Page 119

A sharp knock on the door has us jerking apart. Lane moves on silent feet to the door, full assassin mode activated. I yank the blanket over me, pulling myself up to lounge against the headboard.

Is it weird that I half expect her to scale the walls before she gets to the door, as you see in the movies? She’d look fucking sexy doing it, that’s for sure.

I should probably be the one answering, but this gives her some control back, and if it keeps her here, then so be it.

She opens the door slowly, keeping her body mostly shielded behind the door and me, by extension. When she realizes it’s Oleg with a tray of food, she slowly relaxes. Oleg gives her a quick once-over, smirks, and then steps inside when she eases back and closes the door behind him.

His steps falter when he looks at me. “Why does this feel damn familiar?” He sniffs the air. “I’m not smelling smoke this time, so I take it you haven’t lit anything.” He takes in the sheet, and his eyes widen. “Shit, did she finally stab you and now you’re pinned with a fucking dagger or some shit? Blink twice if you need help.”

I roll my eyes. That shit is never going to go away.

“That’s too simple. And I learned my lesson last time. Restraints, no; super glue, yes. Makes it much harder to escape the flames.” She takes the tray of food from him and moves it to the small table in the office area.

He stares after her in horror. I chuckle. I’m starting to enjoy her humor. Not that I ever want her to test these theories out. At least not on me.

Zakhar ever pisses me off enough, though, I’m sending her after his big ass.

He turns his gaze back to me. “I’m afraid to ask now if that’s what she’s done to you.”

“I like his cock and balls too much to do that to him,” Lane interjects, smirking. “Especially since I’m not finished with him tonight. Besides, I saw the fire extinguisher in the closet. I’ll use it after he’s singed a little bit if he dares to allow either you or Zakhar to bring in another woman’s clothes to try and piss me off.” Her smile is sharp. “Then it will be your turn.”

Oleg holds her stare, but his spine stiffens. He doesn’t do well with being threatened, but he takes the warning and nods. He looks back at me. “I’ll handle shit tonight. You two get whatever this madness is out of your system, and then in the morning we’ll talk about why I have contractors emailing me about additions to the house.” He gives her a pointed look.

Lane gives him an innocent smile. “I may or may not have already gotten some bids on the work in the times I’ve already been in here.”

“Work that I have not approved yet, lisichka.” I arch a brow. “We just spoke of communication.”

“We also just agreed that you’re bossy and I don’t do well taking orders. And if you want me to stay here, I already told you there are a few things that need to be fixed up.”

Her eyes practically scream checkmate at me.

Oleg and I share a look, thinking the same thing. It’s going to be a pain in the ass for a while until we find a rhythm, but it seems we have no choice. On this one at least.

“Any other things you’ve ordered, lisichka, that I should know about?” I ask.

Her grin is wide and instant. Shit. “Probably not anything you want to hear about just yet, and I’m hungry.” She lifts the tray lid and groans in the back of her throat.

I will my cock not to get hard. Damn it. I love when she makes those noises.

Oleg shakes his head and leaves the room without another word, clearly sensing it’s a terrible idea to stick around.

The moment the door is closed, I’m up and moving toward her. “We’re going to talk about what the hell you’re up to, Lane,” I warn, sitting across from her at the small table.

“Mm-hmm. I’ve heard that unpleasant conversations are bad for digestion, so we should hold off on that. Instead, I think we should talk about how many times I’m allowed to fuck you dry in a day. Clearly there’s a limit because you start talking nonsense when we go past a certain number.” Her lips curl into a sly smile. “Getting old isn’t fun, is it? I’m going to have to start enjoying your recovery time, because pretty soon, we’re going to be slipping into territory of having to use that dildo because you can’t get it up without medication.”

She’s trying to stave off any of our heavy conversation, and I’m inclined to let her. This will be enough for now. She’s not running, so I need to take the win where I can.

“Lisichka, if I ever can’t get it up around you, then just kill me and get it over with.” And because I can, I give her a sly grin of my own. “So is now a good time to mention picking out a wedding date? You know, since you’re not scared of anything and all?”

Her smile disappears and her eyes narrow. “Clearly, the senility is starting to set in. I’m not fucking marrying you, Ilya.”

“We’ll see, lisichka. We’ll see.”

Does it make me a bastard to enjoy seeing her squirm? Probably. Do I give a shit? Not an ounce.

50

LANE