Page 149 of Inked in Devotion

“Well, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

My husband. Always mysterious. And I knew better than to nag him for information until he was ready to give it to me. Fall was almost upon us, and the sweltering summer heat had finally broken. I couldn’t wait for the autumn colors to sweep through Central Park.

But it didn’t take me long to figure out what Kolya was up to. Given that we’d been house hunting since after Aralina and Theo’s wedding, he was taking me to look at another property. We couldn’t agree on what kind of house we liked. Everything I picked, Kolya argued it was too small or was hard to secure. Everything he picked…well…I saw their merits, but none of them felt like home. I told him I didn’t want to live in a fortress.

Forty minutes later, Kolya turned into a driveway flanked by wooded areas on both sides. The paved road led to a circular one in front of a massive brick colonial home.

“Before you say anything,” he said. “Have a look around first.”

“Isn’t the realtor meeting us here?” I didn’t see another car around.

“I have the keys,” he said shortly.

He parked the SUV.

I got out, and the first thing that hit me was not the grandiosity of the house, but the refreshing gentle breeze and crisp scent of the woods inflating my lungs. “Oh wow, it’s…” My brows drew together. “It’s beautiful out here.”

I spun in a small circle and lifted my gaze to the tops of the trees. “Is this an old property? The trees look mature.”

“Recently renovated, but the property is thirty years old.”

Kolya held out his hand, and I instinctively gravitated toward him. Another trait I loved about him was how he wasn’t afraid to show affection when it came to me and Sebastian, even in public, although sometimes it felt like he’d peed a circle around me. His message was clear: Sebastian and I were the most important people in his life.

I was glad he wasn’t the type who ignored us in order to protect us. I guess it helped that he was a feared enforcer of the bratva and no one dared to piss him off.

When we entered the house, it smelled of cinnamon and apples. “Did someone already bake in here?”

He shrugged. We walked into the kitchen. A spread of food greeted us. Light snacks like a charcuterie board, an open bottle of wine.

I turned to him. “Did you already buy the house?”

“I put in an offer,” he told me, and there was not one iota of remorse. “After going through several properties, I’d determined what would make us both agree.”

I crossed my arms and glared at him. Although it was a mock glare. I loved take-charge Kolya, but I had to show a little resistance, right? “Is that so?”

He chuckled lightly and dragged me into his arms. “Baby, you know I don’t like it when my hands are not full of you.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Look around,” he prodded. “Lots of natural light and you can decorate it as you please. The ceilings are not too high.”

Pale blue and cream coffered ceilings in the dining room and the living room. It gave the house a cozier architecture. The kitchen had butter-yellow cabinets and one of those six burner old-fashioned French stoves. It opened straight onto a patio surrounded by an extensive grassy landscape. A three-level terrace separated the property from the forest.

“Sebastian’s playset can go right there.” He pointed to a corner. “Security-wise, I’ve already mapped it out.”

I laughed. “Of course you have.”

Kolya nuzzled my throat. “Is that a jab at me, baby?”

Oh God, I was getting tingles right between my legs. I spun around in his arms and linked my fingers at the back of his neck. I tilted my chin up. “Maybe. What are you going to do about it?”

His eyes gleamed, but then the sound of vehicles rolling down the driveway made him groan.

“You invited company?” I quirked a brow.

“I wish I hadn’t,” he grumbled. “We’re going to have a gated entrance, by the way.”