1. Daniil – Present #3
The food’s good when I dig in. Perfect, even with the thought sitting in the back of my head. The test. The results. I can’t stop thinking I’ll regret it, wondering if I even want to know.
“Danya.”
Blinking, I glance over. He’s holding up a joint and a lighter with that look on his face.
He catches my chin and brings the joint to my lips, holding it there while I drag long and hard.
I take another pull before closing my eyes and sinking into the couch, the smoke leaving my lungs slowly as my shoulders drop.
Tension unwinds from my body, and I realize how badly I needed this and how wound up I’ve been all day.
We end up on opposite ends of the couch with our legs tangled somewhere in the middle.
I’m stuffed, warm, high, and could pass out right here.
Mikhail rubs my feet absently while staring at the ceiling, restless even when he’s supposed to be calm.
His fingers work into the arch, and it feels too good, makes me want things I shouldn’t be thinking about.
He pushes himself up suddenly and looms over me, the family pendant hanging from his neck and glinting in the light—a sleeping wolf with a skeleton key in its mouth.
It’s old, been the Avrorin symbol for as long as anyone knows, and the key means we hold the power. Everyone else in the family has the rings, but we have these necklaces instead.
I remember the weeks I spent having these made, working with the jeweler to get every detail exactly right so it matched our family signet ring perfectly.
He’d lost his ring, and our father had torn into him for hours about responsibility and family pride, calling him careless, worthless, a disgrace to the name while I watched him try to hold it together.
So I lied and said I lost mine too, then had necklaces commissioned for both of us, a permanent reminder that we belonged to each other and to the family equally.
“I’m so pissed at Yulian,” he says, sighing.
I glare at him. Having four brothers is exhausting. Everyone’s fighting, scheming, making everything worse. Mikhail gets blamed for most of it and takes the fall even when it’s my idea, which makes me feel horrible every time.
“What did he do now?” I ask.
He lifts both hands and runs them over his buzzcut, already pacing. “He stole a document I need for the club event and won’t give it back. He’s holding it hostage at his house. And I’m still pissed at him for throwing that fucking knife at you.”
He still hasn’t let that go…
Both of us have been avoiding our parents’ house since the whole Christmas disaster when Alexei brought Kelly home, who’s his husband now. Mikhail lost his mind when Yulian threw that knife, and it nearly hit me. It took four of us to drag him off Yulian’s throat. The whole thing was a mess.
“Why don’t you just break in and steal that document back?” I say, shrugging as I stand up from the couch.
He spins around, eyebrows shooting up. “This is why you’re my best friend.”
My chest tightens. Best friend. Never anything more. This crush is slowly killing me.
“I can pull up his schedule and tell you when he’s not home.”
His blue eyes lock onto mine. “Sure, but you’re coming with me. His house is huge. I can’t search the whole thing alone.”
“No thanks, I’d rather not get murdered,” I mumble.
I try to back up, but he grabs my shoulder, picks me up, and crashes us both into the couch so I land on top of him with my back pressed against his stomach. His arm wraps around my throat in a headlock, legs wrapping around mine to lock me in place.
“Then you’re in bicep jail until you say you’re in.”
“Let me go.” I twist, trying to get free, but his grip doesn’t budge. He shakes beneath me, whole body vibrating with laughter as his arms lock down tighter, muscles flexing around me.
Fuck.
He does this to me constantly and has no idea what it does to me, and it drives me insane.
I love how big and strong he is. He isn’t even trying, and yet he has me completely stuck, pinned exactly where he wants me.
Every time he shifts, I can feel the ridge of his abs pressing hard against my back, his crotch grinding up against my ass.
I have to swallow down the pathetic whimper trying to claw its way out of my throat.
This is a problem. A serious problem. I’m about to get an awkward boner while my brother has me in a headlock.
“Nope. You’re not going anywhere. Say you’re helping me with this or you’re staying in bicep jail.”
Sighing, I tilt my head back to look at him. He’s watching me with that smile that makes heat spread up my neck and pool low in my stomach.
“If you don’t let me go, I’m going to bite you.”
His grip gets even tighter, bicep pressing into my throat. “Say you’re in. We’re breaking into Yulian’s house together.”
I snort. “You haven’t even thought this through.”
“That’s literally why you’re helping me plan it, Danya. Now say you’re in or you’re stuck here with me all night.”
My jaw tightens. “Jesus, fine. I’m in. I’ll help you plan it.”
He lets go right away and messes up my hair, then pushes me off him onto the couch.
“Good. I’m dragging Alexei into this too. We just need to figure out what blackmail we can use on him and he’ll do it,” he says, already walking toward his bedroom.
“Bring up the kitchen counter incident,” I shout after him. “That’ll make him say yes real quick.”
He stops mid-step, turns back to grin at me, then disappears down the hall. I rub my temples, laughing under my breath as I push off the couch and head to my room.
The tracking software I’m building won’t code itself, and Father’s waiting on it, so maybe working will distract me.
I need something else to think about besides the DNA test sitting in some lab right now or how it felt when Mikhail had his arms wrapped around me. He’s my brother. I shouldn’t be replaying how his body felt against mine or craving more of that contact. But I am anyway.