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,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.”
I 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.”
Sephie
I ran upstairs to change, while Andrei waited outside my bedroom for me. I traded the jeans for a pair of leggings. I threw on a sports bra and a bigger shirt, to make sure Andrei didn’t see anything he shouldn’t see. When I came out of my room, he had his back to the door, like the guardian he was. I took the opportunity to jump on his back like a spider monkey. “Onward, trusty steed!” I said pointing ahead of him. He grabbed my legs and bounced me up higher on his back. He walked down the stairs like he wasn’t carrying a whole a*s other person on his back.
He turned at the bottom of the stairs and went toward all the guys’ rooms. “Ohhh, I haven’t been this way yet. It’s an adventure!” I said, trying to be as annoying as possible.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.