for Italy, but almost all of it has been for the better.
Jade and Dom’s injuries aside, it was the best we could have hoped for.
Which hardly ever happens. The shift in all of us is noticeable.
Everyone’s lighter, happier, including Jade.
She’d been so worried about everything that, for a while, it was consuming her.
First with Ivan, and then with meeting her parents.
But Ivan is dead now, and I’d dare say Jade likes her parents.
She’s still a bit reserved with them, but I think that will be easier with time. She’s trying, and so are they.
The hardest part was figuring out where we went from here.
Jade was born to lead, and while she does that here with Vengeance, she was always intended to take over for her father. He never gave up on her, and her life experiences only made her that much better in that position.
None of us wanted to see her stay in Russia, but even without discussing it, I knew none of us would stop her if that’s what she chose. It would be damn hard to handle being away from her, even if it was just for a while, but we would figure it out.
It was the only option.
Or so I thought. I should have known Jade would find a way. She always does.
In the end, they decided that Jade, Dom, and Leo would run it together. It wasn’t heard of, and took her father some time to get behind, but Jade knew what she was doing when she suggested it.
Jade would head things over in Chicago. We were only a private-jet ride away, and with us in the States, we could continue to make allies. Much like Jade already has with the Italians. She could also continue taking down rings here and deal with her list of people who she still owed a visit.
Dom and Leo can spend more time in Russia.
They have connections and know the men. Everything that happened went through all three of them, which ensured something like Ivan’s grabs at power wouldn’t be possible again.
At the end of the day, both Leo and Dom seemed shocked by her decision, but neither turned her down when she asked for their help.
Their only stipulation is that Jade take the name of the boss to ensure it is passed as she sees fit when the time comes.
She didn’t love the idea, but eventually she agreed.
Three weeks after everything happened with Ivan, Jade was in charge of the Bratva with the help of her brother and cousin, and we got to go home.
“Where are we going?” Jade asks for the thousandth time as I walk her up the stairs, blindfold tied securely around her eyes. And just like every other time she asked, I ignore her this time, too. She huffs but keeps walking, and I know she won’t be annoyed for long.
With everything that happened, we hadn’t been able to show her the room we’d made for her.
It turned out better than I thought it would, and honestly, I had to hand it to Spencer.
It really was a great idea. Which is good, because he owed her not only a room but also endless apologies, if you ask me.
Everyone helped with the room in some way, and I get the feeling it’s going to be more ‘our’ room than only for Jade, which I’m sure she won’t mind.
I turn her to the left at the top of the stairs and feel the hesitation in her steps.
“What the hell could possibly be down here that’s worth all this?” she asks, growling aloud when I continue to ignore her.
“The strong, silent type isn’t cute,” she snaps, making me snort a laugh.
Jade hates surprises, but I’m pretty sure that has more to do with her past than actual surprises. How can you like something that has never been good? Yet another thing we have time to fix now.
“You love my strong, silent ass,” I tell her, dropping a kiss to her temple before ducking out of her reach when she tries to swat at me in annoyance.
“Not right now, I don’t,” she whines with an adorable little pout.
“Lies. Besides, you're going to love this, trust me.” I try to assure her, reaching down to wrap her smaller hand in mine and pull her down the hall a little faster.
It took forever to convince her to put on the damn blindfold. I’m surprised the others haven’t come looking for us yet.
At the end of the hall, I push the door open slowly. The guys stand spread around the room as I pull her in and close the door behind us.
“If you're trying to kill me, you're going to have to try harder than this,” Jade teases, and Zander snorts. Without missing a beat, she turns toward him, a wicked smile curving her lips.
“Hello, Zan,” she purrs as I glare at him over her head.
“It’s not my fault. She’s the one making jokes,” Zander grumbles, raising his hands up like he’s innocent.
Yeah right.
“So, who else do we have here?” Jade questions, and I know what she’s doing when she starts turning in place, listening. I reach up, pulling her blindfold off in one simple tug, letting it fall to the ground at her feet.
