Page 17

The car ride back to Carver’s house was a quiet one. We were both caught up in our thoughts. He was no doubt preparing for our discussion once we got there. A part of me was, too, but the rest was remembering what Victoria said and letting it rattle around in my brain. She had great advice regardless of whether we were open to it at that moment or not. The three of us were irked with our men, to say the least.

Victoria led us to a table in a lovely gazebo. There was no one in it. We sat and waited for her to start the conversation. She gave us tender smiles.

“I know you want to yell at their asses, maybe punch them in the head a few times, and then stomp off to bask in your outrage. Let me begin by saying there is nothing wrong with you feeling that way. And you could do all those and more. However, do what I have learned to do. Matvey is very much like your men, and when we were first together, he would keep things from me. He wasn’t trying to do it maliciously. He genuinely worried about how it would affect me mentally and sometimes physically. He is overprotective with a capital O.

“He kept doing it until I exploded and said that I was leaving him. I was done if he would not be honest with me and treat me as his life partner and love. If I wanted to be a useless ornament, I would have married the numerous men my father tried to make me marry. Matvey was not my father’s first or even third choice. At the time, his oldest brother was set to be pahkan. My father thought the Ivanova family was a good one to tie ourselves to, but I should aim higher for one of his older brothers.

Anyway, I reminded him of that. He was beside himself, yelling and threatening to lock me up until I came to my senses. I told him I would remove his cock and balls if he tried it. He knew if he laid a finger on me in violence, he would lose me forever. I made that very clear when he came courting me. It took some negotiation, you could call it, before he listened and saw it from my point of view. Once he did, he vowed always to tell me everything I wanted to know. I let him know there may be times I only want specific details. He knows to share it all if I do not tell him otherwise. I am not a vapid, weak, or stupid person. I can handle everything that comes with being the wife of a Bratva pahkan. It is my duty to protect him and what we have as much as it is his to do it.”

We heard the steel in her tone and saw the fire in her eyes. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of her fury. She was sweet, but now I knew she could be a tigress.

“I’ve already had this issue with Mikhail more than once. It makes it hard not to scream. I know he does it out of love, but still,”

Tajah confessed.

“And Hoss is the same. Our men don’t like to be out of control and not protect what they love,”

Cady agreed.

“I’ve only been with Carver a short time, but other than special situations, he needs to be in command, but not in an authoritarian way, if that makes sense. However, I’m a strong woman, like you said, Victoria. I have to feel that I’m his partner in all things. Having him not tell me about the room has upset me. I understand why he did it intellectually, but it still upsets me.”

“Believe me, my brother is commanding in a quieter way than some. That’s due to our dad. You saw how he acted at dinner that night. He’s loud and overbearing. Carver tries not to act like him,”

Cady added.

“God, don’t get me started on your dad. And your mom isn’t blameless, but that’s a topic for another day. Do you have a suggestion on how we go about having this conversation with our men and getting them to the point where they understand and agree to our method and degree of involvement?”

I asked Victoria.

Her smile was wickedly mischievous. “I do. You take them home, and you sex them up until they can’t think straight and are so desperate for you that they’ll agree to it. You all belong to Lustz. Surely, you have ways to make them catch fire in the bedroom. And when they do, don’t put out the flames until they see your point. Then fuck them until neither of you can walk for the next day or two.”

Victoria laughed loudly and clapped her hands.

This made us all cackle. Based on our expressions, we went straight to planning how we’d do it. That had been the end of our talk with her. We hung out at the gazebo, talking about other things until the guys came to find us. We’d said our goodbyes and left not long afterward.

We’d been home for about half an hour. I was in the bedroom, sorting laundry to do tomorrow. I was doing mindless things that didn’t require my concentration. Carver was somewhere in the house. We separated after entering when we arrived home. I hated the stiffness between us. I was trying to decide how to broach the topic and keep Victoria’s advice in mind.

I had all our clothes in separate piles and was scrubbing the tub when Carver came marching into the bathroom. “I’ll do that or pay someone to do it. There’s no need for you to scrub anything,”

he growled.

