Page 17 of Savage Boss

Mack agreed to bring by some easy cases that Jane could work on later and they hung up. Vlad made his way back to the kitchen where delicious smells were wafting down the hall. His hangover receded as his appetite picked up.

“Almost ready.” Elyse smiled at him over her shoulder as she cut strawberries for Jane. “I made the waffles with whole wheat batter and I’ll add a few nuts to the low-fat whipping cream for some extra protein.”

Vlad appreciated her attempts to keep them all healthy as they prepared for the baby. Vlad and Jane were terrible when it came to food choices. They were both so busy they frequently skipped meals and when they remembered their hunger, they ordered in when the housekeeper wasn’t available.

She piled two plates with waffles, strawberries, whipping cream and nuts. “No cheeseburgers for breakfast,” she announced, handing the tray to Vlad.

He leaned over and pecked her cheek, silently showing his appreciation. A year ago, he would have hardly spoken to his housekeeper, let alone kissed her for her thoughtfulness. Jane was changing him. Perhaps it was because he had to be constantly vigilant with his wife and that vigilance spread to other people.

“She’s going to be upset about the cheeseburger,” he said as he left the kitchen.

She laughed at his retreating back. “Send her my way. Mrs. Sitnikov is incapable of staying mad at me.”

It was true, Jane had developed a soft spot for the woman who fed her delicious things. Like a loyal puppy who responded positively to treats. Maybe Vlad had it all wrong. Maybe she’d become more compliant about her safety if he had a steady supply of cheeseburgers at the ready.

Vlad took the stairs two at a time but slowed when he heard laughter coming from his bedroom. He frowned; there was more than one voice. He set the tray down on a shelf in the hallway and reached for his gun. Cursing, he dropped his hand. He wasn’t wearing his holster. This is what Jane did to him, made him careless. He rarely forgot his gun.

He burst into the bedroom, throwing the door open with a bang, prepared to use his bare hands to murder anyone accosting his wife. Instead he was confronted by a group of surprised female faces. In various states of sprawl across his rumpled bed, was Claudia King, Addison Sterling, and Laney and Jin Grekov.

“Wow,” Claudia said, her gaze travelling down his bare chest with its full display of tattoos to land and stay on his crotch. “Just… wow.”

For the first time in years, Vlad’s face burned. He knew what she was looking at. As he’d made his way back to the bedroom his thoughts had been on his wife, warm and waiting in their bed. He might not be able to fuck her right now, but he could certainly think about her naked. And his dick was completely on board with the X-rated images flashing through his brain. Unfortunately, he was only wearing a pair of old threadbare sweatpants to hide his very noticeable erection.

Jane smacked Claudia’s blond head. “Eyes off the merchandise or I might have to ruin our friendship by shooting you.” Jane’s narrowed gaze returned to Vlad. “Where are my waffles?”

He glared at her in return. “How did they get in? You know that all guests must be cleared by either me or Leo.”

Jane shrugged. “Boris let them in.”

“Boris is here?”

“Yeah,” Laney piped up. “I made him get his hungover ass out of bed to drive us over. We’re expecting to stay for the whole day.” She stared at him as if daring him to argue. Vlad remembered Boris’ comment about his ninja wife. Boris wasn’t kidding; Laney had a quiet deadly power about her that made grown men think twice about crossing her.

“We have to make sure Jane has everything she needs,” Addison pleaded. “We won’t be a problem.”

Vlad sighed. Of course they were going to be a problem, but how could he kick out this group of protective women who only wanted to take care of his wife? Jane seemed happy enough being surrounded by the ragtag posse who adopted her as one of their own after she helped save Addison’s life.

“I’ll be downstairs,” he grumbled, grabbing a T-shirt from his dresser and heading for the door.

“My waffles!” Jane cried as he left.

“I have them!” Anya cried, crashing into the room, the breakfast tray clutched in her hands. “I’m here now, Lucy’s on her way. We can get this party started.”

Chapter Nine

Seven weeks later

“Vlad?”

Vlad grumbled and rolled over as something touched his shoulder.

“Vlad.”

The touch came again and this time his dreams took a more lascivious turn. His wife, heavily pregnant, glowing with happiness, her nude body a ripe reminder of the perfection he coveted every single day of his life. Her breasts had become full and her compact curves had grown into plump lines that he longed to fill his hands with.

“Vladimir Sitnikov, you wake the fuck up this instant!”

Vlad’s eyes flew open and he rose up in the bed as if a demon were after him, the gun he kept beside the bed was clutched in his hand. He blinked into the darkness a few times before he realized Jane’s soft hand was squeezing his shoulder.

---