“Perfect.” She leans over and gives me a kiss. “I’ll see you later. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I say, kissing her back.
She turns to walk away, but stops halfway out of the kitchen and looks back at me. “I meant to ask you, what did Vadim tell you last night right before he left?”
It takes me a second to remember what in the hell she’s talking about, but I finally manage to piece the memory together. It comes with an embarrassing image of me tooting an imaginary horn that I quickly bury away and hope she’s forgotten about.
“He said that everything was taken care of and that I didn’t need to worry about the Bratva getting in touch with me again. He also said he liked you and thought you were a good match for me. I meant to tell you that earlier, but I got sidetracked with being inside you and making you come so many times that I lost count.”
She blushes an adorable pink and says, “That’s fantastic news about the Bratva staying away.” Before she walks out the door, she gives me a huge smile and pulls her arm down twice and says, “Toot toot,” before laughing even harder. “You’re super cute when you’re drunk, Kolya.”
“That goes no further, Moira! That’s confidential relationship stuff,” I say with a laugh.
She laughs and gives me a wave. “Sure thing, babe.”
I smile and wave back before grabbing another sausage biscuit. I wasn’t joking about putting on weight. I’m seriously going to have to watch myself or my reputation at the club is going to go downhill with a quickness. While I eat, I look around the room, noticing the little touches Moira has made. She’s made it feel like an actual home, even though nothing really major has changed. It’s the small things like the red-and-white striped dishtowels and the mug tree filled with the oversized monstrosities she likes to drink from, and the fact that Mila, my half-dead spider plant is now thriving in a new, bright red pot that Moira put on the counter by the window so it can get a good amount of sun. Without any effort, she’s brought so much love into this place that I barely recognize it as the empty, slightly sterile place it once was. I’ve always loved this house, but I hadn’t realized how much was missing because I’ve never really had anything to compare it to, not in my own personal life anyway. I look around again and smile, feeling like everything is finally falling into place.
Once I leave for the Wolf, the morning passes quickly, and soon Dima and I are loading up Viktor’s truck with the heavy punching bags that Moira ordered and heading over to her club.
“Looks like things are getting pretty serious with you two,” Dima says, turning the heat up higher as I pull out onto the main road.
“Yeah, I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” I admit, even though he already knows it. “It’s amazing, but it also scares the hell out of me.”
“I know that feeling well.” He laughs and looks over at me. “It’s obvious she feels the same way about you. I mean, you guys have been living together, and you’re still going strong. That’s a good sign.”
“True.”
“Hey, I meant to tell you. Aleksei just told me he’s going to propose to Jamie tonight.”
“Seriously?” I turn to him and see him grinning like the softie he’s become. “Don’t say anything, though. He wants it to be a surprise, of course.”
“Uh-huh,” I say with a laugh. “So, you didn’t tell Gina?”
“Hey, you try keeping a secret from Moira. Let me know how that goes for you. I just meant don’t tell anyone at the club.”
I laugh, but I know it’s true. I doubt I’d last very long. My need to share things with her is one of the most surprising things to me. I’ve had Dima to talk to since we were kids, but it’s not the same. To say I’ve guarded my feelings would be quite the understatement. I’ve never been known as cuddly or approachable. Hell, most people are downright scared of me, and I’ve always liked it that way, but everything is changing now, and I’m slowly becoming someone else, someone who’s slightly more worthy of being with Moira, or at least that’s my hope.
All thoughts of domestic bliss fly right out of my head when I pull into Moira’s club and see her standing outside with Sean. “What the fuck?” I growl.
“Easy, Kolya,” Dima says, but I’m already getting out of the truck and walking over to where Sean is standing. He’s way too close to Moira, crowding her space and pissing me the fuck off.
“Just go away,” I hear Moira yell at him, and when he takes an aggressive step toward her, I grab onto his upper arm and spin him around.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I glare at him, wishing he’d stayed hidden away. I was hoping he’d continue to be too scared to show his face, but evidently he needs a reminder. Without taking my eyes from him, I holler to Dima in Russian, “Watch her for me.”
“Already on it.”
My eyes briefly dart to where she is, and when I see Dima gently pull her back and out of the way, I step closer to Sean, crowding his space just like he’d very stupidly done to my woman.
Sean smirks at me, testing all my willpower to not rip his slimy head off. “Good to see you, Nikolai.”
“I thought you were still too scared to show your face.”
He gives a forced laugh but doesn’t take a step back. He holds his ground, and even though he’s trying to look relaxed, I know he’s hyper aware of every movement I make, waiting for the punch he thinks is coming.
“I’m just trying to help Moira. She and I go way back,” he says, grinning even wider. “Why the fuck do you care anyway?”
“Just go away, Sean,” Moira says from several feet away. I know there’s no way in hell Dima’s going to let her come any closer, which allows me to put all my focus on Sean who’s looking at Moira like he wants to do all the things to her that I already have.