“Oh, and we already talked about him not going into your office without you, so don’t get mad at him for it.”
“What was he doing in there, anyway?” He asks around a chicken nugget.
We’ve told him numerous times that he isn’t allowed in Papa’s office when he isn’t there to supervise him, but he’s so antsy when Daniil isn’t home, and I can only keep my eyes on him for so long before he wanders off.
“He missed you at nap time.” I shrug.
Most of the time, getting Niko to take a nap is easy. It’s getting him to settle in for the night that’s a consistent challenge. He needs to know his dad is there or he doesn’t want to sleep, which is difficult when Daniil is often gone in the evening. Sometimes Niko needs the same assurance before he’ll take a nap.
Today was one of those days.
“And apparently while I tried to get dinner ready, he decided to find comfort in your office.”
He rubs a hand along his jaw, still nearly clean shaven at the end of the day. He looked tired when he got home, but he’s a different kind of worn down now.
It turns out parenting is hard sometimes. Who would’ve guessed?
By the time Niko is sound asleep, I’m exhausted and longing for the day when things between us were simple. I wouldn’t change having Niko for the world, but I wish he hadn’t been bornafterDaniil decided that status was the most important thing to him.
Before that, we weren’t perfect, but we had the little things. Washing the dishes together, hanging out before bed, or even just brushing our teeth side by side at the end of the day.
For a brief moment, that quiet companionship is there as he reads Niko a story and helps me clean up the kitchen. And as I watch Daniil leaning against the headboard, reading a stack of papers held together with a binder clip, it’s easy to forget how tense things have been between us. When it’s like this, loving him is as easy as breathing.
The fine lines on his forehead are relaxed, only showing when he lifts a brow at whatever he’s reading. Like usual, he’s foregone a shirt, lounging in just his boxer briefs and the reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.
He’s always been a handsome man, but seeing him with his defenses down, when he’s dropped the persona that he puts on for the rest of the world, he’s one of the most stunning men I’ve ever had the pleasure of beholding.
It doesn’t seem fair that he looks this good at the end of the day. With his guard down, his dark hair rumpled, and all the fancy suits put aside, it’s hard to tear my eyes from him. Like this, he isn’t the powerful lawyer that struts around town like a peacock. I don’t have to share him with anyone else.
He’s just mine.
I should consider myself lucky that he shares my bed more often than not.
He takes a brief glance at me, an easy smile splitting his face before he puts his papers on the nightstand, abandoning his glasses on top of them.
“Have I ever told you that you look good in my clothes?”
I pinch the collar of the old T-shirt I’m wearing, pulling it away from my chest. “This old thing?” He nods, the corners of his eyes curling up as he does. “Maybe once or twice, but I’m not opposed to hearing it again.” As I approach the edge of the bed, he slips his hands around my hips, pulling me onto the mattress and against his chest. I laugh, and the soft way he looks at me causes butterflies to flutter in my stomach.
“Well, in that case, you look stunning, babe.” He kisses me, pulling back only enough to say, “And youshould wear my clothes all the time.” He lays his lips over mine, deepening the kiss, and a knot of anxiety winds around my chest, smothering the butterflies.
I press my hands against his chest, pushing away despite his strong hold on me.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”
He draws back with a brow raised, annoyance written all over his face. I pull myself free, crawling under the comforter. “Are you still going to be able to make it to the aquarium tomorrow?”
He hisses in a breath between his teeth as his shoulders tense, and it’s all I can do to not throw my hands in the air in frustration. “Niko’s been talking about how excited he is fordays, Daniil. You promised you’d come.”
He squeezes his temples between his thumb and forefinger. It’s like just thinking about it is giving him a headache, and I’m tempted to drop it and leave him to live with his regrets when our son is older and doesn’t want to spend time with us anymore.
“I know, I know, but… He’sblue, Blair. It isn’t like I don’t want to hang out with you guys, I just think it would be better to wait a while. Until he’s not… funny colored.”
“Everyone looks blue at the aquarium; it’s part of the charm.” He shakes his head, and I pull my shoulders into a firm line. “Well, Niko and I are going. If you would rather spend another day fucking Emiliya, that’s up to you, but I’m not letting you take this from him.”
He flinches, and it’s like all the air has been sucked out of the room, but I’m not going to take it back. He can pretend thatI’m ignorant of his affair with Emiliya all he wants, but I’d have to be the biggest idiot on the planet to not know.
He doesn’t just flaunt it for the rest of the Bratva, he’s gone so far as to flaunt it in front of me, and all I can do about it is look the other way and pretend he isn’t slowly crushing me.
