“Very nice.” He nodded. “Your husband bought you this house?”
“Yes, he did.”
“So you ended up finding yourself that rich guy, huh?”
Shiloh, satisfied with the reunion, wiggled until Dom set her on the floor. She walked off, in search of something more interesting than her parents, and Dom pulled Eija back to his chest. Eija raised her chin, and he dropped a kiss on her mouth. Then another. And another. Until she was the one giggling.
“Remember the friends I told you about?” he asked, locking his arms behind her back and gently swaying her from side to side. “One of them hooked me up with a favor. A couple of them.”
“He’s the one who sent the bank information?” she asked.
He graced her lips with another kiss. “Mm-hmm. He also manipulated our information in government databases so that, if we’re spotted anywhere on camera, facial recognition won’t link back to us.”
“What, he gave us longer chins or something?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“By the way, he sent me something else along with the banking information.”
“Did you sign it?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Only because I was feeling emotional. You owe me a ring. Right now, I’m your ‘almost’ wife.”
“The ring’s being made as we speak.”
“I’m guessing we’re not Mr. and Mrs. Sokolov?”
He grinned. “Inside, we’re still Dom and Eija. Out there, we’re...Andrei and Emerald Falcone.”
Eija burst out laughing, so hard she had to hold on to him to remain upright.
“You okay with that?” he asked.
“I am.” She nodded. “I’m more than okay with it.”
“God, I missed you.” He kissed her forehead, her nose. “I love you, Eija.”
“I love you too, Dom.”
Saying it was so easy now.
So wonderful now.
“So,” he glanced over her head at where Shiloh played, “what do you want to do now that I’m here?”
Eija stepped away from him. “No.”
“No?”
“One’s more than enough for now.” He reached for her and she backed away, squealing. “No, Dom. You won’t get me to give you a baby.”
“How about we at least try? Remind how they’re made again?”
Each time he reached for her, she shrieked and stole away from his grasp until he was chasing her around the house. Shiloh, once again interested in her parents, joined in, screaming and giggling as Dom chased them both.
Epilogue
Eija turned a padded yellow envelope over and over in her hands. It had been addressed to the Falcones in Panama, but she didn’t recognize the return address.
“Dom?” She walked into the house and headed up the stairs to their bedroom. “Baby, you up?”
Just as she entered the bedroom, he stepped from the bathroom, a towel around his waist and steam billowing behind him. His hair graced the tips of his shoulders, wavy from the shower.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“It’s addressed to the Falcones. It’s from Australia.”
He smiled. “It’s Pavel.”
“Pavel? How do you know?”
“Is it from ‘Frank Castle’?”
She nodded.
“It’s Pavel.”
He took the folder, tore it open, and pulled out a sheet of paper. On it, in scratchy handwriting, were the words “Please watch,” with a link printed underneath.
“That’s Nikolai’s handwriting.” Eija’s heart warmed over. “I hope they’re doing well. Do you think this is him checking in?”
It would be nice to see their faces.
Both their faces.
Nikolai would be close to eight years old now.
Dom pulled up the link and cast it to the TV. He sat on the bed and pulled Eija into him, lips falling onto her slightly protruding stomach.
The link turned out to be a video.
Of Leah.
In London.
“Where should I put myself?” Leah said, completely unaware she was being recorded via a camera hidden in Lyu’s replacement collar. “Where do you think she’d like me?”
“She?” Dom asked.
Eija remained quiet, watching.
Leah’s eyes brightened. “I know.”
She then stripped off her clothes and slipped into Eija’s bed. Lyu hopped up onto the mattress and curled up next to her.
“So when she comes in, I’ll be like…” She opened her arms.
“Too much?” she asked Lyu. “You’re right. I’ll get under the covers and then just,” she mimed letting the sheets fall, “keep them low and pretend I was covering up.”
Lyu meowed.
The door rattled.
Leah pushed Lyu under the covers.
Eija clipped off the video.
“Well…” Dom said, grinning up at her.
“Guess you were right. Damn.”
“Damn what?”
“If she’d shown up before what happened on the bridge…”
“Then…what?”
Eija shrugged. “Then…she’d have shown up before what happened on the bridge. Why? What’d you think I was going to say?”
She tried to step away, but he dragged her back and toppled her onto the bed. In the process, he’d removed the towel.
“I told you what would happen if you kept fucking around,” he warned. “Open up.”
She let her legs fall open.
He dipped his tongue between them.
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
Right.
Pussy monster.
Thank you for reading.
xoxo
K. Alex
About the Author
I’m a creative creature from the Caribbean who likes animals, Star Wars, quirky humor, and any kind of media that deals with people finding love in an otherwise impossible time.
For book updates, blog posts, and TMI ramblings about my monotonous life, find my blog at kalexwalker.com. On the blog, we have poignant discussions, quirky chats, giveaways, and free online series reads!
You can also join my mailing list by hitting up the blog or clicking here.
