Rogue Hearts

She didn’t think about the family that came along with Andrei. Hers was all the way on the other side of the country in California. Andrei’s worked with him. “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

That grin she was getting used to returned. “Oh, you want to wait until after the baby is born? Is that it?”

“No, Mr. Smart Ass. It just seems so sudden.”

“You think I have a smart ass?” he asked, laughter hinting under his voice.

“This soup is about five seconds from being over your head.”

He held his hands up in defense. “No need to get violent. Just appreciating the compliment.”

“What if they don’t like me?” She hated the insecurities that bubbled to the surface. That’s why she loved being a lawyer. She never had to worry about being good enough because she knew what she was doing and what her winning meant to help others. That gave her more than enough confidence to do her job as ADA and do it well. Outside the courtroom was another matter entirely.

“I can tell you right now my mother and sister will love you as much as I do.”

“Did you just admit that you love me?”

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

“You are really bad at being subtle.”

“Fine. Let me make it as obvious as possible. I love you, Victoria Bellamy. More than I thought it was possible to love and the other human being. I love you, and there is nothing you can do to stop me from ever loving you.”

Words usually came easy to her. They had to, or she would make a poor prosecutor, but for the life of her, she didn’t know what to say to Andrei.

“Don’t say anything now. I don’t want you to say anything you don’t mean. But I can promise you one thing, Victoria, I’m not going to rest until I hear you say it back to me. That’s a promise, and I always keep my promises.”

He took her bowl away to refill it once more before she could say anything at all. One thing was certain. Andrei was getting more complicated by the day, and he was going to be an interesting puzzle to figure out.

Chapter 17

Andrei

Andrei woke up to the smell of sex and bacon. The first he knew the origin of because he could smell it all over his room, and he loved it. He loved her, and he made sure she knew that fact last night. He couldn’t think of how his room smelled before she was in it, and he never wanted it to go back to how it was in the past.

The second smell of food had him up and throwing his pajama bottoms on. He hunted his way into the kitchen until he found her at his stove, trying to cook. He knew she said cooking wasn’t her thing, but she still looked beautiful moving that sweet ass of hers in his kitchen...an ass he loved fondling in and out of bed.

He leaned over the bar, entranced by her delicious curves that he only sampled a few hours before, but already he wanted more of her. She was his drug, and he didn’t mind being addicted. Not if it meant waking up to this lovely sight it every morning.

He eyed the semi-burnt toast and the mounds of what looked like eggs, while she worked on the bacon and sausage that had lured him out of his sleep.

She turned around and jumped.

“Morning,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I hate to pull you out of your morning element, especially one that is a pleasure to watch.”

“You me

an a morning nightmare,” she said. “I know I ruined the toast, and I’m not even sure the eggs Benedict is edible. I don’t even know that should be classified as eggs. I wanted to make you breakfast in bed, but it took longer than I thought. The only things that may be salvageable are the bacon and sausage. Oh, and definitely the coffee and possibly the fried apples, but I won’t be disappointed if you sample it all with caution. I can’t guarantee nothing will explode in your mouth when you eat it.”

“Explosions and death by a great-smelling breakfast. Either way, it still sounds like a feast fit for a king. Aren’t I the one who should be making you an apology breakfast after last night?”

She smiled. “You’ve already made me breakfast before, remember? One much more edible than this.”

Oh, he remembered. Damn. Was that really only a few weeks ago? He couldn’t believe time had passed so quickly, but it felt like they’d been together so much longer than that.

“I wanted to at least try to do something nice for you, but honestly, you may be better off eating poison or anything else suitable for rats.”

“Come on. It doesn’t look that bad.” He moved around the counter and kissed her as she held the spatula. He took it from her and moved the sausage and bacon around to keep them from burning. He finally took a quick bite of her eggs. He chewed the bland eggs and crunched on pieces of shell, but he swallowed it all in one gulp. “See? Not bad at all.”