Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Eight
Adrik
I woke the next morning, still tangled up with Sephie on the couch. The first light of the morning was beginning to come in the windows. She had her face buried in my chest; she was still sleeping in darkness. I ran my hand lightly through her hair. She didn’t stir, which meant she was extra tired. I was in a predicament, however. I couldn’t leave her na ked on the couch and send one of the guys up to wait for her to wake up. She always woke up right after I did, unless she was exhausted. I hated to wake her now, knowing she needed the sleep. It was still early, so I chose to stay on the couch with her for a little while longer. Maybe she would wake on her own…
I spent time just holding her, thinking of how lucky I was to have her. She always found a new way to make me fall even more in love with her. Our conversation last night was one such way. She was insanely good at reading me. I think Viktor was right. She’s a little bit psychic.
My mind replayed the conversation from the night before, still in awe of her words to me. She was so sure of the good she saw in me that it made me believe her. She was so adept at seeing everyone else for who they truly were, why would I be any different? Maybe she did see something in me that I couldn’t see in myself.
“I will always be here. Waiting for you.”
almost the same reaction to those words as I did the first time she told me she loved me. With everything that was going on with having her meet Trino, finding out more details about Sal’s plan, along with watching her stand up to Mike, I was worried that she was going to reconsider wanting to be with me if she saw the side of me that really could burn the city to the ground to teach the other bosses a lesson. She was such an incredible woman. And the best part was that I think we were only just now beginning to see glimpses of what she was truly capable of. There was more in there that she hadn’t discovered yet. I was fearful that she would change her mind after seeing my dark side fully exposed.
Of course, she knew my dark side was there, even though it had been quiet since meeting her. She notices everything. Of course she noticed it. And she loves me more because of it.
I inhaled deeply. I felt her snuggle into me more, making her cooing noises when she was happily sleeping. I held her tightly for a few more minutes. I would give anything to stay on the couch with her for the entire day, but I needed to speak to Trino this morning.
I carefully got up from the couch and picked her up, I was sure she would wake up when I moved her, but as soon as I placed her on the bed, she rolled over and curled up, still sound asleep. I covered her up, knowing she would know I was gone when she woke up with the covers on her. I got ready as quietly as I could, but still secretly hoped she would wake up.
I left her a note, as usual, and closed the blinds part of the way in the bedroom so she could sleep as long as she needed. It seemed like she needed a day every so often to sleep until noon. I wished I could stay with her.
I met Viktor and Ivan in my office. Both were surprised, as usual, that Sephie wasn’t with me. “I might’ve kept her up too late last night. She didn’t wake up this morning when I got up.”
They both looked at me, smirking. Viktor pulled his phone from his pocket, typed in a message, then put it back. He knew the routine and was already sending one of the guys up to wait on her to wake up. On paper, it seemed like such a si lly thing to do. She was protected up there. No one could get to that floor without my approval and there were two armed guards posted outside my door always. But I still needed to know that one of the guys would be there when she woke up, if I couldn’t.
I looked to Ivan. “Do you know any jewelers in the city?”
His coy smile crept across his face. “Depends on what you’re looking for, but I know of a couple that might fit the bill.”
“I want a ring designed for Sephie,” I said as I looked at both of them. I walked to my desk. “Close the door.” They both looked at me, surprised, I only ever asked for the door to be shu t on very serious matters. Viktor closed the door, then they both sat down in front of my desk.
“What’s going on, Boss?” Ivan asked. “Did something happen last night?” He had a look of worry on his face, but I could also see his temper just under the surface. He had become extremely protective of Sephie since he was in the hospital. I think he would take me out if he thought I had wronged her. I couldn’t help but smile.
“No. Well, yes. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I got up. I thought maybe pacing around the penthouse would make me relax enough I could go back to sleep. I’ve been worried that she’ll look at me differently if she sees the other side of me. The side that my father used as his personal assassin when I was younger. It’s why I’ve been hesitant to really put an end to this whole situation with the bosses,” I said, sitting in my chair. I ran my hand through my hair. “Ever since the ball and how horribly that plan turned out, I’ve been terrified of losing her.”
Ivan spoke first. “Um, Boss, I’m fairly certain she knows that side of you exists already.”
I laughed, looking at Viktor. “I think you were right last night when you said she might be psychic. I haven’t said a word to her about my father or that I was worried about turning into him. She nailed it after 30 seconds of looking at me in the middle of the night. And then, of course, proceeded to tell me exactly what I needed to hear.” They both smiled, knowing how spot on she could be when it really counted. I sighed. “In the course of that conversation, I got an idea of the ring I want to give her. I have a rough sketch in my head, but I need to talk to a jeweler to see if it’s possible.”
“Usually, anything is possible for the right price,” Viktor said with a smile on his face.
Ivan, now curious, asked, “what’s the idea?”
“I compared her to a diamond, but she said she would only compare herself to a diamond if it were black. She said to match her soul. We all know she has the whitest soul of anyone on the planet, but it’s still funny.” I grabbed a pen and roughly sketched out my thoughts to show them. “One large black diamond, like her soul, with five smaller diamonds surrounding it, since you’re all basically a package deal.”
Ivan chuckled. “Make the smaller ones red.” I raised an eyebrow at him. I liked the idea, but I wanted to know his reasoning behind it. He laughed again, “I can’t tell you that without sounding like a completely crazy person to you both, but just trust me. Figure out a way to work in smaller red and even wh ite diamonds. She’ll get it.”
I nodded my head. I knew he and Sephie shared something that the rest of us couldn’t necessarily understand. I didn’t need to know everything. Just knowing it would make her happy was all I needed to know.
“You can find someone that can work this out?” I asked Ivan.
He nodded his head. “Right away.”
My phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. It was Trino. I put him on speaker, so they could hear the conversation as well. “Trino, what did you find?