Chapter 53 Sienna
SIENNA
I slid into the kitchen on socked feet. “Guess what!”
A startled Polina and Sveta looked up from their New Year’s Eve dinner preparations.
The spread was going to be quite extravagant.
All the house staff and Bratva soldiers were invited to celebrate the new year together, and Polina had even gotten some Italian recipes from Sofiya so I would feel at home.
“Be careful, Sienna!” Polina scolded, frowning as she looked up from the bread she was kneading. “No sliding around the house.”
I gave her a salute, which earned me an eye roll.
“What’s this, now?” Lyosha entered the kitchen, coffee cup in hand.
“Guess who’s back on her ADHD meds?” I rattled the bottle like a maraca. “The doctor said it’s safe for Baby for me to go back on them. It’s a lower dose than my usual, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Polina grinned. “Does this mean you won’t leave your dishes all around the house anymore?”
I pursed my lips. “It means you can expect a fifty percent reduction in abandoned dishes.”
“Incredible,” she said. “This calls for celebration. Have a tangerine.”
She tossed one in my direction and I missed the catch. It landed on the floor by Lyosha’s feet with a splat. He shook his head as he picked it up and handed it to me. There were dark circles under his eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He gave me a tight smile as he refilled his mug with coffee. “Someone’s been trying to attack our servers all night and I’ve been fending them off.”
Sveta froze. “Someone’s attacking?”
“Our computer networks, Svetochka. You’re safe.”
She nodded and returned her focus to the mixing bowl in front of her.
Lyosha caught my eye, tipped his coffee to me, and strode out of the room.
I’d come in here to help with dinner, but it sounded like my skills were needed elsewhere. I excused myself and headed to Lyosha’s office. I half-expected to find Maxim as well, but it just held the hacker.
“Did someone call for a rescue?” I asked.
He spun in his chair with a groan. “I keep fending off attacks but can’t get them to stop.”
I squeezed his shoulder. “You should take a nap. Now scoot.”
He got out of his chair and started explaining everything he’d done so far, but I tuned him out.
I identified the problem in seconds and flipped through the necessary systems until I had successfully fortified the server security and sent the attackers running with a nasty virus to infect their own computer systems.
I stretched my back and my neck from side to side, wincing at how tight the muscles were. I needed to book myself a massage.
Lyosha stared at the computer screen, jaw dropped.
“Did I just witness witchcraft?”
I nodded sagely. “Yes. Now, go take a nap. You’ll need it if you’re going to make it to midnight.
Polina said there’s a Russian tradition of burning a wish for the new year and dropping the ashes into champagne to drink at midnight.
And, of course, there’s the American tradition of bringing in the new year with a kiss.
You wouldn’t want to miss that.” I winked, blew him a kiss, and sauntered out of the room.
Polina had directed the guys to set up a massive table through the living and dining room, and every seat was currently filled with Bratva soldiers and house staff.
My new family. Maxim, Lyosha, and Sergey kept us laughing with embarrassing stories of their wild young adult years while we ate our way through the strange assortment of dishes—lasagna and breadsticks along with some Russian delicacies I politely avoided, including meat jelly and a dish they called a salad but had layers of herring and mayonnaise.
More and more, this house and the people in it felt like home.
They welcomed me with my chaotic habits and broken Russian…
all except the man sitting at the head of the table with a stony expression.
Dimitri watched me like a hawk throughout dinner, confirmed by the quick way he looked in the other direction whenever I glanced over.
Something had shifted between us over Christmas, but I didn’t know what it meant. The ground beneath us still felt shaky.
As midnight approached, the alcohol flowed, people started singing, and I was pleased that Maxim and Lyosha were nowhere to be found.
My phone lit up and I glanced down to see Sofiya had texted.
Sofiya
Hello! I am from the future and can tell you this is going to be the best year yet!
Sienna
Does becoming a mom mean you have to make corny time zone jokes?
Sofiya
Yes. Yes it does.
Sienna
Then sign me up! So happy to hear the good news about the future
I glanced up to find Dimitri standing beside me. He was wearing a black suit, his blond hair perfectly styled, and expression blank. But when he met my gaze, his stoic confidence faltered.
He held his hand out to me. I eyed it, waiting for him to grab me or grow irritated, but he just waited, eyes soft, and I finally gave in.
He led me down the hall, away from the raucous crowd and into the sunroom.
Only the soft, glowing table lamps were on, and when he closed the door behind us, it shut out the noise from the party. We were hidden away in our own world.
He rubbed his hand around his neck and shifted his weight from side to side. I tipped my head back to take him in. He looked so awkward, like he didn’t know how to arrange his limbs.
I gestured at the window seat. The custom bench cushion I’d ordered had just come in. I’d wanted velvet but decided on something more durable so Vovchyk could hang out on it with me. He was out in the woods now. It had been snowing all evening and he loved frolicking in it.
Dimitri sat down on one end of the window seat and I sat on the other. I peered out at the snow-covered gardens, missing Clem. Her birthday was only a week away, and I desperately wished I could be in New York to celebrate with her.
“I got you something.” He pulled a small velvet box out of this pocket and thrust it in my direction.
I didn’t know what to do with this off-kilter Dimitri, but his anxiety was disarming my defenses.
