Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,104

her gaze averted from her asshole teammates. Kristof chuckled as he kissed her mouth once more, then whispered in her ear. “I love seeing you in my shirt, but I’ll enjoy stripping it off you more.”

Her nipples hardened as her thoughts wandered down the trail he’d sketched out so vividly. Desire rolled through her as he finger-combed her hair.

“You rolled out of bed and came straight here, didn’t you?” Concern filled his voice. “Did you eat?”

Addy shook her head. “I’ll eat later.”

“Come, sit.” He put an arm around her waist and guided her to the oversized booth. Beast, Shep, and Johnny stood while Cracker and Thunder sat on the other side of Gavriil, who watched her with his darkened gaze. Amusement crawled along his handsome face in a wise grin.

“You’re the mysterious Addison Rugers,” he said.

Addy tightened as she sat in the booth and scooted over for Kristof to join her.

“Kristof spoke of you often through the years,” Gavriil said as he leaned back in the booth. “I should’ve realized you were Iriana. He wouldn’t trust just anyone with his network.”

Kristof motioned for a waitress. The scantily-clad blonde stopped in front of him with a smile. “Bring a few of your most popular appetizers and dishes. Please. And water and orange juice.”

The woman scurried off. Silence loomed a few moments as Addy’s team watched her. Though no one said anything, she sensed the amusement in their gazes.

Okay, she’d always kept her infrequent one-night stands private. Even though she trusted them with her life and they were the closest thing to family that she had, her team didn’t need to know about her sex life—or lack of one.

But Kristof was different. He was…important. She’d recaptured a piece of herself that’d gone missing long ago. She wanted the men who were like family to accept the man she…

Not going there. Nope. She wasn’t thinking about what she felt for him. Not right now.

“Fuck off,” she growled.

“Think we’ll let Lavrov handle that,” Cracker said.

Kristof chuckled and settled his arm on the booth behind her. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“I’m not sure whether to be proud or insulted that you came straight here after waking up,” Beast said. “Did you think we were going to bury him somewhere?”

“Maybe I was worried about the five of you,” Addy said.

Gavriil laughed. “I wouldn’t take this one on, gentlemen. She’s got twice as much fight in her than all my men combined.”

“That doesn’t exactly ease my worries,” Addy said. “What did I miss?”

“We were discussing the transition,” Kristof said. “Gavriil and Maksim will take lead on dividing up what will remain of the Sidorav assets. There won’t be many. Most will be disbanded. Properties will be given to their rightful owners or torn down.”

Sadness and regret filled her as she glanced at Kristof. He’d have nothing left from his past or his mother. “That must be hard.”

“What is?”

“Letting it all go, having nothing left. I know how tough it is for me to think about my parents and have nothing to remember them by,” she admitted. “Don’t give it all away until you’re sure. I’m not sure she’d want that for you.”

“Father burned or gave away everything of hers when I was in the camp.” He held her tighter. “But you’re right. There are a few places I might keep for a while. I’ll show them to you, see what you think.”

Anticipation quickened her pulse. He wanted her opinion on them. Traversing the emotional path of a relationship was harder than Addy expected. It left her exposed, vulnerable. But she sensed it was easier with Kristof than it would’ve been with anyone else because she trusted him not to intentionally hurt her.

“I’d like that,” she said. “I bought my parents’ house back a few years ago. I haven’t gone there yet.”

The admission settled within the silence. Beast and Shep raised their eyebrows.

“That’s the first I’m hearing of that,” Johnny said with a smile. “I’m glad. I can’t wait to see it. Cracker and I are decent with a hammer.”

“Kristof’s decent with construction work, too,” Gavriil said. “We’ve overhauled a couple of places the past year.”

Addy glanced at Kristof. He smiled and regarded her with a half-hooded gaze. “I’d love to help you work on it.”

“That’d be great. A group project,” she said. The rightness of having the six most important men in her life work on restoring the one memento of her past she’d salvaged felt right, a step in the right direction. Now all she needed to