“I’m fine, Nikita--” Natasha gasped, wincing as she stepped down from the SUV with her husband’s assistance.
Pavel busied himself with removing Natasha’s suitcase from the back of the vehicle, along with the babies’ diaper bags and the deluge of gifts that had been delivered to the hospital. At the sound of raised voices, he glanced around the back of the vehicle and saw an older woman with salt and pepper hair pulled back in a severe bun. She was wearing a traditional housekeeping staff uniform: a pale gray dress with a high, stiff button-down collar.
He could only see the woman’s face and shoulders, but it was obvious she had done something to displease Natasha. It looked like Nikita was trying to run interference.
Poor Nikky, he thought with a laugh that he kept to himself. He’s already outnumbered and he hasn’t even got the babies inside the house yet.
“We don’t need help taking the babies inside! We’re their parents, that’s our job now. I don’t want strangers handling my babies and I certainly don’t need anyone else carrying them inside.”
“Luybov moya, you’re doing too much,” Nikita said gently. “The doctor said you need to go easy at first. Let them help. That’s why they’re here.”
“I have two babies to tend to, I need to--”
“Let me rephrase that,” he interrupted, his voice suddenly stern and unyielding. “Pavel will take care of the luggage and the stuffed animal petting zoo my father sent to the hospital. Ludmila and Katya will handle carrying the babies inside--”
Natasha’s lip quivered and her shoulders started to shake. “Wh-why don’t you think I can do this? Don’t you have any faith in me at all? I’m the mother of your children, Nikita! Don’t you think our babies need their m-mother?”
Pavel closed the rear door of the SUV and stole a discreet glance at Nikita, whose eyes were like saucers as he watched his wife fall apart. Nikita’s Adam’s Apple bobbed in his throat and he frowned, then he nodded to the unfamiliar woman, gestured toward the car and quietly said, “Get the babies, please, and wait for us at the steps.” He wrapped his arms around Natasha and spoke softly in her ear as he pulled her close.
Pavel heard two sets of footsteps approaching on opposite sides of the car. When he heard the rear passenger doors open, he returned his attention to the family’s belongings. His devotion to Bratva and, in particular, the Glazov family, was the driving force in his life, but he did not concern himself with their private family matters. He lived a solitary life by choice, free from emotional attachments and the complications that came with them.
He bent down to get Natasha’s suitcase. He was struggling to balance an enormous plush bear on his hip – complete with a Santa hat, of course -- when he heard it: a giggle. And not just any giggle; this was a sexy, breathy laugh that sent his cock into a carnal frenzy.
He inhaled sharply and scowled, knowing that there was no way in hell that battle ax with the bun could possibly be turning him on. He looked toward the lovely sound and saw, just behind the rear tire, a pair of slender ankles and shapely calves. Curious, he straightened to his full, considerable height and found himself looking down into a pair of enormous, amused gray eyes that were framed within the thickest lashes he’d ever seen. Glossy, waist-length, honey-blonde hair was pulled back into a low, side ponytail, but he was certain it would fall around her shoulders like shimmering silk.
“That’s a very nice bear you have there.” She grinned at him, revealing two deep dimples that made his mouth water. He ran his tongue along his bottom lip as he imagined how it would feel to lick them.
“Bear?” he asked, feeling strangely numb even as his stubborn cock surged uncomfortably against his thigh.
“Here, let me help you with that,” she said, stepping forward as she reached out to take the bear from him. “I can carry the car seat in one hand and still have a spare arm to hold this guy.”
The lilting sound of her voice was doing crazy things to him and he jerked the bear closer to him, positioning it in front of his erection. “No,” he barked.
She stepped back abruptly and put her hands up in surrender. “Oh. Okay. Keep the bear, that’s fine, really.” Again with the dimples. “You’ll have to give him up eventually, though. I think those two might be tough customers if you try to keep him.” She grinned as she nodded in the general direction of the babies, one of which was being handled by the second woman. His eyes narrowed. The battle ax…
“Well, I guess I’d better get back to it. Oh, I’m Katya. It was nice to meet you….?” She held out her hand and waited expectantly. He was unable to move, unable to think of anything to say. For the moment, even his name was M.I.A.
