by SC Daiko
I nod hesitantly and poke my finger at him. “Just don’t lie to me.”
He grabs my finger and hooks his pinkie around it. “I promise.”
I listen open-mouthed as he tells me about his family. I don’t know much about what went on in Russia after the fall of communism, nor about the current regime’s almost certain links with organised crime, and I’m totally speechless.
“Alexei… I mean Daniel… thought he was doing the right thing by blowing the whistle on the money laundering.” Gleb’s full lips twist. “He had no clue how reckless he was being. No clue how deeply our father was involved. No clue Eric was lying to him about me.”
“So, it wasn’t just Victoria’s murder that broke him?” I ask.
Gleb shrugs. “Daniel is a good man. Oftentimes, he hides behind a brutish exterior as he’s basically an introvert.” Gleb’s smile is ironic. “Papa was the same.”
I scrunch up my face. “What about Ben?”
“Ben could turn out more like me.” Gleb’s grin is wolfish. “He needs you and Becca to ground him.”
Gleb stares into my eyes, beseechingly.
Poor little Ben, bereft and acting up.
I’d go to the ends of the earth to help him, I realise that now.
I just hope I can be of some use.
“Alright,” I say, pushing myself to my feet. “I’ll tell Mum, Dad and Becca. Then I’d better start packing.” I pause for a moment. “I hope you’ve booked us return flights. Becca needs to go back to school in two weeks’ time.”
Gleb holds up his hands. “I’ll show you the booking, if you like.” He reaches for his phone.
“Where are you staying?” I ask, after I’ve checked he’s told me the truth.
“At the Riverside.”
The best hotel in Wyemouth.
Of course.
“I’d invite you and your family to eat with me,” he says. “But jet lag has wiped me out and I really need to get some shut-eye.”
“That’s okay. We need to have an early night too.” I scroll through my phone for our passport details. I show them to him and he makes a note.
“Our flight leaves for Denver shortly before three in the afternoon.” He gives a relieved smile. “With the seven-hour time difference, we’ll arrive at five thirty. I’ll drive us up to Daniel’s place.”
We make arrangements for him to pick Becca and me up straight after breakfast. Then, like a thief in the night, he stalks across the lawn towards the road.
Toby looks up from where he’s lying by my feet. His long pink tongue lolls out of the side of his mouth, and he gives me a reproachful look.
I scratch the top of his furry head. “Yeah, I know. I’m crazy. But I can’t help it.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Daniel
The sound of a car engine outside sends me running to the window.
Fucking hell!
Gleb is getting out of an SUV.
Catrin is with him.
She’s carrying a sleeping Becca in her arms.
My heart slams against my ribcage.
Shit, am I hallucinating?
I turn and stare at the Vodka bottle on the kitchen table.
Nope.
I haven’t had anything to drink.
Yet.
I look outside again, my stomach churning.
I still can’t believe it.
I go to the front door and open up. “You could have let me know, Gleb.” I whisper low in my throat. “The house is a mess.”
Which is an understatement.
I can’t remember the last time I picked up the clutter.
Or cleaned, even.
“Sorry, bro’… I wasn’t sure Catrin would agree to the visit.” He hefts a suitcase across the decking, a backpack slung over his shoulder. “Then it kinda slipped my mind to warn you we were on our way.”
Like hell it slipped his mind…
“Hello, Daniel,” Catrin says brightly from where she’s standing next to him. “Aren’t you going to let us in?”
I move back, and she brushes past me in the doorway, her soft curves making my dick swell against the zipper of my jeans.
“Why are you here?” I ask, still not believing my eyes.
She shifts Becca over to her other shoulder. “Gleb told me you needed my help.”
“I. Don’t. Need. Any. Help.”
I’ll fucking kill Gleb.
Her nostrils flare as she looks me up and down. She lifts an arched eyebrow. “Yeah, I can tell…” She pauses. “Is there a room we can have? I’m dead on my feet.”
