Chapter 39 Roman
ROMAN
On the night of what seemed like the first day of my future, Amber and I had a very domestic night in.
For someone who used to party a lot—and party hard—it seemed like I was pulling off a one-eighty.
It wasn’t an overnight shift, though. I’d lost interest in sleeping around months before I realized I was a father.
The first time I realized I was a father.
After we bathed the twins and got them settled for bedtime, I lowered a sleepy-looking Emily into her crib. Amber pressed one more kiss to Henry’s forehead as she put him in his crib. Sometimes, they wanted to share their space, but it was best for them to have their own cribs.
And soon, we’ll need another.
I laughed lightly as I led Amber out of the room.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“It’s not funny,” I admitted. “Just interesting.”
“What?” She smiled up at me as I took her hand and brought her into the bathroom so we could shower together. It would get us naked faster and in bed sooner if we teamed up like this.
“I’ll get to experience all that I missed out on with the twins.” I kissed her and turned the water on. “All the experiences of before he or she is here.”
I placed my hand on her stomach and she set hers on top of it.
I still couldn’t believe that she was really pregnant since she was on the pill. But I wasn’t questioning it. I wasn’t challenging it. I’d embrace it.
“What if it’s both again?” she teased. “Twins.”
I opened my eyes wide. “Holy shit. Amber. No. You are joking.”
She laughed as we got in the shower. “The more, the merrier,” she said.
“I agree.” I wrapped my arms around her, treasuring how she fit so perfectly against me. All that soft skin flush with mine, her curves to my angles. “But four under… well, two? That’s a lot!”
“Okay, that’s slightly terrifying,” she admitted.
“I suggest we pace ourselves with this.”
She didn’t argue, but after we showered and got into bed where we made love, that thought stuck with me.
Pace ourselves?
I wasn’t pacing us very well. As I fell asleep, I did so with the plan to prepare for how we could better pace this new family we were building.
While she was still sleeping, I snuck out of bed and found Lorne in my gym. He was there with a couple of soldiers. They seemed to be wrapping up a workout, but Lorne tipped his chin up at me as if he anticipated running into me.
“There you are, Kid.” He smiled as he walked toward his gym bag on the counter. “How’s Amber doing? Happy with the big news?”
“Very happy,” I told him. “Understandably.”
He grunted as he rifled around in his bag. “Well, yeah, it would’ve been a lot more fucking satisfactory if we’d been able to kill him ourselves.”
I nodded, furrowing my brow as he searched in his bag. “But we watched the boat blow up in real time.” Then stayed to wait for the confirmation that there were no survivors.
“I suppose she’ll be happy with the other big news too.” He still didn’t face me, searching and rooting around for something in his bag.
“The baby?” I grinned, setting my hands on my hips as I sucked in a deep breath. “Yeah. She was joking that it could be twins again.”
He paused, jerking up to look at me. “Good Lord. Four?” He grunted a laugh.
“Could you imagine my uncle’s reaction?”
He smiled widely. “Oh, he’d act bewildered and all, but he loves it.
He can’t get enough of all these babies now.
A full, healthy, happy family.” He elbowed me as he resumed looking in his bag.
“Between you and me, Kid, he probably wanted one for a long time. Since Olga and all her bullshit, taking off to Russia. You know? He always had the three of you, but his parents were gone. His siblings were gone. I bet he’s been dreaming of a big family like this. ”
“I think so too.”
“But I meant the other big news. Amber’s gonna be over the moon about that too.”
“What other news?” I frowned. “And what are you looking for?”
“Not looking for nothing,” he replied. “I’m just looking out for you. Like always.” He produced a ring box and smiled.
“Aw, Lorne. I’m flattered.”
He chuckled, playfully punching my shoulder as I took the ring box.
“I’m looking out for you like a good assistant does,” he said.
I had been coming down here to find him for this very thing. He knew me too damn well.
“I figured you’d be in a rush to propose and all.” He wiped his towel over his brow. “So I figured I’d have that handy.”
“Good. Good man,” I said, clapping his back. “Thank you.”
“That’s the right one, isn’t it?” he asked. “Sergei and Andre and I were debating and looking back through the logs.”
“Yeah, I think it is.” All of the Orlov heirlooms were catalogued, and we’d all been granted one ring from the women who’d stood by former Pakhans of the family. Mikhail, Andre, and Sergei had already used theirs for their wives. And now it was my turn.
My turn.
Fuck, that sounds so good.
My turn to have a wife. To get married and plan a honeymoon.
My turn to have that solid bond with a partner who would give me reminders of the goodness to counter my darkness. A source of love and comfort when I was pushed to the limits of what was required to defend the Orlov name and family.
“She’ll love it,” I predicted, marveling at the sparkling rays of light from the diamond’s faces. Small rubies were set on the outer rim, and I loved how my ring, the one chosen to be gifted to my bride before I was even born, had a red gem on it.
