43. Chapter 43

Dmitri

As I walk into the East Coast mansion, Jade is the first thing that I see. She's with my brother on a large couch, and she looks as radiant as ever. Ivan is peppering kisses all over her face, making her giggle and squirm around; the sound breathes new life into me. When they don't notice me, I continue to watch.

"I wish you had stubble like Dmitri," Jade sighs, still smiling softly as she thinks of me. Happy to see I'm still firmly on her mind, I smile too.

"I couldn't grow stubble if I tried," Ivan jokes, poking the tip of her nose.

"I know, I know," she teases. "Don't worry, I like your silky soft face just the way it is. You actually do skin care with me, unlike Matteo."

Ivan snorts. "I miss Dmitri too, Jade. He'll come home soon."

"Yeah," she agrees sadly. "Soon."

"Sooner than expected, Krasotka," I say, announcing myself and stepping into the living area.

Jade shoots up from the couch, mouth wide open, as she stares at me.

"Holy shit, am I dreaming again?"

"If you are, so am I," Ivan answers, equally surprised to see me.

Jade doesn't need anymore convincing that this is real. My girl runs at me as fast as she can, and I catch her when she falls into me, protecting her stomach.

Her body radiates warmth as she climbs up me, wrapping her legs tightly around my waist. "You're here," she squeals, lips brushing against the side of my throat.

We breathe each other in, her sweet scent cascading around me.

"Fuck, I missed you," I groan, inhaling with my nose buried in her hair. The slightest lingering of Ivan's scent remains in her smell, but it doesn't bother me one bit.

The relief I feel knowing that he's kept her close enough for his smell to rub off on her is indescribable. I trust no one with her like I trust my brother. He's kept her happy and safe, I know it, before even getting a debriefing. I can feel it in her hug.

My hands splay over her stomach as if being drawn there by magnets. "The babies?"

"Happy and healthy," she reports, smiling at my touch. "They're sleeping now, I think, but they'll make me hungry in about an hour. Snack time is routine at this point with them." The laugh following her words is stunning.

"Good," I murmur, caressing her stomach over her t-shirt. "Are you sleeping?"

She snorts. "Mostly during the day lately. We've got a pair of night owls on our hands, babe. Just like you."

"Yeah?" I ask, hearing words that are like music to my ears.

As soon as I can get a doctor here, I will. I need to see them again. The way my wife's face lights up when she hears their heartbeats, it's everything to me.

"Yeah, they're too little to kick, but I feel them moving all the time."

"Good," I comment happily.

As my eyes flick over her shoulder at Ivan, Jade pokes me in the ribs and nods back at him. Silently giving me permission to leave her, I move to greet him. Closing the distance between Ivan and me, I feel like it's been ages when it's only been two weeks. My love and respect for him has never been greater.

"She smells like you," I say, watching his eyes widen with a hint of fear.

"Dmitri, we don't—it's not like that." He's worried, obviously. The two of them have only gotten closer, and he doesn't want me to think lines have been crossed. Ivan is too pure for words. Of course, I don't think he's gone too far.

"I know, brother," I tell him, clapping him on the back of his shoulders.

"Seriously," he emphasizes. "I mean it."

"I mean it too," I clarify, looking into his eyes. "I know, Ivan."

I've always known that my little brother doesn't covet the company of women. There have been moments where I've considered that perhaps Jade may be an exception for him, but that idea was built from my adoration of my perfect girl more than anything else. Why Ivan hasn't spoken to me about this before, I'm not sure. I've been giving him time to come to me, but I worry his silence is born out of fear, and I can't allow him to be scared any longer if that's the case.

Judging by the bob of his throat and the worry in his eyes, I regret keeping my mouth shut for as long as I have.

Hugging him so tightly that our bodies clash, I apologize silently. "Best brother in the world," I comment quietly, leaving the compliment between the two of us. "Thank you for keeping my wife safe."

He clears his throat, coughing away the emotion. "Thank you for letting me."

"Anatoly got my message here safely?"

"Yeah," he replies easily. "He's been here since. I can hardly get him to take a break."

I chuckle. "Sounds like someone else I know."

Ivan huffs, not a fan of being called out. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm your brother. I wouldn't work this hard for you with what you pay Anatoly."

God, I've missed my little brother.

"He's making more now." A lot more.

"I suspected as much," he responds. "You wouldn't have anyone making less than a pretty penny guarding Jade, especially while living in the same house as her."

Absolutely. No one I don't intrinsically trust is getting near my woman.

"Nico!" I hear Jade call out. "Armani!" she adds, screeching with excitement. "You're home!"

When I turn to watch her, she's already tackling the two of them into a shared hug, forcing them as close as she can get them. Smacking kisses on both of their cheeks, she eventually lets them go to stand on her own.

"Whoa," Armani grunts. "You really are pregnant, huh?"

Jade blushes, touching her bump. "Sure am, sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. Or, you know, myself."

"It's twins, right?" Nico asks, looking at her stomach like it's a foreign creature.

"It is," she lights up, telling him.

"They're fourteen weeks now." She's so proud as she tells them this. My precious girl is going to be the best fucking mom. Raised by a horror show, I would fully understand if this was hard for her, but she seems to be flourishing.

They both continue to stare at her, taking it all in. I informed them about my improvised but appreciated marriage to Jade and her pregnancy, but I didn't expect them to digest it until they saw it. It seems reality is setting in for the pair of them.

"Want to touch?" she asks, nodding to her bump. "They don't move a lot during the day, mostly when I'm trying to sleep, so you won't feel that."

Good, because they will not feel my children move before I do.

Tentatively, Armani nods and extends a hand. Nico hesitates before doing the same. I watch in awe as my wife introduces her brothers to our babies with the biggest shining smile.

"We don't have names yet, and we don't know the sexes, but…" she trails off, poking the left side below her ribs. "Baby A tends to hang out around here, and Baby B is over here." She pokes the right side closer to her chest than her hips.

Armani's eyebrows draw closer together. "I'm staring right at you and literally touching your stomach, and it's still hard to believe you"re pregnant."

Jade nods, agreeing. "Trust me, you get used to it."

"I doubt it," Nico replies, taking his hand back. "You're happy then?"

"The happiest," she confirms, warming my heart.

"Then your husband can continue to live," Nico informs her.

What a winning endorsement.

"His life is still up for debate," a deeper voice rumbles.

And my father-in-law walks in.