I straightened and put my hands on my hips, glaring back at him. “I’ll do whatever I feel like. If you don’t like it, I’ll go home. In fact, that’s what I should do. I’ll leave you here in peace,”

I snapped.

I tossed the washcloth into the tub and tried to squeeze past him. He grabbed my upper arms and pinned me to the wall. He wasn’t hurting me, only preventing me from walking away.

“Like hell, you’re leaving. You’ll stay here, where you belong. I’m not letting you go there and end up hurt when that freak gets out of the hospital. You might not like my methods or that I kept things from you, Alexandra, but I did it out of concern. I don’t want you hurt or scared,”

he barked.

“I’m an adult. Being scared is part of life. You need to let me decide if I can’t cope with something. I detest being treated like I’m a child.”

“No one thought you were one until you came home to mope and won’t talk to me.”

Outrage filled me at his snarky remark. Without another thought, I punched him in the stomach. He barely flinched, and it hurt my hand, but it made me feel better. Maybe Victoria was right. A few punches would help me, at least.

“Move your ass back and let go of me,”

I ordered.

“What if I say no? Are you punching me again?”

“Maybe, or maybe I’ll wait until you get tired, let go, and fall asleep. While you are, I’ll cut your balls off and shove them up your ass.”

“Christ, blood-thirsty, aren’t you? You shouldn’t have told me that. Now, I’ll have to stay awake or tie you up so you can’t do it,”

he shot back.

We sounded stupid, but it was easing my ire a bit. Deciding to finish depleting as much anger as possible, I kept going.

“Well, too bad, because now I’ll for sure go home. Or maybe I’ll stay and sneak up on you when you least expect it and claim those precious balls. Or we can work this out so all your body parts and my freedom are safe. Is that too much to ask? All joking aside, this isn’t play. It’s us paving the way to have a successful, lasting relationship. I not only want, but I also need, a partnership of equals, Carver. If not, it’ll become a cage for both of us.”

His fingers eased their hold on me, fell away, and he put a small amount of space between us. “I know we’re not playing. I want us to last for the rest of our lives, Alexandra. And I know it won’t if we’re not happy and fulfilled. But I’m struggling to come to terms with what that looks like. If I subvert my protective tendencies, you won’t get all of me.”

“I know that, and I’m not asking you to subvert them. Just don’t crush my protective tendencies. I need to be my own strong and independent person. We can protect each other.”

He mulled over what I said for a couple of moments and then asked something I wasn’t expecting at that second. “What did Victoria tell you, my sister, and Taj?”

“She told us how it was with her and Matvey early in their marriage and how they came to be where they are now, which sounds like they’re in sync and partners in every way. It’s what the three of us want. Cady and Taj are struggling with it as well.”

“I figured they were since Hoss and Mikhail are, too. None of us wants to subjugate you. Personally, I adore your fire and strength. I just need to figure out how to balance it with my protective instincts.”

“A good start is to acknowledge that women have protective instincts, too, that we need fulfilled. And we’re not the weaker sex, except sometimes in a physically strong way. Psychological and mental studies show we’re often superior. I want to help carry the load, no matter what kind it is, Carver. Is that what you want in your significant other?”

“Yes, God, yes, I do. It’ll take time. Will you give it to me?”

he hesitantly asked as though I’d say no.

I took his hand and led him out of the bathroom and over to the bed. He sat next to me after I sat on the mattress. “Carver, I know that we confessed we were falling for each other not long ago. I’m mentioning that because it is important to this conversation. My feelings have changed.”

Before I could say more, he jerked and gave me a panicked look. I rushed to finish before he interrupted me. “I mean, they’ve gotten deeper!”

He blew out a relieved breath.

“Carver, it’s quick, but I’ve fallen in love with you, and it’s scary to admit that.

You know what happened with Germain and how that turned out.

I swore I’d never let myself fall for another man until he’d had a large amount of time to prove his feelings for me and for me to be sure I loved him.

With you, I find I love you, but I also lust for you.

The depth of those two emotions is rather overwhelming.

That’s why it’s so important we’re on the same page with the other stuff. It would gut me for us to fail because of something like that.”

He cupped my face and drew me closer until scant inches separated us.

