Chapter 27 Alexsei
ALEXSEI
Iwoke up with a sigh.
Snuggled under the covers with Kalina in my bed, her soft, naked body flush against mine, I smiled at the peaceful bliss of this quiet morning.
All the revelations from last night came back to me with clarity.
We wouldn’t be having many quiet mornings soon. Or quiet nights.
Another son.
Maybe a daughter.
I felt like pinching myself to make sure this was real, not a dream.
I couldn’t wait for the blessing of another baby. Another sweet and precious beginning.
This morning wasn’t all that quiet, though. As I lay back and enjoyed this laziness with Kalina while she slept in, the patter of familiar footsteps pounded down the hallway.
Little footsteps as a child ran fast.
Fuck!
Misha!
He was rushing toward my room, somewhere he always knew he was allowed to enter. But I’d never had the issue of him bursting into my room when a woman was in my bed!
“Daddy! Daddy!” he yelled loud enough to wake the dead. “Kalina is gone!”
“Misha! Wait!” Ivan ran after him by the sounds of his yells coming closer down the hall with the approach of his louder footsteps behind him.
Reacting quickly, I pulled the covers up.
Kalina woke, pouting and frowning as she began to sit up at the commotion.
“She’s gone!” Misha shouted. “You saw it. Her room was empty! She’s gone, Da—”
He flung the door open, and I cursed myself for not locking it last night. Locking—or even closing—doors was something I wanted Kalina’s guidance on. I never wanted her to feel trapped.
But I bet she had the same regret now. Wide-eyed, mouth hanging open in shock and her golden hair a wild mess from just waking, she scrambled to cover herself.
Ivan skidded to a stop as Misha burst in. Not stopping there, he cringed and swooped Misha right off his feet, spinning and giving us his back.
“I was trying to tell you to just wait a second,” he scolded.
“Daddy?” Misha leaned around him as I held Kalina to my side, making sure she was covered up.
“Sorry,” Ivan said. “I tried to stop him. He insisted on saying good morning and when no one was in the guest suite, he, uh, panicked.
“Kalina?” he asked, fidgeting to be put down.
Ivan let him go and turned toward us, clearing his throat awkwardly. He mouthed sorry to Kalina and cringed.
“You and Daddy are…” He blinked. Confusion lined his little brow. But then he lit up. “Are you and Daddy…?”
Oh, hell. I did not want to assume what he was thinking or answer that.
“You don’t hate him anymore,” he said, connecting those dots.
Kalina shook her head and smiled gently. “I never did. I couldn’t.” She smiled up at me. “I just needed some time to clear my mind of some things and worries.”
A slow grin covered his face. “Are you and Daddy…”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I knew we were surprising him, but I really was not in the mood to explain precisely what was going on here.
“Your daddy and I are hoping you might not mind if we, um…” Kalina looked up at me, like she wanted me to finish explaining.
“We’re hoping you might not mind if we are a family again,” I finished.
Ivan smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Like we were at the cabin?” Misha asked.
Kalina nodded. “Yeah.”
“For good?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes.
“Forever,” I told him.
He whooped out in glee and ran toward the bed to join us. Ivan flinched, reacting as quickly as he could to grab Misha out of the air and spin him in the other direction.
“Whoa. Whoa! Hold on. Maybe let your dad and Kalina, uh…”
Get dressed?
“Brush their teeth?” Ivan guessed.
“A family?” Misha cried out happily. “Are you for real? A family? The three of us again?”
Ivan set him down, but he kept his hands on his shoulders. He was aware that we weren’t in any proper position to be hugged like this.
“How about… the four of us?” I asked.
Kalina rested her head against me, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Nothing would ever fill me with more joy than knowing I had her. And him. And we’d have another to welcome soon.
“You mean…” Misha furrowed his brow and slowly looked up at Ivan, who was smiling with awareness of what news Kalina and I had to share. “The three of us plus Ivan?”
“No.” Kalina laughed lightly. “But maybe the three of us… with a baby brother or sister for you to read to soon.”
His jaw dropped. He gasped. His eyes were huge as he gawked at us. “A… baby?”
