Alexei gently grasped my wrist and lowered my hand holding the box so he could meet my gaze. “If you want to take it—”
“If?” I seized on that surprising start to his sentence.
“I won’t force you take it. I won’t even ask you to take it. This is your decision, and I will support whatever choice you make.”
For a man so inclined toward rather alpha, dominant behavior, I was pleasantly surprised by his stance on this issue. My heart beat a little faster when I considered the possibilities of what could happen if my dates were wrong. I hadn’t ever given much thought to babies or motherhood, but it suddenly seemed like an interesting idea and one I very much wanted to pursue.
With Alexei.
But just not right now.
“I’m sure I’ve already ovulated. I, um, I have a cycle that runs like a clock.” Struck by the awkwardness of discussing my cycle with Alexei, I ducked my head. “But, um, I can take this anyway. If you want me to, I mean.” I glanced at the box again. “It’s not foolproof. If I’ve already ovulated—and I’m sure I did—then this pill won’t do anything because there is no egg to delay. If I ovulated yesterday, biology is going to win because this pill won’t work. There’s still a risk that we might be shopping for diapers in nine months.”
I started to open the box but Alexei snatched it out of my hand. He seemed as shocked by his action as I was. Very slowly, he placed it on the counter and pushed it back toward me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“Alexei.” I pinned him in place with an imploring gaze. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
He raked his fingers through his short hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t have any right to ask you to not take it but I don’t want you to feel pressured to do something just because I want it.”
“Is that what you want?” I searched his handsome face for the answer. His expression was one I couldn’t quite place. Was it yearning? Did he want a family? With me?
Gently covering his hand with mine, I said, “Alexei, I know my body, and I doubt we even need to be having this discussion. I don’t want you to get your hopes up about the tiniest, slimmest of possibilities.” Interlacing our fingers, I gave his hand a squeeze. “But if I was at a place in my life where starting a family seemed like a good idea, you would be at the top of my list for a partner in that adventure.”
His surprised gaze shifted to meet mine. “Why?”
Bemused by his confusion, I touched his face with my other hand. “Alexei, look at what you’ve done for me in the last two days! You protected me. You defended me. You took care of me.” I leaned in and kissed him tenderly. “Someday, you’re going to be a very good father.”
His hand tightened around mine. “I would take care of you, Shay.”
“You already do.”
Alexei trailed his fingers down my arm until they rested on my hand. “I want you to pack your things. You’re leaving this penthouse today.”
Taken aback, I asked, “Are you throwing me out?”
“No!” Alexei hurriedly stood and gathered me close to his chest. Crushed in his arms, I relaxed. “I’m not throwing you out, Shay. I’m taking you home with me.”
Pushing back on his chest, I gazed questioningly up at him. “But I thought—”
He touched my lips, gently interrupting me. “You don’t belong in this place.” He glanced around the luxury penthouse he had used as his private playground for many years. “Maybe I don’t belong here anymore either.” His gaze returned to me. “Maybe you’ve changed me.”
“Is that a good thing?” Considering all the trouble I had caused him, I wasn’t so sure.
“The very best thing.” He brushed his thumb along my jaw. “After we get you settled in at the house, I’m going to the gym. It’s my normal Sunday afternoon routine. We need to try to behave as normally as possible this week, just in case the police come sniffing around about your sister or Lalo. What do you typically do on a weekend?”
“Work.”
He exhaled a rough burst of laughter. “Why am I not surprised?”
Feeling a bit defensive, I thumped his arm. “Some of us have bills to pay and wayward older sisters to support.”
“Not anymore,” he said, capturing my hand and bringing it close for a kiss. “From now on, you work on your handbags and that’s it. I’ll handle the rest.”
I didn’t want to argue with him so I decided to let it go for now. Later, we would have to sit down and have a realistic discussion about my finances and his expectations in a relationship.
He let go of my hand and retrieved his buzzing cell phone. After answering a text, he set it aside. “Stas is going to meet us at my house.”
