Alexandr's Reluctant Submissive (8 page)

Her stomach growled and without looking up from his phone, he pointed at the side of the limo. “Food is there, and drink.”

While she munched on a ham sandwich that was surprisingly good, and fed Alex bits of food when he could take a bite, she listened to him talking on his phone and noticed that he didn’t seem to be holding anything back. In fact, as he spoke about questioning one of the men that had been in the attempted ambush, he ordered his men to torture the would-be assassin. She’d sucked in a breath at the easy way those evil words rolled from his lips, but her conflicted guilt eased when he talked to who she thought was Maks about using the instruments of torture they’d found in the van their enemies had been driving, along with shackles. Knowing that a fate worse than death had probably been their intent, she didn’t feel all that bad about the same devices they’d planned on harming her with being used on them instead.

He also talked to his uncle Petrov a great deal, but those conversations didn’t make much sense to her. She had a feeling a lot of what he said was code and gave up trying to figure out what they were talking about. Dimitri called as well, and she’d even had a chance to chat again with a very pissed-off Gwen. Her nanny had freaked out on her for a good ten minutes about what an asshole Krom was and how he wouldn’t tell her anything about what was going on, before she calmed down enough for Jessica to explain the truth about Alex. When she did, Gwen let out a scream that was lound enough to make Jessica almost drop the phone, then asked her a million questions before their conversation got cut off by an incoming call for her husband.

She hadn’t been able to talk to Tatiana because her daughter was sleeping while the plane refueled, but Gwen sent her a picture of the little girl curled up, surprisingly enough, on Krom’s lap and covered in a pink blanket while the large man held her with obvious affection.

Gwen also added the following caption to the image:
Despite the fact that he looks like an evil version of Wolverine and is a complete and utterly bossy dick, Tatiana adores him and vice versa.

Alex had lingered with fascination over the image, enlarging it so he could study their daughter’s sleeping face.

“She is so beautiful,” he murmured. “Like an angel.”

Snorting, she shook her head then ran her fingers through his hair, unable to stop touching him. “Remember that you called her that. Your little angel has quite a temper on her when she doesn’t get her way, and can manipulate adults like you wouldn’t believe by being cute. She can also be a right stubborn pain in the butt. Wonder which side of the family she gets that from?”

The droll but warm look he gave her vanished when his phone rang again. He answered it, speaking once again to Petrov, but this time he kept her close to his side, stroking her arm lightly and sending pleasant little tingles through her body. The fresh scent of his key lime and cedar cologne filled her as she rubbed her cheek against the shoulder of his jacket. They had entered the city by now and the streets were crowded with trucks, cars, and tons of mopeds, along with a few motorcycles.

She rested against Alex, gratefully using his silent strength to bolster her own as she took in the chaos of her new world.

Driving through an upscale neighborhood filled with an odd mixture of old mansions and modern high-rises, Jessica marveled at the beauty of some of the buildings and leaned closer to the glass to try and get a better look. Yeah, almost everything was unfamiliar, and she was freaked out by their entourage and the attention it attracted, but she tried to be positive about things. Tatiana would get to live in a city that had been the home to generations of her ancestors, and she’d have an extensive family to grow up with. Something she’d thought her daughter would never have. Alex had said that Petrov had many grandchildren for Tatiana to play with, and there were what seemed like an endless amount of cousins of all ages. It sounded wonderful, but she worried her daughter would feel like a stranger in a strange land.

Like Jessica did.

In an effort to hide her homesickness from Alex, she smiled wide and continued to look out the window of the sleek car and tried to sound excited. “Wow, this place is amazing! I never imagined this many people would just be out and walking around. What part of the city are we in? Will we be able to come back here sometime? That outdoor restaurant looks really nice, the one with the tulips out front. I love tulips; they always remind me of spring.”

He obviously saw through her pathetic attempt at being happy. “Easy,
prinsessa moya
, the threat has been eliminated. You are safe. Please, do not be nervous.”

