Chapter 17
Halle
Once upon a time before I’d gotten married, I’d been in a tight group of women, girls I’d gone to college with. We used to meet every other Wednesday at a popular bar of our choosing for drinks and to commiserate over failed relationships while savoring delectable eye candy.
We’d finally come to the conclusion that you could tell a lot about the morality of a man by how he interacted with animals and children.
Neither tiny species hid from the truth. They could sense a bad person from a mile away.
That’s why seeing Emily with the brooding and far too sexy Russian continued to surprise me. He was a natural with her. Well, after a few moments of being unprepared for the onslaught of her need for male attention.
So far in the hour he’d been inside my house she’d spilled her juice on his very expensive linen shirt.
She’d jumped all over him acting as if he was a trampoline.
She’d dragged him to her room to show off her doll collection.
She’d insisted he hold her wad of gum in his palm so the taste wouldn’t interfere with her grape juice.
And right now was the best part of all and in truth was making me second guess the anger and determination I had about not allowing him into my life.
At least more than he’d already demanded.
He was reading her a story. Her favorite book about a prince on a huge white steed and a princess saved and swept away to a magical kingdom.
He was animated, the inflections in his voice ones I hadn’t heard before.
As I stood in the doorway, with a glass of wine in my hand, I remained mesmerized doing nothing more than watching them interact.
Emily was nestled against him, her legs curled up, her little head tipped every so often to look at his face. She was in awe even though I’d read her the book at least a hundred times.
I’d come in to interrupt them, demanding Alexsey’s help as he’d promised, yet I couldn’t destroy the moment.
Here I was in pink PJs and fluffy slippers that he’d insisted I keep on while he was dressed to kill. At least he’d removed his jacket, loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt. The best part had been watching him roll his sleeves past his strong arms and over his elbows.
The first words from my daughter’s mouth had been questioning his tattoos.
What is that? Is that a dragon? Why do you have crayons marked on your body? Mommy, can I have tattoos?
I bit my lip even now to keep from laughing. With his shoes off, one ankle crossed over the other, his hair completely tousled due to her wrestling abilities, and the visible gorgeous ink on his arms, he was even sexier than before.
If that was even remotely possible.
When he neared the end, she clapped her hands. Normally, the story put her to sleep. Maybe I should stick to firefighting instead of trying to make a story come to life. Or maybe I could just hire him any time she wanted someone to read to her.
“Did you like that?” he asked as he closed the book.
“That was fab-u-wus,” she giggled. “Much better than Mommy can do.”
How could I not laugh? My daughter giggled even more, the fit forcing her to smack her little head on the pillow behind her.
He looked momentarily horrified and seeing him uncertain what to say or how to handle the situation was almost as adorable as his reading ability.
“She’s not wrong. Don’t look so horrified. You’re a fabulous storyteller.”
When he grinned, I was blown away by how much he looked like a little boy.
“Aw, shucks,” he said, leaning over her and placing the book on the nightstand.
“Have you ever read to a child before?”
“A couple times. My second cousin. Although she’s never reacted the way Emily did.” He laughed and crawled off the bed.
“I bet she loves it. Now, it’s time to make the pizza. I have all the ingredients ready. Oh, baby girl. You have a few minutes left to play. Okay?”
She huffed and in another moment of drama—just like her mother would do—she jumped off the bed. “Otay, Mommy.”
He headed toward me and I decided not to move from the doorway. Inviting him in hadn’t felt right until it had. I’d seen something in his eyes that intrigued me. Even more so now, although I could tell what he was thinking, which wasn’t far removed from my lurid thoughts.
Pure, unadulterated hunger.
He simply had that kind of effect on me. Like it or not.
His body seemed even larger today, perhaps because I remained in the fluffy booties. I peered up at him, my breath hitching, which was something else that happened around him every time we were together. Damn it.
The moment was seductive and surreal, as if all time had stopped around us. As always, he made my mouth dry for a few seconds until I started thinking about sucking on his cock.
Oh, wow. Now my body was on fire, heat making it extremely warm in the room.
He lifted his hand and for some reason I held my breath, surprised when he wrapped his fingers around mine and the glass of wine. Instantly, the charge of electricity was even stronger than the night before.
