I’ll always protect you. No matter what happens, I’m here for you. For now and forever.
I’m not crazy. Or maybe I am. Maybe I’m crazy for Artem. If that’s the case, then I’ve got no desire to become sane.
I send a message back with my expression.
I’m here for you, too. Whatever we face, we face together. If you’re the king, I’m your queen.
And then Rocky has a message of his own.
He barks happily and laps at my face, a rough, warm lick as Artem’s men spill out of the building, a whole army of suited Bratva soldiers with their rifles and pistols aimed at the Mafiosi.
Chapter Ten
Artem
I let the dust settle in the week after Emilio’s little ploy.
Once I have Emilio in my custody, it’s easy enough to have him planted in a convenient location for my police contacts to apprehend … on an anonymous tip, of course.
We’re in the garden, Rocky running his frantic laps around the fountain, when Anna glances at me with her blue eyes brimming with questions and her lips pursed.
“What is it?” I ask, a smirk touching my lips as I gorge on the sight of her, sitting there in her form fitting dress, the fabric like vapor over her perfect form.
“It’s just, well, I didn’t expect you to call the police.”
“Would you rather I killed him?” I ask, standing up and walking over to where she sits, sliding down next to her and wrapping my arm over her shoulders. “I don’t ask that to be cruel, Anna. I’m genuinely asking. Because there’s a big part of me that would have enjoyed putting him down. But … shit, my life, this Bratva – the one I built – it’s not run like that. I don’t deal in blood, not when I can avoid it. I use information and blackmail and intimidation when I need to, I won’t deny that. But blood, outside of battles and wars and skirmishes? No, Anna, I steer clear of that. It’s bad for business and it’s bad for the long-term functioning of the Bratva.”
She relaxes against me, laying her head against my chest, breathing in a long, slow breath.
“I’m relieved,” she admits. “I guess part of me was still scared you were the big bad wolf.”
“Oh, I am,” I tell her, tickling under her sides playfully. “But it just so happens this big bad wolf, somewhere along the way, learned some restraint.”
That restraint does not extend to Anna, though. We devour each other every day, attacking each other with wild hands and lips and nibbling teeth, falling into bed and learning each other’s bodies in every way we can think of.
“I’m so glad I waited,” I tell her later, lying sweaty and sex-contended in bed with her, making circles in her hair with my fingers.
“I still can’t believe that,” she giggles, writhing naked against me. “The most badass man in the whole freaking universe. And you waited for me.”
“You’re my Bratva queen,” I growl. “Who the fuck else was I supposed to wait for?”
Slowly, I sense the wounds from the meeting with Emilio starting to heal in Anna. I can read it in the glances she gives me, in the tension that slowly sifts out of her as she stands at the kitchen island, preparing us another mind-fucking meal.
That’s one thing that’s stood out this week.
Her cooking.
She has a real natural gift.
I know she can make a career of it, if she wants to.
And I’ll be there, every step of the way.
Always.
We finally feel comfortable enough leaving Rocky with the dog-sitter again. It turns out that Emilio, as well as kidnapping the old owner to lure Rocky out of the estate, also forced the dog-sitter’s partner to call him and tell him she was in the hospital. It wasn’t his fault.
Shit, if somebody told me Anna was in hospital, I’d tear the world to pieces to get to her.
But tonight is important.
A proper meal.
“Are you sure?” she asks me in the limo, folding her legs over in a way that causes urgent hummingbirds to flurry around my body.
She’s wearing a sleek black number that highlights every contour of her curvaceous body, her breasts bulging, already seeming fuller than when we first met. I feel my seed roaring at me, telling me of course they’re getting bigger.
They’re getting ready.
Soon, they’ll be full of our baby’s milk.
But tonight is about us.
I love her, and I still haven’t told her.
Tonight has to go perfectly.
“I’ve had dog cameras installed in every room,” I tell her. “We can tune in any time we like. And I’ve got Gavrie watching over the dog-sitter personally. I’ve also told the SOB that if he even thinks about dropping his cell again, I’ll shove it down his throat.”
Anna giggles. “You’re bad, Artem.”
“Yes,” I snarl, grabbing her thigh and squeezing onto the creamy bulk of it. “I am.”