It takes me a minute to find Ilya, who’s far off in the corner of the room with a massive pot of potatoes and a pile of peelings. He’s scowling. I walk over to him before I interrupt Caroline. His reaction to my presence will be telling.
“Good job. What have you done today?”
He looks up at me in surprise, and he immediately bows his head. “Sir. I didn’t see you come in.” He clears his throat and straightens. “I’ve done everything Caroline asked of me.”
Caroline?
“Oh?”
“She said we needed ten pounds of potatoes peeled, and I’m almost done.”
I nod. “Well done. And did you secure your girlfriend?”
“I did, sir. She’s in a room on the second floor. I haven’t seen her yet, but Yakov assured me she’s well taken care of.” I like this new recruit. He may have fucked up, but he’s making amends for his mistake, and he shows meekness, a necessary trait.
“Well done. And what was your lesson in this?”
“Do the duty assigned me, sir.”
“Always. One thing you’ll learn about our brotherhood is that your brothers will defend you to the death. Your honor, your integrity, your life. They’re your family.”
He nods humbly, pausing in his work. “I’m sorry, sir. I promise you; it won’t happen again.”
I believe him. “Good. After you’ve finished your job, you may leave for today. Nicolai will assign you your next duty.”
“Yes, sir.”
I turn to go to Caroline, but he stops me. “Sir?”
“Yes?”
He looks to Caroline, and his eyes darken, the first indication that this man has earned his place in the Bratva. He can be ruthless when necessary. “It would be an honor to punish those who hurt her.”
His comment takes me by surprise, but my reaction even more so. My heart squeezes. My beautiful wife, so afraid that others would scorn her for her scars and imperfections. But just by simply being the beautiful woman she is, she’s already earned her way into the hearts of my men and my staff.
“When the time comes, I’ll have Nicolai give you instructions,” I tell him. “Until then, prove your allegiance with obedience.”
He nods, and I swear he almost salutes me like a soldier, he’s that rigid and serious. “Yes, sir.”
I go to Caroline next. During my discussion with Ilya, the staff have realized that I’m here, and Caroline stands just a few paces away, smiling at me. Her hair is a mess, her makeup long gone, she has flour on her nose and her apron’s smattered with the telltale signs of cooking, but she’s never been more beautiful to me.
I crook a finger and hold my breath when she walks toward me.
I could love this woman. Hell. I may already.
When she reaches me, she unfastens her apron and hangs it on a hook, then brushes her hair off her forehead and sighs.
“You caught me in the middle of some big doings,” she says with a smile. “I hope you’re hungry tonight.” She seems proud, and that pleases me. I haven’t known her for long, but I suspect Caroline hasn’t had much to be proud of or much to look forward to. I want this for her.
“Starving,” I tell her. When she reaches me, I sling an arm around her waist, lean down and inhale her scent. “Do you know how to cook the food of my homeland, little detka?”
“Of course, I do. And which name do you mean now?” she asks with a coy little smile. “Baby or brat?”
“That depends. Have you misbehaved?”
Her little smile makes my chest tighten and my breathing hitch. She has no idea how her eyes light up when she’s flirting with me, how her cheeks flush with color when she submits to me. And her ignorance of her beauty is part of the appeal.
“Of course not, sir.”
“Then you’re my baby,” I say, pulling her even closer to me and burying my face in her hair. I run my hands through the soft mass, breathing in deeply, before I whisper in her ear. “But I hope you misbehave soon.”
“So soon?” she whispers back. “My butt still aches from the punishment you gave me.” She swallows hard, resting her head in the crook of my neck. “And honestly, it isn’t the only thing that aches.”
She needs me to make good on my promise.
“When will dinner be ready?”
“Twenty minutes.” Not enough time for what I plan to do.
“How will you cook enough potatoes for an army in twenty minutes?”
Her eyes twinkle and she beckons for me to dip my head low so she can whisper to me. “We don’t need those potatoes for this evening. But I overheard you saying that your new recruit needed to be humbled, so I’ve put him to peeling potatoes. They’ll keep in water.”
I smile at her. “You’d be a good mother, sweetheart. We would make a good team, you know, you and I.”