With a sly little smirk on his face, he pulled the crystal free, lifting the glass way too slowly. Too provocatively. He even closed his eyes as he took a sip, making a tiny growl only loud enough for me to hear.
Why was it that everything he did was sexy as hell?
“An excellent choice of wine,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off him.
His swallow was exaggerated. Was he trying to seduce me? That wasn’t going to work. “I thought you might enjoy it. Now, what do I need to do to help you with dinner?” The same series of explosive sensations happened when he returned the glass.
“You’ll see. Follow me, big boy.” I smiled, gently closing the door.
Every time he laughed, I quivered just a little more inside. He had a way of getting to me. Both good and bad.
Once in the kitchen, he took the time to refill our wines. As soon as he did, I tossed him an apron.
“What’s this?”
“I wouldn’t want you to get yourself all dirty now.” With a smile on my face, I gave him one of the looks I used for my firefighters.
Follow my orders or else.
His look of surprise amused me, but like a good little boy, he donned the apron. While it was far too small for his big, buff body, I had to admit I had a few naughty thoughts of seeing him in the apron and nothing else.
“So what now?” After clapping his hands, he rubbed them together.
“Now you get to learn how to make the crust.”
The way his face fell allowed me to giggle, something I reserved for my friends.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right there to teach you how.”
I could remember seeing my mother and father standing in the kitchen together, baking or cooking.
It didn’t matter. They were always together.
Something Sean had had no interest in. Maybe I was just testing Alexsey, but with the music playing in the background and the delicious wine creating a nice buzz, as the minutes ticked by, I realized I was thoroughly enjoying myself.
Maybe fifteen minutes later and after minimal direction, he’d created a crust worthy of…
Okay, well, a child, but it didn’t matter that it was misshapen or a little fatter on one side.
He’d worked with me while I’d cut the mushrooms and I’d even caught sign of a few beads of sweat trickling down both sides of his handsome face.
“Well, that looks like shit.” The sound of his voice was gruff, the deep baritone rumbling in the small space.
“Shush,” I admonished. “We have little ears in the house. And not bad for your first try. It’ll mostly be covered in homemade sauce and lots of cheese anyway.”
“I heard you curse a couple times, Captain.”
“That’s different. This is my house.”
“That you rent or own?”
While I’d ordinarily think the question invasive, I honestly didn’t mind this time.
I moved toward the refrigerator, pulling out the other needed items. “Sean and I were going to purchase. One of those rent to own deals, but after he died, I couldn’t make the extra payments.
Besides, the neighborhood has changed significantly since we moved in.
We have a little backyard for Emily to play in and a swing set.
No grass, which bothers me since she’s prone to falling, but it will do.
At least there’s a fence, even if it’s in need of repair.
” I glanced out the window at the hand-me-down Liam had provided.
“What type of house would you purchase if you could?”
“I don’t know. There’s a community outside the city, an area where all the houses have grassy lots and trees. The houses have front porches and I could see a swing there and maybe one in a tree somewhere. Like I had when I was a kid.”
Alexsey watched intently as I carefully swirled the sauce in a circle moving the back of the spoon outward toward the edge of the crust. I would never think a man of his stature would be so interested.
“That sounds beautiful. What’s going on with the insurance?”
Now I laughed and rinsed my hands, snapping a towel from the counter. “Something I need to grill my brother-in-law on.”
I sensed he was suddenly angry. So was I. More so every day. “It’s been too long, Halle. You should have had the money in your account by now.”
“Yes, I understand. There was a lawsuit. Faulty equipment even though it had been checked just the week before.” I tried to blow it off.
The last thing I wanted was to have another evening ruined.
“Now that we’re getting into the serious conversation mode, who tried to kill you?
Someone who doesn’t like the Bratva, or was it someone who doesn’t like your choice of wallpaper in your resorts?
” I added pepperoni, unable to keep from darting glances in his direction.
I honestly expected him to change the subject.
He didn’t.
“We have enemies, Halle. But I can’t think of any successful business who doesn’t have their share of them.”
“Yes, but few competitors try and kill those who might be standing in their way of success.”