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Breathing hard through my nose, I tried to hold on and endure the ropes of hot liquid he shot into me. It hit the back of my throat, and almost gagging on the sheer thickness and length of him, I strained to swallow. And swallow.

Every drop.

I didn’t lose any of it.

He pulled out, and I immediately licked my lips. My lungs raced to fill as I caught my breath, but before I could even start to accomplish that, he lifted me by my armpits and tossed me back onto his bed.

“I’m going to be thankful if you get those clothes off right now,” he growled, stalking toward me as I sat up. He reached for my skirt as I obeyed and started tugging at my shirt.

“And I’ll be thankful if you can figure out how to keep quiet.” My skirt and panties flew backward from the toss of them from his hand.

Then he dropped down, bringing his face to my pussy.

“Oh, f⁠—”

I slumped back as he gripped my thighs and held them apart, crushing his hungry mouth to my pussy. Slapping a hand over my mouth, I wondered if I’d be able to be quiet at all as he established a greedy feast of me, right where I ached for him.

“Shh,” he warned teasingly as he fingered me. His breath whispered over my exposed skin, and I grinned, my mouth curling up beneath my palm.

25

NIKOLAI

Having Lousia and Brady in my home was a life-changer. While the other house was fine, and it had plenty of room for all three of us—all four of us, including Paloma—it just felt different to have them here at my main residence.

This was the home I’d first moved to when I left the mansion where my father resided. This was the initial property I saw as the setting for the rest of my life.

I paused between reps of lifting weights in the gym, catching my breath and mulling over that before and after comparison.

Before, I viewed this house as a blank slate, a fresh canvas to make my own. I slept around. I never tried to settle with any one woman, living up to the grand and exciting freedom as the sparest spare. I never had to deal with the pressure of one day taking over, both because my father always seemed so infallible and invincible and because I had three other brothers ahead of me in succession as Pakhan. I could “afford” to do whatever I wanted with my life. I never faced that inevitability of taking charge and everything I did was just something I wanted, not forced.

Now, in this after phase of meeting Louisa and Brady, I was settled. I was content not to look for the next adventure or challenge, but to stay put. Already, the clues were popping up. Brady’s books and toys were scattered here and there. Louisa kept things tidy in the manner of making sure her son didn’t leave messes at the same time she tried to let him have his presence noted, like taping his artwork to the fridge.

I lifted my gaze to spot the pool outside through the windowed doors at the gym. Even there, it was different. Instead of the sleek surface of the water without ripples in this morning light, an odd assortment of floatation devices and toys were bobbing with color in the otherwise drab scene.

“I wish I’d done this sooner,” I muttered to myself before starting the final rep of my weights.

I really did regret not moving them here sooner. We fit so well, and it completed a little part of my soul to have them here, in my home, looking like they fit.

Alexei had commented last night that it looked like I was determined to push this along too quickly. Perhaps it was moving fast. We were nearing the two-month mark of when I first started stalking Louisa on her walks to and from Pickering Inc. yet it seemed like both just yesterday and years ago. If I had to compare what I was experiencing with Louisa to what my brothers and cousin had done with their women, it wasn’t that much faster.

Not you, though.

I smirked as I set the weights down so I could leave the gym.

Not going to happen to you, huh?

Alexei would never settle down with a woman. Even if he wasn’t putting all his effort and attention into finding Gregori, like we all were, he just wouldn’t be the kind of person to want to concentrate on finding a wife or starting a family like the rest of us.

It was a shame, though, because he was missing out. Now that I had Louisa and Brady where I needed them, where I wanted them, I could finally understand how much fuller life could be.

I headed to my room, knowing that it would be empty. Louisa always left in the morning to be back in her bed. Where she seemed to think she belonged. All so Brady wouldn’t be clued in to the fact that she was often with me late at night. Keeping her quiet was a risk, but it was one I’d continue to take with her.

Sooner or later, though, she’ll have to figure out something to tell him.

I showered and prepared for the day, not looking forward to being gone for most of it. Delegation was key. Compared to my brothers and cousins, I liked to work as a puppeteer, leaning on the men and crews I trusted to see to most of what needed to be supervised and managed. For select things, like when Adrik asked me to take out Louisa, I would never hesitate to be directly involved. Today, or rather tonight, I would be expected to personally assist on another important assignment.

Maybe this will be it.