“This house has four bedrooms, of course there’s a room you can have.” The words stick in my throat.
I lead her through the open-plan living area, averting my gaze from Ben’s Lego strewn all over the floor and the piles of unwashed dishes and dirty laundry left lying around. I’m fucking ashamed of the state of the place my son has been living in.
“How long are you planning on staying?” I ask.
Gleb eyes shoot daggers at me. “Christ, Alexei… I mean, Daniel. Where are your manners?”
I ignore my big brother’s rhetorical question. For a moment, he’d sounded just like Papa, and he’d made me feel like a kid. I glower at him.
We go up the open riser staircase. There are two master bedrooms with en-suites and two singles. Ben is already asleep in one, and Gleb will spend the night in the other, so I take Catrin through to the second double. “I haven’t made the bed… for obvious reasons,” I say, opening the chest of drawers and extracting sheets and blankets.
Catrin lays Becca down on the couch by the window. “Thanks. We’ll be fine now.” She takes the suitcase from Gleb’s hands.
“Would you like to come down and have something to eat? Or drink?”
I don’t want to let her out of my sight.
She shakes her head. “Too tired. It’s gone four in the morning UK time.”
I shift my weight from one leg to the other. “Well, good night then.”
She’s already making the bed, her beautiful body bent over the mattress; she doesn’t even glance up as I close the door.
I adjust my straining cock as I go downstairs.
I find Gleb in the kitchen, eating a ham sandwich. “Would you mind telling me why you’ve brought Catrin and Becca here without running it by me first?”
He steps back but angles his face towards me. Dark stubble covers his chin. “I did it for Ben. Didn’t wanna get his hopes up in case Catrin wouldn’t play ball.”
I go to the fridge, take out two beers, and toss one into his hands. “That wasn’t the reason, and you know it.”
“Okay. I guessed you’d stress about it.” He snorts out a laugh. “And I was right.”
I reduce the space between us and stand toe-to-toe with him. “You owe me a proper explanation.”
“Remember when I spoke to Ben, the last time I was here?” Gleb takes a bite of his sandwich.
I nod. My son told him he was lonely. That there was no one he liked at his school. I’d pinned my hopes on it being a passing phase. That once he’d stopped pining for Becca and Catrin he’d settle down.
“I love that little dude,” Gleb adds. “He reminds me of myself at his age. Don’t want him to suffer like I did.”
“You suffered?”
That’s news to me…
“Yeah. When we moved to London and Papa sent us to that posh school, I hated those snobby kids and teachers so much I did everything I could to get expelled.”
“Didn’t work though, did it?” I chuckle.
“Those fucking teachers were tough nuts to crack.”
“I hope you haven’t done more harm than good.” I glug my beer and let out a belch. “I mean, Catrin and Becca will only be here for a short while. What’ll happen when they leave? You might have made things even worse.”
For Ben.
And for me.
Gleb shakes his head. “Catrin was worried about the same thing. I reminded her abo
ut internet communication.” He laughs.
“I don’t think she likes me anymore,” I huff.
He laughs again. “She fucking loves you, bro’. She came all this way, didn’t she?”
“Hmm.” I shuffle my feet.
Gleb finishes his sandwich. He stares at the pile of plates in the sink. “Come on, let’s load the dishwasher then go to bed. I’ve a flight to catch first thing.”
We do as he suggests. The kitchen floor is filthy but now is not the time to clean it. Gleb goes upstairs, leaving me to finish up. I’d surreptitiously put my Vodka bottle back in the fridge while he was stacking the dishes. I pour myself a small glass and knock it back. Then another.
It might help me sleep.
I do sleep. Deeply. Can’t remember the last time I did that. I wake up to the sound of children’s voices. For a couple of seconds, I think I’m back in England. Ben and Becca have just had a sleepover. Catrin will come over to make lunch. I almost pinch myself when I hear her voice echoing through the open window from downstairs. But I don’t.
