Joshua let his breath out. “You’re saying whoever this person is, he wants to start a war between all of us. Every one of the families.”
Mitya nodded slowly. “That is my conclusion. I have no idea why, but since I have no clue who this could be, and I just took over, I have to assume I am not the real target. I somehow stumbled into the line of fire.”
“Ania’s family got their attention,” Sevastyan said, his contribution unexpected. “That’s how you came to their attention. Through her.” He looked up alertly and held up his hand to indicate silence.
The door to the study opened and Ania wandered into the room, looking as if she’d just stepped out of the shower. Her hair was damp and pulled back in a long, thick braid. Her face was scrubbed clean of all makeup, not that she used much, but she looked like a young teen, not the accomplished woman he knew. Her slim jeans hugged her body, clinging to her curves. The top she wore covered her and yet showed off the allure of her breasts. She made Mitya’s entire body come alive just looking at her.
He smiled at her and held out his arm. “You’re awake.”
“Yes. And you’re having a meeting.” There was the slightest hint of accusation in her voice. She looked up and smiled at the others. “Hello, everyone. I didn’t know you were coming. I would have made certain you had dessert and coffee at least.”
“We won’t be long,” Mitya assured.
“I suppose that’s the cue for me to leave, especially when you seemed to be talking about my family.” She kept her tone mild, but he heard the bite in her voice. He couldn’t blame her. Had he overheard someone talking about his family, he would want to know what they were saying.
“Yes, kotyonok,” he said as gently as he could, “that is the hint for you to leave. When we’re done, I’ll come to you and—” He broke off, seeing the hurt on her face. He detested that he put that there.
Ania shrugged. She couldn’t entirely blame Mitya. Okay, she couldn’t blame him at all. This was squarely on her shoulders. She wanted things to work out with him. She loved everything about him, but not his life. Not when a good portion of who and what he was couldn’t be shared. She’d never really have him. The in-between, no matter how good, couldn’t make up for her lack of closeness with a man she loved. One moment everything was wonderful and then the bottom seemed to drop out just as fast, as if she were on a roller coaster. She thought they’d made a breakthrough, but looking at him, she knew it wasn’t so.
It hurt to know that he would discuss her family with others and not with her. She had known that going in to the relationship. She’d grown up on the fringe of crime families. They’d all been decent to her, more than decent. They’d been friendly and nice. She hadn’t known for years that they were involved in anything shady and she’d been shocked when she’d found out.
She ignored Mitya’s outstretched arm. She wasn’t about to play that game in front of his friends. He would pull her to him, give her that smile of his that always melted her insides, kiss her, take her breath away, rob her of her heart, and then dismiss her because she was little more than an ornament on his arm, or a toy in his bed, one he was extremely good at controlling with sex.
Ania turned her back on the men sitting around the table and went out the door, her back ramrod stiff, her shoulders straight. She half expected to hear laughter following her, but instead there was silence. She kept walking.
The house had a similar floor plan to the one she’d grown up in. Mitya’s house was a little more ornate. It also didn’t look lived in. When she’d first moved in, she’d been excited to realize the house needed work to turn it into a home. She liked changing things around in order to warm rooms and make a home look inviting. Her mother had been an interior designer, and she’d grown up watching and helping her transform homes. Now, when she looked around, all the excitement was gone.
She’d done this to herself. She hadn’t listened to reason. Her leopard’s heat was pushing her, and if she was telling herself the truth, she loved sex with Mitya. It didn’t matter how he touched her, she craved it. She’d gone so far as to let him dictate to her that they were getting married immediately. Mitya was a smart man, he knew sooner or later she would wake up from her dream state and realize what they had together would never be enough for her.