Page 51

Their joy, so pure and reckless, melted every ounce of my cold, hard edges. I wiped the frosting off my face, pretending to scowl. "Oh, you're in trouble now. You know what this is?"

"What?" Cassie asked, batting her eyes with fake innocence, her grin full of mischief.

"Attacking Daddy!" Anya piped up, giggling as she hid behind Cassie.

"Exactly," I said, my lips twitching as I stalked toward them. "And you know what happens to brats who mess with Daddy? They get punished."

I lunged, scooping them both up in my arms.

"Ahh! Run!" Cassie laughed, squirming.

"Daddy's gonna get us!" Anya shrieked, kicking her little legs.

They wriggled, trying to escape, but I held them tight, my heart swelling with a joy I'd never known. This chaos, this mess of flour and frosting, was worth more than any fancy dinner, any power play.

"Okay, okay, we give up!" Cassie gasped, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. "We're sorry!"

"Gonna do it again?" I asked, narrowing my eyes, playing stern.

"Totally!" Anya declared, setting Cassie off again.

I shook my head, setting them down. "You two are devils."

Turning to Henry and the maids, I softened my tone. "You guys worked hard. Take tomorrow off."

"Thank you, Boss!" they said, practically sprinting to clean up the disaster.

As I watched Cassie kneel to wipe flour off Anya's face, their easy closeness softening the air, my heart turned to mush. This was what I wanted—not the cold games of power, not the blood-soaked battles, but this. A loud, messy, laughter-filled life with my family.

? ???? ?????, ??? ???????.

I said it in my head, my heart brimming with soft, unshakable love.

Chapter 17

Cassie

"Watch your balance, Cassie." Gennady stood behind me, his long fingers grazing my waist, adjusting my stance. "Self-defense starts with a solid center."

His voice was right in my ear, his warm breath brushing my neck, sending a shiver through me that had nothing to do with the training. We were in the estate's gym, where he insisted on teaching me some basic self-defense moves. "Just in case," he'd said, but I knew what "just in case" meant.

Something had shifted lately. I didn't know what, but Gennady's protectiveness had kicked into overdrive. When he wasn't around, two bodyguards shadowed me 24/7, even standing outside my bedroom door while I slept. I got why he was worried—after the kidnapping attempt, how could I not? But the constant watch felt like a weight, like I was suffocating under his care.

"Like this," he said, his hands covering mine, guiding me through a blocking move. "Use your forearm to deflect, then counter fast."

But my focus wasn't on the technique. It was on the heat of his chest pressed against my back, his scent—a mix of faint cologne and raw masculinity—clouding my brain. My thoughts scattered, logic slipping away.

"Focus, Cassie," he said, a teasing edge in his low voice. He knew damn well I was distracted.

"I-I'm totally focused," I stammered, but when his hands shifted my hips again, my knees went weak.

Goddamn it, how am I supposed to learn to protect myself when he's doing this to me?

I tried to zero in, but when he wrapped his arms around me from behind to show me how to break a hold, his strong grip against my body shut my brain down completely.

"Cassie, relax," he chuckled, his breath warm against my ear. "You're shaking like a leaf."

"I'm not!" I huffed, but my voice was about as convincing as a kid caught stealing cookies.