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I lazily trailed a finger over Kristoff’s chest. Something had shifted in the air. When Yuri had dropped me off back home, the last thing I’d expected was to end up in Kristoff’s bed. In a matter of mere hours, my life had completely changed. Day was night and up was down. I felt like the missing puzzle piece of my soul had finally clicked into place. I also felt sore in places I’d never felt sore before.
“You okay?” he asked.
I kissed his shoulder, ecstatic that I could freely do so. “Better than ever.”
“I mean, if you’re sore since this was your first time.”
I flushed as a memory surfaced of him being between my thighs. “I’m good.”
“You could’ve gotten hurt at the hotel you know.”
That was the last thing I wanted to talk about. Feeling bold, I explored his body. I shimmied down his chest and kissed a nipple.
He tensed. “Don’t think you can distract me.”
I gave him big eyes. “Would I ever do that? My butt still hurts.”
“You have a devious mind, so yes, you would.”
My lips trailed over a star tattoo on his chest. He had two of them. In fact, his chest was covered with tattoos. I’d seen some of them before, of course, when he was training. He even had the stars on his knees, which meant that he’d bow to no man. I looked up the meaning when I’d noticed that all the Bloody Ones carried the eight-pointed star somewhere on their bodies.
I trailed a finger over another tattoo. “Tell me five things about you I don’t know.” When he cocked a brow, I added, “Something we did in one of my classes. It’s from a case study about getting to know someone.”
“You’re into the social sciences now?”
My lips quirked. “Sure. Now stop stalling and answer my question. I’ll make it easy on you. What does this tattoo on your chest mean?”
“That’s the thieves’ star. It means you are aVory. On your chest, it indicates a high rank. I got that one during my fifth year in St. Petersburg.”
I’d always wondered about his time there. He rarely spoke of it.
“How did you end up there? You don’t speak with an accent. Were you born in Russia?”
“That’s what most people think, but I was born right here. The streets of San Francisco are my home. I lived in a two-bedroom apartment with my mother. She came from Russia to work here as an au pair, until she got pregnant with her employer, who was married. He kicked her out when he heard she was knocked up. I’m not sure if I was his first bastard, but I know I’m not the only one.”
I slid closer to him, remembering what he’d told me about his brother. “When did you find out about Hector?”
“Our mothers both worked at the mayor’s house, so they knew each other. Hector’s mother told him about me on her deathbed. He was still a kid back then. I knew we were brothers before he did.”
This surprised me. “And you never looked him up?”
“Once, before my mother died. I watched him from afar. It was weird seeing a complete stranger who carried my blood. He was a big kid, like me, but different.”
“Different how?”
Kristoff stared into the distance. “He looked carefree and happy just being with his mom. I felt both a connection with him and a discord because we lived worlds apart. The next time I saw him was after his mother’s death. He looked me up, having just heard about me. He called me his brother and I sent him away.”
“That doesn’t sound like you,” I said softly.
“I’d lost my mother and had aligned myself with Sokolov. What was I supposed to do with a little brother? He’d just end up like me. I wanted better for him. I didn’t realize, didn’t stop to consider, that he’d end up in the system. It wasn’t until later that I’d learned he got adopted by Gio’s grandmother. I kept tabs on him, of course, through my friendship with Gio Detta, but Hector never forgave me for abandoning him.”
“That doesn’t seem fair. You were barely legal yourself.”
“It doesn’t matter. Hector had just lost his mother and his mother’s family didn’t want him. He was all alone in the world and had just discovered he had a brother. I can still picture his smile when he came up to me and introduced himself. I crushed any hope he’d had. If there’s one thing I wish I could go back and change, it’s that moment.”
Again he surprised me. Kristoff wasn’t the kind of man who lived with regrets. He was of the mind that if you thought you were going to regret something, you shouldn’t do it in the first place. If not, then deal with it and never speak of it again.
“What would you have done differently?”
