Page 90 of In Her Blood
Otto slid a hand up to the small of her back. “Maybe I just have a few other thoughts on what to do with this cozy privacy.”
Her lips lifted in a laughing smile that warmed him inside. She trailed her fingers over the curve of his shoulder. “Probably we have the time for both,” she said, “but I … I really do need to talk to you about something, Otto.”
He schooled his expression into calm, not wanting her to see the strange dread that chased the warmth from his chest, and politely adjusted her so she was sitting on his thighs rather than straddling him. For both their sakes, he needed to not be thinking about the nearness of her pussy in that moment.
Her gaze became searching, but he had no idea what for.
She drew a deep breath and let her hands settle over his chest. “You know I’ve decided to completely rebuild.”
Otto nodded. “Of course.” He’d been with her every moment of the day while she’d taken advantage of having three more experienced cousins in town, willing and able to offer guidance. He’d been by her side when everything had fallen apart, and he’d watched as she pushed herself up until she was standing tall despite everything that came at her. Of course he knew. He settled a hand on her thigh. “And I know you’ll do fucking great with it, Lina.”
She blinked once before another smile teased her lips briefly. “Thank you,” she said. “But I … I actually mean….” She cut herself off and pulled his hand into hers, squeezing tightly. “Starting fresh means startingnew. I want to wash off the old stink. I want to rebrand.”
Again, Otto nodded. He understood her words, but he wasn’t sure why she was saying them the way she was, to him of all people.
“No more ‘Nikolaev’ clan,” she said, her voice quiet but her words confident. “I was thinking we’ll rebuild … as the Voronin Bratva.”
Otto stared at her, feeling her words seep into his brain as slow as molasses. “Voronin,” he repeated, like he’d never said his own name before.
She nodded, not looking away, and held a little tighter to his hand. “You never cared about running the chaos, so I’d do that part since I’m the one pushing it. And you could stand up with me, assuming you want to, as my growly, head of security”—she swallowed visibly and a flicker of nerves danced through her eyes—“husband.”
Otto’s head swam, her softly spoken words mocking him as they reverberated in his mind.
Growly.
Head of security.
Husband.
He dragged in a breath. Had she really said that? Or had he hallucinated it? He had to have. Lina had no interest in marriage. As a concept, it meant only pain and confinement to her.
Lina lifted his hand and pressed his palm to her chest, over her heart. “Otto,” she said, emotion seeping into her voice, “Ilove you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Her fingers slid down to his wrist. “Do you … want the same?”
A low growl rolled out of his throat. “You know I do.” He knew he’d made that clear.
She smiled again and leaned forward, keeping his hand on her chest as she brought her face closer to his. When she spoke again, she spoke in a whisper. “Then marry me, Otto Voronin.”
It was a damn good thing he was sitting down, because he was pretty sure his knees gave out anyway. “Lina,” he finally managed, “are you—”
She nodded, her smile growing. “I want to break every toxic Nikolaev cycle. I want to marry for love, and know happiness. And that means it has to be you, Otto.”
Fuck.Otto crushed her to him, sliding both arms around her and tangling a hand in her hair as he slammed his mouth to hers. He swallowed down her sultry laugh and groaned as their tongues slid together.Fuck.His heart beat hard against his chest even as he broke the kiss. “I ought to be mad you didn’t let me propose the way you deserve,” he said between heaving breaths.
The grin on her face was shameless.
He dropped a hand back to her ass and squeezed. “But hell yeah, baby. I’ll marry you.” He brushed his lips over hers. “And I’ll show you how it’s supposed to be.”
Lina melted into him. “I don’t have any rings,” she said, “so we might need to seal this engagement with a loud, messy orgasm. Or five.”
Otto swept his hands beneath her blouse and stared into her eyes as he half destroyed her overpriced bra. “We’ll need an understanding,” he said. “Outside, and especially in front of the men, you’ll be in charge. I’ll respect that in every way except where it endangers your safety.” That really wouldn’t be much different.
Lina nodded before her face briefly disappeared as he pulled the shirt and unclasped bra over her head and tossed them aside. They both moved to their feet, hands dropping to divest each other of their respective jeans.
Otto kept talking. “But in private, we gotta be equal. Leave titles and ranks at the door.”
“Mm-hmm, absolutely,” Lina said as she switched gears and pushed his shirt up insistently.
Otto ripped the thing over his head, letting it fall, then followed her lead to work on his damn shoes.
