Page 29 of Torn Souls

My chest puffs up with pride. “Would you like a tour?”

“I’d love one.” The smile on our woman’s face is pure fucking joy.

While I lead our woman around, starting in the kitchen and the open concept dining room, I keep an eye on her face. There’s something wonderful about watching her reactions. It’s like being able to see the house for the first time because I’m now looking at it through her eyes.

Even though we’ve tried to bring some life into the space, it’s clear there are things missing here and there. I think, whether we realized it or not, we were leaving room for the woman who would make us whole. This was always the way it was going to be.

Her eyes light up when we go downstairs where the gym and theater are located. The small ring in the middle of the gym seems to catch her eye. The grin she gets on her face makes me wonder what she’s thinking, but I don’t ask. I have a feeling I’ll find out soon enough.

When we head back to the ground floor, I lead her into the library. “Ohh,” she breathes out, “I could spend a lot of time in here.”

Everything about the room is warm and cozy. The walls are lined with books, some of them first editions because Kirill has a deep love of literature. That doesn’t mean all the books are classics. Not long ago, Baker got into reading romance novels, and the library now houses its own section.

It was difficult not to make fun of the man for a while there, but now it’s just the norm when we find him reading a book with a half-naked man on the cover. He just argues that it makes him a renaissance man whenever we see him with one of them.

There is a mixture of textures and rich colors throughout the room with more than one place to sit and relax. I can just imagine her adding pillows and throws everywhere.

Her steps are tentative when we head upstairs. The way she peeks into each room without stepping fully inside is adorable. It’s as if she doesn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy.

What she doesn’t realize is that she’s welcome in every single room without question. Hell, she wouldn’t even be required to knock before coming in.

The primary bedroom is almost twice the size of every other bedroom and includes a gigantic walk-in closet and an ensuite where everything is made for five people to use. No expenses were spared in creating a space for a future we weren’t even sure would happen.

It felt like we were putting the cart way ahead of the horse. Now Oaklynn is looking around the room with big eyes while taking everything in. There isn’t much in the room, but it’s not stark. Everything is done in jewel tones with hints of luxury.

The bed is huge, but it would have to be. There is only one way to get a bed big enough for everyone and that’s getting it made custom. Until we can all join her in here, which I’m not sure she’ll be ready for right away, our woman could easily get lost in the monstrosity.

Oaklynn is quiet, almost too quiet, as we step out of the primary bedroom. I can see the wheels in her head turning. She better not be talking herself out of being here with us.

Now that I’ve seen her take up space in the rooms of our house, making it feel more like home with only her presence, I can’t imagine her not being here. This is where she’s meant to be.

Hopefully, she can see it. If she doesn’t right now, we’ll be taking advantage of any opportunity to show her.

Before we can head back down the stairs, I grip our woman’s wrist lightly and pull her back to me. She looks up at me, her brown eyes filled with lust and need. I very carefully press her against the wall, my forearms resting on either side of her head to cage her in.

“Maxim,” she whispers when I press my body flush against hers.

She sucks in a shaky breath and the worry that I’ve caused her additional pain has my muscles bunching to take a step back. Before I can, her hands grip the sides of my suit jacket, her fingers tightening around the fabric as if she never wants to let go. Her body melts against mine, her eyes pleading for something she’s not ready to name.

I run the tip of my nose up her neck, loving the way her breath hitches with the contact. “The first moment I saw you, I was entranced,” I admit.

“I didn’t know where to look when the four of you walked into the room,” there’s a shyness to her voice which does nothing to temper the raging need inside of me.

The chuckle that comes out of me is depraved. Images of the four of us surrounding her, of her begging for the pleasure our bodies can give her, invade my mind.

A low groan rumbles from my chest, and I murmur, “As much as I want to lift you in my arms, press you against the wall and bury myself inside of you, I have a much more important question to ask you.”

When I pull back enough to look into her eyes, there is a wariness there which tells me we have work to do before we earn our woman’s complete trust. It’s nothing less than I would expect, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Why would she trust us when her own father didn’t protect her from the darkness he willingly surrounded himself with? The thought of her being promised to Mikhail, even though she never knew his name, has me wanting to burn the city down to bring that piece of shit out of whatever hole he’s hiding in.

I’ll have his blood on my hands soon enough. But he’s not the biggest threat to deal with right now.

No, first we have to deal with Chambers and the fucked-up plan he put in motion which he roped his daughter into. He did so without thinking about her safety and well-being. It was sheer luck on his part that we’re enamored with his daughter.

If it had been any other woman sitting at the table, the other night or walking into the office today, things would have turned out very differently. Though my bloodlust would have been satisfied already.

“What question is that?” Oaklynn’s question is hesitant, testing.

---