*Adrik*
We pulled up to the house, the spring storm that had rolled in late afternoon now in full swing directly above the house. We ran from the vehicles up the front steps, to avoid the rain, not bothering with umbrellas. As we got to the front door, we could hear music coming from the house. The house was always quiet. It was late enough that the house staff had already left for the day. Tori sometimes listened to music as she cooked, but never loud enough that you could hear it from outside.
As I opened the front door, we were met with a haunting melody. We all stopped in the entryway, listening. It was like we were frozen in place. It must be Sephie playing the piano. The only time it ever got touched was when one of the maids cleaned it. Otherwise, no one ever played it. It had belonged to the previous owner of the house. They didn’t want to move it, so they left it. Now, I was glad they did.
The music felt like raw emotion expressed in a melody. It was haunting. It was beautiful. We walked quietly to the next room. She didn’t notice us walk in, she just continued to play. The piano was positioned in such a way that she couldn’t see much of the room. Misha was sitting in a chair, his gaze fixated on her playing. His expression one of complete awe as he watched her. Without a word, we all took seats and listened to her impromptu concert.
I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Tori step into the doorway, equally as mesmerized as the rest of us. She glanced and saw all of us in the room, then quickly left to the kitchen. She would be starting dinner, I was sure. Andrei got up as quietly as he could and walked to the kitchen, trying not to disturb Sephie.
She continued to play for a few more minutes, but the song slowly ended. As she played the last note, she sat and stared at the keys for a moment, sighing. I heard applause and smiled as I looked to see the guys all giving her a standing ovation. I stood and clapped with them. It startled her. She looked up, completely surprised that we were all there.
“Holy shit! When did you guys get here?” she jumped up from the bench, walking to us quickly, looking like she was slightly embarrassed. Her cheeks were flushed. She chewed on her bottom lip.
She walked to me, tucking herself into my arms where she fit so perfectly. I kissed the top of her head. “That was beautiful, solnishko. You must play for us more often,” I whispered to her.
She hid her face in my shoulder. “I haven’t played in a while,” she said shyly.
Viktor answered her, “no one would’ve ever known. You have a gift, Sephie.”
She didn’t answer, she just hid her face from everyone in my shoulder. This was a new side of her that we hadn’t seen yet. She was normally so open and confident; it was adorable to see her be shy about something she was so clearly good at.
I wrapped my arms around her, holding her closer. I felt my heart swell. The guys all walked away quietly, leaving the two of us alone. I kissed the top of her head again. “I missed you, solnishko.”
She looked up at me, smiling. My heart skipped a beat as I looked into her beautiful eyes. “I missed you too. How was your day?”
I smiled back at her, “good. I have a surprise for you. You’re going to love it.”
“I love surprises! What is it?” she exclaimed, as she wrapped her arms around my waist.
I clicked my tongue. “Not yet. In a few days. It’s still in the works.”
She pouted her lips, feigning disappointment. I kissed her lips, realizing that I’d been longing for them all afternoon. Her hands moved to behind my neck as she stood on her toes and deepened the kiss. God, I could get used to coming home to this every day.
From the doorway, Andrei cleared his throat. “Boss, dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes.”
She turned her head and glared at Andrei. “Rude, Bubba. Rude.”
His face dropped as he thought she was serious. She giggled and he immediately look relieved.
“Thank you, Andrei,” I said. With my arms still tight around her, I walked us back toward the stairs. I wanted to change before dinner, and she was coming with me whether she wanted to or not. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I stopped. I bent down and threw her over my shoulder, walking up the stairs as she laughed at me.
We got to my bedroom, and I threw her down on the bed. She was still laughing at me. I walked to the closet, asking “what did you and Misha get into today? Were you nice to him, I hope?”
“Mmm hmm. I had to be since he gave me the world’s best sandwich for lunch.”
I looked back at the bed from the closet. “From Vinny’s?”
She nodded her head. Vinny’s was a great little hole in the wall restaurant that we discovered somewhat by accident. Vinny’s father, who started the restaurant was having health problems. The family was trying to work as much as possible to come up with the money to pay for his treatments, but they fell short. Vinny came to me, explained the situation, and asked me for a loan. He had set out generous terms for paying me back. He had even brought lunch for everyone when he met with me. After one of his sandwiches, I covered all the medical bills for his father. I just asked that he pay me back in sandwiches, to which he readily agreed.
“Then we watched movies and Misha fell asleep on the couch. I watched the storm for a while, then got up and started playing. You know the rest,” she said, still sounding shy about her playing.
I walked out from the closet, my shirt in my hand. She was sitting on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knee. Every time I saw her, I felt this invisible pull toward her. Like I had to be near her. Like I had to touch her. I pulled my shirt over my head as I walked to the bed.
She looked at me, matter-of-factly, and said, “I need to go back to my apartment. I need more clothes.”
“I can buy you whatever you like,” I said, sitting beside her.
“I have clothes. They’re just not here. There’s no need to buy me new clothes,” she said, rather short.
I smiled, loving this side of her. “I know, Sephie. Anthony is leaving tomorrow. I promise you will have all your stuff by the end of the week. If you need anything before then, I can send someone to buy it for you.”
She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. She nodded slightly, not saying anything. I knew she wasn’t happy with my answer, but I couldn’t let her go back to her apartment. She also didn’t know that we had already gotten all her things out of her apartment earlier this evening. If she went back to her apartment now, it would ruin the surprise.
I kissed her forehead. “Come, this talk of Vinny’s has me hungry.”
She silently got up and followed me out of the bedroom. Before we walked down the stairs, I stopped and turned toward her. I took both of her hands in mine, kissing each of them, “I won’t keep you here forever. Just until Anthony is gone, and the threat has passed.” I raised my pinky between us, “pinky swear.”
She smiled and wrapped her pinky around mine.