Chapter Seven
E verything was going off without a hitch. There was dancing, laughing, and so much food that there was no way anyone was going home hungry. As the couple worked their way through the crowd, greeting everyone, it was time to do the mother and son dance.
Steele and Dante had kept it quiet, simply because they weren’t sure it was going to happen. As the band began playing, Dante took his mother’s hand in his and led her to the floor.
Steele approached Emma and held out his hand. “I need you to be my mother again,” he said, smiling.
It made her cry.
Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones or the fact that the people in her family loved her so much, but his request filled her heart with so much love.
She couldn’t say no.
“I’d love to be your mother for this dance.”
They pulled them out onto the floor, and the music began playing. As Emma stayed in Steele’s arms, she ignored the look her mother-in-law was giving her.
“Are you happy?” she asked Steele.
He touched his pocket square she’d given him. “How could I not be with my lucky charm?”
She laughed. “I’m so glad. You deserve this. I really hope you rock his world tonight.”
He grinned and whispered something in her ear.
She nearly blushed. “That will do it.”
“Emma, seriously, thank you. When I tried to kill myself, I didn’t think I’d ever be happy. You found me and saved me. Had you not…?”
She got it.
“Had you not showed up and gotten me to the hospital, this wouldn’t be happening. You nursed me back to health, feeding me so much shit my cholesterol went through the roof, and your husband was jealous.”
She snorted. “I try.”
“I love you so much.”
She gave him a kiss.
“Hey, he’s mine. Go poach some other Croft,” Dante said, as he danced with his mother.
She was being silent, and that was likely for the best. Greyson was watching her, and Dante didn’t doubt he’d toss her if she crossed the line.
“I think I may do that,” she said, as she felt her husband near. “Will you cover for me?” she asked Steele.
He winked. “Uh huh.”
When the song ended, she headed toward her husband. “We need to talk.”
He agreed.
Greyson followed her into the house and to the pantry. Maybe she needed help carrying something out for the party.
Once inside, she hit the lights, closed and locked the door, and shoved him hard.
He fell back into a shelf full of canned goods.
“Emma!”
She attacked.
Her mouth was on his, and she was climbing up his body to find a way to satiate that need.
Greyson, at first, was confused, and then filled with so much lust that he could barely focus on anything but breathing.
Then his body went on auto-pilot.
He knew exactly what he wanted.
“Emma,” he whispered, as he ran his mouth across her shoulders. They were bare in the beautiful dress she’d chosen to wear. As always, she looked…regal.
His body was going haywire, and he didn't think he could keep his hands off her--even in public.
His body quaked, and Emma knew he was turned on—since that had been her plan. When she rubbed against him, he moaned and closed his eyes.
“In here?” he asked, trying to find a way to slow down that heat burning through him.
He could hear the staff moving around outside the pantry. All that stood between them and being caught was one little lock.
It was almost like having sex in a public place.
God!
It made his libido go insane.
“Honey,” he whispered. “We’ll get caught.”
Emma didn’t care.
A part of her was still pissed about his mother, but the rest of her was moved by the minister’s wedding vows. Love was precious, and nothing should be taken for granted.
Emma didn’t want to be angry.
She wanted to feel.
So, as they stood in the cramped pantry, she bit him on the neck and wrapped his tie around her hand. There was no way she was going to let him free.
“No, you owe me this,” she said, knowing he knew what she was talking about. “This is my castle, Grey. This is my fucking palace.”
She was right.
He couldn’t stop her.
But he could beg.
“Please. I can’t control myself more than I am,” he admitted. “I want to take you right now, but I know I can’t. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you about Reggie. God! I regret it.”
For once, she was in charge.
She ran her hands from his thighs to his hips, and every part of him was rock hard. Her husband was her prisoner. The dominant Greyson Croft was at her mercy.
This didn’t happen often.
To make him wilder, she ran her hands across his chest and then tugged his shirt out of his pants. Her hands found his abs, chest hair, and nipples.
When she ran her nails down his pecs, his knees nearly buckled.
Greyson shook from all the need.
“Please,” he begged.
She knew what would undo him.
Reaching into her dress, she pulled out the one thing that would make him insane.
The ‘C’ necklace he’d given her.
It was his symbol of ownership, need, and dominance over her, and she’d chosen to wear it for him.
“Oh, fuck,” he muttered, his body going so hard that he felt like he was going to shatter.
“I want you.”
Not as much as he wanted her.
