AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I was thinking now?” She raises an eyebrow, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth before checking the time on her phone. “You can take me and drop me off? It gives you some time to go do whatever you need to do, and then we can come back here for the night.”
“Whatever you want,mo ghrá.” Walking to the bedroom, I grab a suit out of the closet and quickly dress.
“Pulling out the suit for me?” Natalia mocks as she enters the room.
Turning to face her, my lips turn up into a smile as I take in her appearance. Her auburn hair is tied up in a sophisticated updo and she’s wearing a black jumpsuit that accentuates every curve of her body. I want nothing more than to repeat last night, but now is not the time.
“I know how much you like them,” I tease in return, fastening the band of my watch around my wrist. “Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you,” I mutter as I slide my wedding ring back on.
Walking across the hall, I make my way into her room. Coming to a stop in front of the small jewelry box sitting on the dresser, I open it and retrieve the items with a reasoned smile.
“What’s that?” She asks, meeting me in the hall.
Holding out my closed hand, I open it palm facing up. Revealed in the middle of my open fist is her wedding set. Looking up, I’m surprised to already see a smile on her lips, her bottom lip once again tucked gently between her teeth. Reaching up, I caress the side of her face, tugging on her skin with my thumb. She lets it go and small indent marks stay in her delicate skin from her bite.
She holds out her left hand, and I take it in my free one before sliding the bands on. The set glides on perfectly, the tips of my fingers caress her knuckles as I admire the sight. My possessive side threatens to rear forward, but I am able to hold it down.She’s mine. Holding her hand up to my lips, I kiss the rings gently then pull her to me. Gripping her chin, I tilt her head and capture her lips in a passionate kiss, the searing pleasure already ready to spike through me. Pinning her between my body and the wall, my hand moves to grip the sides of her neck, always careful of her ability to breathe. Her hands rest on my chest, holding me as close as she can by the fabric of my lapels.
Breaking the kiss, I leave a small trail from her lips and down to her neck.
“Don’t ever take those off again, Natalia. You don’t want me to tell you twice.” I growl in her ear, and she murmurs an agreement, a harsh shiver trembling through her body momentarily. Standing to my full height again, I look down at her.
Slipping my hand into hers, I lead her out of the house and up to the cars. The ride to the warehouse is quiet, Natalia keeps her gaze out the window. My hand grips her thigh gently, almost fearful that she is going to disappear from underneath my touch. She doesn’t say anything, just places hers over mine. Her fingers intertwine in mine. I shoot her a happy glance. “Are you okay, Nat?”
“Hmm?” She turns her attention to me, confusion evident on her features as she processes what I said. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I just have so many questions for Dmitri. I know that my blow up wasn’t acceptable. I want him to know that I don’t wish him the kind of harm that came to me… it’s not fair, but life isn’t about fair. Life is about getting what you are capable of handling.”
“Understandable,” I agree with a slight nod. “I think spending some time just the two of you will answer some of those harder ones that you’ve been too fearful to express.”
“I hope so, though fearful isn’t the word I would use.” We pull into the parking lot and she inhales sharply. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous…” Her words trail off. Her hand becomes slightly shaky on top of mine, already getting clammy. I flip mine over to lace our fingers together properly, giving her a comforting squeeze.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” I ask, and she shakes her head adamantly.
“You need to go see Finn,” she says and unbuckles, trying to remove her hand from mine. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Leaning across the console of the car, I reach behind her head and pull her into a kiss. I try to pour my heart and soul into this, praying to whomever exists that she’ll stay safe. When I finally let her go, her eyes linger on mine for a second longer before she climbs out of the car and walks up to the door of the warehouse. Using the key I gave her when we left the safe house, I watch as she opens the door and slips inside. I sharply exhale, relieved that she made it alive from point A to point B. It may have only been a few feet, but that distance could be the opportunity enemies need.
Turning the car around, I begin to make my way to my main warehouse where I know Finn is working today. He’s really helped pick up the slack on everything for me. Now that Natalia is back, if only temporarily now, I can work on actually doing my job. Having her gone has been a nightmare, one that I’ve had on repeat for the past year of my life. Add the additional trauma that she’s had to endure while alone, I hope that she can see I won’t let her do anything by herself anymore. She won’t have to grieve on her own. No, I’ll be there every step of the way. I won’t let her push me out once again.
Once at the warehouse, I get out and head inside, minimizing outside time as much as possible. Saying hello to a few of the men working, I stroll into the office. I see my right hand man sitting behind the desk, one hand held in his hair tightly while the other is making notations.
“Unless someone is dying or bleeding, I don’t need the added headache right now,” Finn snaps as he hears me come in, not looking up from his papers. I’m not upset, but I know a way to make him shit himself.
“Is that anyway to speak to your boss?” I question with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed over my chest, trying my best to hide my amusement.
“Fuck,” he curses under his breath with a jump, snapping to look up at me. “My bad, man.”
“What’s going on?” I sit down in the chair across from him. He’s been running the show, working on this bullshit paperwork that I have to do all of the time. It’s more time consuming than anything, but it can be a pain. Dropping the pen with a clatter, he groans while pinching his nose.
“Skylar is pissed at me, again. This shipment order isn’t adding up for some fucking reason. I haven’t slept in two goddamn days,” he grumbles, raking his fingers through his hair roughly. He tugs on the ends, heavily setting his head in his hands.
Leaning forward, I glare at him like a best friend instead of just his boss. “Why didn’t you tell me, Finn? I could have come sooner. I don’t want to make you hate me for all the extra shit you’ve picked up around here. Natalia would have understood, she’s from this life.”
“She would have, I know, but I didn’t want to put you in the position that you needed to choose.” While I understand the sentiment, I don’t need him and Skylar having any more issues because of me. He doesn’t realize that is exactly what he is doing now.
“I appreciate that, I do… but you’re running yourself into the ground.” I counter, steepling my fingers in front of my face and leaning against them. He narrows his eyes at me briefly.
He eventually gives up, sighing with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Bullshit. I’m fine it’s just a fuck ton to do. I don’t know how you fucking do this man. Either way, I just need your eyes on this, some shit ain’t right,” he counters while pushing a paper toward me. The shipment summary?
“This is having half of our shipment being sent to the Belov warehouse,” I speculate, looking over the paper with furrowed brows. “That doesn’t make any sense. What the hell is my father trying to do?”
