Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Sephie

As we walked back toward the house, his fingers laced in mine, he was quiet. I didn’t mind the silence, but I was waiting on the usual change in behavior to happen. I was waiting for the way he looked at me to change.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, with that s*xy smirk that I loved. “Bingo is definitely happening,” was all he said as he grinned at me.

It was exactly the thing I needed to hear. I started laughing and wrapped his arm around my shoulders so I could slide my arm around his waist. We walked in silence the rest of the way to the house, but he would periodically peek at me and kiss the top of my head.

Maybe he was going to be different too.

As we came out of the woods, the cl*uds were growing darker above us. Thunder rumbled in the distance and within a few seconds, a flash of lightning lit up the sky. I inhaled deeply, loving the smell of rain.

Adrik stopped and pulled me to him. He kissed me deeply, holding me against him tightly. My knees threatened to give way beneath me. I clung to him to keep from falling as I was caught completely off guard by the passion behind this kiss. My breaths came heavier as he was unrelenting. I felt like he was trying to convince me of his passion in just one kiss. Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, he kissed my lips softly. He looked deeply into my eyes. I was searching his eyes for the change I was expecting, but I saw nothing different. He looked at me with the same intensity he always had, maybe even a little more.

He kissed the tip of my nose and with an impish grin said, “race you!” as he took off running toward the house.

“Oh, it’s on,” I said taking off after him. He was fast, but so was I and he didn’t have couches to jump this time. On a straightaway, I was pretty fast. I easily caught up to him in a short distance. We still had around 200 yards to the house. He glanced to the side and saw me right at his heels, a wide smile on his face. He tried to speed up, but I was prepared and increased my speed as well, so I stayed right by him. I was expecting him to tire before we reached the house and then I could pass him.

We had maybe 20 yards to go and he started to give out. I easily passed him. Looking back, he had slowed to a walk, trying to catch his breath. I kept jogging the rest of the way to the back patio. I stood waiting for him, looking at my pretend watch the whole time. He was still panting when he finally caught up to me.

“How,” he said, breathlessly. “How are you so fast.”

“Many of those nights I spent away from my uncle’s house were spent running.” I winked at him.

“You’re like a gazelle.”

I laughed at him, still trying to catch his breath. “You okay? Do I need to send for someone to carry you in the house? I don’t think I can do it by myself,” I said as raindrops started to fall.

He was still partially bent over, trying to catch his breath, but he slung one arm around my shoulders and lifted one leg like I was going to pick him up. “Come on, I think you can do it. You almost killed me.

it’s the least you can do.”

The rain started to fall harder. I grabbed his hand, pulling him along behind me. “You’re very dramatic for a Lord King Boss.”

As we got under one of the balconies and out of the rain, he suddenly stopped. “Lord King Boss?”

I laughed, “yeah, that was the title I came up with for you the first night we met. I didn’t know who you were or what your title was.”

He thought for a minute. “I like it. It’s authoritative.”

“That’s exactly what I said!” I said dramatically. “Where are Viktor and Andrei? They need to hear this.”

As if he was waiting for me to say his name, Viktor appeared outside. “Boss, you have an important call.”

“Who is it?”

“Salvadori.”

He glanced at me, almost like he was seeking permission to take the call. I knew Salvadori was Anthony’s father. This was important. “Go. I’ll be fine,” I said.

We followed Viktor in the house. Adrik immediately went upstairs to his office, with Viktor. I wandered into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Sprinting makes me thirsty. The house was quiet. Everyone must be in their rooms or gone. I stood in the kitchen, leaning against one of the counters, lost in my head. So much had happened in the last three days.

I heard heavy footsteps coming toward the kitchen. I looked up to see Ivan, Misha, and Stephen walking together, all looking very determined.

“You guys are going to f*ck some sh*t up, aren’t you?” I asked,

1

Before they could answer, Viktor and Adrik came into the kitchen from upstairs. Adrik had changed into slacks and an oxford shirt, with the top two buttons unbuttoned. His hair was combed neatly, but he still hadn’t taken the time to shave. His stubble was fast approaching a full beard. I can’t say that I hated it, though. I caught myself looking forward to running my hands over that stubble later.

“Solnishko. Salvadori wants to meet with me,” Adrik said, walking to my side. He took my glass of water from my hand and finished it.

“He’s coming here?” I said, starting to get nervous.

“Net. No one comes here. No one knows here exists and I plan to keep it that way,” he said, refilling my glass of water at the refrigerator. He walked back to me, handing me the full glass of water. “Andrei will stay here with you, just in case,” he said.

“You don’t need him too? You realize there are like 47 guards and at least that many dogs outside, right? I mean, I feel fairly protected.”

He leaned in close, kissing my temple and whispered, “I have a pinky swear to uphold, solnishko.”

1 blushed.

“Stay with Andrei. Please? And do what he says if anything happens,” he said.

I nodded my head and looked up at him, trying to mask the nervousness I was feeling. His hand cupped the side of my face as he pulled me to him and kissed me deeply, in full view of all the guys.

Even Andrei, who had just walked into the kitchen was privy to this moment. I was struggling between feeling utterly shy in front of everyone and not wanting to let him go. He pulled away slowly, that intensity in his eyes making them darker than normal.

“Please be careful,” I said.

“Always. We won’t be gone too long. You’ll be safe with Andrei. Pinky swear,” he said as he winked at me before turning to go.

“Wait! Salvadori’s eye twitches when he’s being dishonest. Or when he’s angry,” I said. Adrik raised an eyebrow, but simply nodded as he turned to leave.

Please come back to me, I thought to myself as I watched him walk out of the kitchen, followed by everyone but Andrei.

I looked at Andrei. “Ok, so now what, boss? You’re the babysitter, so what’s on the agenda?”

was going to workout, so you can come with me. It might be boring for you, but I’m supposed to not let you out of my sight until Boss gets back,” he said.

“Ohhh, can I get in on that workout? It’s been like four days since I’ve done anything. Unless you count beating Adrik in a race a little bit ago.” –

“You beat him? Really?” he asked, completely surprised.

I just stared at him for a moment, faking being offended that he didn’t believe me right away. “I’m fast as f*ck, boy.”

He laughed. “Okay, Usain.”