If I’m dreaming, I don’t want to wake up.
I roll over in bed and close my eyes.
“Dad,” Ben shouts right by my ear, making my pulse skitter. “Get up. We’re having breakfast already.”
I blink my eyes open. He’s standing next to my bed smiling at me. Can’t remember the last time he did that, either. He points toward the door. “Did you know Catrin and Becca are here?”
I pretend ignorance. “What? How?”
Ben’s eyes grow big. “Uncle Gleb went and got them for us.” I hear the worship in his voice and smile to myself. “He’s already left, but he said to tell you he’d be back in a few days to take me ‘n Becca fishing.”
Fishing? Since when did Gleb go fishing?
I swing my legs from the bed. My head feels less fuzzy than it’s done in the mornings of late. Maybe because I only had two glasses of Vodka instead of my usual half a bottle. “Run along, son. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Catrin’s making pancakes. You should have some, Dad. They’re amazing.”
My stomach growls.
I feel hungry for what seems like the first time in months.
I shower quickly then trim my beard, so I look less like a brute. My hair needs a cut, but that’ll have to wait.
I’m literally salivating for those pancakes by the time I step into the kitchen. The aroma of butter melting in a pan mingling with the smells of cooked batter and hot maple syrup have me drooling.
It’s like I’m in a time-warp as Catrin turns around from where she’s positioned by the stove, a spatula in her hand. She blushes and catches her lower lip between her teeth.
I’m not sure where I stand with her.
“Sorry I was a bit rude last night.” I clear my throat. “You caught me unawares.”
She flips a pancake onto a plate and hands it to me. “Gleb should have warned you.” Her voice is quiet.
“Yep.” I add syrup and fork a piece of the pancake into my mouth. “Delicious.” I eat the rest of it ravenously.
“Want another?” She pours batter into the pan. “You need fattening up. You’re far too skinny.”
I sit at the table while she feeds me a total of four pancakes. I wash them down with coffee, feeling human again.
“Thanks,” I say.
She picks up her coffee cup. Stares at it. Puts it down again. “Thanks for what?”
“Thanks for coming to visit.”
A smile trembles on her lips. She lowers her voice. “I came for Ben.” She glances through the picture window to the landscaped garden outside, where my son and her daughter are running around playing.
I nod, curtly.
Of course, she came for him.
And I don’t resent Ben for that.
How could I, after seeing the difference in him this morning?
Then Catrin leans in toward me, her beautiful green eyes shining. “I also came for you, Daniel.” She releases a long, slow breath. “Despite everything, I still love you.” She lowers her eyes and picks up our plates to take to the sink.
I’m out of my seat in a beat, drawing her into my arms.
She melds her body to mine.
“God, Catrin.” I kiss her forehead. “I thought I’d lost you forever.” I kiss along the line of her jaw. “My life has been a living hell without you.”
She lifts her face and I bring my mouth down on hers. “I love you so much.” I come up for breath. I wrap her hair in my fist and kiss her again, more fiercely this time, biting and sucking hard on her sweet lips.
She whimpers against my tongue.
The sound goes straight to my dick.
I grab the back of her thigh and curl it around my waist, grinding against her, needing her so fucking much I’m about to explode.
She claws my shoulders. “Daniel,” she rasps. “We need to calm down... the kids…”
As if on cue, the door to the kitchen flies open and they tumble into the room.
“Mum and Daniel, sitting in a tree,” Becca sings. “K.I.S.S.I.N.G.”
Catrin catches my eye.
I release a belly laugh.
She clutches her sides and laughs with me.
I suddenly realise what’s different.
We no longer need to hide how we feel about each other.
And it feels damn good.
Chapter Thirty
Catrin and Daniel
Catrin
On our last full day in Colorado, I get up early to make breakfast for Gleb and the kids before he takes them out to the small lake in front of the house to teach them how to fish. Daniel isn’t with us; he’s sleeping late. He’s slept late every morning since I arrived; he told me he’s been making up for lost time.