Books by K. Alex Walker
The International Mafia Series
Prince of The Brotherhood
Myths Legends and Monsters Anthology Series
The Gatekeeper
Elias The Wicked
With A Kiss, I Die
The Game of Love
The Game of Love
The Game of Love - Sequel
Angels and Assassins
The Wolf
A Fighting Chance
The Protector
The Anarchist
The Dark Knight
The Shadow
The Boys From Chapel Hill
Seducing The Boss
No Feelings Allowed
More from K. Alex Walker
Fated - A Contemporary Erotic Romance
The Woman He Wanted
Free Downloads Available via My Mailing List!
Acknowledgments
Special Thanks to:
Rudi_Design
WritePath Editing
More From K. Alex
The Game of Love
A Contemporary Sports Romance
This is my last chance.
Austin Riley wiped his sweaty palms on his shorts. Rays of summer heat scorched the back of his neck. The crowd around him dissipated the closer he drew to the café where the love of his life worked. She didn’t know she was the love of his life, and he was pretty sure she hated his guts with every fiber of her being, but that didn’t stop him from trying. From flirting. From swallowing gallons of saliva as a blast of cold air hit him from the open café doors.
They would be leaving for college soon—him for Florida State University down south to play quarterback for the Seminoles while she headed to New York. It was the farthest they
would ever be from each other, having both spent their entire lives in one of the smallest towns in North Carolina. There was also no guarantee they would return to Yearwood once they were done with college, so this could be the very last chance he had to tell her he loved her.
A heat wave had blanketed the town so the bakery café, although always busy, seemed to currently house every resident the town possessed.
He took his place in the quickly moving line that wrapped around and through the indoor tables and pretended to look at everything else but Sommer.
He’d heard things, rumors that it was possible Sommer was doing the same thing, pretending to be his enemy to hide the truth about what she felt for him. His mother had always taught him to disregard rumors, but this was one he hadn’t. He couldn’t. This was one he needed to be true.
“Hey, Golden Eyes.”
There were still a couple of people between him and the counter where she scooped colorful, frozen cream in cups and on cones, but she’d noticed him. Called out to him.
“Hey, Sommer.”
She stared. He stared right back. Her lips parted. He swallowed. The few people fizzled down to none and then he was there, standing in front of her, the most beautiful girl in the world.
His gaze darted to the menu on the wall behind her. “Um…just vanilla.”
She’d gone from staring to avoiding his gaze. He only knew because he was still staring. When she looked up at him to hand him his cone, he looked away.
“When are you leaving?” she asked. “For college, I mean.”
“In a few days.” His head bobbed to music that didn’t exist. “You?”
“Same.”
“Sommer—”
“Austin—”
He extended a hand. “You first.”
“No.” Her head shook, curls of dark hair wiggling with the movement. “You…go ahead.”
Sommer, I love you. Everybody says we’re too young to know that, to even understand love, but I’ve loved you since I could walk. I don’t know what that means now that we won’t be in the same elementary, middle, and high school like we’ve been our entire life, but I love you. And, one day, you’ll be my wife.
“Sommer…good luck.”
She licked her lips and searched his eyes. At least, it looked like she was searching his eyes. He only knew because he was still staring.
“Austin…” She smiled. “You too.”
He held up the cone. “Thanks, for this.”
“You’re welcome.”
He lingered until he felt a slight shove in the back. The patron behind him—Mrs. Engleson, the infant teacher at the Yearwood preschool—grumbled for him to keep moving.
Austin made his way down to the end of the counter to pay for his ice cream. When he was finished, he headed for the doors, looking back one last time.
Sommer was gone.
“You okay, Som?”
Sommer dabbed tears from the corners of her eyes. “Yeah, Mom. I just needed a quick break.”
“I saw Austin leave,” her mother said. “Did he say something to you?”
Not what I wish he’d said.
“He just wished me good luck.”
Her mother’s brow lifted into a skeptical arch. “Is that what’s got you back here crying?”
“No, ma’am.” She swiped at her right eye. “Well, kind of. It’s just hitting me that I’ll be going away. But, I’ll be fine.”
Caroline Hayes leaned forward and pressed her lips against her daughter’s forehead. “I know you will, sweetheart. But, are you sure that’s all what’s bothering you?”
No. I’m in love with Austin Riley and I wish the world worked in a way that meant, because of that, he loved me too. I wish I hadn’t wasted so much time pretending I felt just the opposite.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her mother knew something. Mothers always knew things, though she didn’t know how. But instead of questioning her further, the older woman simply walked back to the front of the café.
Sommer collected herself, washed her hands, and returned to her post. Through the open front doors, she spotted Austin’s shirt fading in the distance as he walked away. It felt final, finite, and she channeled all her attention on serving ice cream to cool the hurt.
I love you, Austin.
Do Austin and Sommer ever get a chance to tell each other how they feel?
To read their story, click here.
Prince of the Brotherhood: A Mafia Romance Page 25