Her other leg unwraps from mine. “Same.”
I kiss that spot on her shoulder not wanting to leave this shower. The water is warm, my woman is soft. The rest of the world can burn.
But I push up and start soaping myself and her. If I get my head in the game, maybe I can fix this whole mess.
We get out of the shower, and I quickly dress.
Sasha, wrapped in a towel, stares at me with big eyes. “Ryker?”
“Yeah?” I ask, tugging on a dress shirt, that I tuck into my slacks.
“I can’t come with you, can I? Downstairs?”
I sigh. “No, baby, but if you need me, I’ll leave you my phone so you can unlock the doors and come down.”
She nods. “You don’t have like math games on your phone, do you?”
“Math games?” I turn to look at her.
She shrugs. “Last night, I wasn’t nervous, but today…I’m just anxious about Sver, my father. Math, it calms me.”
Crossing the room, I head into my office and then come back with my accounting ledger. “Any chance you know how to check these?”
She gives me a glowing smile. “Of course. It was the one thing my father let me do, just because…” She points at her head.
“Good. I’ve got two of them to go through. If you finished one, that would really be a help.”
“For me too,” she whispers. “Keep my mind off things.”
I sit on the bed, pulling on the Italian dress shoes I’ve pulled out from the closet. “I’ll be back soon,” I say as I lean over and kiss her temple, her hair wet, her body still wrapped in a fluffy white towel.
But even with my lips on her, she’s completely focused on the ledger, her finger running down the columns, her lips softly moving like she’s reading to herself. “It’s misadded,” she says to herself.
Then she lifts her eyes, meeting mine. “It’s misadded.”
“You know that already?”
She nods. “I’ll fix them.”
I grab her chin, kissing her lips. “Make yourself coffee first. And maybe dress.”
She starts to blush, and I give her a ghost of a smile back. I don’t mind that she’s single-minded.
I rise, taking her hand and my phone. Walking into the kitchen, I use my phone to hit the elevator.
It dings open and I kiss her one last time, like it might be the last time, before I step inside.
The doors close and the quiet fills the space. I’m about to face the firing squad of my family. It’s going to fucking suck.
When it’s done, I’ll have to tell Sasha the truth. I’ll ask for forgiveness, but I’m not certain I deserve it.
The doors open and I roll my shoulders. Because, while I’m not here to win, this is a war, and I will have to fight.
The conference room door is open, the space made from a converted apartment, but not a sound comes from the room.
I step inside to find my brothers sitting silently around the rectangular table, a space left for me at the head. It’s not a sign of respect.
“Is there coffee?” I ask, ignoring the tension.