With each time that they came together, it never dulled. That lust, heat, and want, flowed through him, reminding Greyson that they had something amazing.
She was his.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. “Tonight, when they all go home, I’m going to make love to you in nothing more than that necklace.”
She couldn’t wait.
“Why should I postpone that fun until later?” she asked, once more running her nails across his goose bumped flesh. She knew her husband.
He was almost out of control.
Greyson knew he was about to lose it, and then he couldn’t be blamed for what was coming. She was baiting him, and he was only human.
“Emma,” he warned.
Her fingers wandered lower, and Emma flicked open his dress pants.
His eyes went wide.
When she dropped to her knees in front of him, he looked about ready to have a stroke.
Greyson swallowed as her fingers pulled him out of his boxers. “Emma, honey, we have a house full of guests!”
She ignored his pleas.
Honestly, she didn’t care.
“I want my husband, and you owe me for the stunt you pulled. It’s going to be rough,” Emma admitted.
With that, she took him into her mouth.
He shook as he was forced to watch his wife giving him a blowjob. He was trapped between the sensation of his dick sliding in and out of her mouth, and the fear of being caught.
It was making it hard to breath.
Greyson watched her. She worked him hard.
He was focused on the ‘C’ and what it meant.
Greyson reached for her and took her head between his hands. He slowed her down.
If he didn’t…
Yeah, he’d blow big time.
While he was supposed to be the one without the power, it wasn’t true. His wife was giving him a gift. As she knelt before him, worshiping his erection with her mouth, Greyson could see the love she had for him.
As his dick was slipping between her lips, he never wanted it to end.
“Use your teeth,” he ordered.
She did.
“Suck me harder,” he begged.
She did.
“Use your hand. I need more,” he whispered, as his leg shook.
Emma gave him what he wanted.
Truth be told, she was submitting to him, and he was the luckiest man alive.
Today would live in notoriety for him.
His pregnant wife was…
There was a knock on the pantry door. “Who’s in here?” asked the Chef.
Emma stopped mid blowjob.
“I’m fucking my husband, go away!” she ordered. “You can have the pantry when I’m done!”
He stared at her.
Well, since she’d said it, she might as make it true. Emma got off her knees.
“Emma! You just…”
She didn’t care.
“You’re right, Greyson. That was a lie. I was blowing my husband. Now I’m going to be fucked by him.”
Carefully, she slipped off her panties and jumped on him. Of course, Greyson caught her.
He’d never let her fall.
Greyson’s heart was thumping, and he couldn’t believe his wife. She was out of control.
He loved it.
What man wouldn’t?”
At that moment, his dick was throbbing and right in the perfect spot to find its way home.
Shit!
He was going to fuck his wife in their pantry, while their staff stood outside the door.
This was the hottest thing ever, and he couldn’t wait to find his way home.
“Take me,” she muttered, biting him on the neck above his collar.
It was going to leave a mark, and that made his body go rock-hard. Now the fire was lit.
What was he supposed to do?
Say no?
There was no way he could ever forget this moment. No man in his right mind would, and he’d never turn her down. That would be stupid, and he wasn’t a stupid man.
Lifting her, she slid him into her body until he was buried in that wet warmth.
They both moaned.
Greyson turned, placing her against the wall so he could drive his erection into her body, but he needed more. Greyson pulled her breasts from beneath the pretty dress.
Now it was perfect.
For every horny man, he knew this would be one of those moments that would forever be burned into his mind.
His kitten knew how to drive him insane.
“Hurry!” she whispered.
Oh, no, he was going to enjoy this. The chef could wait. He was going to find so much pleasure in this little interlude.
They both deserved it.
Roughly, he pounded himself into her, keeping his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Emma was making the breathy little moans that got him all hot and bothered.
“Harder,” she begged from behind his hand.
Jesus!
He was going to explode from that request alone. They were already fornicating louder than they should be.
Shelves were rattling.
Cans were falling at his feet.
A box of rice fell, spilling all over the floor.
Still, he didn’t stop taking his wife. As her legs stayed wrapped around his hips, he glanced down to see himself sliding into her body.
Her dress was tugged up, and his kitten was bare.
The visual nearly did him in.
Greyson shifted the angle, taking his erection deeper into her body. They were pressed together in some clandestine pantry romp, and he was going to remember this day for the rest of his life.
They were like two horny kids sneaking away, and it was so wrong since they were responsible for all their guests, but still.
It was so damn hot!
Greyson was having that room bronzed.
