I step past the women now so that I can have a chance to speak to Alex alone when the little shit throws his arm around my neck and tries to wrestle me to the ground. I get just a moment to catch a glimpse of Kat out of the corner of my eye but the look on her face makes me want to laugh again. She looks like she doesn't know whether to help or leave us to fight it out. Ana, standing right beside her doesn't so much as blink at the fact that me and Alex are now on the ground and one of us will end up with a bloody nose or a black eye before we are finished. It is how we show each other we care.
10
____________
Kat
I am not sure what I am watching. I don't know if I should wade in between the two men who are now on the ground, or if this is just a normal thing. To be honest, I am a little stunned that these people are related to Ivan. I look to the woman standing beside me for a clue about what I should do. She doesn't look upset or even very worried that both men are using fists on each other now.
When she realizes I am looking at her she turns to me and holds out her hand. "Hi, I'm Ana."
"I'm Kathryn, but your um, uncle calls me Kat." I take her hand in mine. After we shake hands I expect her to let my hand go but she doesn't. She also has an odd look on her face. I'm about to ask her if something is wrong or if I've done something when she finally lets my hand go.
"Uncle Ivan calls you Kat?" She sounds disbelieving.
"Um, yeah. Is that not okay?" Maybe she knew a Kat and didn't like her. By the way she's acting maybe Ivan had a dead wife whose name was Kat.
The smile that lights her face up goes a long way in helping me relax, "No, no it's more than okay. It's fantastic."
Not sure what is fantastic but I'll let her think what she wants. "Should we do something about them?"
"Oh, no that's just their way of saying hi. Actually, now that I think about it that's how everyone says hi to Ace. You know maybe it's just Ace's way of saying hi."
"Ace?"
"Oh, that's my brother. His real name is Alexander but no one ever calls him that except Uncle Ivan. I'm Anastasia but everyone calls me Ana."
I can't help but like the woman. She has hair that I would die for too. It's the color of the sunset and makes her green eyes stand out so bright. Standing beside her I'm pretty sure I look pale and washed out. Maybe I should think about dying my hair a darker color.
"So Ivan is your uncle." I'm still looking down at the end of my hair when I ask.
"Not really. His father used to work with our father. We used to all be in Russia together. When Ivan got old enough to join the...well, whatever it is you call them now, Dad showed Ivan the ropes."
I don't know if she means some kind of criminal organization that her father was a part of but I assume it must be because why else would Ivan be in prison.
"When the KGB changed names and become the FSK in the nineties a lot of people who knew too much got, um, terminated. Ivan's family was on that list."
Oh my God, I come closer to Ana, not really wanting the guys to hear what we are talking about. I know the KGB wasn't a criminal organization. It was governmental. The FSK was supposed to be an attempt at making things more accountable.
"Ivan lost all of them because his Dad knew too many people's secrets. So we just sort of adopted him after that. He was always over at our house anyway. My dad always said that Ivan was a good cop and a damned fine soldier. Anyway, things eventually settled down some but things are never really smooth in Russia so when my Dad found himself on the bad end of the political playing field Ivan stepped in and helped us all safely to America. I couldn't have been more than four or five so I don't really remember a lot about that time. Ace remembers more."
"When it happened again and they put Ivan in jail because they couldn't kill him we had to do something. Ace and the people he works with helped get him to freedom. We owe a lot to Ivan if he hadn't gone against orders and got us out we would have all been dead."
"Ana," Ivan's rough voice made us both jump and turn to where the two men were done fighting, "what are you telling Kat?"
"Nothing Uncle Ivan." Ana giggles and winks at me. She goes off to talk to him while the other man, Ace, comes to talk to me.
"So," he is an inch or two taller than Ivan and a little thinner but he has the same vibe about him, the 'I take no shit from anybody' vibe. Instead of icy blue eyes his are a cool green and seem to be dancing with so much mirth and mischief he can hardly contain it all. "Uncle Ivan and you...?"
My cheeks turn bright pink and must scream guilt. All I can think about is what happened this morning. I can't explain what happened this morning. I do know that I am still covered in him because he wouldn't let me wash it off. I open my mouth to deny that his Uncle and I are together. The last thing I want is to make Ivan mad because he thinks I tried to make his family believe something that isn't true. How many times did he tell me he didn't want to be my babysitter? I can't imagine he means he wants any other relationship with me either.
"I'm just thinking out loud but I probably don't have a shot do I, I mean since Uncle Ivan already marked you as his and all."
I thought I couldn't look any more guilty but I was wrong. The first thing I do is look to Ivan. I can tell my eyes are huge and I've stopped mid-denial with my mouth hung open. The whole marked comment makes the dried cum on my legs and stomach feel like molten lava. I am very aware of it being on me. Ivan looks up from his conversation with Ana now and for a pregnant moment, no one says anything.
"Oh! It's like that is it." No wonder people who meet Ace want to wrestle with him; if he were closer I would punch him in the stomach just to make him stop talking.
"You will leave her alone the entire time she is here. You will not flirt, embarrass, or manipulate her under any circumstance. She is under my protection. She is..." again everyone goes silent when Ivan stops talking. I think I know what he was about to say but he stopped before he could proclaim that I am his again. Maybe he doesn't want to make that claim in front of his family because he's not serious about it.
Ace walks over to Ivan, his face dead serious. His green eyes calm. He puts his hand on Ivan's shoulder and I expect him to start questioning my relationship with his uncle. "Uncle Ivan," I prepare myself for the laundry list of reasons it's not good to be together. "Can I be under your protection too?"
Ivan rolls his eyes and Ana starts giggling uncontrollably.
"Because it sounds just dreamy and I've always wanted a big strong protector looking out for my best interests. I mean I'm not all good looks and a great ass." Ivan pushes him so hard Ace titters for balance for a few moments. "I have brains too. Can't someone love me for my intelligence?"