Page 74 of Devil’s Reign

“Is Viktor the man in the picture I saw in your nightstand?” she asks tentatively, slowly running her palm down my chest.

“The picture isn’t there anymore.” I have no need to keep it. “But yes, that was him.”

“You and your siblings look nothing like him,” she says, pressing a kiss to my pectoral. “I’m glad.”

I blink down at her, caught off guard. We all indeed favor our mother—her eyes, her bone structure—but I’ve never thought much about it.

“Me too.”

I wake up before Melani. For a moment, I just lie there, watching her sleep as my hand drifts down her bare arm. My heart feels… exposed. Like it’s no longer entirely mine. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she holds it now, completely unguarded in her grip.

I have to protect her. I can’t imagine ever losing her. I don’t think I would survive it.

Leaning down, I press a lingering kiss on her eyelid. My lips tug into a grin when she mumbles my name and instinctively shifts closer.

“Shh, go back to sleep, devochka moya.” My girl. I wait until her breathing deepens again before carefully sliding out of bed. I grab some clothes from the closet and pause at the bedroom door, casting one last glance back at her before stepping out.

The living room is still empty—none of the men will dare come back inside until I invite them in. I head to my office and continue into the ensuite bathroom, where I take a quick shower and get dressed.

When I’m done, I check my phone. An unread message waits in the group chat I share with my brothers. It’s from Aleksei.

Be here by 10.

We need to discuss a course of action.

Dima has already replied with a thumbs-up emoji, so I add mine as well and check the time—I have less than an hour until ten. I text Luka to get ready, then grab a notepad and pen from my desk. I scrawl a quick message for Melani and take it towards the bedroom. A crack of the door lets me see she’s still sleeping, and I hesitate.

I consider leaving the note inside, but instead I turn back and return to my office, folding the paper and slipping it into my drawer. Then I pull out another sheet and write a different message. This one I tuck neatly into an envelope before heading out of the suite.

Boris is waiting in the hallway. I hand him the envelope, giving him explicit instructions on how to deliver it.

37

MELANI

Vanya is gone when I wake up. Again.

I frown at his side of the bed when I don’t see a note like the one he left yesterday.

Did he forget… or is he still somewhere in the suite?

My thighs quake as I roll out of bed, the ache between them a sharp reminder of the way he worked my body last night. My nipples are swollen and oversensitive from how he pinched and twisted them with those wicked fingers, and I wince every time they brush my blouse. Shit.

He wrecked me thoroughly and then opened himself up to me.

My stomach flutters at the memory. Vanya doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who bares his soul to just anybody. And yet last night he did. For me. I pad to the bathroom and pull open the drawer where the toothbrushes are and blink in surprise when I see my birth control pills now tucked there as well. He must have brought them in here sometime between when I fell asleep last night and this morning.

I take the packet and place it on the edge of the sink so I won’t forget to take one and catch myself smiling at my own reflection.

Stop it. I’ve got things to do. As I brush my teeth, plans churn through my mind.

How do I get myself to that warehouse this weekend? How do I throw his men off my scent? Sure, the elevator card I took last night might help, but how do I stop them from calling Vanya to confirm whatever excuse I come up with? I spit into the sink and rinse my mouth. Then I take the birth control pills with me back to the bedroom and drop them on the table to take after eating. That’s when I notice another dress folded on the nightstand—just like yesterday. My heart races. Is Vanya leaving dresses out for me to wear?

I run my hand over the soft emerald fabric. The color would look stunning against my skin. Still… I need to confirm it’s really from him. I make a mental note to ask him later as I drift towards the door. That’s when I hear the voices. Curious, I crack it just enough to peek outside.

“I got a call from Jorge. He’s been trying to reach Luka and Mr. Petrov, but can’t get through to them. He sounded pretty urgent,” a man says to Boris, who’s fiddling with something on the coffee table. They’re both sitting on the sofa with their backs to Vanya’s door, which is why they haven’t noticed me.

“Luka specifically said they shouldn’t be interrupted. Do you have any idea what’s at stake and what’s coming up this weekend? Tell Jorge if it’s that important, he should come here and speak to Mr. Petrov in person when he gets back home.”