When she pulled his mouth to hers, he swallowed her scream of orgasm.
Her body bucked, milking his.
Still, he wasn’t done.
Greyson wanted more. She’d started this, but he would finish it.
Leaning into whisper in her ear, he took back that control. “You will never talk to me like that again, Kitten. I’m your king,” he hissed into her ear.
She gasped as he continued pummeling her. His erection was on that one spot, and he knew it. With each word, he hit that mark, making her so wet, so needy, and so wanton.
“Say it!”
She looked up into his gray eyes, and they were beyond stormy.
He was angry.
“I won’t…”
He cut her off.
“Who do you belong to?” he asked.
“You,” she whimpered, as he worked her body hard. She wanted to explode all over again, and she was certain he knew it.
“You won’t question me, you won’t kiss other men to make me jealous, and you won’t stop me from this,” he said, pulling out of her body.
He spun her around, pressed her to the wall, trapped between the wall and his erection. From behind, he slid back into her body as he held her hands above her head.
“Who owns you?” he asked, as he could see the flash of that necklace.
“You do,” she whispered. “Only you.”
He drove back into her, lifting her from the floor with the thrusts.
“I’m going to cum,” he said, grabbing the panties from her fingers. He knew she was going to scream.
They couldn’t be loud.
So…
He shoved them in her mouth.
That one act, set off the explosion in him, and in her. Greyson slammed home, burying his dick in her body. He came with so much force that Emma did shout from behind the gag.
They stayed there.
The only sound was their heavy breathing and the thundering of heartbeats.
Slowly, he lowered her arms.
“I want you to go up, change, and meet me outside, kitten. We have a party to host.”
She couldn’t breathe.
This had changed, and fast. She’d been trying to teach him a lesson. Then again, from the look on his face, maybe she had.
“Yes, Greyson.”
“Later?” he offered, putting his lips very close to her ear. “Later, I’m going to enjoy doing this all over again. You’ve started something, and I’m going to finish it.”
Her heart skipped.
In her ear, he whispered something so dirty, filthy, and erotic, that she swore she was going to overheat.
“That’s later. Now, we behave civilly. You’re wrinkled. Go change. You don’t want everyone to know you were fucked by your husband in the middle of a party.”
Well, maybe she did.
“No panties. I’ll check,” he said, pulling out of her body. He tucked himself back into his boxers, and zipped up. His hand found her bare cheek.
“Later.”
And then he left.
There was no doubt who ruled this relationship, and it wasn’t her. Emma realized that the longer her husband played on the seedier side, the longer it would infect his life.
He was a killer.
He was the mob.
He was…hers.
And she would love him until the day she died. Emma tucked her breasts back into the pricey dress, dropped her skirt, fixed her hair, and headed out for the walk of shame.
Once out of the pantry, the chef glared at her.
“Shut up,” she said, taking the back stairs to their bedroom.
She couldn’t think.
Emma knew that later, she was going to be trapped beneath her caveman as he did truly wicked things to her body.
She couldn’t wait.
It would be worth every single moment.
She belonged to a caveman, and it was the best thing on Earth.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Thirty Minutes
Later
Emma found her husband with the rest of the family. He was talking with Detective Henderson, who looked a little tipsy. There was no doubt who was trying to get him drunk.
Delilah, the dark-haired attorney, was right beside him. She was eyeing him up like some bunny in an eagle’s sightline.
Someone was going to be hunted down later.
When Emma approached, Greyson knew she was there. He held out his hand for her.
“Weren’t you wearing a blue dress?” Riley asked. “I swear it was blue. What’s in these drinks?” he asked.
“Rum,” Emma said, “and yes, I was wearing blue. I had a little run in with something dirty in the pantry, and something got on me.”
Delilah laughed. “You lucky girl. I’m trying to get something on me too.”
Greyson choked on his drink.
Riley glanced at her. “I really hope you’re talking about me, and not my drink,” he said.
She whispered in his ear, and his eyes went wide.
“I love rum,” he said, putting his drink down as Delilah led him away to God only knew where. The man was in for some fun.
“That boy is in some serious trouble,” Emma said, as the music began.
He couldn’t disagree.
“Are you going to dance with me, Kitten?” Greyson asked. “I mean, I am your husband.”
“I promised my first dance to Chris, and then Dimitri, but you’re next.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” he said, touching the ‘C’ hanging from her neck.
“Neither does gagging a lady with her panties as you cum in her.”
