Page 117 of The Payback

Dimitri and I both turn towards Nik. He’s still sitting in his chair, perched on the edge as if ready to get up but still holding himself back. His eyes search my face; his bottom lip is clutched between his teeth. The internal struggle playing behind his eyes makes me want to walk over, grab him, and drag him over here with us. But this is a choice he needs to make on his own. With bated breath, I wait.

One second.

Two seconds.

They stretch on endlessly as our future hangs in the balance. His hands tense on his knees, his knuckles bone white.

Slowly, he stands, keeping his eyes downcast as he approaches us. He stops a torturous foot away. And in that distance between us, I feel our history—the betrayal, hurt, anger, and pain.

“I forgive you,” I whisper. “I forgive you for what you did in the name of your family—for lying low and keeping yourself safe until I could find you again. You’ve punished yourself enough for the both of us.”

Slowly, his head rises, and I see his answer in his eyes. He closes the distance between us and falls to his knees, his hands coming to my hips and holding me close.

Dimitri lets me go so I can focus on Nik, taking a step to the side and looking down at his best friend as he kneels at my feet.

“I don’t deserve you, Ellie,” he says. “But if I can live in the shadow of your grace and earn my place at your side, I will gladly take it. I might be an undeserving bastard, but I’myourundeserving bastard. You’re the mother of my child, and I will never have enough words or actions to show you how much that means to me.”

He leans forward and kisses my belly like a partner when he finds out about a pregnancy—a moment we never got together. He rests his forehead above my navel, and I run my fingers through his hair.

“I love you, Ellie,” he says. “I’ve loved you for years as a friend and more. From afar and up close. Through every mission, assignment, late-night ramen-fest, and stakeout wherein you snored the whole time.”

His head tilts back, and he looks into my eyes. “I have only ever been on my knees for God, and usually, he doesn’t answer. Can you say something?”

A laugh slips free, and my shoulders shake. He was always great at breaking the tension when the situation needed levity. I’m glad to see that carried over from my old partner to the new. “If you’re on your knees, there are other things you can do,” I suggest.

His smile turns feral, and he tilts his head forward, his nose at the apex of my thighs, where he breathes me in and groans.

“Please, Nik,” I beg, digging my fingers into his hair and pulling him where I want him.

His teeth nip at the fabric of my leggings as I widen my stance, and he grazes my clit, causing me to cry out and clutch Dimitri’s shoulder for balance.

“I think she needs us, brother,” Dimitri says, surprising both of us with his term of endearment for Nik. “Together.”

I nod, sliding my tongue along my bottom lip. My mouth has gone dry, and my skin feels like every nerve is on end.

Dimitri scoops me into his arms and takes off as I watch over his shoulder. Nik shoots up to his feet and chases after us, my laughter echoing as we climb the stairs.

My husband pushes through the doors to the suite and turns left, depositing me on the bed with none of his usual finesse.

The door softly closes, and Nik rounds the corner as Dimitri stares down at me. I press my thighs together as their hungry gazes rake over me.

“Well?” I ask, feeling bolder by the second. “Are you two just going to stand there?”

Nik steps forward, but Dimitri stops him with a hand on his chest, never breaking eye contact with me. “Wait. Eleanor, strip.”

My hands tremble with anticipation as I grip my T-shirt at the hem and drag it over my head. My breasts press against the utilitarian bra I bought at Target a few weeks ago. Dimitri had the closet stocked with the best of the best, but heaven knows sometimes a girl just wants comfort over sexy.

He growls when he sees it, and I almost fear the moment he sees what I’ve got under my leggings. Lacy panties, they are not.

“The rest of it,” he says.

I slide the waistband of the leggings down, lifting my hips to get it over my ass. When the material is down around my knees, he peels it the rest of the way off and flings the garment in the corner.

“What the hell is that?” he asks.

Nik smirks. “That,brother,” he says, mimicking what Dimitri called him downstairs, “is a woman comfortable in her own home. Her guard is down, and while it may just be packaging to you, it represents how she feels here at home. With us.”

Dimitri assesses me, his gaze roving over the decidedly unsexy white cotton panties and simple bra. Small wrinkles appear next to his eyes as he smiles his full and rare grin. “Is that true?”

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