Andrei

 

Downstairs, I fell into a seat by Svetlana and let my aching head fall onto my hand. Tiredness was pounding through my veins and I almost envied Faye her nap.

But at the same time, we had to discuss what was going to happen next without Faye. By some silent understanding between me, Piper, and Soraya, we'd decided as much. I was grateful Soraya managed to convince my girl to take a nap.

Looking up, I saw Piper saying something to Balt. Their sleepy twins were currently being bottle-fed by Isla and Kai. Catching my eye, Piper gestured with her head to the outside and I stood up. Balt, Soraya, and Dez followed.

The five of us stood on the gorgeous porch where I’d found Soraya huddled not even a month ago. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as her face tightened and she reached out to squeeze Dez’s arm.

“Isla, Kesari, the twins, Tulila and Svetlana,” Piper said abruptly. “And Faye.”

“Maybe Talori, too,” Soraya said softly, chewing her cheek. “Still a rookie.”

“I’d even say Kai and Roy, but I doubt they’d agree,” Balt sighed.

Dez glanced around at us. “You want them to leave LA”

“The sooner the better,” I rumbled, glancing up to the top floor of the house. “Every minute Faye is here we risk someone realizing she isn’t dead.”

“She won’t agree to that,” said another voice. We turned to see Svetlana had appeared, sans Tulila, behind us. “You will have to trick her and do it very well. And as for me, I will not go.” When I made a sound of protest, she held up a hand. “Hear me out, Andrei.”

My sister had a strange, somber look about her, all her usual sly smiles and energy gone. For the first time, it really hit me that Svetty, my little sister, was a mother.

Heavily, Svetlana said, “I think one way might be to entrust her with Tulila. Send them to Russia.”

“Svetlana,” I said, shaking my head slowly. “No, you should be with your daughter…”

“Our world is in terrible danger,” she said. “I could see it in Drax’s eyes. I cannot turn my back on it and…” Her throat worked. “Tuly will have her father, our family if anything should happen.” Raising her head, Svetlana said, “Send them to Russia. It is no problem.”

Piper made a sound and I turned to see the same serious look in her blue eyes. “I understand, Svetlana.” Something flashed between them. “I’m sending the twins with my father, Uncle Hiro and Auntie Tisha. I’m sure they’d look after Tulila, too, should Faye prove obstinate.”

“Speaking of which, they should be home soon,” Soraya murmured.

“Your family will not mind?” Balt asked us, a little dubiously.

Rolling her eyes, Svetlana said, “My brother could tell you we were not raised as the rest of the Zimas. We regularly had contact with Roy’s parents and were not brainwashed into hating Weslarks. And grandfather has a soft spot for Tuly, plus he has been trying to make things right with Roy. It will be his honor to keep our families safe. Whether he likes it or not, Weslarks and Zimas have entered a new age. We are not rivals. We are allies.”

“I couldn’t put it better myself,” Balt said with a grin.

“And it’s closer than Greece,” Piper murmured. “Thank you, Svetlana.”

“Perhaps I can try to convince Roy to go with Kesari,” I mused, the thought of my cousin staying here knotting my stomach.

“I’d love to convince Kai,” Piper murmured.

“Not going to happen.” Kai suddenly landed on the deck next to us and Roy followed. They’d been on the roof it appeared. “We’re staying. We’re fighting.” He scowled at his sister. “You should know I’d never leave after what that horrible woman did to me. To Isla!”

The sight of Kai and Roy working together had me hastily hiding a laugh, although Balt and Soraya didn’t quite manage it.

Piper raised an eyebrow. “You two were eavesdropping? Together?”

Flicking back his brown hair, Kai shrugged. “Seemed prudent.”

Roy folded his arms and scowled at her, then me. Making a face back, I said, “Roy, Kai, you both know it has nothing to do with your abilities…” I trailed off. It didn’t.

We were being selfish, Piper and I.

Kai had trained under Kuwe Inaba. He’d also been the first of Frost’s experiments to work successfully by all accounts. Later he’d protected Isla at Piper’s behest. And Roy had spent years as a Runner, then months working to take down the TLO under Piper’s direction.

Piper was saying something and I shook my head.

“We’re out of line, Piper,” I said quietly. She broke off and looked at me.