Greyson knew Emma was being crass to rile him up. He had news for her. She didn’t need to be. That visual was forever trapped in his head.
He already wanted to do it all over again.
“I guess leaving you there wasn’t very gentleman-like of me. You have a very valid point. Are you mad at me?” he asked, kissing her knuckles.
“Not as long as you do what you promised later, but I need to add something to it,” she said, whispering into his ear.
He stared at her. “That’s pornographic!”
“I know. Now watch me go dance with other men,” she teased, knowing he was going to be thinking about it.
Emma found Chris, and he was sitting at a table with a beer in his hand. She took a seat, sitting on his lap. He grinned and gave her a kiss.
“Well, well, there you are. I was beating off all the ladies because I promised to dance with you.”
She snorted. “I bet. You look sexy in your suit.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Shall we?”
“You can dance with Natasha if you want,” Emma offered. “She’s watching you.”
He was aware.
“I actually need to talk to you.”
“About?” she asked, as he led her to the dance floor.
“I want you to have Greyson pull Natasha off being my tail,” he stated. “I can protect you better if I’m not worried about my girlfriend following us around. I’m freaked out about the Viktor Marchenko thing.”
They all were.
The family was pulling double security duty on the Gideons, since they were likely the man’s targets. He’d already tried for Kat, and they believed Dimitri was next.
They began moving, and Chris held her in his arms.
“It’s messing with you, isn’t it?”
“I have this feeling…”
He didn’t have to explain. The shit was coming, and he knew it. “It’s right here,” he said, touching his solar plexus. “I feel off, Em. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“I can talk to Greyson, and have him pull her.”
“I just want to know she’s safe. This asshole is gunning for the Gideons. We’re good. I can keep you alive.”
She trusted him. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”
He kissed her on the forehead.
“You smell like Greyson’s cologne, and you’re wearing a different dress. I know what that means,” he teased.
“I’m also not wearing panties.”
He stopped moving. “You’re out of control. You don’t tell a man that!” he said, staring down at her.
She snorted. “I just like to fluster you.”
Well, she did.
“You’re a pain in my ass.”
“But you love me,” she said, as he went to dip her. “Not too low. No undies.”
He nearly dropped her as he began laughing. “It would serve you right.”
When he had her upright, she rested against his chest. “I love you,” she said.
Chris held her. “You’re so much part of me, Em, that I can’t ever get you out of my life. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you. You saved me. I know your heart belongs to Greyson, but you have a place in mine. We’ve been through a lot.”
She cuddled closer. “You have a part of my heart, Christopher. You always will.”
He held her.
When he was near Emma, there was so much peace. “I was thinking of heading out of here for a couple days to take Natasha to that vacation home you’ve saddled me with.”
“Dimitri will take over being my bodyguard.”
He didn’t like that.
“I was thinking maybe you and Greyson could join us. Dimitri too. There’s fishing, some nature, and the family could use some time away.”
Yeah, as far from Vegas as possible.
“We don’t have a case, and ‘Aquarius’ can survive without Dimitri. He needs a break after this whole Marissa mess.”
She loved that he was concerned about Dimitri.
They all were.
“I think it will do the family good to get a break. This city can swallow you whole,” he offered.
He was right.
“I think we should. Besides, I like Lake Tahoe.”
“Is that where my new place is?” he asked. “You two are sick.”
She snorted.
“Wait until you see it.”
“It had better be a cabin and something small.”
She didn’t answer.
“Emma.”
“Let’s just say it’s cozy, and it sleeps the whole family. We don’t do small.”
Chris knew there was no point fighting it. With Emma and Greyson, they gave all they had to love the ones they’d picked to be theirs.
“Well, thank you. I am sure I’ll enjoy it.”
“There’s Budweiser on tap.”
He nearly wept. “I love you. If you weren’t married, I’d kill all the men in line to get to you.”
She found that funny.
“Yeah, yeah. I hear that a lot.”
Chris held her tight.
“Thank you for going with us. I think I’m going to propose to Natasha there, and I think it would be perfect if my sister had my back. I need to pick out a ring, and I don’t know how to do shit like that.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“It’s time?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s time. I could wait six more months, but I need to put a ring on her finger. Dimitri will lose his mind if I stall. I’ll just go with a longer engagement. I don’t need men sniffing around my girl.”
She took his face in her palms and kissed him. “I am so happy for you, Christopher. I’ll pick out that ring with you. I can’t wait.”
“Emma?”
She waited. “Yes?”