“Thank fuck you said that because I’m one hundred percent head-over-heels in love with you, Alexandra Roche.

And my lust for you is insanely high.

If we work together on smoothing out the rough things, like the protectiveness factor, then we have nothing to worry about.

We’ll be together until the end of this lifetime.”

I moaned as he eliminated the space between our mouths, and he kissed me.

I made sure I poured my love and desire into my half of the kiss while he did the same.

It took very little time to have me burning up.

I wanted him, and I wasn’t willing to wait, play games, or anything else.

I needed him.

He growled in protest as I wiggled away from him.

He was reaching for me when I stood and yanked my top off.

Seeing what I was about, he didn’t prevent me from working on my bra next.

While I divested myself of what little clothing I had on for a humid August day, he was on his feet, tearing off his clothes just as frantically.

When we were both naked, I was tumbled back onto the bed by him.

He hovered over me.

I saw his erect cock bobbing and swaying between his legs.

I tried to reach down to touch it, but he thwarted me by dropping to his knees beside the bed.

My thighs were grabbed and widened, and I was slid closer to the edge of the mattress.

I sobbed in relief when his tongue swiped up the center of my folds and flicked my bejeweled clit when he got to it.

I cried out louder when he sucked it into his mouth and used his teeth and tongue to drive me insane.

My pussy was already damp when he licked, but his ministrations had me soaked in no time.

The sounds of satisfaction Carver made any time he ate my pussy turned me on.

The man loved to eat me out.

I whimpered when his mouth moved away.

“Alexandra, Jesus, you don’t know how much I love tasting your honey and having it on my tongue, sliding down my throat, and coating my face and beard. Come for me, beautiful. Scream my name and cover me in your sweet cum,”

he demanded then he was back to pleasuring me.

His fingers were in on the action as well. He teased my folds and thrust his fingers in and out of my pussy. I was growing tenser when a wet finger ran over my asshole and paused to push barely on the opening.

“Yes, please, yes,”

I cried out. After what we’d done last night, I would gladly let him finger fuck both holes.

I gasped as he wiggled it inside carefully.

It burned, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

It wasn’t long with the way he was licking, sucking, and nibbling on my pussy to have that finger buried in my ass.

When he thrust in and out together, I moaned loudly.

It supercharged him, and he became more frantic in his efforts.

Carver pushed me to have an orgasm in a scant few minutes.

I wasn’t entirely recovered from the peak when he revved up his mouth and fingers to push me toward a second orgasm.

When I hit the second high, I screamed his name, “Carver.”

As I gasped for air and fought to regain control, Carver abruptly stood.

His glistening face was twisted in a slight snarl.

I couldn’t talk yet to ask if he was alright.

I discovered he was when his hands tightened on my thighs, and my legs yanked open wider.

Then the head of his cock touched my entrance, and he shoved his cock into me hard.

I bowed my back up as he drove it into the hilt.

He held himself there as he stared down at me.

Holding my gaze, he slowly withdrew until he was almost out, then flexed his hips, driving his cock back inside.

Unable to help myself, I wrapped my legs around his ass, and when he’d start to stroke inward, I flexed and drove my pussy onto his hardness.

He groaned and threw back his head at the sensation.

I cried out in bliss.

Our pace was fast, deep, and hard.

We came together as if our lives depended on it.

But it was more than sex.

This sex was a declaration of our love for each other.

There was a ton of emotion behind it, not just a physical response to stimuli.

My whole body tightened in preparation for release.

When it happened, I wailed long and hard.

I clamped around him, causing him to stutter in his thrust, and then he finished it and held himself still as he bellowed my name and gave me his essence.

It was incredible and indescribable.

I had no idea when either of us stopped coming or how long I was lost in a sea of bliss.

But when I was cognizant again, moving or keeping my eyelids open was almost impossible.

Carver was lying over me, barely held up on his forearms.

His ragged breathing had softened, and his head lay next to mine.

I turned my head enough to kiss his cheek.

“I love you, Carver Anderson,”

I whispered.

His head turned so he could see me with one eye. “And I love you, Alexandra Roche.”

I closed my eyes and smiled.

