14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Adrien
H aving a house full of people over is normally exciting for me. I love throwing a good party. But what I don’t love is having my wife’s family over. Mainly, my wife’s family who are judging me for how I’ve been treating Anastasia.
Because it becomes clear to me pretty fast that Anastasia has told her sisters everything. That I refuse to fall in love.
“It’s so nice to see you guys again,” Anastasia says over the dinner table. Her three sisters and their husbands are all here, along with Tatiana, who’s glaring at me.
“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Natalya says. “You were always so quick to want to leave.”
“Well, I guess things have changed,” she responds, picking at her food.
Natalya flashes me an annoyed look.
I clear my throat to change the subject. “So, Mikhail, Nico, Liam. I have some business to discuss with you. Someone I need help with.”
“We can do that after dinner,” Nico says.
My eyes find Anastasia’s. She’s seated right beside me but there feels like an entire wall between the two of us. I know it’s up to me to close that distance. If I just let myself have feelings for her then…
Then what? Then I risk heartbreak. I cannot forget that.
“So, how have things been?” Irina asks. Her question seems innocent enough but we all know it’s not.
“Things have been great,” Anastasia lies. “I just wanted to see you guys again. That’s all.”
“So, you’ve been happy here?” Tatiana asks, throwing another glare my way.
“Happy enough. Well, except for when one of Adrien’s enemies tried hurting us but we got away.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. Adrien, you need to protect my daughter.”
“I did,” I respond. “Though, she is quite capable of protecting herself.”
“I shot a guy,” Anastasia says simply like it was nothing to her.
“Well,” Sasha says. “It sounds like you’ve been having an adventure here after all.”
Anastasia’s eyes flick to mine and I hold them for a beat before looking away. Why do I feel the urge to be closer to her? To look into her eyes forever?
I can’t get the taste of her off my mind. All I want is to consume every part of her. The solution is to just give in to her and let myself have feelings.
My hand slips around her thigh under the table but she grabs my hand and shoves it away. I don’t try again. She has made it clear she doesn’t want my touch unless I’m willing to love her.
Dinner ends and me and the other men congregate in my office. I tell them about Remy and how much of a problem he is becoming.
“I wish you would have told me this before I came here,” Mikhail says. “I don’t want to put Natalya in harm’s way.”
“Remy has never attacked my house before. You’re safe here. Just be aware in case you leave. I was hoping you men could help me kill him.”
Nico crosses his arms, looking like he’s considering it. “Where is Remy?”
“He tends to frequent a nightclub he owns.”
“Then let’s go,” Nico says.
“Now?” Liam asks. “We’re just going to this man’s nightclub and killing him?”
Nico shrugs. “Why not? He’s proving to be a problem for Adrien. I say we just kill him. We are business partners now. We need to hold up our end of the bargain.”
“And leave our wives here alone?” Mikhail asks.
“I have a lot of guards around the place,” I say. “They would be safe here.”
“Then let’s go,” Nico says. “I’m itching to kill someone anyway.”
Before we leave, Natalya gives Mikhail a soft kiss. Sasha gives Nico a passionate kiss. And Irina and Liam share a tender kiss.
I turn to Anastasia and there’s hope and jealousy in her eyes. She wants what her sisters have and a part of me wants to give it to her.
I just don’t know how.
I’ve never cared to do that for any woman before but with Anastasia… I’m starting to feel things. Things I can’t fully explain.
I step closer to her and she holds her breath for a moment before I give her a kiss on the cheek. She leans into me but I pull back before I can let things go further.
“I’ll be home later tonight,” I tell her. “You don’t have to wait up for me.”
“I won’t.”
Her harsh tone makes me flinch. “Got it.”
When I get outside, the other men all look at me.
“What was that about?” Nico asks. “It was like a solid block of ice had just taken over the entire room.”
“It’s nothing,” I grumble. “Let’s just go kill Remy.”
“Having trouble in paradise?” Liam asks. “From how excited Ana was to get married, I would have assumed you two wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off each other.”
“She wants love.”
Mikhail raises an eyebrow. “And you don’t? She’s your wife now. It would do you good to love her.”
“Why do you care?” I ask.
“If you make Ana unhappy, then it will make Natalya unhappy and I don’t want that. So make Ana happy.”
I consider Mikhail’s words on the way to Remy’s nightclub. How can I make Anastasia happy? Nothing ever works.
We arrive at the club and waltz inside like we own the place but after asking around, it’s clear that Remy isn’t here for the night.
“Where do you think he could be?” Nico asks after we leave the club.
“He owns other restaurants and clubs we can check out.”
Mikhail gets a text. The frown on his face says something is wrong. “It’s Natalya. She says that someone is trying to get into the house.”
Fuck. Remy. I know it’s him. He has men watching me. He must have seen us leave and wanted to attack when the four of us weren’t at my home.
Which means… Anastasia is in danger.