“I’m real curious about that baby you’re having,” Mia says. “Something tells me the princess dolls I buy for Isabella aren’t going to cut it for any of your future daughters. I’ll have to look into it. I bet I can find a set of plastic knives.”
Sasha’s mouth quirks up at the image. “That would actually be really fucking cute.”
She grins back at her brother. “It really would be.”
I raise a brow at Damien and Luka in aWould it really be cute to arm a toddler?kind of way. Luka laughs while Damien just shakes his head, more than used to our crazy cousins.
After a few more minutes of updates on things that have nothing to do with Cupid, we all start to go our separate ways. I stop and grab some takeout and then eat it in front of my computer. It’s a terrible habit, but it’s how I eat most of my meals. I miss Savanna and it’s hard to concentrate, so instead I perform the same search that I do at least once a month. I dig around for Mateo Amaya, not really expecting to find anything. The Amaya Cartel kidnapped my brother and Val and held them in Colombia. That’s where he’d met Talia. They’d taken her for the same reasons—trying to put pressure on the Bratvas so he could run drugs through their territories.
It had taken me a couple of months before I was able to track them down, and the pressure had been overwhelming. I still feel guilt about not finding them faster. As soon as we had a location, we went in and rescued them, taking out the cartelin the process, but we’d left Mateo alive. His dad had been in charge at the time, and Mateo hadn’t been in a position to stop him, but he had secretly done everything he could to keep them alive. His life was spared on the condition that he disappear and never show his face again.
I like to check up on him to make sure he’s still holding to our agreement. I don’t think he’ll come for revenge, even if Sasha did carve his face up pretty good in exchange for not killing him, but it’s my job to be cautious, not to let things slip past while I hope for the best. After an hour of a pretty sound deep dive, I see no evidence to suggest that Mateo is operating in Colombia or anywhere else.
When I’m finished, I’m still too antsy, so I get on my treadmill and stay on it until exhaustion makes my brain shut up. I know it won’t last long, but I enjoy the reprieve while I have it. This incredibly long day without Savanna is just further proof that I need her living with me. Even if I only get to see her in brief moments around her busy schedule, I’ll still get to fall asleep with her every night. It would make the separation bearable to know I’d get to see her at the end of it.
The rest of the weekend is further proof that her moving in is the right next step for us. I’ve never been so happy for a Monday morning, and when I pull up in front of her sorority house, she comes rushing out the door like she’s just as starved for me as I am for her. We’ve been texting, but she ended up needing to spend a lot more time researching than she’d planned.
“I’m sorry,” she says as soon as she slips into the passenger seat and leans in to kiss me. I want to ask her why she’s apologizing, but I’m too desperate to kiss her. Her mouth is just as sweet as I remember it, and it’s been two long days since I’ve tasted her. My body reacts immediately to her touch. My cock stiffens in my pants as my fingers thread into her thick hair and I lose myself in her for a few precious minutes.
I pull back while I still have enough of my brain working to remember she needs to get to class.
“You give the best good mornings,” she whispers with a sweet smile on her face. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you this weekend.”
“Don’t apologize, Van. I know how important this is to you. I’m not going anywhere, so stop worrying. I don’t expect you to always be available. I love that you have something you’re so passionate about.”
She leans in and kisses the small hoop in my nose. “I’m pretty passionate about you, too, you know.”
“I’m very glad to hear that.” I hand her the coffee and breakfast burrito I got for her. “You need to eat.” Before I drive away, I give her a wink and say, “I’m pretty passionate about you, too.”
She gives me a very hungry look as her eyes drift down my body, settling on the obvious bulge that’s pressing against my jeans. “I can see that. Maybe I should skip class today. One day won’t hurt, right?”
I grin and pull away from the curb. “You have to go to class. You’ll regret it if you don’t, and I refuse to come between you and your degree. Just a couple more days, and we’ll have the whole weekend together.”
“I can’t wait,” she says before taking a huge bite of her burrito.
I smile to myself while she chews through that thing in record time and then chugs her coffee. I’m already planning out the meals I’m going to have ready for her when we’re living together. I add learning how to cook to my list of things I need to do, and by the time I pull in front of her first building, she’s finished and double-checking her bag to make sure she has everything.
The kiss goodbye is longer than is wise, but it’s impossible for me to pull away from her, and by the time she leaves the car, I’m so hard I don’t think I can move, and I’m dreading the long day ahead of me.
By the time Wednesday night comes around, I’ve taken to constantly reminding myself that we only have one more day before she’s coming home with me. Monday night she was busy with her study group, Tuesday night I ended up having to help my family with surveillance, and now it’s time for me to meet her parents. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to pull that off when all I can think about is my need to bury myself as deeply inside their daughter as I can.
“Maybe I should’ve worn something nicer.” I look down at my usual hoodie and jeans and wish I’d chosen something different. We’re parked behind her dad’s car, and I’m so nervous I’m fidgeting.
“They’re going to love you,” she reminds me, “and if you’d shown up in a suit, they wouldn’t have known what the hell to do. We don’t dress up for meals. We’re a very laid-back family.”
“What do they know about me?” I ask her, wondering if she’s said anything else that I don’t know about.
“Not a thing. They don’t even know you’re coming tonight,” she says, and then has the nerve to laugh at the horrified look I give her.
“Tell me you’re joking.”
She grins, but not even her cute dimple can calm my fear right now. “Nope. I always told them that one day I’d just show up with the perfect man, my very own Mr. Darcy.” She smiles even bigger. “They’re going to love this.”
“I can’t remember, is there a Bratva member inPride and Prejudice?”
She laughs. “No, definitely not, but that’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” I ask.