Carver:

Almost a week had passed since the cookout at Matvey’s, and his soldaty spilling the beans about the creepy-as-fuck room Reef had in his home.

All three couples were on their way to working out parameters that each of us could live with.

We didn’t go into detail about it when I spoke to Hoss and Mikhail, other than to say it had made for interesting times.

None of us blamed Isaak and Rurik.

Today marked something more.

It was the first day that Reef was out of the hospital.

We’d kept tabs on him.

He spent two days in the ICU and was then downgraded to a regular medical bed.

He’d been paid a quiet visit to remind him not to say a word about who beat him or why.

Rurik and Isaak were the ones who did it.

They reported to Matvey that he seemed scared enough to keep his mouth shut, but they still doubted that he was afraid enough to stay away over time.

Rurik said Reef had asked if Alexandra knew he was in the hospital or if she’d asked about him.

They lied and said she had no idea and hadn’t mentioned him. They left him throwing a tantrum, tossing the items on his bedside table to the floor.

I made sure I informed my woman of everything they told Mikhail’s cousin.

We were working on the best way to communicate outside the Dom/sub relationship part of us.

In an effort not to linger on him, we’d talked about other things this week.

One of the big ones was what to do about her apartment.

Since we’d confessed our love, it made no sense for Alexandra to return to it.

I asked her if she preferred to stay in the house or buy something new.

A place we could say was ours.

I didn’t want her to settle for mine if it wasn’t what she wanted.

Last night, we seriously talked about it and came to a decision.

“Carver, I told you, I’ll let the apartment go.

It makes no sense to pay rent when I’m not living there.

And I don’t want to live apart from you.

This house has the room, and our neighbors won’t be sharing a wall with us.

This place is a wonderful house,”

she told me.

“I know you said all that, but does it mean you love it? Or is it good enough for a while? Or are you settling for it?”

She groaned.

“I think this neighborhood is a great one.

People are friendly.

There’s a mixture of different age groups.

You have a great yard, and the house is more than big enough for us and our needs.

Are there things I’d like to change about it? Yes, but you get that with every home.

We talked about some of them when we watched those renovation and decorating shows.

You’ve pretty much given me carte blanche to do whatever I want, within reason. I’m more than happy with it. Will I be forever? I can’t answer that.”

“Okay, let me phrase it a different way.

If you could choose anywhere around Nashville to live, and the cost or practicality wasn’t an issue, where would you want to live and why? Would you like to be closer to Tajah and Mikhail or my sister and Hoss?”

“If you mean Mikhail and Tajah’s apartment in The Gulch.

No, I wouldn’t.

If it were their home in Culleoka, I love that area and how laid back and less crowded it is.

However, a lot of that area is out of our price range.

We’re not rich.

The same is true of Belle Meade, where Cady and Hoss live.

It’s nice there, but very city-like to me.”

“Belle Meade is pricey and still in the city, so I agree, though living on their property makes you feel like you’re out in the country.

Mikhail has been trying to get them to move closer to them.

Now that their house is built, I can see him pushing them more.

I love that area and how peaceful it is.

Not all places out there are for millionaires.

And I’m not without money.

We both have good jobs. If you want, we can find a place in Culleoka.”

She sat there thinking over what I said.

Finally, she answered.

“It sounds like you’d eventually prefer to be out in that area. Right?”

“Yes, I’ve considered it.

Not only because of the peacefulness and our friends being close, but we’re planning for us to last forever.

And I know you and I both want kids.

I’d prefer our kids to have space to run and play and not worry about them every second.

They’d get so much more from living in nature than in the city.

And we can even find land and have a home built to our exact specifications.

However, if that didn’t happen, we’d eventually move somewhere else. This house will do for a few years if we choose to stay here.”

“Building custom is expensive, but I’m not opposed to considering it.

Why don’t we get me moved here? We’ll see how we feel after I get settled.

That’ll determine our ultimate move.

Just know, this house is lovely.”

I might’ve left it alone with her, but I was keeping an eye out for property in that area.

We’d gone out to have dinner Wednesday night at Tajah and Mikhail’s house.

Cady and Hoss joined us.

Alexandra had exclaimed about it several times.

