Page 97 of Born into Madness
“None,” he growls before grabbing my hand and bringing it to the front of his jeans. Even though he isn’t hard right now, I easily feel the size of him and the way he starts to stiffen at my touch.
“You are the only woman to make me hard, Cyn, the only one I’ve ever wanted. The only one I will ever want.” He pulls back and gives me a sexy smirk. “If you don’t believe me, just wait until you see my family’s reaction to you.”
“I believe you,” I say. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You never need to apologize to me,krovinka. You were raised by a couple of selfish bastards who never gave you the love you needed and deserved. It’s only normal that you’d struggle with insecurities.” He gives me another kiss and then stands up before winking down at me. “I’m going to fix that.”
“You are, huh?”
He wraps his hand around mine right as we reach the penthouse. “I am,” he says. “I’m a very dedicated man, Cyn. Some might even say obsessive. You’re at the center of that now.” He smirks and takes a step towards the opening doors. “I sure hope you can handle it.”
I’m about to tell him I can handle anything he wants to give me, but we’re interrupted by a beautiful, older woman who comes rushing over with a huge smile on her face. She beams at us and then wraps Sasha in a big hug before pulling me in for one too.
“It’s so good to meet you,” she says, still beaming at the two of us. “I’m Jolene, Sasha’s mom.” She stops and turns her head. “Babe, they’re here!”
I’ve barely managed to say, “Nice to meet you too,” when a very large man comes walking towards us. There’s no way in hell he could be anyone other than Sasha’s dad. They share the same dark hair, although his has a dusting of grey in it now, the same solid frame, and the same light-blue eyes. They both share a love of tattoos, but this guy also loves his piercings.
He holds out a big hand to me. “Nice to meet you, Cindy.”
I smile at the thick Russian accent and shake his hand. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Melnikov.”
He shakes his head. “Call me Lev.” Reaching over, he wraps his son in a hug, and I immediately fall in love with this family. They clearly love their son. I’d been worried that maybe they might treat him differently, but they’re hugging him and loving on him just like a parent should.
“Come on in,” Jolene says, waving us to the kitchen while her husband wraps an arm around her, proving that he’s not just affectionate with his kids. He makes no attempt to hide how smitten he is with his wife, and I smile when I see him rest a hand on her ass as we follow them into the large kitchen and living room.
“They’re always like this,” Sasha leans down to whisper, and then he grabs my ass. “I guess it’s finally rubbed off.”
I smile up at him as he wraps an arm around me, leaning down to kiss my head. When I look over, his parents are staring at us. His dad looks shocked, and his mom looks so happy I swear she’s about to cry.
“Told you,” Sasha murmurs while leading me to one of the barstools.
I’ve just sat down when I hear the soft ding of the elevator, and then it’s absolute chaos. I hear a little girl’s happy squeal and then a deep Italian accent right before several more people walk into the kitchen. The first woman in looks around my age. She has dark hair and blue eyes that remind me of Sasha’s and Lev’s. She’s holding a little boy, and the man right behind her is older and dressed in a suit. They both stare at me as a dark-haired girl comes running towards us, screaming for her Uncle Sasha. He scoops her up like a natural, and when she wraps her little arms around him for a hug, I get a glimpse of what our future might look like. Sasha and I need to have a serious talk soon. We haven’t been using protection, and I know I’m getting close to ovulating. We can’t keep playing with fire unless he wants to be holding our baby soon.
As if he can read my mind, his eyes meet mine and he gives me one of his sexy winks right before he says, “Bell, I want you to meet someone.”
The little girl whips her head around and gives me a big grin. “I like your hair,” she says, making it impossible for me to not fall instantly in love with her.
“Thank you,” I say. “I really like yours too.”
“Thank you. My mommy braided it like aprincipessatoday,” she says, pronouncing the Italian word in a way that sounds perfect to my ears.
“Bell, this is Cindy. She’s going to be your aunt soon,” Sasha tells her as I hear her mom give a soft gasp.
“Are you serious?” she asks, unable to hold back the excitement as she claps her hands and then hugs Sasha. I’m next and as she’s hugging me she says, “I’m Natalya, Sasha’s older sister.” She pulls back but keeps her hands on my arms. “Everyone calls me Nat, though. This is Isabella, and that’s my husband Dominic and our son Enzo,” she says, looking over her shoulder at the older man who’s now holding their son.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he says, and the Italian accent explains why his daughter speaks it so well. His son looks very small in his arms, but he’s holding him like a pro, keeping his back pressed to his chest so his son can look out at everyone. As soon as he makes the faintest noise, Jolene rushes over and snatches him away with a laugh.
“He was clearly calling for his grandma,” she says, giving me a smile.
“You sure he wasn’t calling for his grandpa?” Lev asks. Jolene laughs and shakes her head while Lev takes Isabella from Sasha. “Well, I know this little princess wants her grandpa, don’t you, Bell?”
While I start memorizing names, two more people walk in, and it becomes painfully obvious that everyone in this family is stunning. I recognize the woman in front of me. She’s Mia, the one I saw on Sasha’s phone, and the man behind her must be her husband. Sasha told me he was Dominic’s cousin, and I can see the family resemblance. Both are dark-haired with dark eyes, a shadow to their faces that no amount of shaving will ever get rid of, and the same olive tone to their skin. In other words, gorgeous, but not in the way Sasha is to me.
I feel the comforting weight of his palm against the back of my neck as his younger sister walks over to us. Her auburn hair has pink streaks in it, and she has several tattoos on her armsas well as multiple piercings in her ears and one in her nose. There’s a sweetness to her face, but everything else about her screamsdon’t fuck with me.
“Nice to finally meet you, Cindy,” she says. “I’m Mia, and this is Dario, my husband.” She gives me a grin instead of a hug. She turns to Sasha and adds, “You could’ve also invited Dario and me for tacos.”
“They were vegetarian,” Dario reminds her before shaking my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
