Viktor nuzzled her neck, murmuring something in Russian that made her shiver. Andrei stood in front of her, a look of satisfaction written all overhis face.
“Time to get you cleaned up,kotenok,” Viktor said, his hands stroking her sides.
I moved toward them and scooped her up into my arms.
She gasped, her arms instinctively going around my neck. “Mikhail! I can walk.”
“Yes, but I’m going to carry you. You’restill shaking,malyshka,” I replied in a firm tone. It wasn’t a question. It was a fact.
“She’s been properly fucked, that’s all,” Andrei said with a smirk. “It’s a natural reaction.”
Ignoring him, I carried her through the sprawling living area, down a long hallway, and into the master suite. The room was done in shades of gray and white, the massive king-sized bed was a pristine island of white linen against the dark wood furniture. I carried her past the bed into the en-suite bathroom and set her down on the seat in the enormous steam shower. She yelped as her heated flesh met the cold tiles and we smiled at each other. Turning the handheld showerhead on, I let it heat up while I fetched a clean, soft cloth.
Stripping the rest of my own clothes, I stepped into the shower with her. Setting the dial to a gentle rain, I knelt in front of her and used my free hand to gently spread her legs and brought the warm water between them. She sighed in what I could only guesswas relief. She watched me as I tended to her. For the first time since her last orgasm her gaze was clear and direct. She didn’t flinch from my touch. She didn’t look away. She let me take care of her.
“You don’t have to do that,” she whispered.
“I want to,” I said.I moved the clothover her skin, following the spray of warm water from her beautiful face, down her neck, to her shoulders, arms, back, and chest. I took my time gliding the cloth over her full, perfect breasts to her soft tummy. I traced the curve of her hip, the soft skin of her inner thighas I cleaned her off. Finally, she nudged her bottom forward off the bench a bit, spread her legs wider, and let me wash her no-longer private places. Her long, toned legs were last before I directed the spray from her face to her toes one more time. Her long exhale and sweet smile reassured me that she really was okay.
Viktor and Andrei had appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame, watching us. They were silent, their presence a palpable weight in the room.
When I was done tending to Katerina, I quickly rinsed myself before turning back to my girl. I took her hands in mine and helped her stand before leading her out of the shower. Taking a plush white towel from the adjacent glass shelf, I gently patted her dry from head to toe, front and back before wrapping another towel around my own waist.
Purely for my own pleasure, I again lifted her into my arms and carried her past my brothers to the bed. Laying her down on the big, soft bed, I pulled the fluffy duvet over her, tucking it around her body. “Sleep,” I said, brushing her damp hair from her face. “You need to rest.” I let myself press one kiss to her forehead.
She didn’t argue, just met my eyes and smiled. Her eyelids were already fluttering, her body sinking deeper into the mattress. Within moments, her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.
I stood there for a long time, just watching her. The rise and fall of her chest, the soft fan of her lashes against her cheeks. The unfamiliar feeling in my chest intensified, a strange, heavy warmth that was both comforting and unsettling.
Viktor and Andrei walked into the room, their movements quiet. They came to stand on either side of me, looking down at the sleeping woman in my bed.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Viktor whispered.
Andrei grunted in agreement. “She’s strong and smart. And stubborn. And beautiful. And she has no idea what she’s gotten herself into with us.”
“No,” I said, my gaze still on Katya. “She doesn’t.”
Viktor chuckled, the sound wickedly mischievous. “She will. And she’s going to love every minute of it.”
Andrei’s gaze shifted from Katya to me, a questioning look in his eyes. “You’re quiet, Mikhail. What are you thinking?”
I turned to face my brothers. I looked from Andrei’s intense, possessive stare to Viktor’s wicked, knowing grin. They were my brothers. My blood. My partners in crime and in war. We had shared everything except a woman.
Until now.
“I’m thinking,” I responded thoughtfully, “that she’s ours now. Forever.”
While Katya was still sleeping, my brothers and I started strategizing in the living room.
Andrei sat on the couch opposite me. He popped two more pain relievers and rested his head on his hand. He looked like hell, but he still had that stubborn spark burning in him. Always did.
Viktor lounged sideways in the armchair, one ankle hooked over his knee, a cigarette balanced between two fingers. A thin haze of smoke curled above him, catching the lamplight as he watched me with that deceptively lazy stare, just oozing the satisfied, restless energy of a man who’d just gotten laid. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, his hair a mess. He looked pleased. Annoyingly so.
The room still smelled faintly of her.
“Our plane systems were compromised,” I said, cutting straight to business. “There are only two organizations capable of remote override on a Dragunov-class aircraft.”
Both of them went still.
