Page 55 of Ivory Ashes

Pyotr and Dante gallop back to us, a hot dog clutched in Dante’s little fist.

Anatoly just shakes his head. “This should be interesting.”

20

MIKHAIL

It’s late when the front door opens. Soft voices float down the hall to the kitchen.

“He’s exhausted,” Viviana whispers. “I think the pizza for dinner did him in.”

Anatoly texted me a picture of Dante a few minutes ago. He was asleep in the backseat, his head lolled to one side. The red marinara smudge on the corner of his mouth makes a lot more sense now.

“I don’t mind putting him to bed,” Stella offers. “I saw him eat your slice, too. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“A little,” Viviana admits. I can hear the hesitation in her voice. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

I don’t hear anything else, but they must have come to some silent arrangement because a few seconds later, Viviana pads into the dark kitchen.

She doesn’t see me leaning against the counter in front of the sink. She drops a handful of bags on the floor and turns to the fridge.

For a second, I get to take in Viviana’s halo of blonde hair backlit by the hallway light. Her cinched waist and flared hips. I get to admire her without the layer of hostility that seems to come default. At least when she’s looking at me.

I shift, crossing one ankle over the other, and Viviana jolts.

“God, I didn’t realize I was living with Dracula. Ever heard of turning on a light?” she snaps.

I reach over and flip on the under-cabinet lights. “Your good mood tells me you must have had a nice day spending my money.”

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t ask you for that. I was actually tricked into it. Kind of a common occurrence around here.”

“Looks like someone tricked you over and over again. That’s a lot of bags you carried in.”

“It’s not even half of them,” she retorts. “Anatoly is having the rest of them delivered.”

Willing or not, the thought of Viviana spending my money—wearing nice things because I bought them for her—satisfies some dark place inside of me. I want her to be marked as mine from head to fucking toe.

“Did you get anything good?”

Her eyebrows jump like she just remembered something. A smile spreads across her face. It’s so rare that I almost catch my breath.

“I bought something for you,” she says, digging into the pile of bags and coming up with two burgundy jewelry boxes. “For both of us, actually.”

Viviana slides both boxes across the counter to me.

I already know what it is. I told Anatoly to make sure she came home with a ring. Right now, her finger is still bare.

“You were supposed to wear it out of the store.”

“If you were serious about the rules, you would have been there to make sure I followed them.” There’s a sultry quality to her voice that she’s turning on just for me. I know her well enough to be suspicious.

What has she done now?

I open the first box and stare down at the ugliest ring I’ve ever seen. It’s as big as a flotation device and covered in a rainbow of tiny stones. Yellow, pink, green, and blue gems reflect and catch the light like some toy from a kid’s fast food meal.

“Do you like it?” Her brow arches in a challenge. “I wanted you to see it before anyone else.”

“No one will be able to ignore,” I admit.

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