Page 10 of Secret Baby and the Bratva

I gamble on a statement. “You know, when we met at Aubergine Affair, we were all taken by you, Margot. I don’t know how you did it, but we were all drawn to you like we’re all drawn to this little guy.” I take him from Maxim and hold him up a little bit, mostly showing off that I’m holding him. “Thank you for letting us all come over today. It locks in the family feeling.”

“It’s the least I could do. You’ve all been so kind. It’s time for the next step, and I understand what you mean.” Her voice trails off and I’m uncertain for a second if she means what I think she means.

Since my first gamble seems to have paid it off, I roll the dice again. “Do you mean that you feel like there’s a connection between all of us?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think it could be real. I thought somebody would balk. Somebody would insist on the paternity test.”

We all turn to Maxim. “Hey, I’ve apologized for the way I acted in the delivery room. Excuse me, but when I woke up that morning, I wasn’t prepared to find out that our cousins produced a male heir, or that we were fathers to the actual heir.”

The sweetest smile crosses Margot’s face. “I know it’s been hard for you, but thank you.”

I roll the dice a third time. “So, does this mean we can talk about you moving in with us?” I motion around the room. “We’re definitely not going to all fit in here.”

She laughs. “No. You guys take up a lot of space. But do we need to do a paternity test?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”

“And you’re all okay with that?” Everyone voices their agreement. The guys and I have decided it doesn’t matter. Grandfather’s grooming us to take power. We have to continue showing our loyalty to the family.

Yulian says, “Margot, you hadn’t had sex before Virgin Night, so you don’t know this, but that’s not how it is every time. There was something special. Obviously, you need time to recover from birth, but we want to be more to you than Maverik’s dads.”

Her shoulders hunch and she crosses her arms. Damn it, we were doing so good. I can’t blame Yulian. If he hadn’t said it, I might have.

Maxim jumps in. “It doesn’t have to mean sex. Let’s work on our relationship. What would you say to letting us take you on a date?”

“All three of you at one time?”

“That’s what this relationship will be.”

“I know. It’s just that I went from no boyfriends to this.”

Maverik fusses and she reaches for him.

“You don’t have to take him just because he’s fussing. I can handle it.”

She laughs. “Sorry. Motherly instinct. You guys offer so much help when you’re here in the day. I’m not exhausted like so many moms. I mean, there are some long nights, but you take such good care of him, I can make up for the sleep. You’ve been a dream come true.”

“We offered to spend the night.”

“I needed limits. And you respected them. So, Maxim, I think I’m ready to do this. Let’s plan a date.”

“Hell yeah. There are so many unusual relationships in town, no one will bat an eye.”

“True. And since my two best friends are in similar relationships, I guess I shouldn’t be so afraid.”

Maxim steps closer and takes her hands. “You have nothing to be afraid of. We’re going to protect you.” He wraps his hands around her upper arms and leans down to kiss her cheek.

“Congratulations on your graduation and on your new job, which I will go on record again as stating we all object to you having.”

We round out the evening with more talk of potential futures and what it could look like for her to move into our house. But she only lets us pose it hypothetically.

When we’re on our way out, she’s holding the baby on the couch. We make sure everything is in order and take turns offering chaste kisses goodbye.

She surprises me by walking us to the door. “I can’t thank you guys enough for being amazing dads.”

She leans forward and it takes me a second to realize she’s coming in for a kiss. She’s initiating it. On the lips. Patience may be a virtue after all.

I wrap my arms around her, careful not to crush Maverik between us, and kiss her on the lips for the first time since Virgin Night. My cock stirs hard. Oh, the memories, they’re almost too much.

---