“Can you plan our wedding? I know Nat loves you, and she’s going to want help. I trust you to give her what she needs. I’ll pay for it all.”
She stopped him. “I will do it on one condition.”
“What?”
“You let me give you that as your gift. You let me plan your wedding with your bride-to-be, and you accept it from your sister.”
He held her close.
In her ear, he whispered, “I will always love you.”
It choked her up.
“I know, Christopher. I know. I’m glad you found love, and you found peace.”
He was too.
It took everything he had to open his heart and face the fear of being hurt. He’d done it because of the woman he was dancing with.
She was his sister through and through.
“So, we’ll go on vacation, and you’ll help me get my ass in gear. I need this.”
Emma would do anything for him.
“Count me in. It’ll have to be a couple weeks away though, since we’re going to have to run this empire while Dante is on his honeymoon and Grey and I are flying to New York. He has that appointment with Paris and Tessa.”
He was good with that.
“I’ll help hold down the fort. How hard could it be to do Dante’s job? He looks at half-naked dancers all day.”
He grinned wickedly.
“I’m obligated to make you look at the men,” she teased.
“So mean. I love my sister.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Go find your girl. I’ll tell the men who run this circus to get her off your tail, and that we’re going camping.”
He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Stay out of trouble. One more dress change, and Reggie will be talking,” he teased.
Oh, she had no doubt.
Setting him free, Emma smiled at him. “I love you, Christopher. Thank you for being my brother. You live here,” she said, touching her heart.
His skipped.
He felt the same.
Chris disappeared into the people dancing, as he headed off to find Natasha. As Emma went searching for her second dance partner, she found him drinking bourbon with Greyson.
“We need to talk,” she said.
“About?” Dimitri asked. “Are we going to discuss dancing, how you’ve changed your dress, and why he’s all rumpled?”
She snorted. “Like you need to ask. You have cameras in the pantry. You know what went on in there.”
He laughed. “Yeah, and I’m not promising to erase it either. I may need this as leverage at a later date.”
Emma found that funny.
Greyson…not so much.
Dimitri saw the look and he grabbed a pen from his pocket to write something on his cocktail napkin.
‘10’
“The Russian judges were impressed. Excellent form, and your dismount left us clapping,” he said, guessing what had happened. It didn’t take much.
Greyson had a bite mark on his neck, and it was covered with Emma’s lipstick.
He was a smart man.
Croft sputtered as he stared at the napkin.
Emma elbowed him. “Relax. He’s messing with you. He wouldn’t spy on us.”
Dimitri winked at her.
Greyson wasn’t so sure. What he needed to do was find all the places there weren’t cameras in their home.
That’s where he’d molest his kitten.
“Anyway,” Emma began, “I need two favors.”
They waited.
“Chris wants Natasha pulled from shadow duty. He’s worried for her safety. I know we said that was the plan, but she’s still tailing him.”
Dimitri sipped his drink. “I pulled her already. When Viktor went after Kat, I yanked her. If she’s following, that’s out of her own volition.”
“Well, stop it. You can scare some sense into your sister. She’s going to get hurt. Chris and I are fine.”
Greyson got it.
He’d follow Emma even if she were in danger. Why wouldn’t Natasha worry about Chris? Vegas liked to gun for Emma, and now that Babylon was in the picture, it was going to get rough.
“She needs to stay in, like you and Kat.”
He didn’t say anything.
“I mean it, Dimitri.”
Greyson did too. “You’re a target now, and we have to protect you and the girls. We’re okay. Now that Christ is dead, we’ll work on handling Viktor.”
He would, because he already had feelers out to locate him, and when he did…the man was gone.
Dead.
A splatter on a wall.
Dimitri was over this, and he was going to win.
“I’ll speak to her, and I’ll put her on lockdown, Emma. I want her to be safe.”
She relaxed.
“What’s favor number two?” Greyson asked out of curiosity.
“Chris wants to blow this town for a vacation.”
They all looked at her.
“Uh, he’s your security detail,” Dimitri stated. “If we don’t have him, we’re down a person. Then we are down Natasha, since we all know she’ll go with him, and I can’t do protection duty from lockdown here, Emma.”
“You won’t have to protect me. I’m going with him.”
Greyson’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“We all are. We have this money, we have nothing but time, and I agree with Chris. Vegas is feeling off. He wants to head to his vacation home. We’ve hidden it under paperwork. We can go there and take a break. We haven’t really relaxed, and ‘Aquarius’ can survive without us taking a case for a couple of weeks. We’ll run the business, and when Dante returns, we head out. He’s only going to New York for a week.”