I still haven’t got a handle on Gleb, but the fact he was looking for Daniel for over three years to keep him safe, and how he relates to Ben, and now Becca, makes me confident he’ll take care of my daughter.
In any case, they’ll only be just outside.
We went shopping in Fort Collins yesterday after Gleb arrived and bought waders and easy-to-use tackle. When the kids asked why we weren’t going fishing with them, we made up the excuse that I’ll need to pack, and Daniel wants to paint. The truth is, he and I would like some time alone together, even if we also want to keep our kids close-by.
I wave them off, and Gleb gives me a knowing look. He bends and whispers in my ear. “Have fun.”
My cheeks are in danger of catching fire I blush so hard.
I go back inside. Daniel’s home looks beautiful now we’ve cleaned it and picked up the mess. The open living room is warm and inviting. I love the stone-surround fireplace; we’ve been lighting fires in the evenings and sitting on the leather sofa sipping tea and talking. I found Daniel’s vodka stash the day after we arrived and persuaded him to pour it down the sink. I confessed how I used to drink too much when I was lonely but didn’t need it anymore when he came into my life.
“Don’t ever leave me,” he’d said in a beseeching tone of voice and I’d promised him that I wouldn’t.
We’ve talked incessantly these past several days, sharing details about our lives, and now I feel I know Daniel as well as it’s possible to know anyone. I love him so much; I won’t be able to live without him. When I get back to the UK, I’m going to set the wheels in motion to relocate to Colorado. It’s a big decision, and one I haven’t taken lightly. Applying for a visa will be the first step after I’ve told my family and Josh’s parents. The paperwork could take about a year. In the meantime, Becca and I will visit every couple of months and make do with the internet. My future is with Daniel, I know that now.
I knew as soon as I saw him, the night we arrived, that I still loved him. His need for me was obvious in the way his appearance had deteriorated, the way he wasn’t coping with Ben and day-to-day life. He’s still my alpha dominant but being needed by him so desperately completes me in ways I never would have imagined possible.
I need him too. I know it’s a cliché, but he fills up all my empty spaces. I’m blessed to have loved two men and to have been loved by them in return. Josh was my first love, my young love, one that I’ll never be able to replace… nor do I want to. Daniel couldn’t be more different, and the love that’s grown within me for him is all-consuming.
Our kids complement each other like we do. Becca’s sunny personality is a foil for Ben’s more hot-blooded nature. He loses his temper at the drop of a hat. I sat down with him yesterday and talked him through his problems at school. He starts fights because he doesn’t like being different. He’s still too immature to embrace his diversity, but he needs to learn anger management strategies. I suggested he counts to ten in his head before flailing out with his fists. I hope it will work.
Will I be happy living in the wilds of Colorado? This place is remote, but there’s a village only just over two miles away. Besides the elementary school, there are a couple of small grocery stores, two gas pumps, a post office and a hardware shop. It will be like living in the middle of nowhere again, but I don’t mind.
I’ll have everything I need here with Daniel.
The village where we lived in England couldn’t have got him more wrong, he isn’t a brute at all, even though he tried so hard to hold the world at bay. We’ve made love every night in his room since my second day. The first time, I traced my fingers over his body, gasping as I felt the ridges of bone he’s lost so much weight. We’ve had to keep quiet, because of the kids. We’re desperate to play, and I think Daniel must have said something to Gleb… hence his taking Ben and Becca off our hands for a couple of hours.
I glance up as Daniel strides into the room.
My heart thuds; he looks like he’s just stepped out of the shower.
His long shaggy hair is wet, and there are droplets running down his toned pecs and his tattooed arms.
He’s wrapped a towel around himself, low-slung, so I can see the V of his abs and his dark treasure trail.
I lick my lips, and swallow hard.
Daniel
I take her by the hand and lead her upstairs, enjoying the feel of her delicate palm pressed against mine.