If the right real estate came on the market, I’d ask her about moving then.

In the meantime, I had to get all her belongings to this house.

We’d agreed to spend next weekend packing her stuff that remained there. Not all of her furniture would come here, so I wasn’t expecting it to take a lot to move her.

The reason we weren’t packing this weekend was that we had other plans.

We’d decided it was time to go to Lustz again.

However, we’d spend part of the night with the other two couples this time.

When things began to get amorous, we’d be free to split up.

There were plenty of rooms and areas that we should have no problem not seeing anything we didn’t want to see.

I wasn’t into seeing my sister in the middle of sex, and she felt the same about me.

Short of that, we didn’t care.

When we decided on a Lustz night after dinner Wednesday night, the women got super excited and whispered as we sat around talking.

I knew several texts had been exchanged, but didn’t know what they were about.

When I asked, Alexandra gave me a secretive smile.

I wanted to book a themed room, but she begged me to let her.

She did tell me that she wanted me to be the bottom.

I had no issue with it, so I let her control the plans.

Regardless of who was the top, we’d both more than enjoy ourselves.

I did find myself distracted by my anticipation a few times on Thursday and today at work, but I was almost at the end of my work week.

When I switched my thoughts from Lustz and Alexandra, I ended up wondering about our mom and how she was doing.

Since the disastrous dinner with my parents and the Perrys, Cady and I had spoken to our mom a few times.

She’d apologized for our father and begged us not to cut them out of our lives.

We’d explained she was more than welcome in them, just not him.

In addition, we’d pleaded with her to leave his ass, but she said she couldn’t.

Her excuse was that she was too old to be alone.

We gave up arguing. I was happy that we hadn’t seen or talked to Father. He’d left a few messages for me, and I refused to listen to them or return his calls. Cady had told me he did the same to her, and she deleted them without listening.

My desk phone ringing tore my thoughts away from my parents. I answered it. It was Odelia.

“Carver, I have a gentleman on the other end who insists he speak to you. I asked to take a message, but he said you knew him and would want to speak to him rather than have him leave a message. He’s very insistent.”

Sometimes, potential or current clients could become pushy. “That’s fine, Odelia. What’s his name?”

“It’s Reginald Perry.”

Hearing Reggie’s name moments after thinking of my parents seemed like fate. My interest in why he was calling me was piqued.

“He’s right. I do want to speak to him. Thank you.”

“I’ll transfer him to you in a moment,”

she promised.

I hung up and waited for the phone to ring, which it did seconds later. Snatching it up, I felt myself grinning as I greeted him. “Hello, Reggie. This call is an unexpected surprise. What did I do to earn this? Are you back in Nashville and want to have dinner?” I asked.

There was the briefest pause, and then a man’s voice came through the line, but it wasn’t Reggie Perry’s.

“This isn’t Reginald Perry. It’s your father. I’m sorry to disappoint you and your hopes of getting further into his good graces,”

Father said acidly.

I reflexively tightened my hand on the receiver and had to stop myself from slamming it down. He’d call back, and now he would never stop bugging Odelia if I didn’t lay down the law to him. This better be the last time he calls me at the office.

“I see you’re resorting to lying. I can’t say I’m shocked. However, why are you calling my office number? In case you didn’t know, it’s for work and emergencies. You are neither of those.”

“Such an ungrateful bastard you are. After all I did to teach you how to be a man and to grow up to be successful, you act this way.”

“Father, you taught me everything I didn’t want to be or do when I was a man, not the opposite. Get to the point, or I’m hanging up. If you think you can harass me or my staff with calls, try it.”

“I’ve been trying to get you and your sister to call me or answer your cell phones, but you won’t, so I had no recourse but to call your office. I chose you since Cadence is always so mouthy and annoying.”

“Stop badmouthing my sister, or we’re done,”

I warned him.

He sighed and then got to the point. I listened in astonishment.

“I need you to speak to Reginald Perry right away.”

“Why would I do that? He’s your business associate.”