Dimitri was on the fence.
“He wants to propose.”
His face softened. “He does?”
“I’m going to help him get a ring, and he’s going to ask your sister to marry him. He’ll likely be asking you, so look surprised.”
That he could do.
Greyson was in. “Okay.”
“I’ll keep the house secure,” Dimitri stated.
“You’re our family. Family vacation means all of us, and you have to be there to see her say yes, Dimitri.”
He wanted that.
“Plus, we need to get away. All of us need to decompress. You are wearing a bull’s-eye. Someone tried to kill Kat, and Viktor slipped away, Dimitri. You’re not staying. Vegas isn’t after us. It’s after you guys.”
He was aware.
He wanted to say no, but for his sisters…
“Okay. I have a couple weeks to get ready. That will give me time to get us some temporary security to watch the house. We need a house sitter.”
She pointed at Riley, being orally assaulted by Delilah under a tent. “We have a lawyer. Let’s use her.”
Greyson began humming ‘Love Shack’.
She snorted.
“Please, Dimitri?”
He dropped his arm over her shoulder and put down his glass. “Yes, and you owe me a dance. Then I’m back on duty. I think Greyson’s mother was eyeing up the china.”
She laughed as he led her away.
Greyson winked at her.
In Dimitri’s arms, she was safe. As the music played, she rested against him. “Are you feeling better?”
He stared down. “Well, I’m a little weirded out that you’re not wearing all your undergarments.”
She snorted. “You were watching!”
Dimitri only wished, but he wouldn’t do that. He respected Emma, and Greyson was so much more than just a friend to him.
He was family.
“No, I wasn’t, but the chef was pissed. He said something about having to disinfect his perishables. He heard everything that went on in there.”
That made her laugh. “Oh well. I hate him.”
Oh, everyone, including the chef, was aware.
“Maybe leaving them in there was on purpose,” he asked, and was amused when she began whistling.
“Oh, Emma. Thank God I didn’t have to raise you. I think you would have broken me.”
She gave him a kiss, and then rested her head on his shoulder as the song slowed down.
“I need to know if you’re okay, Dimitri.”
“Are you asking if I’m going to hire anymore hookers for a night of displeasure?” he asked, the Russian out in his voice.
“No. I’m asking if you are going to make it, and what I can do to help you if you feel like you’re slipping away.”
He thought about it. “I’m better. Maybe it’s for the best. Marissa…she had her own demons. I can’t fight hers and mine. I’m only one man.”
She touched his cheek.
Dimitri stared down at her with his aqua eyes.
“I’ll help you fight those demons. I have you, Maximillian. I have you until you can do it on your own.”
His heart skipped.
“Don’t tell your husband this, but I’m jealous that he found you first. If you ever decide to dump his suave ass…”
She laughed. “You and Chris have to fight over me.”
He grinned. “I can take him.”
She didn’t doubt.
“I’m done with hookers,” he said. “I think I need to just focus on fixing me. My father…he made a mess of all of our lives. Kat is finally healing. Natasha is getting better. Chris keeps the nightmares away for her and Curtis has given Kat a new lease on life. I’m going to work on me. Plus, I have a son now.”
They both looked over at the table with the cake. Sam was moving around it.
“Fifty says the back has no frosting by the time it comes to cut it,” she said.
“No bet. He’s got it on his face. I don’t take sucker bets,” Dimitri stated. “Not even when the woman offering is one of my favorite people in the world.”
She found that sweet.
“You made a difference in him already,” she said. “Sam is happier.”
He was glad.
“I have one more round of parenting in me, and then I’m done.”
“My money is on you.”
He didn’t doubt it.
She loved him with her whole heart.
“Thank you for being you, Emma. You are a mom to your core. No one is going to hurt you or your baby.”
She trusted him with her life.
The men around her…they would make sure she saw her child born.
She didn’t doubt it.
“I love you,” he said.
It wasn’t easy, but at odd times, he needed to tell her. While the words felt foreign, they still came out, and he wanted to share them with her.
“If you ever need me, Maximillian, all you have to do is call me. I will come running. You matter to me. You’re not security. You’re family.”
He held her close.
Finally feeling the hurt in his heart lessen over the woman who screwed with his heart.
“I know, Emma. I know.”
And that was all they needed to say.
He had his safe place.
It was there.
In the family.
And for that, Dimitri was blessed.