“So I have to keep the bodyguard even if I’m living with you?”
“Bodyguards are non-negotiable from this day forward.”
“Even after we fix this mess with Shannon?”
He nodded. “You know my history, Shay. I have enemies—and now I have a weakness.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“I’ve never worried about anyone coming after a woman of mine until you. Take that as you will.” His thumb glided along the outline of my mouth before sliding toward the bruise darkening my cheek. “I can’t let this happen to you again.”
I nuzzled into his strong hand. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“Maybe not, but it’s a reminder of how close I came to losing you.” He softly kissed the bruise. “Twice.”
“I nearly lost you when Lalo turned his gun on you,” I murmured, thinking of how horribly it all could have gone wrong. “I nearly lost my best friend, too.”
“Shay, you have to promise me you will never again jump in front of a gun like that,” Alexei ordered. There was a panicked look on his face that I never wanted to see again. He seemed haunted by the memory of last night.
“I won’t.” I placed my hands on either side of his neck and leaned in to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss, the kind that sealed a vow. Ending it, I leaned back just enough to look into his eyes. “I won’t ever do anything that puts us in danger again.”
Alexei’s worried expression faded. A slow smile spread across his handsome face. “Us?” He wound a tendril of my hair around his finger. “I like the sound of that.”
“So do I,” I whispered, my heart racing and my stomach fluttering excitedly.
He playfully tugged my hair. “Get packed. I’ll clean the kitchen and then we’ll leave.”
“It won’t take me long to pack. I only have a few things here.” I stood and started to back away from him but stopped. A nagging question wouldn’t leave me. If I was moving in with Alexei, what did us mean?
“What is it?” He read me so easily.
“What about our arrangement? What about your rules?”
“You blew that arrangement straight to hell last night.” He walked toward me and cupped my face. “We’re playing by new rules today.”
I had a sneaking suspicion I was really going to like this new game. Walking my fingers up his chest, I rose on tiptoes and brushed my lips to his. “I can’t wait to play.”
Chapter Sixteen
Dripping with sweat and breathing hard, Alexei continued pushing through the burn of another set of bench dips. He eyed the whiteboard mounted on the closest wall where Ivan had scrawled the workout plan for today in that terrible handwriting of his.
One-Arm Kettlebell Push Press
Dumbbell Bench Press
Side Lateral Raise
Push-Ups
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension
Bench Dips
Chest Dips
Handstand Push-Ups
Push-Ups
Bench Dips
Chest Dips.
Ivan seemed intent on exercising him to death today. If he didn’t know any better, Alexei might think Ivan was pissed off at him, but this was pure Ivan. He ran his gym with an iron fist and demanded the members meet the w
orkout goals—or fuck off across town to Connolly Fitness.
“Watch your form,” Ivan barked as he left another workout station and strode closer. He spun a towel like a windmill as he drew near. “Your arms are fatigued.” e HeAs if to prove his point, Ivan kicked him right in the ass as he dipped down too low. It wasn’t a hard blow, barely more than a tap, but it drove home the point. “You’ve gone beyond set failure. Stop. Recover.”
The burn in Alexei’s arms had spread to his chest by now. Knowing Ivan was right, he eased off the bench and into a standing position. Shaking out his hands, he walked to the whiteboard and slashed his finger through the set he had just finished, smearing the dry erase marker. Only one set of exercises remained to be completed but he needed more time to recover.
Hotter than hell, Alexei ripped off his t-shirt and wiped his sweaty face and neck with it. He caught the water bottle Ivan tossed at him and took a long drink.
“I see the rumors are true.”
“Huh?” When Ivan gestured to the mirror, he contorted his upper body to get a better look. The angry red scratches on his shoulders and lower back were impossible to ignore. A quicksilver flash of something dark and possessive ignited within him as he remembered Shay grasping and scratching at him while he thrust into her.
Without warning, Ivan popped him across the back with the towel he had been carrying. “Don’t start bragging. I’ll make you cover up.”
