“Max? You have a minute?” Dmitri asks me quietly as we head out of Dante and Lorenzo’s study.
“Sure.” I step aside with him while the others disappear down the hallway.
“I found out who your sister’s boyfriend is.”
“Yeah?”
“You heard of the Mikhailovs in New York?”
I nod. Vlad Mikhailov was the second-in-command to Alexie Ivanov. His boss got taken out by the Irish, and despite the rumor that Alexie’s daughter, Jessica, is still alive and should’ve taken over the reins, Vlad stepped up instead. He’s well respected and runs the New York branch of the Bratva much better than his predecessor ever did. His sons are his trusted enforcers, and their reputations as vicious and ruthless men precede them.
“Well, Jakob is Vlad’s son.”
“His son?”
“Yes, and apparently he’s been pining for his Italian princess since she left. He’s been trying to find her this whole time, but he didn’t know about Vito’s connection to Chicago, so he hasn’t looked in this direction.”
“Wow. Seems like our alliance with the Bratva keeps getting stronger, eh?”
“Seems like,” he says with a smile. “And while Jakob’s enemies might describe him as an …” He rubs his jaw, searching for the right word.
“Animal?” I offer.
Chuckling, he nods. “But my sources tell me he’s respected among his peers. Both he and his brothers even managed an alliance with the Irish, and we know that would not be easy.”
“The Irish who took out their father’s former boss and allowed him to step into the role,” I remind him.
“Yeah, but they’re also the same men who married the true Bratva heir, Jessica Ivanov, although she goes by Jessie Ryan now. They do their best to keep her identity a secret and have every reason to cut all ties with the Mikhailovs, but they haven’t.”
“They’re all married to her?”
He nods. “It’s a complicated setup.”
“Sounds it.”
“If nothing else, a friend of the Ryans is a good ally to have, Maximo. They own half of New York.”
“You’re suggesting I use my sister to make connections in New York?”
“No.” He laughs. “I’m saying that Jakob Mikhailov is a solid guy, despite his reputation, and that there could be much worse families for your sister to become a part of.”
“Noted. And thanks, Dmitri.”
“You’re welcome, my friend.”
Staring at the ceiling, I hold Joey in my arms. Her leg drapes over my stomach, her sweet pussy resting on my hip. This is my favorite position in the whole world. Well, almost—having her bent over while I’m balls deep inside her is probably my all-time favorite. But this comes in a pretty close second. Freshly fucked and sleepy, snuggling into me like I’m her personal pillow.
I grab her chin and angle her head up so I can look at her. “I need to talk to you about something, baby.”
That cute little spot between her eyebrows pinches together with a confused frown. “What is it?”
“I love being here with you and I know that this is where we needed to be, but now that Kristin is heading back home and things are a lot more settled …”
“Yeah?”
“I have a perfectly safe and functional apartment in the city. I know we have Gabriella’s christening in a few days, but after that, I want to go home.”
She blinks a few times. “Oh, I see,” she whispers. “I can stay over though, right?”
Shaking my head, I laugh softly. “No, baby girl. I’m not leaving here without you.”
Her frown deepens.
“You think I could bear to spend even a single night away from this beautiful body?” I skim my hand over her perfect ass to emphasize my point. “I want you to come with me.”
She pushes herself up, resting her forearms on my chest. “Like move in with you?”
“Yes.”
“For real?”
“Can you think of a better alternative? I can’t be apart from you, but I’m over having to hold back when I fuck you, Joey.”
She arches one eyebrow. “This has been you holding back?”
I brush her hair back from her face and grin wickedly. “There’s so much I want to do with and to you that I can’t do in your brothers’ house. And it’s not all sex related, baby. I want to eat breakfast with you—granted, you will be naked, but still. I want to watch TV with you. While you’re naked. Cook dinner with you—”
“While I’m naked?”
I wink at her. “You catch on quick, baby girl. But I’m serious about this, I just want to be with you. I want to share every part of my life with you.”
“I want to be with you too, Max. It just seems like such a big step. What if I drive you crazy?”
“You do drive me crazy,” I remind her.
“True,” she says, giggling. “But I will miss Gabs. And Anya and Kat. And even my jackass brothers.”
“I know.”
“Not as much as I’d miss you though.”
Thank fuck for that.
“Can we visit every day?”
“Every day,” I assure her.
“But then every night …?” She chews on her bottom lip, fluttering her eyelashes and making my cock twitch.
“You’re all mine.”
