“The viper bites,” she mouthed smugly while the rest of the family went back to their breakfasts and I raised an eyebrow, my jaw tightening. The image of her bent over the table while I gave her the spanking of her life was starting to feel dangerously logical. She had that power, to drive me insane with just a few words, or a perfectly placed smile.
I grabbed my glass of water, locking my gaze onto hers. “So, what are you doing today, Selina?” I asked my sister-in-law, lifting the glass to my lips while still staring at her sister, who had gone back to pointedly ignoring me. “Us?” Selina repeated, confused and I felt her eyes flick from me to her sister before she sighed. “I’m going to my midwife appointment with your brother, Sasha. As for Sienna, I have no idea, ask her yourself!”
Her sudden outburst made me blink, startled, while Roman nearly choked on his tea beside me. Everyone stopped eating,staring at her as she aggressively cut into her pancakes. Nikolai looked at his wife as if he were seeing her for the first time while Sienna slowly turned her head, shifting her gaze from her sister to meet mine, her hand covering her mouth.
“Don’t even think about it,” Selina growled, pointing her knife at her, and her sister shook her head but I could clearly see her face breaking into laughter. She burst out laughing, and I couldn’t help but follow. Seeing Selina lose her temper like that, the stunned look on my brother’s face, it was priceless.
Then Elif started laughing too at the end of the table, slapping Roman’s back as he coughed like he was about to hack up a lung, still choking on his tea. “There’s nothing funny,” Selina sighed, crossing her arms, while Niko wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “No, nothing at all,Solnychko,” he said, his lips stretching into a wide smile that he buried in his wife’s hair.
“Oh, by the way,” Elif suddenly added, turning toward us as she took her husband’s hand, “I booked a restaurant for tonight, to celebrate the merger” her gaze settled on me. “Elif, are you sure…” Grigori started, but she shook her head, turning to him. “Yes. People need to see that we’re not hiding. We’re going to spend an evening together as a family. Even if Tarik had to leave, it’ll be a change for the kids,” she replied. Grigori nodded, though I could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced.
—
“I never thought I’d have you both in my car,” Roman mocked as he drove his sports car behind the two luxury vans carrying Grigori’s and Nikolai’s families. “There wasn’t any room in my sister’s car, and I didn’t want to ride with Grigori, he looked grumpy,” Sienna replied from the back seat, and I nodded. She wasn’t wrong; a grumpy Grigori became unbearable fast. “But if you’re not happy, I can get out, Romy,” Sienna teased and I shot a dark look at her over my shoulder.Romy?
“Oh, Sisi, if someone’s getting out, it definitely won’t be you,” Roman shot back as I slowly turned my wounded gaze toward him. He ignored me, wearing a stupid grin as he gently braked behind Samy and Marcus’s car at a red light. “Sisi?” I repeated between my clenched teeth , not taking my eyes off him. He shrugged. “What? It’s cute, Sisi.”
I clenched my fist, ready to punch him, but Sienna’s voice caught my attention. “It’s cuter than viper, at least,” she muttered in the back, staring out the window. I looked at her, surprised, “I should’ve brought popcorn,” Roman commented as he drove on, clearly enjoying the tension.
Our arguments with Sienna had always been a favorite show for my family. I’d even seen Roman and Elif and sometimes even Grigori bet on who would win.Idiots.
Up until now, Sienna had never openly complained about the nickname I’d given her since we met, a nickname she had earned. My current feelings didn’t change that. “You mean the nickname I gave you after you punched me in the middle of the airport?” I reminded her and she shot me an offended look. “I didn’t do it for pleasure ! You cornered my sister, she was already terrified!” she crossed her arms over her chest, which had the unfortunate effect of pushing up her lovely breasts in her bustier.Bloody hell.
“My eyes are up here, idiot,” she muttered, though her blush didn’t escape me, even in the dim light of the car. “I wasn’t going to do anything to your sister,” I said, trying to hide the tremor in my voice. Fuck, this woman and her body. “And as for pleasure…I don’t doubt you enjoyed it. That’s what I’ve been giving you since the beginning, isn’t it?” I raised an eyebrow, provoking her and her eyes widened.
“Subtlety just died,” my brother sighed as I took immense pleasure in watching Sienna squirm, her face turning as red as a peony, her pretty lips parted. Was she thinking about all thetimes I’d made her come? With my fingers? My mouth? “I’m going to kill you!” she suddenly snapped, lunging for my face, I thanked my years of training as I leaned back, narrowly avoiding the claws of the furious little kitten in front of me. She was quickly stopped by her seatbelt, whose existence she’d clearly forgotten, blinded by shame and anger.
“Absolutely not!” Roman snapped, braking hard. This time, my own seatbelt stopped me from pitching forward. “Don’t even think about fighting in my car. I’m not spending my weekend scrubbing your blood out of my pristine leather.” He shot us both a dark look before pulling away again as his phone rang, Nikolai’s name flashing on the dashboard.
“Problem?” Nikolai asked, probably worried by the sudden stop. “Nope. Just the lovebirds and their usual lovers’ quarrels,” Roman replied and Nikolai hung up with a sigh.
I glanced at Sienna again. She was back to staring out the window, arms crossed, a sulky expression on her face. Despite myself, I smiled as I adjusted in my seat. My gaze met my brother’s and he shook his head, exasperated. "We'll see when it's your turn," I muttered, which made him laugh..