Lips pursing, she glanced at Soraya, then Balt. Soraya was shaking her head, but I knew Balt was thinking the same thing I was. We did not want to ask them to make the same sacrifices we would.

Yet in so many ways, they already had.

“If you stay, it will be your decision,” Piper suddenly said and Soraya gaped at her.

“Piper!” she snapped, outraged and Dez caught her arms. “No! You have senior authority – make them leave. Someone has to look out for the twins, Kesari and Isla!” She paused. “Faye!”

Roy and Kai looked at each other, then they nodded.

Kai turned and looked out at the ocean. “Isla’s strong.”

“I am not worried,” Roy said quietly. “They will look after themselves.”

“Or Faye can,” I said, suddenly wondering if this way the way to trick her into leaving.

Soraya gave us all a disgusted look, pulling away from Dez and vanishing into the house.

Everyone was looking at me and Roy raised his eyebrows, looking skeptical. “You think you can convince her to go?” he asked me.

“I won’t give her a choice,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

 

Later, after Faye had come downstairs, refreshed and changed into different clothes, I once again experienced that rush of pride and humbled awe. Soraya’s parents and uncle had come home and I watched as they exclaimed over Faye. Tisha was weeping and Hiro was close to it. Even Elias Weslark looked choked up.

Later, everyone was doing their best to be happy and relaxed, chatting over food about inconsequential things, but there was a hum of tension in the air.

Soraya was barely speaking and there was a crushed look in Piper’s eyes as she held her twins. Balt didn’t look much better. And Svetlana, while appearing unruffled, wasn’t letting Tulila out of her sight.

Tomorrow we would attempt to change the burn order and get Kesari’s research. My idea to go after Mirois was tabled for now, especially since I’d overlooked several crucial points. One of them being that Mirois wouldn’t even be there. I’d thought maybe it was a good chance to search her office, but Piper had been flatly against that. It was only Tuesday and we needed to avoid tipping her off for as long as possible.

After some arguments, I’d agreed.

By ten o’clock, the Weslarks had gone home with Svetlana and Tulila, Keon was asleep in a guest room at the Lafi’s, and Tisha was trying to persuade us to stay.

“It’s safer,” she kept saying and I shook my head.

“There are three infants up the street, plus Talori and Keon are our best hope for nixing the TLO’s plans for a coup,” I said bluntly. “We’ll be close by, but it’s better if we don't stay here.”

It might have been selfish, but I wanted Faye to myself for one more night.

Faye and I packed a bag, along with a tent, then shifted and set out northeast to Solstice Canyon. It was good to be out in the fresh air again, the packed earth beneath my paws and the starry sky overhead. Faye seemed to think so too, as she playfully nipped at me as we ran along.

A few hours later, the tent was set up in a small, hidden dell in the mountainside. Sagebrush waved in the breeze and the ocean sparkled in the distance. Sitting on the dirt outside the tent, Faye was watching the sky and I sat down next to her.

“Lafi house was too crowded, huh?” Faye suddenly teased, leaning into me.

“Yes,” I said and she gave me a surprised look. “What, you thought I’d deny angling to find a way to have some alone time?” My arm went around her waist and I inhaled the sweet scent of her. “I am guessing it will not work again, however.”

Something flickered in Faye’s eyes and I watched as she hesitated, then said, “Andrei…” She looked away and shook her head. “No, it’s nothing.”

My grip tightened on her and I found the delicate spot below her ear. “It is not nothing if it worries you, sunshine,” I whispered. A shiver ran over her. “Tell me.”

Faye was breathless when she answered. “No, it’s… I couldn’t ask this of you…”

“There is nothing you cannot ask me, Faye,” I said with a growl, grabbing her chin and turning her face to me. “Ask me.”

“Forget it,” she whispered, trying to smile. “And I didn’t mean that…”

“You know I will get it out of you one way or another,” I whispered, then nipped at her lower lip. She was breathing faster now, her eyes falling shut. “Tell me.”

“Kiss me,” Faye said in a response, her arms going around my neck. She’d risen up and pressed herself against me. “Please.”

The urgency in her voice had me sliding my hands into her bright hair and gripping it gently. Holding her face, I did not do as she asked, even though every part of me was screaming to.