As I opened my gift, I melted even further.
Inside was a gorgeous pair of earrings made of delicate rose gold surrounding a pale pink stone.
“They’re pink diamonds,” he said gruffly.
I ran my fingers along the stone. I shouldn’t be impressed—Dimitri was literally a diamond importer with unlimited access to pretty jewelry—but my annoying heart wouldn’t stop fluttering because the earrings, unlike the silver necklace he got me for Christmas, were perfect.
Exactly what I would have picked out for myself.
“They’re pretty,” I murmured, drawing a finger over the stones. “Thank you.”
The tense lines around his eyes softened. “I owe you something else, too.”
I waited. What was he talking about?
He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. For everything I said before Christmas. I was upset about the prank, but I was out of line. Aleksei said he took care of our system security and confirmed there’s no ongoing threat. Even if there was, I never should have threatened to separate you from your baby.”
A stone lodged in my throat and moisture built in my eyes. I wanted to believe him, but I’d weathered so many disappointments and I didn’t want to have my hopes crushed again.
“You didn’t tell your family about what I did,” he added.
“No.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “It was between us, not them.” He kept a steady gaze on me, and I sighed. “I can take care of myself. They have enough to worry about.”
His eyes flicked down to my belly, now an unavoidable round bump even in my sweater. “Maybe it could be my job to worry about you.”
I sniffed and stared at my hands. It was everything I had ever wanted, for someone to care about me, but everything else about the situation was wrong. Dimitri cared for me out of obligation and guilt. He cared about the baby I was carrying. I wanted it to be enough, but it wasn’t.
“I’m leaving tonight.” Dimitri’s voice jolted me back to reality.
I cocked my head. “Where are you going?”
“Russia.”
I blinked. “What? Russia?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I would not go if it weren’t essential. There are…trading agreements that need to be made in person.”
“Oh.”
“Maxim, Aleksei, and Sergey are all staying here to manage everything here in the city.” His ice-blue eyes met mine. “And to make sure you stay safe.”
“Who’s going with you, then? To keep you safe?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Damn my heart for being so fucking soft all the time.
He sucked in a breath, and the corner of his lips almost tugged up in a smile, which made my slip almost worth it.
He scrubbed his hand down his face like he was trying to hide how pleased he was that I didn’t want him to drop dead.
“I’m taking several men with me, and I still have loyal men in Russia. ”
I pursed my lips. “Okay.”
My unspoken questions filled the space between us. Why are you really going? When will you be back? What’s this relationship?
A horrible thought entered my mind. Did he have a girlfriend in Russia? Well, I guess she would more accurately be his mistress now. I scowled, unsure who I was angrier at—Dimitri, for cheating on me in my imagination, or myself for even caring.
“What’s wrong?”
I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. “Nothing.”
He cocked an eyebrow, his piercing gaze making my cheeks flush. I was being ridiculous.
He stood from the window seat, and I did, too.
He took a step forward and played with the ends of my hair. “You don’t have bangs anymore.” Another step forward. “Tell me what upset you.”
He brushed my hair over my shoulder, letting his fingers trail over the sensitive skin of my collarbone. His thumb brushed up neck, leaving sparks of heat in their wake. He waited me out while his palm cupped my clenched jaw.
“Are you meeting anyone in Russia?”
“What do you mean, malyshka?”
I took a step back and crossed my arms, but he didn’t allow the space. I exhaled a frustrated huff. “Anyone special?”
A beat passed, his eyes narrowed in confusion, before a slow smile spread across his face.
“Is my wife jealous?”
“No,” I snapped. I took another step back, but it was a mistake because my back hit the wall.
Dimitri crowded his body against mine. His chest vibrated with a low laugh. “Can’t say I mind, wife.” He tipped my chin up. “And there is no one special in my life besides you.”
Am I really special to you?
“Do you understand?”
I nodded even though I didn’t.
“I’m not sure when I’ll get back. I hope it’s before your next doctor’s appointment, but if it’s not, would you tell me how it goes? I know I don’t have any right to ask you, but—”
“Yes. I will.”
“Thank you.” The tension in his shoulders eased, and his eyes were filled with…affection. Adoration?
He leaned in, pressing his lips to my forehead in a tender kiss. I swayed into his chest and then my lips were against his, soft and hesitant. He caressed my face, thumbs running across my cheek like I was something precious.
“Malyshka,” he murmured between kisses. “So fucking beautiful.”
I should have been stronger and resisted him, but for a moment, he was Declan again, kissing me in the streets of Paris and making my heart believe in love. The only difference was that now, my belly bumped against him. A reminder of what we’d created.
His hands shifted down my back to my hips, fingertips digging in. I wrapped my arms around his neck, whimpering when he palmed my ass and ground his hard cock against me. I was hot and swollen, my sex burning with need, but the fragile, hurt part of my heart made me pull away.
He rested his forehead against mine, and we stayed there for a moment, breathing heavily.
“Stay safe for me,” he murmured.
“You, too.”
With one last brush of my cheek, he was gone.
I sat back down on the window seat right as a loud cheer rang out, signaling the start of the new year. I hoped Sofiya was right that it was going to be a good one, because the confused ache in my chest didn’t bode well for what was to come.