—
The dinner ended amid the children’s laughter as we finished dessert. “I want pancakes,” Roman muttered as he polished off his chocolate fondant. I shook my head. “You just ate two ribeyes and two slices of fondant, Roman,” I sighed, which made Elif laugh. “Let him be,” she said, placing a hand on my brother’s back. “I’ll make you some tomorrow for breakfast, I promise, Roman” she rubbed his back gently while he shot me a satisfied wink. Those two, honestly.
“Everything alright,Solnychko?” Nikolai’s voice drew our attention. He had leaned closer to his wife, who was softlystroking her rounded belly. “Yes, just a slight contraction,” she smiled, sliding her hand along her husband’s cheek as he looked at her with concern.
“Are you sure,miasorella?” Sienna asked from the other side of her sister, and Selina nodded. “Yes, don’t worry. It’s normal for contractions to happen this close to delivery,” Selina smiled, trying to reassure both her husband and her sister. “Selina’s right. The birth is only a few days away, contractions are completely normal,” Elif confirmed as she looked at the couple.
“I can’t wait to hold her in my arms!” she squealed, clasping her hands to her chest, making us laugh. It felt so good to see her like this. After the past week we’d had, it was a breath of fresh air, something that helped the whole family climb back up. “Let Nikolai and Selina enjoy it first,moyakotyonok,” Grigori murmured gently, pulling her into his arms. As always, Elif had found a way, by some miracle to pull her husband out of his bad mood. Whatever she did, it had worked for nearly twenty years now, so no one was complaining.
“Mama! Andrei’s falling asleep!” Rafael’s voice suddenly rang out from the nearby table the children had insisted on occupying by themselves. “That’s not true,” Andrei protested but the way he fought his heavy eyelids made it clear he was about to surrender to sleep.
Nikolai lifted Andrei into his arms, already half-asleep, and our group began heading toward the exit. “I think I’m going to stop by the restroom for a moment,” Selina suddenly informed us, while Grigori and Roman were already outside, following Alexei, Ivan, and Dimitri, who had run ahead despite Elif’s calls. Nikolai stopped, and I couldn’t help but snort at his panic, unsure what to do with Andrei so he could accompany his wife. “I’ll go with her, idiot. Go on,” Elif sighed, gently pushing him toward the exit, Selina laughed and nodded. “Do you want me to come?”Sienna asked as Rafael tugged at her arms, eager to race. “For God’s sake, I don’t need an escort to pee,” Selina snapped nervously as she headed toward the restrooms, one hand on her belly and Sienna laughed at her sister’s awkward walk.
“Samy, wait here until they come out,” Nikolai ordered the young bodyguard standing in the hallway leading outside. He nodded as my brother walked past, adjusting his son in his arms, overtaking Sienna and Rafael, who were already arguing over the starting line and finish of their improvised race. “We’re not running all the way to the park, Rafael. I don’t think I’d make it that far,” Sienna tried to dissuade our nephew, but he shrugged stubbornly.“They just moved one of the minivans, why not race to there?” I suggested as the valet handed the keys to one of our bodyguards. I stopped beside Sienna, who gave me a sideways look. “Alright, but you’re the referee, Uncle Sasha!” Rafael agreed, and I nodded. They lined up at the agreed starting point, the beginning of the stone path leading to the Michelin-starred restaurant. Several diners were watching us curiously; it was probably not something they were used to seeing around here. But that was exactly what I loved most about Sienna, she couldn’t care less about other people’s stares. If she wanted to do something, she did it. She proved my point when she suddenly bent down, kicked off her small white heels, and tossed them at me. “Make yourself useful,” she muttered, lifting the hem of her yellow summer dress slightly, she had left her little white cardigan in the car, and I’d spent the entire evening cataloging every inch of bare skin her dress revealed, her shoulders, her arms, her neck, her collarbones, the swell of her breasts under the bustier.That fucking bustier.
I wanted to bite her, taste her, mark her. I wanted her incapable of thinking about anything but me, just as I was incapable of thinking about anything but her.Fuck.
I cleared my throat, holding her heels in one hand, fingers hooked through the straps, while I raised the other. “Ready? Three, two, one, go!” I dropped my arm, and they bolted off at full speed. I followed with a stupid grin on my face, my gaze glued to her chestnut hair flying behind her. She was smiling so widely!
Nikolai, who had just placed Andrei into the car, barely managed to dodge them as Rafael threw himself into the vehicle, Sienna slowing at the last second to let him win. “You lost, Auntie!” Rafael laughed, pointing at her as she pretended to be out of breath, hands on her knees. “You’re so fast,pulcinomio,” she sighed, ruffling his hair, making him laugh even harder before the other boys caught her attention. All the children had climbed into the same vehicle, it was safer to split them up, but the second minivan hadn’t pulled up yet, nor had Roman’s car. “You need to work on your endurance,” I advised Sienna as I joined her by the open side door of the vehicle and she shot me a dark look. I couldn’t help it, it was too tempting. She was too tempting. Getting a reaction out of her, any reaction, was irresistible. She stepped closer, rising onto her toes to bring our faces near as I held my breath.
“If I were you, I’d worry about my own endurance, Ivanov. You won’t last against me,” she whispered, then she snatched her shoes from my hands, slipped them on, and walked away, leaving me stunned.
She was attacking, no, getting revenge for what I’d said in the car earlier. I didn’t need a diagram to know what she was referring to. Even if she hadn’t meant us together in my sheets, that was exactly what I was thinking about. It haunted me, when I woke alone in my bed, at work, while eating, while training, and at night when I lay down again. There was only that thought. There was only her.
