“I hope so.” My brow furrows. “I’ve put my trust in him. My trust, my life, and the lives of our kids.”

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Dimitri says, his voice a deep rumble. “Maks wouldn’t either. I feel sorry for anyone who would even try to get past the front gate.”

“Yeah.” Vlad stands up, stretching. “Maks is one of the good guys, even if he tries to pretend he’s not. I don’t think he knows any other way to be, really.”

I smile at that, appreciating the insight. I know Maks operates by a code of honor, even if I don’t fully understand it all the time.

I do trust him. I want to be with him.

And maybe it’s crazy to say it, but I love him, too.

***

Nadia has offered to put the babies to bed tonight so I can have some one-on-one time with Maks that doesn’t require sneaking around to other bedrooms in the middle of the night.

Just knowing I have a couple of hours to talk to another adult without any distractions is such a strange feeling, but one I didn’t realize how much I missed until now.

As I’m standing in front of the mirror, carefully applying mascara, there’s a knock at the door and Maks sticks his head inside the bedroom.

“Oh, good. You’re almost ready. I was worried we might have to cancel tonight.”

“Are the babies asleep?”

He grins. “Out like a light. The girls were the last ones to conk out.”

“I figured,” I laugh, putting away the makeup brush I was using and turning around to face him. “Those kids are goingto be night owls one of these days. Or maybe they just like to see what kind of trouble they can get into if we leave them unattended for more than thirty seconds.”

“Probably both,” Maks chuckles.

“Where are we going tonight?”

He walks over to put his arms around me, leaning in to kiss my neck as he murmurs against my skin, “I made reservations at an Italian restaurant. Figured we could have a romantic night out, just the two of us.”

“Sounds wonderful,” I sigh, enjoying the feeling of his lips against my throat.

“We’ll have to be discreet,” he says. “We’ll have to behave ourselves in public.”

“Is that possible?” I tease, leaning back to look at him.

He arches an eyebrow. “Are you challenging me, Abby Foxworthy?”

“Maybe.” I lift my chin and give him a saucy look. “Can you behave yourself for an entire dinner?”

“Probably not,” he admits, smirking. “Especially not if you wear a dress like this.”

I look down at the black cocktail dress and shrug. “This is nothing. You’ve seen me in less.”

“I have,” he agrees. “And I’m already thinking about what you look like without any clothes on.”

I laugh, feeling a thrill at his words. We’ve had a lot of sex over the past couple of weeks, but just the thought of sleeping withhim again sends a rush of wet heat straight down to my core. He does it to me every single time.

“Well, if you’re a good boy,” I murmur, running my hand down his chest, “maybe you’ll get to find out what’s underneath this dress later tonight.”

“I’m definitely going to find out,” he growls, pulling me close and crushing his mouth to mine.

“Promises, promises,” I say breathlessly as he breaks the kiss.

“It’s a promise.” His eyes are dark with desire. “I’ll fuck you tonight, Abby. That’s a guarantee.”