“Well, let me at least take the diaper bags,” she said as she lifted the two bags from the ground and positioned the straps over a shoulder. With a shrug, she turned back toward the side door of the SUV. He could only watch as she leaned over to release the car seat.
He was hungrily taking in every curve of her perky, round bottom when she grunted slightly as she lifted the car seat out of the vehicle. He wanted to be the reason she made sounds like that. She shut the door and worked her hips overtime as she balanced the baby and the diaper bags on her way around the front of the car. Fuck, it was all he could do not to cum in his pants like a fifteen-year-old at the sight.
What was wrong with him anyway?! He had chosen a life of restraint and single-minded dedication to his Bratva cell; he had no business lusting after her, but she was so beautiful and kind and…fuck. She was so young. Too young. She couldn’t be older than her early twenties. He had come to work for Glazov as a young adult and had been there for nearly 30 years. How twisted was that?! He was practically lusting after a child.
With a disgusted shake of his head, he tightened his grip on the bear, holding it protectively in front of his still-raging cock. He gripped the suitcase handle and joined the group at the bottom of the front steps where a Battle Royal was raging.
“But I want us to get them inside and then get them settled in the nursery. We don’t need help with that,” Natasha choked, wiping her eyes.
She fucking hated crying. Hated it. She had been feeling so emotional since giving birth. She felt like she’d been abducted by aliens. Would she ever feel like her old self again?
“Yes, we do. We’re going to need lots of help, you just don’t realize it yet, but you will. Now, this is Ludmila and Katya. Ladies, this is my wife, Natasha. You’ve already met Alex and Sasha, of course. Oh, and this is Pavel, one of my father’s most trusted associates.”
Ludmila nodded at Pavel dismissively which, combined with the indignity of clutching an oversized stuffed animal in front of his aching crotch, was pissing him off.
“Oh, we’ve already met,” Katya said with a soft smile. There it was again…that damn giggle.
“Nikita, we don’t need nannies to care for our babies.” Natasha was at it again, refusing to relent.
“Yes, we do,” Nikita countered firmly. “Now, let’s let Katya and Ludmila carry the babies to the nursery.”
“But why can’t we do it…”
“Because you aren’t supposed to be lifting things right now while you heal from giving me these two beautiful children – and anyway, I will be too busy carrying you.”
And with that, Nikita lifted Natasha into his arms like a bride and planted a hard, quick kiss on her lips. He carried her up the steps and across the threshold into the foyer, followed closely by Ludmila, Katya, Pavel, and one enormous bear.
“I can take care of my own children,” Natasha grumbled as Nikita led the group up the grand staircase to their suite of rooms. “I don’t plan on nannies raising them.”
Nikita arched a skeptical brow before drawling, “Try telling my parents those babies don’t need nannies. If Father has his way, you’ll spend the next few months sitting around eating bon-bons and never lift a finger.”
She rolled her eyes because they both knew she had no intention of standing up to the Pakhan. “I know he means well…but I’ll be damned if our children are going to be raised by the household staff. No offense,” she said over his shoulder.
Ludmila’s face was impassive but Katya smiled broadly as she replied, “None taken.” Pavel’s mouth was set in a grim line as he followed Katya up the stairs, his eyes fixed on her swaying hips.
Natasha continued talking, ignoring how Nikita rolled his eyes. “Your mother sure didn’t let nannies raise her kids. Now, helping out is one thing, but taking over is never going to fucking happen. I’m their mother and you’re their father and we’ll do the raising. And that starts with putting them in their cribs,” she said, her voice cracking, “and standing there together watching them sleep. I’ve wanted that for so long…”
“Then that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Now, shhh, let’s put our babies down for a nap.”