Turbulent Sea (42 page)

Joley nodded and went with him, careful to keep the appropriate space between them so the paparazzi wouldn't suspect he was anything more than her bodyguard. She knew—and accepted—that he was everything… and that meant she would do whatever it took to protect him.

Chapter 17

JOLEY was very subdued with her family as they gathered together in a hotel room in Sacramento. She sat alone in a high-backed chair, looking young and fragile, her eyes downcast as Jonas ranted at her. Ilya wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her. He also wanted to smash Jonas in the face. Instead he waited for a sign, anything at all from Joley to tell him how she wanted her family handled, but she just looked at the floor. If she didn't give him an indication soon, he was going to have to throw her brother-in-law out the door—and there'd be some satisfaction in that. Jonas was making it clear that he believed he was in charge.

"You know better, Joley. You could have been killed. Tish and the baby could have been killed. What were you thinking?" Jonas demanded.

"Jonas," Sarah cautioned.

"Get over it already," Kate muttered under her breath.

"Would you like some tea, baby?" Hannah asked her sister, glaring at her husband. The suite had a large kitchen, and Hannah had already taken it over.

Jonas glared right back. "I'm trying to keep you alive, Joley. You've been raised around security. You know what it means, and you certainly have had experience with what can happen when someone tries to kill you…"

Ilya stirred. "That's enough. It was my fault, not hers. I walked out of the room and it wasn't secure. We handled it.
She
handled it. She kept Lucy from getting to Tish and the baby and she stalled to give me time to break into the room."

Joley flicked him a small look and his stomach tightened. She might
look
fragile and suitably chastised, but Jonas was only annoying her. Her dark eyes smoldered with fire, and that one telling flash lit a blaze in his belly.
You're so damned sexy when you're pissed
.

She nearly choked, but he felt her laughter in his mind, and it connected them back together when he'd been feeling apart from her. The Drake family was large, and they had no trouble talking to one another, giving their opinions and backing each other up. Watching them together had made him feel a little lonely, which was odd. He preferred being alone, but this was Joley's family and he needed to learn to become part of it, because a huge part of her heart lay with them and she would never be truly happy if he wasn't comfortable with them.

"We're just lucky she handled it, aren't we, Ilya?" Jonas demanded. "Because you fucked up and she nearly was killed."

"Don't say 'fuck,' " Hannah said. "You said you'd clean up your language."

Ilya coughed to cover the sudden laughter welling up. A pained expression crossed Jonas's face at his wife's reprimand in the middle of him dressing Ilya down. Family dynamics could be a lot more fun than Ilya had first thought.

"Laugh it up." Jonas hissed at him, but it was clear Hannah had taken the starch out of his attack. He sighed. "Joley, I know you're sitting there rolling your eyes while you're trying to look like you're listening, but you have to take your protection seriously."

"I'm serious," Joley said. "I thought we were safe in the suite."

"Your bodyguard stays with you at all times."

Joley crossed her arms over her breasts and looked mutinous, but before she could say anything, Ilya made his stand. This was her family, the people she loved most in the world, and whether or not they wanted to accept him into their circle—they were going to have to.

"Joley and I are getting married after the tour."

Everyone in the room froze. The silence stretched. Joley kept her chin on her knees, her lashes hiding her expression. Ilya simply didn't care. He'd had enough of Jonas scolding them as if they were small children, and he wanted to make it very clear that Joley was under his protection—and more—that he belonged there as more than the bodyguard. They could deal with him on equal footing.

"Married?" Sarah finally echoed. She moved closer to her fiancé, Damon, as if he could change what Ilya had said.

Damon shifted slightly and took her hand.

The teakettle whistled, and Hannah waved her hand toward the kitchen. "Joley?"

I don't think they believe me
, lubov moya. He injected humor and warmth into the caressing tone of his voice, deliberately stroking her with sound.

Joley shrugged.
I think you're right
.

Ilya kept all expression from his face as he teased her.
Maybe I should tell them I ate spaghetti off your stomach last night and licked sauce off your breasts
. He'd done more than that—a lot more than that.
Do you think they'd believe me then?

No, they'll just think all the tabloid stories are the truth.

"Joley," Hannah repeated. "Are you really thinking of getting married?" There was a little hitch in her voice and her gaze shifted for a moment to Ilya.

Joley nodded. "I'm not into big weddings. I thought we'd just run off, get it done and then sort of tell Mom and Dad after."

"Before," Ilya corrected.

"After," Joley said.

"We will tell them before we are married and give them the opportunity to join us," Ilya said.
I will not be hidden from your parents as if you are ashamed of me
.

Her gaze jumped to his face. "Ilya. Never. How can you think that?" She was so upset she forgot the others hadn't been privy to their exchange. "It has nothing to do with you. I just can't seem to do anything right and I've given up arguing with my father."