Hissing with the sharp bite of pain, Alexei jerked the towel away from Ivan and whacked him right back with it. “Like you haven’t walked around here with love bites from Erin all over your neck?”
Ivan yanked the towel back and landed a vicious snap right across Alexei’s ass. “That’s my wife you’re talking about.”
He grinned at Ivan’s reaction. “I didn’t see Erin today.”
Ivan’s happy demeanor switched to one of frustration. “She’s visiting her sister.”
Alexei had to tread carefully here. Ivan’s feelings about his incarcerated sister-in-law were well-known to him. “Is Ruby getting out soon?”
Ivan nodded. “They’re letting her out in January.”
“To a halfway house?”
“No, to our house.”
Alexei knew enough about the history between Erin and her sister to tread carefully. “You don’t sound happy about that.”
“I’m not.” Ivan pointed to the parallel bars, silently ordering him to finish the final exercise on the list. “But I can’t say no to Erin, not after I moved Ten into the house without asking her.” Even all these months later, Ivan winced with the memory of his mistake. “I really stepped deep in the shit on that one.”
Alexei agreed with a grunt as he raised and lowered his body using only his arms. Up. Down. Up. Down. He focused on the wall, keeping his rhythm steady and his pace measured. Keeping his voice low, he asked, “How is Erin doing after..?”
Ivan didn’t need him to finish that sentence. He had been away in Vegas with Sergei when their women had been attacked by cartel henchmen hell bent on avenging their overthrown boss. Artyom had taken a nasty gut shot and two to the shoulder to protect Erin. Other street soldiers had taken beatings and worse, especially the younger ones who hadn’t ever been in a street war. Roman and Danny wouldn’t be so easily overpowered the next time blood spilled in the streets.
“She’s fine.” Ivan’s clipped answer spoke volumes to Alexei. It was a response that told him to drop the issue. Arms crossed, Ivan watched him carefully, his keen eyes taking in Alexei’s form. “Looks good. Keep going.”
When he neared the point of failure, Alexei pushed through for two more dips before carefully lowering his feet and stretching out his arms.
“That was good.” Ivan tossed him the towel and his water bottle. “Walk with me.”
Alexei mopped at his face and rehydrated while they walked the length of the warehouse toward the sparring cages. Ivan’s fighters were all working toward upcoming matches so the gym was a busy place even on a Sunday afternoon. Sergei and Kir, both matched in size and strength, sparred lightly in one cage. They lingered there for a few minutes before moving to the next cage where Zel, a Croatian fighter who had been the first to join Ivan’s professional stable, sparred with a fighter Alexei didn’t recognize.
Closer to Alexei’s age than Sergei’s, Zel was nearing that point in his life where it was time to hang up the gloves. Alexei sipped his water and relaxed his stance while watched Zel fight. “I thought he was done.”
Ivan held up a single finger as if to say he had one match left in him. “This next tournament is his last.”
“Vegas?” Alexei had been planning to fly out for the fights at the Mandalay Bay, but he hadn’t realized Zel was fighting. “I didn’t realize he was on the card.”
“He wasn’t, but there was an opening and the promoter and the league wanted him in that slot.” Ivan ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “I shouldn’t have let him take this one, but the money was too good for him to pass up.”
Alexei cast a worried glance at Ivan. “Is Zel in trouble?”
“He still owes money on his debt to Luka Beciraj.”
“What? After seven years? Eight years?” Stunned, Alexei did the math. “He’s still paying on that shit?”
“Interest and penalties,” Ivan replied. “You know what those fucking loan sharks are like.”
Alexei turned his attention to Zel and watched him work his floor games. Zel had one hell of a standup game, but he had always been weak on the floor. Even now, he was struggling to break free from a hold.
Growling with frustration, Ivan moved closer to the cage and gripped onto the chain link. Snarling in Russian, he barked orders at Zel. “Watch that elbow! When it hits the ground, push up into him and fucking throw him off! Use your hips! Come on!” Ivan banged his hand against the cage. “Buck! Harder!”