“He was, but since that fiasco of a dinner and the performance you, your sister, your so-called girlfriend, and that man Cadence married put on, he refuses to accept my calls. I need his company to do business with mine, which means I need you to talk to him. Let him know that there was a huge misunderstanding. What you two said isn’t the truth. The family business is as strong as ever, and it’s to his advantage to do business with us. Your uncles even tried to talk to him and were rebuffed. You helped to create this problem. It’s up to you to fix it,”

he demanded.

I burst out laughing. It took me a few moments to stop. I heard him swearing on the other end and demanding I stop it. Eventually, I was capable of talking again.

“I think you’re confused, Father. This whole problem with Reggie Perry is of your making. We simply spoke the truth. He’s smart if he decides not to do business with you and my uncles. He already knew it was a sinking ship before dinner. You heard him. He heard rumors about the company and you. There’s no lying to the man, not that I would anyway. Go find someone else stupid enough to sink their cash into the company. But you’re only delaying the inevitable. I hope you’ve been saving and investing your money all these years to have something to live on when it’s gone.”

Father had always bitched about how we spent his money and wanted it, but the truth was, he was the one who spent it like crazy.

I could guess the state of his financial affairs.

It was the one area we’d gotten Mom to listen to Cady and me about.

Mom kept her money separate from Father’s, and her savings and investments were hers.

They divided household expenses, but that was it. She paid her bills, insurance, and everything else for herself.

“Listen, you ungrateful bastard! If you don’t want me to ruin your little law practice and have you disbarred, you’ll do as you’re told. If the company fails, your precious mother will be out on her ass, too,”

he hissed.

“First of all, there’s nothing you can do to my reputation. No one knows you from Adam or would listen to you. Second, there’s no reason to disbar me. Go ahead and tell lies and see where you end up. I’ll have no problem suing your ass for slander and libel and anything else I can think of. Lastly, Mom will be fine. She knows how to save and invest her money. She doesn’t spend every dime she makes, thinking it’ll never run dry. Now, I’m busy. My answer is fuck off and don’t call me again. Have a great weekend, Father,”

I said cheerfully.

As I hung up, he was still yelling and swearing. I immediately called the reception desk to speak to Odelia.

“Yes, Carver,”

she said as she answered.

“That call wasn’t Reginald Perry. It was my father pretending to be him so I’d talk to him. No calls from my father are to be transferred. Keep track of dates and times he calls. I’d like a weekly report. If he becomes a nuisance, I’ll go after him for harassment. My mom’s calls can be directed to me, though I doubt she’ll call the office.”

“I’ll do that and ensure Macon and Phoebe are also aware. I didn’t recognize his voice, or I wouldn’t have forwarded it.”

“It’s not your fault. He usually calls my cell, but I’ve stopped answering, so he tried to sneak in with a lie. Thank you, Odelia.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do, Carver.”

“I will.”

After hanging up, I sent a quick heads-up text to Cady. I wouldn’t put it past Father to try her office the same way.

Me: Father called the office, pretending to be Reggie Perry. He wants us to lie to Reggie and tell him to do business with Father’s company. I told him no and not to call. Watch out. You’ll be next.

Her answer was swift.

Cady: If he fucking calls here, I’ll give him an earful he’ll never forget. I’m done with him—piece of shit. Thanks for the FYI. See you tonight. Can’t wait.

Me: LOL. Do it. And I can’t wait either. TTYL.

After that, I shoved all thoughts of him to the back of my mind. I had work to do and a fantastic night to prepare for. My day hummed right along. My productivity was banging. When it was time to call it a day, I finished everything on my to-do list and even a few off of next week’s. I told the others to have a great weekend, and I’d see them on Monday. They wished me the same.

I was a little impatient on the drive home. It seemed people were out for a leisurely drive. I had to fight not to honk my horn and yell—not to be one of those drivers, but it was hard not to. I wanted to get home and see if Alexandra was there yet. She’d been driving herself to work since Reef’s hospitalization. I was anxious since he was out and might take to stalking her again. She’d promised she would be alert and reminded me that Reef couldn’t access where she parked. Aldo was keeping a close eye on her.

When I pulled into the driveway and the garage door opened far enough to see that her car was parked there, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was in the house in a shot as soon as I parked and got out.

“Alexandra, where are you?”

I called when I didn’t find her in the kitchen or the living room.