She sighed, the turned away from the lure of the city to face Alex’s worried expression. “It’s not my safety that has me antsy.” He gave her a blank look and she reminded herself that he wouldn’t know the slang she’d gotten used to using. “Antsy means full of energy and nervous.”

“Then what has you antsy.”

The way he said the word, as if testing it out and finding it not to his taste, made her smile. “I’m worried about how I’ll fit into your life, how you’ll fit into ours. It’s going to be hard with Tatiana because I’ve never had to share the responsibility of raising her. All decisions were mine and things went the way I wanted. I know that it won’t be that way anymore and I worry.”

“My wife, we will do what parents do, compromise.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

He rubbed his fingers over the back of her hand, sending tingles up her arm. “There is nothing that we cannot overcome, Jessica.”

“You really believe that?”

“I am sitting next to my wife, on the way to our home, to prepare for our daughter’s arrival tomorrow.
Nothing
is impossible.”

Mollified, she placed her free hand on his thigh and gave the solid muscle a squeeze.

Alex spoke quietly beside her. “You do not know how many times I wished I had a chance to show you my real hometown before I lost you.”

Biting her lip to keep from crying—she was going to dehydrate at the rate she’d been bursting into tears—she forced a smile. “Well, I’m here now, so tell me about our new place.”

The gray of his eyes lightened and he smiled, clearly pleased at her “our place” comment. He quickly filled her in on the details of the high-security building and she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or nervous to find Dimitri and Ivan had apartments in the same building, along with a couple dozen bodyguards and staff who lived in the smaller apartments on the lower floors. Evidently their place was four floors above where Ivan and Dimitri lived with their wives. The thought of those two playboys marrying anyone was peculiar to her, but she supposed the years had changed them as well. In an odd way, she almost expected everything to be the same as when she’d left, as impossible as that thought was.

They pulled up to a set of seriously intimidating wrought iron gates and drove through what had to be an eleven-foot-high concrete walls reinforced with spikes and thick metal wires on the top. The guards were all daunting men who stared in the direction of the limo as they drove past, they eyes covered by dark sunglasses that hid their gazes. Alex leaned forward, his bulk pressing into her side, then pointed through the window.

“This building sits on three acres of land. There is an enclosed garden and a play area for children. I do not pay attention to such things, but Rya has said there are a good amount of little girls around Tatiana’s age that live in the building. Across the street is the private school where many of the children of employees from the US Embassy attend. I think we shall enroll Tatiana there when it is time. Like this building, the school is also very safe. In Russia, times of great unrest are not so unusual, and security is often our priority. Is one of many reasons
Bratvas
are such a part of daily life. We help stave off anarchy, bring order to chaos, in ways that the government cannot.”

She blinked at him, slightly stunned by how grave his voice was. “So, uh, is the apartment kid-proof as well as bombproof?”

“Is not bombproof. There is a bunker deep beneath the ground in the basement. Is like bomb shelter…what is word…group. We share portions of it with other owners. The Novikovs’ portion is very big, enough to house and supply thirty people for five years.”

Staring at him, she slowly shook her head. “I meant did you move any breakable stuff, anything that she might pull down and destroy. Your girl is very inquisitive, but a little clumsy. She’s managed to break three, count them, three televisions so far. And a washing machine. And destroyed a blender. Not to mention pouring a bottle of vegetable oil on the neighbor’s dog we were watching while he was on vacation. Ever try and wash canola oil out of a Golden Retriever’s long coat? Good times. So, that’s great to hear we have some crazy hideout in the basement, but if I were you, I’d be more concerned about anything that she can reach.”

Leaning forward, he nuzzled his nose against hers. “Only you can instantly lift me from the darkness. I cannot be around you and be unhappy. Is physically impossible. I forgot how good it feels to simply be in your presence. I love you, Jessica Novikov, never doubt that for a moment.”