Alexei watched as Zel finally got a good grip on his opponents’ sweat-slicked arm and did exactly as Ivan instructed. He arched off the mat and used the momentum of his move to push the other fighter up and off of him. It was a swift maneuver that sent his partner rolling onto his back. Zel quickly pinned the other man to the mat and moved into a dominant position, earning Ivan’s clap of approval.
After a few more pointers and discussing Zel’s grappling game with a trainer, Ivan returned to Alexei’s side. He seemed troubled as he watched his fighter continue his Sunday session. “He’s losing his fire.”
The words were spoken softly, but Alexei heard them clearly. Watching Zel, he acknowledged that the Croatian seemed to have lost his passion for fighting. Of course, after the hellish year he had survived, it was no wonder. “He’s had a rough year.”
“Losing his boy broke him. That kid was the reason he fought. Now?” Ivan’s lips sank into a flattened line. “Now he just fights to clear his debt to Luka and move on with his life.”
“Fighting for money is dangerous. That’s how men get hurt.” He cast a look Ivan’s way that communicated exactly what he was thinking. That’s how we got hurt.
“Yes, it is.” Ivan crossed his arms again. “I offered him the money. I even offered to speak to Luka directly to see if they would write off the balance. The boy is dead now. All that money Zel spent getting them here and then paying for his son’s medical bills was wasted. Making him pay it all off now is rubbing salt in a fresh, deep wound.”
“He’s a proud man.” Alexei stated the obvious. “Would you take the money if you owed the debt?”
Ivan didn’t answer immediately. After a while, he shook his head. “No.”
“We’ll have to help him,” Alexei decided. “I’ll talk to Besian. I’ll find out the balance and then place some strategic bets when I get to Vegas. Maybe we can make Zel enough money to clear his debts and a little bit to start over.”
“Be careful with that,” Ivan warned. “The last thing you need is to get caught up in some underground gambling shit.”
Alexei grunted in agreement.
/> “Are you bringing her?”
“Shay? To Vegas?” Alexei shook his head. “No.”
Ivan gawked at him. “You’re going to Vegas without your new girl?”
“Our Vegas trips are always men only.”
“Not anymore,” Ivan shot back. “I’m taking Erin with me.”
Alexei wasn’t surprised, not after what happened the last time Ivan went to Vegas. “She’s your wife. It’s different.”
Ivan made a grumbling noise. “You better be careful saying shit like that around Shay.”
Alexei shifted uncomfortably under his friend’s stare. “I don’t think Shay would enjoy the Vegas scene.”
“Have you asked her?”
“It hasn’t come up yet.”
“It better come up before you step on that plane and leave her here in Houston,” Ivan warned. “You might come back to an empty penthouse.”
“It’s already empty. She moved into my house this morning.”
Ivan seemed taken aback. “You’re really moving fast with her.”
You have no idea. Alexei wondered just how much Ivan knew about Shay and what was going on with her sister. Even though he was out of the life, he lived right on the edge and always had his ear to the ground. There weren’t many dirty deeds he didn’t hear about eventually.
As if reading his mind, Ivan said, “You should be careful with your cleaning lady.” He held up a hand to halt Alexei’s retort. “Listen to me, okay?”
Alexei relented unhappily and nodded stiffly.
“Sisters are trouble.” Ivan grasped his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Take it from me. I know. They come as a package deal,” he warned. “I fell in love with Erin and married her—but that means her sister became my sister. Because she’s now my family, I owe her a fresh start when she finally gets out of lockup. It’s a burden, but I went into this with eyes wide open. For Erin? I’ll do anything—even if it means paying for protection for her sister while she’s doing her stretch or pushing around money and favors to get Ruby a job once she’s out. It’s never-ending, Alyosha.”
“I get it,” Alexei assured him. “Shay’s sister is—”