“I’m in the laundry room,”

she yelled from a distance.

I walked down to where she was. “Alexandra, why are you doing laundry now? We’re supposed to get ready to go to Lustz.”

“We have time. I remembered I wanted to wash something and thought I’d do it so it would be in the dryer later. We don’t have to be there until nine. Anxious, aren’t we? So much that you didn’t kiss me. Tsk tsk, that’s not very sub-worthy behavior,”

she mocked.

I reached out and jerked her to me. She laughed, but it was muffled by my kiss. It quickly became a moan of pleasure. I kissed her until she was panting, and then I let go.

“That should hold you. And at the moment, I’m not the sub. You are. I want you to spend as much time preparing for Lustz as you desire. I’ll place the takeout order. Do you know what you’re doing and have everything for tonight?”

I was excited to see what our play would be like.

She gave me a sexy smirk. “I’ve got it all planned. I’m fine with you putting in the order. The sooner we eat, the better. Are you ready and have everything you want for tonight?”

“I do.”

“Good. Then stop distracting me.”

She shooed me out. I did as she indicated and called in our food order. We’d decided this morning what we wanted. We didn’t want to go out to a restaurant tonight, nor did we want to cook. It took mere minutes to place our order, and I was assured it would be delivered in less than an hour.

I knew she’d want to get ready in private. She liked to surprise me with her looks and outfits, so I took my things to the guest bedroom. I’d shower and prep there. Trying to kill time, since I didn’t want to shower until after we ate, I sent a joint text to Mikhail and Hoss.

Me: Are you in limbo until later? Alexandra is washing clothes. I need Lustz tonight. Hope work was good for you guys.

Hoss: Yep. It takes me thirty minutes or less to be done. Your sister can take forever, so I stay out of her way. Work was good, but I’m thrilled about going to Lustz.

Mikhail: Same here with Tajah. She’s moaning that she’s fat and looks terrible in everything. I can’t convince her that she’s beautiful and sexy. She vowed not to go, so I threatened not to have sex until after the baby came. She’s figuring out her outfit.

That made me laugh.

Me: I have no clue what my woman is wearing. She likes to surprise me. Oh, wait. I have to tell you this, Mikhail. Hoss, I bet Cady already did. Father called my office pretending to be Reggie Perry so he could order us to talk to Perry and get him to do business with him. Can you believe the gall?

Hoss: She did. He’s a goddamn asshole.

Mikhail: WTF?

We went back and forth as I explained what was said and how I left it. They both agreed that if Father became a nuisance, I’d have to do something official, such as a protection order. The conversation continued until the doorbell rang, and I knew our food had arrived. I told them we’d talk later because dinner was here.

We wanted to eat light, so we settled on Chinese food. No matter how much you ate, you were back to feeling hungry a couple of hours later. We had similar tastes in what we liked, so we ordered three different items to split. For dessert, we got pineapple cake. I’d never tried it, but she assured me I’d love it if I liked pineapple, which I did.

I was full at the end of our meal, but it was worth it, and Alexandra was right. I loved the pineapple cake. It was going on the list to reorder. She was rubbing her stomach, saying she’d never be able to get ready. She shrieked when I hoisted her out of the chair, tossed her over my shoulder, and carried her to the master bath. I sat her down and turned on the tub.

As she watched, I poured her favorite scented bath soak in the water, creating fragrant bubbles. As it continued to fill up, I took my time stripping off her clothing. When she was naked, it was hard not to get lost in her body, but I held back. No sex until later. It didn’t prevent me from running my fingertips over her hard nipples or between her legs to touch her clit. She whimpered and then pouted when I backed off.

I quickly kissed her mouth before giving her an order, “You relax and enjoy this for as long as you like. We have over two hours before we need to be there.”

“God, that’s not enough time! Get. Thank God I don’t have to wash and dry my hair,”

she muttered.

Chuckling, I left. I knew not to press the issue or tell her that she didn’t need to do anything to prepare. I’d grown up with a mom and sister.

I cleaned up the leftovers and put them in the fridge, then headed to the guest bedroom. I’d take a shower and get ready. I’d watch television until she was ready.