Whatever response she might have had, other than bursting into tears at the pain still haunting his voice, was quickly lost on a small gasp.  The intimidating sight of armed men and women guarding the entrance to the enormous glass building, each scanning the area with a professional detachment, took her mind off their emotional issues and back to the present with a snap. To think, when she’d been with Alex previously, this life had been one step away from becoming her reality, blocked only by his will. She realized now just how much he’d done to protect her from this harsh truth.

But it wasn’t just the guards who had silenced her; it was the sight of an older Dimitri standing near the curb next to a small, very attractive and curvy woman with lots of long dark hair. The woman wore a soft-green trench coat that fluttered around her black boots in the brisk wind, and Dimitri’s green tie complemented her outfit. Together they were a striking couple, and she couldn’t help but feel an enormous burst of happiness and pride for her brother-in-law. From what Alex had told her, Dimitri loved Rya to distraction and the feeling was entirely mutual.

At the sight of her old friend, her lower lip began to quiver and she tried to fight off the tears, but lost the battle when Dimitri yanked her door open then pulled her out with a happy shout, lifting her by the waist and spinning her around while she clung to his shoulders. Unable to help herself, she laughed while he practically tossed her into the air then caught her in a giant hug.

Crushing her to his chest, he whispered in her ear, “Welcome home, little sister.”

“I missed you so much,” she managed to get out in a choked voice.

“Never again, Jessica. Do you understand? We will never let you be taken from us again.” His voice lowered to barely a whisper. “I am glad you are alive,
dorogoya
.”

From next to them she could hear Dimitri’s wife speaking with Alex, but her attention was on the big man who gently set her on her feet. Dimitri had indeed grown up in their time apart and she barely recognized him with his full beard. The teasing sparkle was also gone from his eyes, and a new seriousness seemed to radiate from him.

Plus, he was huge.

Pressing her lips together in an effort to regain her self-control—she really didn’t like crying before a crowd of strangers—she shook her head. “No mushy stuff, Dimitri. Be a dick so I don’t feel like crying. You know how weird and blotchy I get.”

Alex came up behind her and looped his arm around her waist while Dimitri laughed. Right away her hands went over his and she cuddled into him, the movement as natural as breathing. For a moment Alex stilled against her, then placed a lingering kiss on her temple. Dimitri’s wife watched them with tears in her golden-brown eyes.

Stepping forward, the small woman held out her hand, the massive yellow diamond of her engagement ring throwing rainbows in the bright light. “Jessica, it is…I’m glad…that is— I’m Rya, welcome home.”

Before Jessica could react, Dimitri stepped behind his much smaller wife and swept her up into his arms, giving her a sound kiss on the lips before setting her on her feet again while she blushed. “Forgive my horrible manners. Jessica, this is Rya Novikov, my wife. She is nervous to meet you.”

“Shush,” Rya muttered as she elbowed Dimitri in the side until he released her from his hold with a scowl. “I’m sorry, normally I’m not like this.”

“I understand,” Jessica said with a small smile. “I’m like seeing a ghost.”

“No, more like meeting a legend.” She smiled up at her husband, so tiny compared to him, but her spirit burned like fire as she gazed up at him with pure adoration. “Dimitri has told me a lot about you. I kind of feel like I know you already.”

Alex clasped her wrist, cutting off her reply, and tugged her after him so abruptly she almost stumbled. “Come, let us go inside.”

Dimitri tensed as well and Rya exchanged a worried look with Jessica. Neither woman resisted as the men ushered them into the massive, almost fortress-like building. She got a brief tour of the main floor, making note of the salon so she could finally go back to her natural color, then she was whisked into a waiting elevator. As they went up to the nineteenth floor, Rya talked about people living on the different floors they passed, making mention of a few families with children around Tatiana’s age.

She appreciated Rya filling her in on everything, but right now her mind was having a hard time doing anything more than living in the moment. The interior of the elevator was made up of mirrors and she stared at the reflection of her standing there with Alex to her side. He was looking down at her, studying her face, and the expression of utter worship on his made had butterflies tickling her lower belly.

Keeping her gaze locked on the mirror, she pulled him behind her and whispered, “I forgot how good we look together.”