Page 48 of Ivory Oath

I chuckle. “I’m just glad you’re safe now. And I’m going to do everything I can to keep it that way. So you need to relax and try to take it easy. For the baby’s sake and Dante’s.”

She turns around, peeking back at Dante snoozing in the backseat. “I don’t want him to know what’s going on. I don’t want to scare him.”

“Agreed.” I nod. “As far as he knows, this is another adventure we’re going on.”

“Perfect. But maybe, after this, we try to have fewer adventures.” She grimaces. “I wouldn’t mind testing out a normal, quiet life for a change of pace.”

I squeeze her hand. “I’ll do my best.”

Dante’s eyes pop open as soon as I shift the car to park in front of the cabin. He undoes his booster seat and jumps out.

“This is our new house?” He gawks at the A-line roof and sprawling screened-in porch.

Viviana wraps her arms around his shoulders from behind. “Temporarily. It’s an adventure.”

She peeks back at me, a knowing smile on her face. And for the first time since she told me her father broke into our house, I can take a deep breath.

No one is going to get to them out here.

Dante inspects every room inside, loudly declaring “dibs” on the room with bunk beds. I snap my fingers in sarcastic disappointment. “As much as your mom and I would have loved sleeping on top of each other in the bunk beds, we’ll let you have them, bud.”

Dante is digging through the bags of food looking for a snack when Viviana sidles up next to me, her lips pressed against my ear. “No bunk beds, but I vote we still sleep on top of each other.”

My cock perks up at that idea. But there’s still so much to unpack. And after his nap in the car, Dante probably won’t be asleep for hours.

I readjust my pants and keep settling in. There will be plenty of time to perfect our sleeping arrangements tonight once Dante is asleep.

“Do bears live here?” Dante turns away from the large picture window. “The three bears from the Goldilocks book lived in woods just like this.”

“Some bears live out here, but they won’t bother us inside the cabin.”

Dante’s eyes widen. “What about when we’re outside?”

There’s fear there. If I don’t handle this correctly, he’ll wake up terrified and end up in our bed. And I cannot have that. I have plans for his mother.

I stay calm as I explain. “Black bears aren’t very aggressive. They hardly ever attack people. As long as we are alert and keep our distance, they won’t bother us.”

“What if we don’t keep our distance?”

“If we run into one in the woods, we just stay calm and back away slowly. And if that doesn’t work—” I flex my arm and wag my brows at him. “—I can take any bear.”

Dante laughs. “No, you can’t. Bears are ginormous.”

“Are you saying I’m not ginormous?” I sweep an arm out to scoop Dante up by the waist. Then I lift him over my head and roar like an animal. “What do you have to say now?”

He can’t say anything. He’s too busy giggling until he’s red in the face and panting.

As much as I wish the circumstances were different, I’m excited to have some time to solely spend with Dante. We haven’t had good quality time since Costa Rica. Plus, sending Viviana away took our relationship back a few steps. It’s nice that we can all be together again.

When I finally plop him down on his feet, he’s grinning from ear to ear. I get the feeling I’m going to make up ground fast out here.

“If all else fails, there’s this.” Viviana pulls a can of bear spray out of a bag and tosses it to me. “Any time you are out in the woods with Dante, I want you to have that with you.”

“You don’t trust that I can fight a bear?” I tease. “Do I need to toss you around to prove it, too?”

She presses her lips together, biting back a grin. “Prove it to me later tonight, Mikhail.”

Again, I strain against the front of my pants.

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