Ivan hmmed and nodded to two more guards who opened the door to the actual house. “Let me guess. You forget to eat a lot, don’t you?”
“I… eat,” I said, but he was right. “But sometimes I get really caught up in work, and then it’s two in the morning and I’m just too tired to make anything. I have a lot of microwave food.”
“Let’s see if we can find something better than that. Hey, Vas—” He caught sight of his brother disappearing down the hall. “How’s Pavlo?”
“Exhausted. Stressed. He’s in his room. River insisted that he’d take care of him tonight.” Vasily smiled indulgently. “Everyone’s relaxing for a bit or trying to get some sleep. I’m going to find River and see if his patient is settled so we can get some shut-eye too. See you guys later.”
“River isn’t the most nurturing of omegas, from what I’ve seen. But Pavlo has a way of making everyone want to make sure he’s okay. When he was taken today, we were devastated,” Ivan explained. “The one time you’ll see River most vulnerable is with the kids, especially their oldest son, Petey. Vasily didn’t know about him for several years and he was only discovered when River rescued him from a bad situation. Vas and Petey have made up for lost time, though. Petey is going to be relieved to know Pavlo is home when he wakes up… all the kids will, now that I think of it. He’s good with them. They’re good for each other, really. Pavlo didn’t have an easy life before he came here.”
“Oh?” I didn’t want to be nosy… but I was. “What happened?”
“How much do you know about the Chicago families?”
“You mean like the mob?”
“The mob, the Yakuza, the Bratva. Any of the organized groups.”
“Basically… that they exist. Outside of The Godfather, I really haven’t gone down that Wikipedia hole yet.”
Ivan pushed me into a large kitchen. “I have no doubt that will change in the next twenty-four hours.”
“It’s like you know me!” I grabbed one of the bar stools and got out of his way as he started pulling things out of the fridge.
He turned and walked straight to me, reaching around to set the goods on the counter, pinning me against it. “I can’t wait to get to know even more of you.”
I licked my lips. “Maybe we should skip to that part?” Dammit, my voice squeaked. It hadn’t done that since I was a teenager. But I was about ready to come in my pants from just that little insinuation, and I hadn’t done that since I was a teenager, either.
Ivan took a step away, palming the tent that had started to form in his pants. “Not until you eat first. I want you full of energy. You’re going to need some stamina for when we get to… know each other.”
I swallowed hard and crossed my legs, desperately willing my erection to go down. “Okay, food. Food is good.” I turned around and grabbed a pack of ham. “This will do. I can eat it on the way to—”
Ivan pulled the package out of my hand. “No, I’m going to make us both a proper sandwich. We’re going to eat them calmly and slowly so that we don’t hurt ourselves, and then we’ll see what’s going on.”
Oh, I could imagine a lot going on.
I jumped down from the stool. “Can I help at all?”
Ivan shook his head and pointed at the stool. “No hurrying us, Facts. We have plenty of time, and we’re going to take it.”
I groaned. “You’re going to kill me.”
Ivan crowded against me, tilting my chin up. “Not my intention at all.”
He lowered his face. My lips parted. Waiting… waiting… he was barely an inch away… here it was! My eyes fluttered shut. Our first kiss!
His breath tickled my face as he said, “I only get one first with you. One first kiss. One first night. One first everything. I’m going to make them perfect.”
He pulled away, and I practically melted onto the counter. “Well, when you put it like that…” Did I sound drunk? I felt drunk. But a good kind of drunk, not the I’ve-been-drugged-by-an-asshole drunk. I’d never met anyone as intoxicating as Ivan.
Ivan winked. “Don’t worry. The wait will be worth it.”
Oh, I had no doubt about that.
6
Ivan
After we finished our sandwiches, I made hot chocolate and filled a thermos while Tanner watched me move around the kitchen as if he were fascinated by my simple actions. I puttered around a little, showing off while I threw a few snacks and whatnot into a basket with the thermos.
When I had enough, I nodded with satisfaction and held my hand out. "Come for a walk with me, Facts. Unless you'd rather get some sleep? I know it's late, but I'm so wired my body is buzzing."
Tanner was already off the stool and eagerly rushing to take my hand. "Are you kidding? I'm glad you said that. If I had to try and sleep right now, I'd probably just lie there twiddling my thumbs or something. Where are we going? Are you giving me a tour? This is a really big house."
I opened the cellar door, smiling and mentally patting myself on the back for coming up with the most awesome idea ever. "You like trivia, so how about this one? What do you know about the Prohibition era and Chicago speakeasies?" Flipping on the lights, I let the door close behind us as I led him downstairs.
"Speakeasies? Those were secret bars during the Prohibition era and were totally responsible for the evolution of jazz. They were often hidden or had secret entrances and the people who ran them had ways to disguise the bars in case law enforcement showed up. The most famous one of the era was the 21 Club in New York. It was always getting raided by cops and tax collectors, so they had a secret wine cellar that held over two thousand cases of booze and a really cool revolving bar that could disappear behind a secret panel. It also had invisible chutes and camouflaged doors."
My heart warmed as I listened to the trivia that he so easily recalled. I led him around the corner and tapped a discreetly hidden button, watching eagerly to see his reaction. Tanner's jaw dropped when the section of paneling slid open, revealing a secret hallway.
His eyes sparkled as he looked up at me with an eager smile. "Are we going in there? Wait… back up the train. Are you telling me this house was once one of the famous Chicago speakeasies?"
"Not quite," I said with a laugh. "But… this place was owned by a guy who ran liquor for the speakeasies in the area. This passage was his getaway, although there are several storage rooms down here as well. If we follow this hallway, we’ll have two choices. We can go down another flight of stairs that will take us to a tunnel that will lead us to his private dock. Legend has it that's how his deliveries were brought in, by boat rather than car. But I'd rather save that for another day."
Tanner was checking everything out as we passed the old storerooms while also running an almost reverent hand along the old paneling. I'd always loved the intricate carvings and it did something funny to my heart to see my mate instantly appreciate the beauty of it too. Right before we reached the end where the stairs were that led to the tunnel, I opened another secret door and turned on the light, revealing another hidden staircase—only this one would take us up, rather than down, and away from the property.