By the time I am finally able to get to Ivelisse’s place, the sun is already coming up. I’m fucking exhausted and the only thing I can even think of is falling asleep with her in my arms. Sneaking into her room, I take my jacket off and set it down on the dresser in the same spot as every other night. I start to take my shoes off when I see the metal glint of a gun.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Leif asks, coming out of the bathroom.
I shrug my shoulders and look over to the bed where she’s now awake, holding her blanket to her chest. “I’m pretty sure she’s got my ring on her finger. Means that she’s now mine.” I continue to undress because for one, I’m tired as shit and two if he wanted to kill me he would have pulled the trigger already. “Either get your gun off me, or pull the damn trigger. I’m fucking tired and I want to sleep next to my fiancée.” I look right into his eyes and I see the hesitation.
He isn’t going to pull the trigger. “You're not supposed to be here. You’re not married yet,” he finally states.
“I don’t give a fuck about the rules your family has. If I want to sleep next to her then I will.” I pull my button-up down my arms and place it on top of my jacket. When I move to my pants, he finally gets the hint and leaves the damn room.
“I’m sorry,” Ivelisse whispers.
“Doll, it’s not your fault. I can deal with your idiot brother.” She looks down at the blanket she’s still clutching. When I look back up, she’s picking at the blanket. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
“I should have told –” I cut her off.
“Don’t worry about it. Everything is fine. Now when we are married and you don’t tell me that shit, then I’ll be mad. He’s your family and I get that he’s here probably as a protection measure, but that shit won’t be for long. Once we are married that will all be my responsibility.” When I walk towards her, I can see how nervous she is. She probably doesn’t want me fucking her while her brother is in the other room either.
Now that shit will have to change. I don’t give a fuck if he’s here or not, nothing is keeping me out of her sweet cunt.
Getting in bed, I slide my body next to hers and curl my body around hers. “You’re gonna have to learn that I’m the one in charge of this marriage. If I want to fuck you with your brother here, then I will. I don’t give a fuck what he thinks. He wants to say something, let him. I’ll put him in his place too.” She blows out a breath and I kiss her neck.
She turns in my arms and I get to see her beautiful face. “I thought you’d be here hours ago.” She yawns and puts her face against my chest.
“I had some shit to deal with.”
“Is everything okay?” Her voice is low, almost like she’s afraid of the answer.
“Yeah, doll, everything is fine. Go back to sleep. I need to get a few hours in before I need to go.” She presses her lips against my chest before she curls her body against mine completely. I close my eyes and fall asleep to the rise and fall of her chest.
The sound of arguing wakes my ass up way earlier than I want to be awake. I’m still tired as fuck, but it doesn’t stop me from getting out of bed and pulling on my pants before walking out into the kitchen where I hear her voice.
“Leif, I’m a grown woman! Stop trying to run my life!” She’s upset and when I come into the kitchen, I can see the anger in his expression. He’s in a defensive stance and just as he gets ready to say something, I speak.
“I would think twice about what you’re about to say to her.” Both of their heads snap towards me and he narrows his eyes at me. I walk up behind Ivelisse and wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her body into mine, kissing the top of her head.
“Morning,” I whisper in her ear.
She turns her head to look up at me and has a smile on her face. “Morning.”
“I told Giovanni that this shit was a bad fucking idea. But he wanted to show that we weren’t the bad fucking guys anymore and said you could be trusted. He’s full of shit.” His eyes narrow on me and I can’t help but smirk at him. He’s pathetic. The weaker link in the Abelli Family, I’m sure of it.
“There’s a reason you’re nothing more than a soldier for the family. You lack the skills to keep your fucking mouth shut. Women don’t know our business for a reason. Learn to keep your damn mouth shut and follow an order and maybe someone will listen to you.”
He scoffs at that and I wish like hell that I would be able to kill this sorry fucker. If it wouldn’t ruin my relationship with Ivelisse, I’d be the one putting the bullet in his head in a few weeks.
I’m already going to have to keep this shit from her, but pulling the trigger will ruin everything.
“Come back to bed. I have something for you.” I see her cheeks redden from my words as her brother watches us.
“I’ll call you later Leif,” she says weakly. Judging by his face, he’s going to yell at her when she does talk to him next and I’ll want to choke the stupid bastard for even thinking about raising his voice at her.
“Good to meet you, brother,” I state as I release her and make my way towards the front door to show him the way out. “I would tell you to stay and hang out or whatever the fuck it is you do, but I plan on fucking your sister.” I waggle my eyebrows at him and he turns to come at me.
“Fuck you, Nikolai. I don’t give a shit who you are, keep your filthy hands off my sister,” he snarls at me. I keep walking towards him and he keeps backing up towards the door until he finally hits it.