Her eyes flutter as they adjust to the low lights before going wide as she looks around the room.
I'm not even sure what possessed Rick to add this room to the floor plans when they redid the house. Until we decided to use it for Jade, it had been nothing, just storage and wasted space. It's a shame, really, considering it's one of the best rooms in the house.
The far wall is lined with windows that rise from the floor and curve into the ceiling.
This side of the house is closer to the forest, giving a perfect view as the leaves begin to change color once again.
The room gets plenty of natural light from the windows, so instead of adding actual lights, we hung varying types of string lights around, in case she needs them.
The bed was custom-ordered. It's about the size of two California kings—fucking massive.
Instead of trying to lift it off the floor and onto the frame, I decided to sink it into the floor.
I'd seen a couch done like that in an older show once, and it seemed like a better idea for a bed.
The whole room is dark hardwood, from the ceiling to the floor, and I kept that same theme to build a wall around the bed, full of drawers, plugs, and anything else we might need.
We even built her a bathroom, since this was one of the few rooms that didn't seem to have one.
That's okay, though. It's probably better that way.
Now, she has not only a shower with a million spray options but also the biggest bathtub we could find.
It actually might be a Jacuzzi, but it works.
Everything is done in dark grays, greens, and blacks, with little splashes of color here and there. We even got the blackout curtains just in case the sun ever gets to be too much.
It took all of us working together just over a week to get it all set up for her, but I knew it would be worth it.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, the awe in her words clear. It pulls a smile to my lips, and I'm not the only one.
“How's this for fixing your room? Can you forgive me now?” Spencer asks, moving toward her, and I take a step back, letting them have a moment.
“I don’t know. This room is awfully big. What am I going to do with all the extra space on the bed?” Jade says, never missing a chance to mess with him.
“I’ve got an idea,” Spencer says. His eyes darken a second before he lunges forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and throwing her over his shoulder.
Jade could easily get away or fight him off, but instead, she goes willingly.
Her laughter bounces off the walls around us as he slams them down onto the bed like they're in a wrestling match.
Thank fuck, we got the thicker mattress.
“See, you say that, but what are we going to do with all this extra room?” Jade asks, spreading her arms wide in a show of just how much space there really is.
She can’t even touch one of the edges. We’d had to custom-order the mattress, and it’d cost a lot, but seeing them on it, I know we made the right choice. We're not exactly small men.
“Oh, you thought it would just be us?” Spencer laughs before sitting back on his heels to look down at her. I can’t see his face from here, but I can see Jade’s. The desire in her eyes is the only clue I need to know what he has planned.
“We’ve got time to kill, Demon, and I've got a few guys I know who would be more than happy to help us with that.”
All hints of playful teasing have gone now, his voice low and rough with excitement that I know we all feel.
“Zander, why don’t you show her your surprise?” Rick calls, and Jade tips her head back on the bed to look at him upside down, where he now stands behind her.
Zander's across the room in the blink of an eye. Tucked away in the right corner is a curtain that's easy enough to overlook, just the way we intended. He pulls the curtain aside to reveal the pole perched on a platform. He’d insisted we add it, and honestly, I couldn’t think of a reason not to.
Jade on a pole for our own personal enjoyment. I can’t find a flaw in that.
She’s up and out of the bed, vaulting over the low wall and up on the platform in seconds. Not wasting a moment to so much as stretch before she’s twirling around, looking graceful and sexy as sin, even fully clothed.
As if she can hear my thoughts, she pauses, taking a moment to tug off her shirt and peel off her jeans. A collective groan sounds around the room as we get our first peek at what she has on underneath.
She’s wearing a matching lacy black bra and panty set.
It’s not particularly revealing, but somehow, it’s almost better than if it were.
Both pieces cross around her to make an X out of the lace just below her breasts and again around her waist, and when she reaches for the pole again and does a spin…
Fucking hell, the way it hugs her ass should be a crime.