“Are you leaving again?” Andrei asks, looking down at me as he pulls me inside the house.
I reach into my back pocket, pull out the folded petition, and hand it to him. He unfolds it, his hands shaking.
“It got signed,” he announces in shock, his voice shakes as he tries to open the paper without tearing it.
I take it from him and open it to hold it open to show him. Andrei glances at the paper, a gasp leaves his lips, and he snatches it from my grip.
“We need a minimum of sixty-four signatures. We got ninety-seven,” I whisper to him when he crashes to the ground and lands on his bottom. “Andrei!” I shriek as I clutch his arm to pull up.
I wonder if he fainted as I try to pull him up, but instead, Andrei pulls me into his lap and buries his face in my shoulder.
“We can get him back.” His words hitch and shake as he chokes with emotion.
“We can get him back. Wednesday, we have the laws changed, and we file for custody. Then hopefully, Jason will push the hearing through for us the next day.” I tell him.
“Jason, you are on a first-name basis with him now?” Andrei chuckles, and I shrug.
“His wife Larni is lovely, they all are, especially Terra,” I tell him.
“Yes, she is nice. My mother used to be best friends with Terra’s mother before she passed away,” Andrei says, pulling back.
He looks at the piece of paper again. “We’re getting our boy back,” he says, resting his head back against the wall.
“Soon,” I tell him as a smile spreads across my lips, and I lean down to peck his lips.
As I pull away, I try to push off his shoulders and hop off him, but he pulls me down on him. His lips crash against mine hungrily. His tongue invades my mouth as he devours my lips. I moan into his mouth, and a deep purr vibrates out of his chest as his fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer.
My fingers dig into his shoulders, and he nibbles on my lip as his mouth moves to the side, letting me suck in much-needed air as he nips and sucks at my skin. His hot mouth devours my flesh when I hear fabric tearing.
The front of my shirt is reduced to scraps of cloth hanging off me as his mouth moves to my breasts. I suck in a breath when I feel his claws break my skin as he tears the front of my bra open. His mouth is licking where he nicked me. Arousal floods over me, and I don’t think I will ever get used to the foreign feeling only Andrei can induce.
My breathing becomes harsher, his grip tighter, when he suddenly pushes me off the ground with his hand. A panicked noise escapes me as I fall backward, grabbing his shoulders. I wrap my legs around his waist to stop myself from falling backward and smacking the hard ground.
Andrei chuckles. “I won’t drop you,” he mumbles against my lips, turning toward the stairs when I hear the door open. Andrei curses under his breath.
“Just a sec, dad,” Andrei calls out, and I drop my face on his shoulder to shield my face and my embarrassment when Derrick walks in.
“Oh crap, sorry. I will stay at Malik’s, carry on,” he blurts out as he turns around and hurries out of the house.
“No, we aren’t.” The door clicks shut before Andrei can finish.
“I can never look your father in the eye again,” I mutter with a laugh.
“Fuck! I forgot he was here,” Andrei curses while stomping up the steps. He places me on the top one, letting me slide down. I clutch what’s left of my shirt and then give up with a sigh, far too aware that it is covering nothing, anyway.
“I liked that one,” I tell him.
“I will get you another one, go shower, and I will go find my father.” He laughs, shaking his head, and he turns to leave when my hand grabs his.
“Maybe he could stay at Malik’s,” I whisper as he stops and he turns, looking at me.
I let go of his hand, and Andrei steps back on the stairs, his hand clutches the banister as he looks back at me.
Shame washes over me. Shit, why did I say that? I am always careful with my words and make sure not to get his hopes up because we both know it never goes there.
Sierra growls at my backtracking on my words.
“It’s fine, never mind,” I tell him and quickly dart off toward the bathroom.
“Why are you running from him?” Sierra growls at me, clearly annoyed.
“Because I just made a fool of myself,” I tell her as I turn the shower on when I hear the front door open and close and I let out a breath.
“For wanting your mate, hardly,” she snaps.
We hardly speak anymore, and I know it’s because she wants to complete the bond. The bond is complete, but she insists it will be stronger if we mate, yet I never can go through with it, and Andrei never pushes me for more. I am more comfortable touching him now, so I suppose that’s good.
“Please don’t start.” I plead with her.
“We are supposed to mate, Sage. Donnie and I aren’t bonded until you do. You and Andrei are connected, we aren’t. Never in all of my lives has being mated been this hard,” she says.
“Huh? Lives? Sorry, I don’t know what life you’re living, but last I checked, I only had one. We are not cats,” I tell her.
“Yeah, you have one. Forget it,” she says, stalking off into the depths of my mind and blocking me out like she usually does.
I have to wash my hair twice to get the hairspray out that helps hold my braid together. Grabbing the conditioner, I reach for the shower screen and go over to the sink basin for my hairbrush when Andrei passes it to me.
“Thanks,” I tell him, running the brush through the lengths to get the tangles out. Andrei undresses and steps in behind me.
My cheeks are flaming, but he says nothing about what I said earlier.