Page 68 of Lord of Passion

Watching them dance together, arms around the babies, tears sting my eyes. I will do anything to keep Liria this happy. Nothing bad can touch her ever again.

***

When Nikandr gets home that night, he looks exhausted. He flew from Boston to Minneapolis and home again for back-to-back meetings. He's rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and while he paces, telling a bit about his day, I enjoy his Forearm Porn. Thick muscles and the veins roping his powerful arms.

I'm horrible. I'm as bad as a teenage boy. A crazy man broke into my office and all I can think about is how hot my husband is.

Nikandr pauses to take a gulp of his vodka, his eyes scanning the New York skyline outside our windows.

Ours.

When did the penthouse become ours?

Because it feels like home when Nikandr is here.

"Hey, I need to talk to you about this afternoon." I hate adding Johann on top of the funeral pyre that is his professional life right now, but it's time. "So, when I went back to the office after lunch -"

His phone rings and he gives me a quick, apologetic smile. "One moment, love." My heart dances with happiness at the word until I see his face darken, like a storm sweeping over the ocean. "They what? Is there nothing these stupid bastards can hold on to? I'll be right there." Nik looks up at me, distracted. "I'm sorry, what happened today?" He's already shrugging on his suit jacket.

"Is whatever you're going to handle bad?" I ask, heart sinking.

"Bad enough." He picks up his phone, sending a text to Vasilisa.

"It's not a big deal." I walk over, going up on tiptoe to give him a kiss. "Go handle what you need to, okay? I'll be here."

Tomorrow's fine, I think.I'll tell him tomorrow.

***

O bozhe moy -Oh, my god in Russian

Chapter Thirty-One

In which life is like a zebra.

The next day…

Nikandr…

If I had to describe my life right now, it would have been best explained by my grandmother Morozova, who would dourly pronounce:Zhizn' pokhozha na zebru: za beloy polosoy vsegda sleduyet chernaya.

"Life is like a zebra," she would lecture us. "If there is a white stripe, it is always followed by a black one." Meaning, the white stripe of good fortune will be muted by the black stripe of deep misfortune. The better things are going, the worse my bad luck will be.

***

My white stripe of good fortune is Caroline. No matter how dire the challenges are that the Bratva is facing, my moments with her are disconcertingly pleasing. We usually arrived home late, around the same time because her work ethic was just like mine. We changed out of our work clothes. Traditionally, I wouldn't bother, but the look in her eyes the first time I sauntered out wearing only a pair of sweatpants was something I wanted to see every night.

We would make dinner or argue over what dish the chef prepared. There was one night a week ago where neither of us was willing to compromise and we ended up with a table covered in five different dishes. "There's only one thing to do," she'd said, hands on hips and surveying the groaning dining table. "We call Alexsey and Liria."

At the mention of food that they didn't have to cook themselves, they were at our front door, each holding a twin, within fifteen minutes.

It was a good night.

I wasn't used to "couples" moments. I dated when it was convenient and when it wasn't, I'd hit Roman's sex club. Here, though, as a married man and sitting next to my wife, watching her face light up as she and Liria shared some reprehensible adventure from their teen years was satisfying. Deeply satisfying. It was something so simple, but it gave me enormous pleasure to hear my wife laugh.

"Comeon,"Alexsey chuckled, "that was really fucking funny, Nik. And all we get is your chilly smile?"

"Oh, Nikandr doesnotlaugh," Caroline said, side-eyeing me. "He has the polite social chuckle he reserves for associates who think they're funny. If Yuri or Tania say something hilarious - which isallthe time - he busts out the half laugh. Just…" She demonstrated a painful, abortive laugh, "'Ha… heh.' That's it."