Page 53 of Mended Oath

Collapsing forward gently, I take her lips with mine, relishing in the feel of her body against me. “I love you,mo ghrá.”

“I love you,” she echoes, ragged breaths leaving us both. I lean down, flicking the bike off. The silence is interrupted by my phone ringing. Shifting our bodies, I pull it out of my pocket, answering the phone with major irritation.

“Yeah?” I snap, surprised when I realize it’s the man who threatened to beat my ass if I ever hurt the person he loved most in the world.

“Woah, what crawled up your ass?” He laughs, shuffling on the other end of the line. “The girls want to see Nat before we leave tomorrow, they’re both really happy and refuse to go without seeing her,” Dmitri informs me. I glance at my lovely wife who I just screwed the living daylights out of. I watch her eyes struggle to stay open, but she gives me a nod.

“Yeah, we will be there.”

Chapter thirty-seven

Natalia

Whippingintotheparkinglot, a giggle bubbles from my throat at the thrill. Declan and I climb off, heading inside to see my brother and nieces again. My legs still feel like absolute jelly from the man who dominated me to the motorcycle not really giving me time to come down from my high. Now, a day later, the vibrations bring back those amazing memories.

As we get closer, Harlow and Sutton’s little squeals echo down the hall, and I can’t help but smile as we get closer to the source. The laughter that fills the air brings overwhelming joy to my heart, three amazing additions to the family provided to us by Dmitri.

Stepping through the doorway, we watch quietly as Dmitri holds one girl on each hip, spinning them around in a circle. Their little pigtails whip around them as they cling to their dad for dear life. He stops for a moment before spinning the other way, eliciting joyful shrieks from them. The sight warms my heart, the love for my brother and his family places a slight bandage on the gaping hole in my heart that yearns for what was lost. Dmitri stops once more, but Declan sneezes, catching the attention of the girls.

“Na!” Harlow screeches with a huge grin, reaching for me. Sutton claps her hands happily, and reaches for Declan who happily takes her. We walk over to the couch and plop down, both girls wiggling out of our arms as they run off to the bedroom, no doubt to find baby dolls. I watch after them in longing before shaking myself out of those negative thoughts.

“When are you guys leaving?” I ask, looking up at Dmitri who’s sitting on the arm of the chair. He gives me a knowing look, but I shake it off. I don’t want to be sad right now. I have all the time in the world to be upset, and now is not that time.

“Our flight leaves in an hour and a half.” He checks the time on his watch. His eyes follow his wife as she enters the room, lust immediately filling his gaze as he watches her legs move. I shudder in disgust, trying to unsee that. She sits on the chair he’s leaned against, his hand immediately dropping to play with the ends of her hair, which is pulled back into a low ponytail.

“I’m glad you guys could make it by to see us,” Ansleigh mentions, looking up at Dmitri as she places her hand on his thigh, squeezing gently.

“Yeah, we kind of needed to talk to you about some things,” he clears his throat and looks at me.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Declan asks, leaning back into the couch, placing his arm across the top. His fingers dance across my back, drawing lazy shapes over my jacket.

“I actually wanted to know what you were planning to do with the Belov empire now that Rian is gone.” Dmitri rubs the back of his neck nervously. Furrowing my brows, I try to understand what he’s saying.

“What?” I ask, sitting forward and placing my elbows on my knees. “You’re not seriously wanting it back are you?”

“I thought maybe you’d want to just focus on the O’Connor side, and I would do the other.” He glances down at Ansleigh, who gives me a small smile. My mind starts popping off different scenarios, none of which are good.

“Ans, you’re on board with this?” Declan’s hand moves to my back again, his touch instantly soothing my nerves.

“I am,” she states calmly. I stare at them in shock, trying to find the right words.

“Dmitri, why?” I croak, trying to keep myself together. Worse case scenarios immediately start to play in my head, but I shove them down. “You have anout. Your family can be safe from whatever evil may come from this lifestyle, yet you’re wanting to come back? The girls don’t have to worry about whether their daddy will come home or not, Ansleigh doesn’t live in fear. You don’t have to do this to yourselves, it’s an unnecessary evil.” I try to wrap my head around the fact that my brother would willingly put his life in danger again. I can already feel myself beginning to shut down as I wrap my arms around myself in protection. Declan’s hand plays with the ends of my hair, doing his best without taking me away from here.

“We’ve talked about this long before you knew that I was still alive, Natalia. If the chance ever came, I would take over.” Dmitri places his hand on top of Ansleigh’s before continuing. “We talked about the pros and cons, and how it would affect our family. We’ve ensured that everything was discussed. Ansleigh has had time to come to terms with the reality of the situation, and she’s willing to step up to that plate.”

“Did you think I would just roll over and give it to you?” I rasp, trying to keep my emotions in check. “I lostsomuch because I was burdened with the role of being the heir of the Belov Empire. I’ve sacrificed my life line. I’ve given blood, sweat and tears to it. I had to give it up because I didn’t want the one person who was still alive in my life to leave. Now, you’re here and want to take it back? You suddenly rise from the dead and demand it? Acting as if I didn’t lose everything for it?” Although my voice is calm, I know that my blood pressure is rising. Declan must sense it too because he sits up and slips his arm around my waist.

“No, that’s not it at all,” Dmitri rushes out quickly, sitting up straighter. “I’m simply giving you an out.”

“You’regivingmean out? What if I don’t want out?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.The audacity.

“Then I’m not going to force you out,” he states, looking between Declan and I. “If you two want to continue running both, I don’t want to pressure you into getting out. There’s been a lot on your plate in the last five years, and now that I can come out of the woodworks, I wanted to relieve you of that burden.”

“I don’t know… this is a lot to process right now. I’m going to have to think about it.” Looking down at Sutton as she comes running up with a baby doll. “Thank you baby,” my voice softens as I take the doll from my niece, a smile on my face as she climbs up in my lap. She lays her head on my shoulder, big yawns coming from her little body.

Looking back up at Dmitri, my eyes find his. They swim with hope, but that seems to just make me feel shittier. “Just give me a few weeks to think about it, okay?”

“Take all the time you need, Nat. I know this is a huge decision, and I know everything you gave up to be where you are now. I don’t want you to feel rushed. Plus, we still have to move all of our stuff here,” he reminds me, trying to light the mood. They decided to leave Arkansas to move here so we could all be closer. The girls became so attached to Declan and I in the short time they’ve known us, plus we missed out on five whole years with my brother.

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