Page 116 of Beautiful Beast

And it doesn’t bother me at all like it would have just a few weeks ago.

I slump against the counter, breathing heavily. Erik remains inside me as he rests his head on my shoulder, breathing into my ear. I laugh a little from the tickle of it.

“I’ve barely heard you laugh. It’s a beautiful sound.”

“Then just make me laugh more, and you’ll hear it more often.”

“Duly noted.”

His hands are on the counter by mine, and I can’t resist the urge to cover his hands with my own.

“You can laugh, too, you know,” I tell him. “I want to hear it. I don’t need you to always be so serious all the time.”

“I think that’s something we can try.”

It’s at that very moment my father barges into the kitchen. “What is taking so lo—” He stops short when he sees us. His face quickly turns red, and he spins on his heel to face away from us.

“You couldn’t knock?” Erik asks.

“It’s a kitchen,” he seethes. “It’s a public space. What is wrong with you? Did my daughter put you up to this? She’s always been a bad influence.”

Of course, my father would have to ruin a good thing.

Erik slides out of me. He takes his time pulling up my panties and fixing my dress for me. It’s attentive and caring, making my heart flutter in a way it never has before.

After fixing his pants, he tells my father he can turn around.

I’ve never seen my father look embarrassed before. It’s a satisfying sight. He’s not infallible.

“This wasn’t Anya’s idea,” Erik replies.

That only makes my father look angrier, and I can’t help it: I laugh. A full, belly-inducing laugh.

“Tell your wife to stop laughing. This isn’t a laughing matter.”

But Erik does none of that. He only leans against the counter and smirks. “I don’t know. I think it’s sort of funny. My wife and I were enjoying a private moment. You walked in on us. It’s your own fault, Sergei, for not knocking. I will enjoy my time with Anya because she’s my wife, and there’s nothing you can do about that. Remember, you’re the one who gave her to me. So, if you have a problem with that, I don’t know what to tell you. But how about we head back out there and discuss more business. Does that sound good?”

Slightly appeased, my father nods and quickly walks out of the room.

My laughter calms down, and without even thinking about it, I take Erik’s hand in mind. “Thank you. For standing up for me when it comes to him.”

“You’re welcome.” And I can tell from his tone of voice and open expression, he means it.

ERIK

Anya and I go back into the dining room. It’s clear neither Ivan or Nadia knew what we were getting up to. Sergei probably didn’t want to embarrass himself further by telling them.

Taking Anya as my own is the best feeling in the fucking world. It honestly beats torturing anyone, and I love to dispense justice where it’s deserved. If I didn’t need Sergei so much, I’d probably torture him just to put him in his place. But alas, I need him in my fight against Dante.

“So, let’s discuss business since you’re both here,” I say to Ivan and Sergei. “We have machine guns. We can use them against Dante. We just have to get him alone. How?”

Ivan wrings his hands together. “I’m stumped. We don’t know exactly where he lives. We don’t know where he’s going to be at any time. The truth is, as part of the Mafia, he has a lot of power. He has more spies than we do. I’m not sure how to take him down.”

“I have an idea.” Sergei’s tone suggest this is going to be something good.

I motion at him to continue. I swear, the bastard just likes to pause for dramatic effect.

“We need to go after something Dante cares about. I’ve had my men digging into the people around Dante. Who it seemshe’s close to. And there’s Elio Romano. He’s been seen doing a lot of work for Dante.”

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