She nodded, and I grinned at the pure shock that he worked through. I already knew he’d be over the moon. He loved Andre and the girls. He’d asked me many times if he’d ever have a brother or sister. This was one of his dreams coming true.
“I’m going to have a brother or sister?” he asked, practically bouncing in place with excitement.
Once more, he cried out in joy and tried to run to the bed to hug us.
Ivan chuckled as he held him back, telling him to just wait a second for me and Kalina to get out of bed.
He ushered him out of the room and promised we’d join them for breakfast.
With the door closed again, Kalina beamed at me.
I leaned in to kiss her. “I am going to love every second of this.”
“This?” she asked as I stood.
“The rest of my life,” I clarified. It was already this much brighter and better with her in it.
Instead of going back to the guest suite where Kalina would more or less hide, I went with her so she could get dressed there. Together, we came down to the dining room and joined everyone else.
Holding her hand as she shared the news that she was pregnant was a moment I’d never forget. Pride filled me. Love vibrated in my chest. Nothing would ever bring me down from this high.
Now, Misha could run up and congratulate us both. He was excited, nearly bursting with happiness that he’d have his own sibling soon. His inclusion of Kalina was yet again a bridge that would help her connect with us as a family member, not someone who’d be a guest to protect.
Over breakfast, everyone congratulated us on the good news. Everyone was glad for another baby, but as we sat there and the conversations grew louder and rowdier, I was careful to watch Kalina and make sure that she wasn’t overwhelmed.
It was a lot. We were a lot. It was one of the reasons I thought that she’d be happier with the quiet cabin when she wasn’t speaking and locked in her trauma response.
I had no grounds to worry, though. She was smiling, listening to Sadie who was pregnant as well.
Raisa offered her advice as well, further along with her pregnancy.
I hoped it helped to have other women around her with how she’d reported being ignorant about pregnancies and what to expect while she was expecting.
It had to be reassuring, not scary or intimidating, that two of them were pregnant as well.
Gabriella joined in on the baby talk, holding Helene while Emil held Carina.
“Don’t worry about feeling like you have no clue how to prepare for this,” Sadie said with a sweet smile. She mussed up Misha’s hair and then smirked at Lev. “When I came here and had no clue how to even hold a baby, these two sure stepped in to show me.”
I smiled at my son, recalling how hands-on they both were.
“Oh, we’ll help you,” Misha agreed with an excited nod of his head.
I caught Luka smiling at me, like he, too, was proud.
After we were through with eating, I left Kalina with the other women since they were busily chatting about babies, deliveries, and even about the women’s foundation that I bet Kalina would be working with.
I headed to my uncle’s study with my cousins.
“She’ll fit right in,” Luka guessed. “She’s already fit in with us.”
“But we do need to deal with the rest of the Riveras,” Emil added for him. A serious glint in his eye suggested death.
“Has Simon found any more on them yet?” The case was ongoing, and that hacker didn’t give up. None of us would.
“He’s still looking for them, but since I spoke with him earlier this morning, he made it sound like he’s under the impression that Erik and Yusef are hiding with them.”
Ivan laughed wryly. “Or the Riveras are pissed and holding them hostage for fucking them over in a deal.”
I shrugged. “That’ll just make it easier for us to kill them all at once.”
“Will you move her into your place now?” Emil asked.
“I would advise against it,” Luka said. “I’m more than happy to see you two getting along and back together. But with these threats…”
I shook my head and crossed my arms. “No. She seems content here with the other women.” I furrowed my brow.
“But it’s up to her. I think she will be reasonable about staying here with the multiple layers of security.
If and when she wants to come to my place—or look for a new one—then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. ”
They all agreed that was likely the best. What sounded like the “best” to me was making sure Kalina knew she still had control over her fate. Over what we’d do as a couple. A family. I wouldn’t coerce her into being trapped after all she’d gone through.
I left the study and sought out the woman who was making my dreams come true.
Her love.
This new baby on the way.
A mother for Misha.
A partner to enjoy by my side no matter what we faced.
Right now, we’d need to face the real dilemma of killing all the men who’d dare to control her, harm her, or try to kidnap her.
Once all that was over, though, it was time to focus on the happily-ever-after we’d both collaborate on. The one we all deserved.