ONE YEAR LATER
I stand in front of my walk-in, picking a nightgown—though I probably won’t be needing it tonight.
Not that I do on most nights.
My hand barely touches one before a warm body glues to mine from behind. I briefly close my eyes, breathing in his clean scent mixed with his special masculine odor. It clings to me like a second skin.
I love smelling him on me. I feel like I have him with me at all times even when we’re apart.
Turning around, I don’t bother to hide my nakedness—I’m completely free with Kyle. Besides, I love the way his eyes darken to the furious blue color of a stormy sky.
I’m the only one who’s able to put that look on his face. The only one who gets under his skin as much as he gets under mine.
“You’re back early. Mikhail isn’t giving you a hard time, is he?”
“As if he can. I’m making him profit. Also, I’m the one who’s giving him a hard time, not the other way around.”
I chuckle, almost imagining that. Ever since Kyle found out Mikhail is his father, he’s been slowly taking care of his brigade and teaching his younger, reckless half-brothers and half-sisters some sense. I guess the behavioral issue runs in their blood, but Kyle is old enough to not let it guide him anymore.
I wouldn’t say my relationship with Mikhail is rainbows and roses. I still don’t approve of his ways and he still thinks I meddle too much for my own good. However, we tolerate each other for Kyle’s sake.
“And why are we talking about my father when I’m about to devour you?” He lowers his lips to my neck, sucking on the skin and eliciting a moan from me.
“You are?”
“Fuck right, I am.” He speaks against my skin as he fiddles with his belt. “Quick before the devil’s minion wakes up.”
I laugh, but the sound turns into a squeal when he carries me, both of his big hands resting beneath my thighs. My legs loop around his waist as he powers inside me. He doesn’t even bother to back me against the wall. Kyle holds my entire weight against him as he rams into me. The position doesn’t diminish his strength; if anything, it makes him go deeper.
I hold on to his shoulders with all my might, moaning. “Oh, K-Kyle…there…there…”
“Shh, you’ll wake him up.” He smiles against my lips even though he thrusts exactly where I need him.
It’s crazy how he keeps learning my body like it’s his masterpiece and he can’t stop. He still brings me to heights of pleasure I never thought would be possible.
People say we’ll fall into a routine soon and that things will become normal, but they still haven’t. We had more sex when I was pregnant than ever before—I blame the hormones for that. Even after I gave birth, Kyle wouldn’t stop touching me and bringing me to orgasm. As soon as the doctor said I could have sex again, I barged into Kyle’s office and climbed him. I could probably blame the postnatal hormones for that too.
But this? The way I come undone around him in no time? I can only blame my stupid body and heart, which are easily stimulated by his presence.
Kyle empties himself inside me at the same time as I shatter to pieces, my nails digging into his shirt.
Panting, I rest my head on his shoulder, catching my breath. Kyle doesn’t seem to be tired of holding my weight since he remains in the same position.
His lips brush against my temple as he strokes my hair away from my face. God, I love the gentle way he touches me as much as the rough and unapologetic ways he fucks me.
This might have become an everyday occurrence, but I don’t take anything for granted. We suffered a lot to get where we are and every day is a war zone in our world, but Kyle and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sergei is still holding on, and he’s trying a new treatment that may cure his cancer, so the leadership hasn’t changed.
Many other things have, though.
The most important of all is Anastasia. A few days after Kyle and I got back together, we woke up to find her gone. The only thing she left behind was a note which said she stole the money, that she’s sorry, and we shouldn’t look for her.
Of course, we searched for her, but it’s like she was sucked into a different dimension. She left absolutely no trace behind.
Her strange behavior before her disappearance made more sense.
No one would’ve thought the sweet innocent Anastasia would do something like that, but I think we all ignored how smart she is, ignored the possibility that the naïve façade could be just that—a façade.
After an internal investigation in V Corp, I figured out how she discreetly hacked into the system. During her internship, she embezzled small amounts every month, then took them and left.
Sergei, who was ready to have Kyle snipe down the thief, told me we needed to cover up for her after we found her note. Because if anyone else from the brotherhood knew she stole, she’d be found and killed. There’s no mercy for thieves.
Peter, the young guard who handed Kyle to Rolan, disappeared, too. Igor thinks he went back to Russia, but he can’t tell for sure. Kyle is still insistent on finding and murdering him, though, not only for handing him to Rolan that day, but for pushing me down the stairs.
The war with the Irish isn’t completely over, but their new leader isn’t as aggressive toward us as Rolan was.
Damien and Kirill still get on my nerves, but neither of them comments on my presence at the table anymore. Considering the net profit I bring to V Corp, no one can question my worth.
I’ve even started to openly meet with Reina, Asher, and Gareth now. If Kirill found out, the others would’ve soon followed, and I wasn’t going to hide my twin sister as if she was a dirty secret.
Well, I had to bug them about security, but Reina said it’s worth it if she gets to see regularly. Then she arranged ‘double dates’ for us. We attempted to dress at each other to misguide our husbands, but they figured us out in an instant. When I asked Kyle how he knew, he said it’s the look in my eyes. No one, not even my identical twin sister, could emulate it.
Stroking Kyle’s hair, I push back to stare at his face. “Do you know that I love you?”
He grins. “Not really. Can you repeat it?”
I brush soft kisses on his cheek, eyelids, and nose, ending with his lips. “I love you more than anything.”
While I show my stern business face to the world, I get to be entirely free in Kyle’s presence. This feeling is my aphrodisiac.
I’m about to deepen the kiss and go for round two when a crying sound from the adjoining room interrupts me.
Kyle groans as I climb down his body. “That cockblocker.”
“Stop it.” I laugh, put on the first robe I find, and quicken my pace to the crib in which our baby boy is lying.
I pick him up and he immediately quiets. Nikolai is two months old and has the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Reina says it’s a mixture of mine and Kyle’s. His hair is the same shade as his father’s, and his skin is so soft I would kiss him all day if I could.
My pregnancy with him was so smooth I almost didn’t feel the time passing me by. He was such a docile baby who only kicked when I was awake or when Kyle was holding me. It was like he felt us both and wanted to make his presence known. The easiness of the pregnancy might have also been caused by how Kyle was caring for me every second of every day. He barely left my side and made me feel like I was the most precious thing on earth.
He still does.
“Were you scared because you were alone, baby?” I smile at him and he smiles back. “Kyle! Did you see that? His first smile.”
“He’s just taunting me.” Kyle wraps his arms around my waist from behind and lets Nikolai grab his finger. “The first rule in the father-son manual says that you don’t cockblock your dad, Nikolai.”
“You’re so awful.” I laugh as I lean my head back against his chest. “He’s just a baby. Besides, you were the one behind the idea of having him, remember?”
“And now I’m paying the price.”
“It’s worth it, though. We have our family.”
He kisses the top of my head, and I melt in his embrace. “We do. I’ll protect you both with my life.”
“So will I.”