Everyone erupted into speech at the same time.

"No!" Sarah said firmly. "Absolutely not."

Libby shook her head. "Joley, you haven't thought this through."

Abbey stepped directly in front of Ilya. "Mr. Prakenskii, do you kill people for a living?"

The room fell silent again, and Joley hissed, a long, angry note escaping between her teeth. "Don't answer. Don't say anything. She's using her gift of truthspeaking on you." She leapt up and pushed between her older sister and Ilya. "How dare you? Did you ask Damon that question? Or Matt? What about Jonas? Did you ask him? Or Tyson? You have no right to do that to him." Furious, she glared at her family. "I'm done here."

She turned on her heel, yanked open the door and walked out, slamming it behind her.

Ilya faced her sisters and their men. "She wanted you to be happy for her. She wanted to share something special with you. I would have given you any information about myself freely had you asked. It wasn't necessary to embarrass her." He followed Joley out into the hall.

Joley walked briskly toward the elevators. She was furious—
furious
—with her family. It was always the same. Joley, the one they all had to look out for because she couldn't make a decent decision to save her life. None of them had lost their minds over Damon or Matt. Or Jonas. What the hell was that all about? Jonas was bossy and he worked undercover even when he promised he wouldn't. What kind of a husband was he for Hannah?

Ilya caught up to her and took her clenched fist into his hand, stopping her. "They were objecting out of love for you, Joley." His thumb slid over her bare knuckles in an attempt to ease the tension out of her.

She was going to cry. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, and that made her even angrier. "I didn't question if Hannah was out of her mind when she chose Jonas. I supported her decision. Maybe I teased her a bit, but I wanted her happy and it was obvious that Jonas made her happy."

She had always been so careful in her choice of men because she knew she had a weakness for the dangerous ones. She'd laughed about it, joked about it, never once hid it from her sisters, and she'd made certain she stayed away from them. Her family should have trusted that she knew she what she was doing.

"Is it possible that all of you knew Jonas and had accepted the man he is already?" he asked gently. "I watch you all when he's raking you over the coals, and you might roll your eyes and sigh, but you let him have his say because you know he's afraid for you. And when he's afraid, he's angry."

"Don't defend them. They don't deserve it."

He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her clenched fist before pulling her into the refuge of his arms. "You had the same fears,
laskovaya moya
. It is a legitimate question after all. I went to a great deal of trouble to create my reputation."

"Jonas and Aleksandr are standing in that room. Aleksandr is Abbey's fiancé. She could have asked him privately what he thought, not tried to embarrass you in front of my entire family."

"I don't embarrass so easily, Joley." He nuzzled her neck, holding her close in an effort to still the tremors running through her body. "But I love you all the more for wanting to defend me." A sound alerted him, and he whirled around, thrusting Joley behind him as a door opened. Hannah came down the hall toward them.

"Joley, Ilya, come back inside."

Joley looked stubborn. "I'm really angry," she said. "I'd better not."

Hannah reached them and drew her sister into her arms, although Joley remained stiff. "You're hurt, baby, that's not the same thing. And you have every right to be upset. I'm happy for you and so is Jonas. He says Ilya is a good man."

"By agreeing to marry him,
I
said Ilya was a good man. I know I've always been attracted to the wrong sort of men, so why would I marry someone I wasn't certain of?"

"You're right, Joley. Everyone is very sorry. Please come back and we'll have some tea." Hannah smiled up at Ilya. "Joley is very loved and we're all a little overprotective of her."

Ilya nodded his understanding. He felt very protective of her as well, and sometimes felt her family didn't protect her enough. Joley thought of herself as tough, but she was very sensitive and vulnerable. He slipped his arm around her waist. "Let's go have some tea."

Joley scowled at them, but she'd never been able to resist Hannah. She followed her sister back to the room.
You're uneasy. We don't have to go in
.

He looked down at her. She surprised him sometimes.
It isn't your family. I need to go soon. My gut tells me there's a problem with Nikitin, and I'm rarely wrong. I need to be there. In any case he texted me a summons, and you don't
say no to Nikitin
.

She stiffened and threw him a quick shake of the head.
No, you can't go. I've heard about the Russians when they get upset
.

His expression didn't change, but she had the impression of a brief smile in her mind. It warmed her as nothing else could.

I am Russian
, lubov moya.

Joley stepped very close to him, as if shielding him from her waiting family. They were all on their feet watching soberly as she stepped in front of him. His heart reacted with a curious melting. She looked regal to him, regal and beautiful, and in that moment whatever tiny bit of him he'd held in reserve was gone in an instant. He was completely, utterly hers.