Page 57 of Sexting my Bratva Daddies

“Is everything okay?” I stayed put, running my thumb over her face in the photo.

A pause, then, “Fine.”

“Peyton?”

Another, longer pause, then her hand appeared at the edge of the doorframe. “I said I’m fine, Viktor.”

“Can I help?” I would really rather not. I much preferred taking in Peyton’s life, the things she might never have let us see.

“I’m packing. It does not require conversation. Or help.”

Was it just me or did her voice squeak? I smothered a grin, realized what I was doing, and stood stock still, evaluating the strange expression pulling my cheeks until they ached.

I crossed the living room and leaned against the doorframe of what turned out to be her bedroom. A bedroom with a pink cover on the bed. My smile threatened again, and I crossed my arms, pinching the inside of my elbow to keep from laughing. The room smelled like her. Warm and clean, something that reminded me of flowers and clean clothes. Sexy.

“You’ve been quiet.” I gave her a pointed look. “I have come to believe this is concerning.”

“Oh?” Her eyebrows winged upward. “Meanwhile, the three of you barely say three words. The drive here, for example. You did not say a single word the entire time.”

“I was busy protecting you.” I pinched my arm again when she reached into the closet and yanked down a fluffy sweater far too warm for the current season. The sweater went into the bag, then she yanked open a drawer and pulled out several pairs of pajama pants that followed the sweater.

“You’re allowed to not be fine.” I crossed my ankles and waited.

She froze, her hand deep in the bag. Her head lifted, eyes skipping over my face. “I’ve never needed a bodyguard before.” She pulled her hand free, dragging the sweater out and dropping it onto the bed. “It’s strange to realize that being close to you, to all of you, means that’s changed. I’m a variable in something I don’t fully understand.”

Hmm. How to manage this one. A dozen possibilities flickered through my mind, and I settled on the most palatable one. “The risk to you is low. Our enemies don’t know about you. We’ve been careful.”

“But not careful enough if you feel this is necessary.” She dropped onto the edge of the bed, her hands falling to rest between her knees. It pulled the dress down in the front, which threatened to distract me.

“No.” I agreed with her because she deserved as much of the truth as possible.

“Is that why it feels like you’re all more worried than you’re letting on?”

The worry wasn’t entirely about Anton. I watched her for a different reason, and I liked her too much to be comfortable with that.

I chose a different approach that ran sideways to the real truth. “In my world, there are always risks. That doesn’t change. What changes is how well you manage them.” I straightened from the doorframe and came far enough into the room that she’d have to work to avoid looking at me. “We are very good at managing them.”

She shifted on the bed, her head lifting. “I know that. And I trust you. That’s why I agreed to this.”

“Knowing it and acknowledging your fear are two different things.” I had a long history with that particular gap. I would not let what happened to Natasha happen to Peyton.

My heart hardened. I’d failed to protect Natasha when our enemies came for her. Never again. I would never fall in love, never let that all-consuming emotion take hold and ruin me.

“But you are safe with us.” I needed her to believe that.

The bed squeaked, and she turned sideways, pulling her knee up and locking her hands around her calf. “Can you just… sit with me for a minute?” She patted the bed, then rubbed her fingers over her forehead.

I perched next to her, the bed making another groan of protest.

“I’m scared.” Her chin quivered, her eyes taking on a glassy sheen.

My heart. I gathered her into my arms. “You are safe with us.”

“I know that.” Her huff of breath fanning over my neck turned into a quick inhale. “You are all quick to reassure me that I’m safe with you. I know that part, but it leaves me concerned on why you continue to express the point.”

I tightened my arms around her. “I mean you are safe so long as you are with us. No one will get to you if they must come through us first.”

“Oh.”