Page 23 of Lethal Saint

“Come here, little queen,” I murmured, holding out my arms. “That’s not a command, just an offer.”

But she got to her feet anyway, licking orange juice off her fingers—don’t watch, don’t fucking watch—and closing the small distance between us. Keeping my touch light, I pulled her down onto my lap and settled my arms around her, linking my hands at her waist.

I rested my chin against the top of her head, the hug taking a weight off my shoulders even if she wasn’t hugging me back. God, it felt good. Even better when she tilted her head to rest it against my chest, the stiffness in her body relaxing fraction by fraction.

A shrill noise blared obnoxiously loud, and I tightened my arms around Vasilisa on instinct when she jolted.

“It’s just my phone,” I assured her with a long stroke down her hair, glaring at London like the city itself was responsible. Why the fuck did I bring my phone with me? I slid it out of my pocket, scowling at Jonathan’s name, and rejected the call, placing it facedown in the middle of the table.

Vasilisa’s mouth fell open; she stared up at me. “It could be important.”

“Not more important than you,” I argued, tucking her back against my chest and soaking up the contact. She was like sunshine, warm and lifegiving.

Although if Jonathan was calling, it could be about Finch. What if the Knight had found him?

Fuck it. It could wait; Vasya was here, sitting in my lap, looking at me like she saw a man and not a threat for the first time.

I growled when my phone shrieked again. That was what I got for not turning the damned thing off.

“It’s okay,” Vasilisa said, the corners of her eyes crinkled like she was amused. Or fighting a smile. “Answer it.”

I exhaled, that sound a growl too, and laid a kiss in my fiancée’s hair before I slowly, calmly, picked up my phone.

“Take a moment to assess whether this phone call is worth your life, Knight,” I said, my voice completely even.

“If you’re in bed with that girl, I’ll be the one killing you,Saint,”Jonathan growled, his deep voice as gruff as usual. Or was it deeper and gruffer this morning?

“We’re having breakfast,” I replied calmly, genuinely considering killing my best friend when Vasilisa slid off my lap and back into her own chair, grabbing one of the other milkshakes.

A flush of warmth filled my chest that she liked the things I’d ordered for her, though. It made my voice less glacial than it should have been when I told Jonathan, “This had better be good.”

“Opposite of good,” Jonathan grunted. “Not only can wenotfind Finch, but Boris fucking Ivanov’s gone dark, too. I’ll let you put that together.”

I softened my furious reaction, not wanting to scare Vasilisa. So Boris Ivanov had run to Finch, and now the bastard who’d paid to marry my girl was protecting the monster who’d sold her.

“Do you at least have something useful to tell me?” I bit out, straightening croissants on a plate.

“Stefan knows where to find Artur.”

My younger brother knew most people, ever the bloody socialite. “Remind me who that is.”

“Her eldest brother. Serious piece of work, apparently. Stefan’s luring him to Xenith.”

“Good. Put him in the room next to Castro when you’ve got him.”

“Will do,” Jonathan grunted. “And Saint? You take care of that girl.”

I sighed. “Actually about that … give me a minute.”

He was going to kill me, but if anyone should know Vasilisa was going to be my wife, it was the Knight. I dropped the phone from my ear, keeping hold of it as I stood and dropped a kiss on Vasilisa’s blonde head. I had her full permission to be as tactile as I liked and it felt good.

“When you’ve finished breakfast, there are boxes for you in the living room. Everything inside them is for you. I guessed at the styles and sizes, so if there’s anything that doesn’t fit or isn’t to your taste, I’ll return it.”

I stepped back from the table but paused. “You can order anything you want, I’m not telling you what to wear, little queen. And we can go shopping. This was just because you didn’t have anything.”

She was smiling. More than just eye creases and a little curl to the edge of her mouth. A full smile. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“If I haven’t, tell me.” I couldn’t resist winding her hair around my finger. “I’ll get you anything you need. Okay, Vasilisa?”

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