“Ivelisse go into your room,” I state with authority. His eyes land on her and I can see the disapproval in them as she does what I say without question. When his eyes come back to me, I don’t hesitate to put this fucker in his place. Putting my forearm into his throat, I press him into the door. “Don’t fuck with me. I will not be afraid to take you out if I have to. She’s no longer your responsibility. She’ll be my wife in a matter of weeks and if I have any say in this, pregnant before then.” I watch his face turn beet red and he’s trying to get out of my grip.
“She will never be yours.” He doesn’t back down and part of me can respect that, but the other part of me wants to show him that he has no fucking clue what I would do to ensure that she doesn’t leave me now.
“Get the fuck out of her house. Don’t come back unless you want to keep your damn mouth shut.” I push off of him and open the front door, waiting for him to walk out on his own so I don’t have to be the bad guy. Ivelisse won’t be part of their family for long. She’ll be my wife and the mother of my children. The thought of that scared me days ago sounds pretty damn good now. If shit goes bad, I’ll do anything to protect her even if it means letting her walk away. Who the hell am I kidding, there is no fucking way I’m letting her go after the wedding.
Once he finally stumbles out of the house, I slam the door and lock it behind him. Making my way back to the bedroom, I see her curled up in a ball in the middle of her bed. She looks like she’s been crying. Dropping my pants, I slip under the covers and pull her body to mine. “Don’t cry, doll.”
She turns in my arms and puts her head on my chest, but it doesn’t stop her from crying. Running my hand up and down her back, I try to calm her down. After a few minutes, her tears start to dry and her cries turn into sniffles.
“What’s wrong?”
“I hate that you both hate each other,” she chokes out. I kiss both of her wet cheeks before I press a kiss to her forehead.
“I don’t hate him. He’s a cocky little son of a bitch and doesn’t know when to shut his mouth, but he’s your brother,” I murmur to her. What I don’t tell her is that he won’t be a problem for much longer.
“Does that mean you’ll try to get along with him?” she asks giving me her puppy dog eyes. My mom used to give them to me when I wouldn’t do as she asked. She would guilt me into shit that I didn’t want to do with that same damn look. I have a weakness apparently.
“I can’t promise anything. He needs to keep his fucking nose out of our business. You’re going to be part of my family in a few weeks and he can’t say shit without me being the one to deal with him.” She wipes at her nose before she asks what I’ll do to him.
“That isn’t anything that concerns you. I know you didn’t grow up with this lifestyle, but you’re going to have to learn the rules quickly.”
“What rules?” she asks quietly with a concerned expression.
“For one, women don’t know our business. They keep their mouth shut and don’t talk back to their husbands.” Her eyes narrow on me and I continue talking before she can get a word out. “I’m not saying that you need to keep your mouth shut, but in front of others, you keep your mouth shut. You want to bitch at me behind closed doors, go for it. Just don’t ever disrespect me in front of my men, my family, or yours. Personally, I love it when you get feisty. It makes me want to bring my hand down on your sexy ass.”
“So I can’t know about what you do?” Her question is softly spoken and I know she’s just trying to get a grip on this new life she’s about to be forced into. “Exactly. It’s safer if you don’t know anything. Just know that I will always protect you and our kids when the time comes.” Her eyes widen at that.
“Our kids? Do you plan on having a lot?” she squeaks out.
I forget that she’s younger than me. I’m sure the idea of kids freaks her out still. I’ve known for awhile that they were going to marry me off sooner or later and that I would need to produce a male heir at some point. The Levin Family always has sons. It’s been that way for generations. Our first-born is the next successor when the current one is either killed or has stepped down. Viktor never had a son. He had three daughters and that’s why it came down to Stavros and I.
If Stavros had taken Uncle Viktor up on his offer, he’d be the one standing in my place right now, with his arms wrapped around her body. I’m already five years older than her. He would have been ten. “I plan on getting you pregnant as many times as you’ll let me,” I state, kissing her nose.
She wrinkles her nose at me and I can’t help but grin at her. She has no idea the sort of life she’s in for with me. “I have to have a male heir. So if we have a bunch of girls, then I’m trying until I get a boy.” Her eyes widen and I start to laugh at her expression, which earns me a gut shot.
“No way! What if we have ten girls?” She looks a little green at the thought of that. “I mean your brother has a son! Can’t he be the heir or whatever?”
“No, he can’t. Well not unless when he turns eighteen and decides he rather be part of the family over being a biker. Stavros had the same opportunity as me, but he turned it down. He decided to make his own rules and do his own thing by starting the Draconic Crimson MC. He isn’t part of this life, but the life he leads is still dangerous as fuck.”
“What if something happens to you?” Her question catches me off guard. Most women only care about what happens if something happens to them, never us. “Then you’ll always be protected by my men. If I’m gone, it doesn’t take away the protection I have set in place for you.” I press my lips to her forehead and I take a deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent that is mixed with my cologne.
“I don’t want their protection, only yours.” Closing my eyes, I feel the swell of my heart. She’s fucking amazing. Every damn inch of her is goddamn perfect and I can’t wait for her to be mine in every sense of the word.