We move on to dinner and movies. She insists on trying my food even when I tell her she won’t like it. As predicted, she makes a face. It’s a constant thing. She gets to try my food, but if I go near hers, she bites me.
But being like this with Juliana feels good. Being open, real, not hiding behind things, not pretending I don’t want her, not pretending anything. Having her sleep in my arms is the best ending to the day possible and I don’t want to leave it behind when morning comes.
I hate having to go to work. Hate having to say goodbye, especially when I know that Konstantin will be with her tonight. Juliana doesn’t bring him up though. She’s holding to that part of the deal.
“I’m planning on going out tomorrow night with Patricia. Think you can get on the schedule with Max?” She asks.
I hate the idea. “You’ll probably need all three of us.”
“You boys will enjoy the show Patricia and I put on.”
“Hopefully it’s less exciting than last time.”
She crosses her fingers and kisses me again, telling me to have a good day at work. It feels so damn normal that it feels like a dream. That dream is crushed when I get to the office and see Uncle Tony waiting for me.
He crosses his arms. “We need to talk about our problem.”
“With Mr. Alister?”
“Yes.” He snorts. “He’s fighting me on multiple fronts. Juliana, the business, my reputation. You need to prove he started that fire, Gio. If you can’t ... I won’t have a choice.”
“How can I do that while protecting Julia?”
Uncle Tony rubs his jaw. “You have tonight. I’ll put a call into Mr. Volkov ... junior I guess and see if they can give us a hand. They’re capable and have skills we don’t. Play nice with them.”
“Will do.”
“And, as a pointer, don’t question the girl or the brothers’ relationship with her.”
“Hunter and Chase Volkov you mean? They’re dating the same girl?”
“Them and their bodyguard are in a relationship with her. It’s to stay out of the media and they’re .... protective. Shame. I was hoping Chase would like Juliana. Oh well.” He waves it away. “Go play nice with the mafia and they’ll make our lives easier one way or the other.”
Great. Reading between the lines means the Volkov clan helps me find the evidence we need, or they put a bullet in the problem’s head. Murder to prevent murder, clearly the best solution. If it keeps Juliana safe ... well the list of things I’ll do for her just keeps getting longer.
20
JULIANA
Ikeep smiling to myself as I work. I even catch myself humming between calls. I don’t know what it is about having all three of the guys, and really having them now, that makes me so calm. I heard once that caged canaries don’t sing and either I’m not the canary I thought I was, or the cage got opened and I’m the house cat that got a taste of the songbird.
When Konstantin comes over that night, I don’t hesitate. I throw myself at him just like Charlie and Nolan do. He catches me and chuckles before I claim his mouth in a hot kiss. Konstantin walks me back to the couch and sets me down, finally ending our string of kisses.
“Almost like you missed me or something.”
“I did.” I rub his chest.
We catch up a bit about our lives while we cuddle and play with the dogs. It’s all innocent. I get to cooking and Konstantin hands me things while I try to teach him some of the basics. I take every opportunity to kiss and touch Konstantin, ignoring my phone ringing with alerts and missed calls.
“Shouldn’t you take that?” Konstantin asks.
“Not important when I have you here.” I rub over his chest. “Do you really need a shirt?”
He blushes and scratches the back of his head. The buttons strain and I nearly burn myself on the stove because I’m so distracted by him. We have a good night together. He lets me take total control once we finally get to bed. After another three days with my guys, enjoying going out with Patricia and teasing all three of them knowingly without touching a single one, just flirting shamelessly, dragging Gio shopping again and plotting with him, and so much sex, I’m happy to have a cozy fall night with Konstantin.
He makes us alcoholic hot chocolates and eyes me wearing a short sweater dress with blatant hunger. Instead, I fit myself against him and kiss his neck before taking another drink. “This is delicious, Konstantin. You could be one hell of a bartender.”
“I was for a while. Before I was put on your detail, I was being trained for security but worked at the mansion in the bar. The drink orders were unpredictable, so I made sure I knew what paired well together, knew all the basics, all of that.”