To match her hair.
“Thanks for thinking ahead,” I told him.
“Just doin’ my job, Kid.” He patted my back and ushered me to leave. “I also had an order of breakfast in bed ordered to be delivered. It should be arriving shortly, so you'd better get on back upstairs to have it ready for her.”
I thanked him again, truly relieved that this old goat was my assistant. I had a strong hunch that he would be retiring soon. Not because he was too old for the demands of the job but because he’d become more of a surrogate grandfather for all my children.
With the ring in my pocket, I headed back up to the penthouse. I entered and waited for a sound to indicate that anyone else was awake.
All was quiet, and I allowed myself a chance to just be. To catch my breath with the adrenaline rush with what I was about to do.
Commit.
I was fully prepared to commit. To Amber. To convince her to always want to choose me.
More than anything, I was ready to commit to being the best husband I could be and protect her always.
The elevator beeped quietly with the alert that someone was coming up. Without a front door, the entrance being right out of the elevator, there was no place to have a delivery set out. I turned, smiling at the guard who handed over the bags of food.
Heavenly smells of fresh bread and sweet pastries reached my nose. I worried for a slight second that the smells would wake all three of them up.
After I set the containers in the oven to keep them warm, I went back to check on whether I’d have the chance to propose now.
Emily and Henry were still asleep.
So was Amber.
But I anticipated waking her up with my lips as I slid back onto the bed next to her.
Kissing her tenderly, I smiled and tried to tamp down my excitement at what would follow.
She jerked slightly in surprise and lifted her face. Blinking those bright-green eyes open, she sighed as she realized I was next to her.
“Hmm…” Her happy smile warmed my heart.
This was it. She was the one I hadn’t realized I’d been waiting for all this time.
Years of partying and sleeping around ceased to matter as all my purpose focused on her.
“Will you marry me?”
Her eyes popped open even wider. As her lips parted and she gawked at me, I had her full attention. That sexy sleepiness vanished as she sat up more. “Did you just—”
“Propose.” I nodded.
“Just like that? Out of the blue and—”
I chuckled, framing her face. “Out of the blue? That’s not true.
” I kissed her cheek. “You’ve been living here and in my bed for months.
” I kissed her other cheek. “We’ve been acting like a couple for so long, I can’t remember the dullness of when I didn’t have you in my life.
” I kissed her nose. “And you are the mother of my children, Amber. This is not out of the blue.”
She closed her eyes and smiled for a second. “Okay. Not out of the blue. But I just woke up!”
“And if you agree to marry me, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you wake up every morning with a smile like this one.” I couldn’t resist. Leaning in, I kissed her again. And again.
Belatedly, I caught myself. We were about to get carried away and I hadn’t even shown her the ring yet. She hadn’t replied yet.
I pulled back, gazing into her warm eyes so full of desire and joy.
“Will you marry me, Amber?” I stroked my thumb along her cheek as I cupped her face.
But with my free hand, I shifted with my elbow on the bed while I lay next to her, on my side.
A little finagling got the ring box out of my pocket, and I held it between us.
“I never thought I’d be ready to commit like this.
But I also never thought I’d meet a woman like you.
A sweet ray of goodness who can complement me just how I needed.
A woman who’d be so fiercely protective that I want to protect you and our children forever, no matter the cost and regardless of the risk. ”
She gaped at the ring, her eyes tearing up again. “Oh, Roman…”
“Lorne will bring papers over later. I started the process yesterday for you to officially adopt Emily and Henry. It would be smarter if we were already married, but that doesn’t matter where they are concerned.
You are their mother. Right now, you already are the mother they know and love, and not a day will go by without that being acknowledged. ”
She licked her lips, grinning at me.
“What do you say?” I asked, holding the ring up to slide it on her finger. “Will you marry—”
She grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me close. Drowning in the heat of her lips sealed against mine, I growled and clutched her ass to haul her flush to me.
“Yes,” she whispered against my lips. “I will marry you, Roman. I love you too much to even think about a future without you.”
I slid the ring onto her delicate finger. “I love you. I love you so damn much, Amber.” I pressed her to the bed with my mouth locked on hers again. “I love that you chose me.”
“I always will.”
“And I love that you will be my wife,” I growled as I yanked my shirt off, hovering over her to celebrate the occasion of our engagement.
“And I love that you will be my—”
A distinct rattling sound interrupted us.
In unison, we turned our heads to face the direction of the cribs. Henry had pulled himself up. His tiny fingers clutched the slats of the crib, and the top of his head showed just an inch over the top of the railing.
Once more, he rattled the slats and then laughed at the sound.
Amber giggled beneath me, smiling widely. “I believe we might need a raincheck on celebrating,” she said.
I kissed her once more, making it a long one so it would last us until we could have another chance for privacy.
I only had the rest of my life to look forward to that.