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“Absolutely not!”
“Alexi. Stop being an overprotective idiot.” Merrily made the statement with a flippant wave of her hand, like she’d just dismissed her husband’s objections because they were silly. I winced. This wasn’t going to go well. For me. Everyone with a brain knew Alexi would never tell his wife she was being silly, so if he argued with her, he’d hurt her feelings. Which meant he was in a no-win situation, which gave him one more reason to hate me. “Bella is an adult. She can make her own decisions.”
“She’s not ready for a man like him, Merrily. He’s a good man at heart, but he’ll chew her up and spit her out!”
Merrily grinned. “I’m pretty sure I had that exact same thought about you when we first met, dear.” Alexi shot her a look but didn’t respond. Wise man.
“It’s up to me to adapt if he tries to chew me up,” Rose said, still clinging to me. “If he has to be what I need, I have to be what he needs, too. I promise, Dad. We’ll work it out.”
Alexi looked from his daughter to me and back several times. When he brought his focus back to me, his features hardened. “Again, Atlas. You’re nothing to her. She’s nothing to you. You were forced together under extreme circumstances. It created a false sense of intimacy --”
“Alexi, she’s everything to me. She’s also the mother of my child. That makes her mine. But it also makes me hers.”
“What?” He barked out the question. “What do you mean she’s the mother of your child? Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?”
“Afraid not. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I don’t regret it. Only the circumstances around it.”
Alexi was silent for a long time, just staring at me. Sizing me up one more time. “Just because you knocked my daughter up doesn’t mean you get a hand in my money. You don’t. I’ll take care of Bella and her child, but you don’t get one red cent.”
“All right, that’s enough,” Merrily snapped. “Too far, Alexi.” Her husband ignored her and continued.
“She’s got your brand on her, you know.” Dad’s gaze narrowed. “Burned into her skin.”
“I know where you’re going with this, Alexi. It’s already arranged. The second we get back to the Iron Tzars compound, it will be done. As to your money? I have no desire to take from you. I’ll give Rose everything I can on my own. I may not be able to give her all the material things you can, but I’ll give her all of me. My love and protection. Her and however many children she wants to give me. You can’t buy love.”
“You’d better. As to the other, I expect visual proof. I also expect you to give her everything she gave you.”
“You can count on it, sir.”
“Are you done, Alexi?” Mom didn’t look happy. In fact, she looked like she wanted to stab her husband with a dinner fork.
“You knew this had to be done, Merrily.”
“Atlas just told you you’re going to be a grandfather, and you’re acting like you’re ready to kill him.” Mom looked like she was just shy of stomping her foot like an angry toddler. “Think about what he said and the impact it’s about to have on your life, Alexi.” She raised an eyebrow. “Grandpa. I think I like that better.” She smirked before turning back to us. “Come now. Let’s eat. You have a little one to feed and, if that child is anything like you were, you’re about to have days you only wish you could eat.” Mom smiled and reached out a hand for me. I went eagerly. Atlas stood and helped me into my chair before taking his own seat.
“Truce?” Atlas raised an eyebrow at Dad.
The other man snorted. “For now.” Then he grinned. “Welcome to the family. Son.”
Atlas groaned. “That one’s gonna get old real fast.”
Chapter Seven
Atlas
Dinner could have been the biggest disaster in the history of the world. Instead, it ended up being a very pleasant evening. Once Alexi made up his mind to embrace his daughter’s wishes, he did so with gusto. Probably helped that we both respected each other. I knew he’d always have an eye on me, though. One misstep, and the man and his brothers knew how to make me disappear. Which didn’t bother me, because I intended to make Rose so happy she never had reason to regret giving me a chance.
We’d ended the night in her bedroom. We made love, but mostly talked until the early morning. She’d missed me as much as I’d missed her, to my tremendous relief. It felt strange making love to my woman in her bedroom. I mean, the house was so enormous I could almost imagine it was a luxury hotel. But the fact was, I was fucking my woman in her parents’ house. And I was a forty-one-year-old man, for crying out loud! Rose had gotten a kick out of that.
