Page 122 of Born into Mayhem
I smile and shake his hand. “Thanks, Lev.”
“I need you to promise me one thing, though.”
“What?”
He looks out at the Ionian Sea that’s barely visible in the moonlight. “I know it’s gorgeous here, but I’m begging you to not move my daughter here permanently. I don’t think I could stand being that far away from her.”
“She’d never agree to it anyway. She’s too fucking eager to start working for you.” I breathe in the salty sea air and tell him, “I would never keep her from you. We’ll probably travel here as much as possible, but you and Jolene are welcome to stay here anytime you want, for as long as you want. Our family home is yours now, too.”
“Jolene will be thrilled to hear that.” He gives a soft laugh and takes another drink. “I honestly don’t know how I’m going to get her ass back on the plane.”
I grin and take another drink until I hear a soft growl and all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Jesus,” I whisper and then raise my voice so Sasha can hear me. “Is he about to rip my throat out? Should I prepare myself for that?”
I hear Sasha’s deep laugh before I see Chort step out from the darkness. That dog is just as unhinged as his owner, but unlike Sasha, the Doberman doesn’t know or give a fuck about the rules.
“No leash?” I ask. “Really?”
Sasha grins and pets his dog’s head. “He’s doing a lot better, and I keep him well fed.”
I eye the sleek, powerful build of the Doberman and the flash of teeth when he licks his lips and looks up at Sasha.
“Something tells me an empty stomach isn’t what drives your dog. I recognize bloodlust when I see it,” I tell him.
All my words do is pull a proud grin from Sasha as he gives his dog another scratch behind his ears. When he takes the chair opposite us, he points at the ground, and Chort immediately lays down at his feet. Sasha quirks a brow at me. “You see that shit?”
I can’t help but laugh while Lev says, “Impressive.” And even though he watched the dog while Sasha was over here, he still makes no attempt to reach out and pet the thing.
“So are you two doing some father-and-son-in-law bonding?” He asks the question while a lazy grin spreads across his face, one arm hanging from the side of the chair so he can keep petting Chort and the other resting on his thigh, looking perfectly relaxed despite the dried blood I see on his knuckles.
“We have,” I say, laughing at the look Lev shoots me. “Your dad gave me his blessing, so I’m going to be marrying your sister very soon.”
“Do it here,” he says, waving an arm out towards the sea. “Mia loves it here, and you know she’d rather jump off a cliff than have a big church wedding. We can fly everyone in.”
I look over at Lev. “You think that would work? How fast could they get here?”
“I mean, immediately as far as I know, but it’ll be a quick trip for most of them, especially with Mira being so little and Yel and Talia being so pregnant. They’ll want to be here to see Mia get married, though. None of them would want to miss that.”
“I’ll let Dominic know,” I say, taking one last drink before setting the bottle back on the table and standing. “I should probably propose and ask Mia if she’s okay with this before we start making plans.”
“Smart move,” Lev says, and then he grins at Sasha. “Maybe she’ll come to her senses.”
I know he’s teasing, so I don’t let it get to me. I smack him on the back and nod at Sasha, refusing to make eye contact with his rabid dog in case he sees it as an invitation to attack, and start to walk back inside. Before I step into the house, Lev says, “Whatever you do, get that fucking rock off her finger before she tries to punch someone and breaks it.”
I groan, because I’m apparently never going to live down the fact that I tried to get Mia to wear a beautiful diamond ring.
Once I’m in our room, I look over at Mia. She’s sprawled out, face down in the middle of the king-size bed, covers a mess, naked body flung out like she doesn’t have a care in the world. So many emotions hit me at once—love, lust, and relief that she’s healed enough to start kicking the covers without the movement causing her to wake up in pain.
Her tight little ass is enough to make my cock thicken in my sweats, and when my eyes run up her back, that dragon tattoo finishes the job of making me rock-fucking-hard in record time. Shedding my clothes, I climb into bed next to her, and unable to resist, I press my lips to her spine, kissing my way up the dragon that marks her skin.
She moans when I run my tongue along the dragon’s wing and then nip at her shoulder. When she whispers my name, I grin and kiss her again.
“Marry me,streghetta mia.” I murmur the words against her skin. “Marry me and be my wife.”
“Is that a question?”
I smile at her thick, sleepy voice and kiss her again. “Will you please marry me,amore mio? Let me be your husband, let me love you and take care of you, and let me spend the rest of my life making you scream my name.” I laugh and nip at her skin. “Mostly in pleasure but probably sometimes in anger.”