“Faye, what is wrong?” I asked in a low voice.

“Nothing,” she whispered. Her fingers were doing distracting things inside the collar of my shirt. “I just – I just want to forget everything for a little while.” She closed her eyes. “I know it’s selfish, but I want to be happy.” I stared as her eyelashes fluttered and she opened them again, looking at me. “I want to be with you, Andrei.”

“I make you happy?” I asked slowly.

A mingled sense of embarrassment and triumph filled my chest. Embarrassment because some macho part of me didn’t think that was something Andrei Zima concerned himself with.

I’d never been that kind of person. Doing right by them, yes. Helping them out, sure. Maybe joking around and making them laugh, occasionally. I was a soldier, a hero, not a boyfriend…

As I looked at her, I recalled the feeling I’d had upon seeing Faye’s face among her family. Back home where she belonged. Warmth enveloped me, sweet and dazzling, just like her.

A sense of earth-shattering rightness came over me. It hit me so hard I almost lost my bearings for a second and had to catch my breath. I stared at Faye.

How could I have not realized it sooner?

“Andrei?” Faye asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice at my long silence. “Is everything okay? Why do you look… Speechless?” She cocked her head, studying me. “Or no, surprised?”

To her surprise, I laughed and kissed her. My heart was swelling in my chest, the stars were growing brighter and brighter overhead. Yet all of that was nothing compared to Faye.

“You,” I said huskily, pulling away. “Of all the things I’ve ever done, bringing you home was the thing that made me feel most proud in a way that was humbling.” Her lovely brown eyes went wide in the way I adored. Her face gave everything away. “That made me happy. As do you.”

“Andrei, I–” Faye started to say, but I captured the rest of her words. We kissed under the stars and I savored every moment as I exulted in having and holding her.

In being in love.

Pulling Faye with me into the tent, I tossed her down on the sleeping bag, the wind moving her hair as it came in through the mesh screens in the roof. There was a faint light from a rising moon and I swore I could see the stars reflected in her eyes.

But as I kissed her, I tasted tears and I pulled back.

“Are you crying?” I asked, looking down at her.

Faye’s hair was spilled in a bright halo around her head and her eyes shone. “Maybe a little.”

“Why?” I asked, torn between amusement and concern.

“Probably overtired,” Faye whispered, pulling me back down to her.

I let it go at that, although I thought it was more. Determined to get to the bottom of Faye’s elusiveness, I began to tease her with feathery kisses in her most sensitive spots. Under her chin, the hollow of her throat, then, pulling up her shirt, her navel.

Lost in each other, I barely noticed when she got my shirt off, but I knew when hers followed, along with her bra. She was moaning as I laved her breasts with my tongue, moving back and forth without respite.

At the same time, I slid my hands down, tugging off her leggings and panties.

Raising my head back up again, I kissed her. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

Faye shook her head. “No, I-ah!” She was panting and writhing as I brushed my fingers by her warmth. “Andrei, I was babbling earlier, oh, mmm…” Biting her lips, she gazed up at me.

“You’re going to tell me,” I said, now trailing kisses down her sternum and lower. Till my head was between her legs. “Tell me, Faye, or…”

Crying out, Faye’s hips jumped as I kissed her molten center. Gripping her hips, I tasted her and she was gasping out my name, muscles trembling with the intensity of her pleasure. I couldn’t help but smile. And then she shattered, arching up and clutching the sleeping bag.

“Well?” I prompted, gazing down at her as she floated in bliss.

A smile lifted her lips and she shrugged. “What were we talking about?”

With a savage growl, I pinned her down and all I got in return was a flash of brown eyes. Shaking my head, I shed my pants, then pulled Faye onto my lap, turning her away from me. Holding her against me, I slid in and her head turned, lips seeking mine.

Pleasure drowned out everything else as my veins went white-hot in her silken embrace. As our skin slid and pressed together, I groaned out her name.

I should have known – it had never been like this, never…

In that moment, we came together and joy pounded through me. Taking a brief respite, we lay enfolded in each other and I looked up at the stars. A sudden inspiration hit me and heart racing, I put my lips near her ear.

“If you tell me, I’ll tell you,” I whispered.