Page 75 of Devil’s Reign

“But—”

“Or you can call them yourself,” Boris cuts him off. “Your head, your choice.”

Someone out of my line of sight snickers, and the guy being scolded shoots an annoyed glare towards the direction of the front door.

Heart pounding, I ease the bedroom door shut. I want to hear more, but lingering long enough to get caught eavesdropping would be stupid.

So Vanya isn’t in the suite after all.

My lips twist. Wherever Vanya and Luka are, they’ve told the men not to disturb them. Which means they’re already in planning mode. Already making decisions about this weekend without me. My heart pangs at the thought, but I shove the feeling aside and hurry into the ensuite to take a quick shower.

A strategy starts forming in my mind as I wash myself, and by the time I step out and reach for a towel, it has solidified into something I might actually pull off.

I slip into the emerald dress and go to check my reflection in the closet mirror—then wish I hadn’t. Because the last time I stood in front of this mirror, Vanya was behind me with his hands on my body and his voice in my ear and—Keep looking.

A shiver runs through me, my sensitive nipples tightening against the fabric. God. I force myself to shove him out of my head and focus on the woman staring back at me instead.

As I expected, the color looks amazing against my skin. Still, I frown as I study my reflection. I look different from the girl I was before getting a job at Zvezda and meeting Vanya. So different. My face is softer, fuller. My breasts too. My whole body, really. The hollow look is gone. Well… that’s bound to happen when I’m eating three delicious meals a day while being locked up in this hotel suite where I don’t have to lift a finger. No exercise, no stress, nothing. I tilt my head, my hair falling to the side with the movement. Hell, even my hair looks different. Shinier, with some actual body to it.

I turn away from the mirror before I can spend too long thinking about it, and I’m halfway back to the bedroom when there’s a knock and the door opens. Boris walks in carrying the most extravagant bouquet of roses I’ve seen in my life. Deep red, probably over three dozen of them, wrapped in dark paper.

My brows knit as he heads towards the dining area with them. “What’s this?”

For the first time since I’ve known him, he offers me a small smile. “I was asked to deliver these as soon as you woke up.” His eyes drop to my dress, and the smile tips into mild reproach. “I see I’m a little late.”

“It’s fine.” I brush the comment aside as I walk towards the bouquet, my heart already beating faster. I don’t need to ask who the flowers are from. That part is obvious.

“I’ll be back with your breakfast soon,” he says, stepping away from the table.

“Actually, that won’t be necessary. I’m not eating in here today,” I say as I lift the bouquet. This is the first time anyone has given me flowers. It’s heavier than I expected, the sheer fullness of the arrangement filling my arms.

“What?” Boris sounds confused, but I simply wave him off.

“We’ll talk about that later.”

He hesitates for a moment, then leaves the room, the door closing quietly behind him.

I find a small envelope tucked into the stems and pull it free, setting the bouquet down to open it. The note inside is folded once, his handwriting slanted and uneven, like he wrote it quickly and didn’t stop to reconsider a single word.

Milani,

You got me fucked up in ways I don’t know how to write about. Didn’t like leaving you this morning even though I had to.

Fucked up.

The flower’s stupid, but I wanted you to have something.

Hope you like roses? Let me know tonight.

Last night… don’t forget it. Stay put, stay safe.

I read it once. Then again. Then a third time, running the pad of my finger over the ink like I can absorb something from the impression of it. My chest aches in the best and worst way simultaneously. It’s sweet and pulls at my heartstrings, but it doesn’t erase the fact that he’s out there right now planning a move he intends to make without me.

Does he think things got resolved, and I would really just stay here because he told me to? He said I have sway over him. That I have a measure of power. And maybe that’s a little true. Well, I’m about to find out if his men think the same way.

I fold the note back into the envelope and set it on the table. Then I lift the roses to my face and breathe them in, eyes closing for one self-indulgent second.

Later, I tell myself. Fall apart about this later.