Page 96 of Ivory Oath

I smirk up at him, but Mikhail isn’t smiling. “No one needs to be here with Dante.” I’m about to argue before he adds, “Because you’ll be here.”

Mikhail drops the bomb and gets up from the table. As if this conversation is over. As if I’m just going to let him walk away.

“I’ll be here tomorrow?” I ask cautiously. “Or…”

“Every day. Most days,” he amends. “Since you won’t be working.”

Somewhere in the back of my head, a record scratches. “And why won’t I be working?”

He meets my eyes with a sigh. “Think about it, Viviana.”

“No.” I jab a finger at him, shaking my head. “No. Don’t say it like that. Don’t say it like I’m being ridiculous and I should understand this. When we got married, I told you I was going to keep working.”

“When we got married the first time.”

“I didn’t realize I needed to re-up my terms and conditions before the second ceremony,” I snap.

“There are no terms and conditions this time. That’s why this is different. Our marriage isn’t a business deal anymore; it’s a relationship.”

Some girlish part of me is giddy hearing him say that, but I squash it down. This isn’t time for fawning, lovesick Viviana. It’s time to be serious.

“Great point, Mikhail. This is a relationship. Which means we each have needs and desires that need to be fulfilled and we should respect those.”

Mikhail edges around the island, stalking towards me. “Believe me, Viviana, I have the utmost respect for your needs and desires.”

I take a step back. “I’m not speaking in euphemisms here. I’m being serious.”

“So am I.” He keeps moving forward, backing me around the island. But each of his steps are worth two of mine and he catches up quickly, cornering me against the countertop. His arms bracket either side of me. “I can’t meet your needs and desires if you get yourself killed in the breakroom.”

He smells like citrus and maple syrup. I want to take a bite of him. “You’re being dramatic.”

“There’s no such thing when we’re at war. They burned the last building down. I’ll never be able to trust that you’re safe there.”

“So I’m supposed to sit around the mansion all day and wait for you to come home?” I ask incredulously. “You expect me to be happy with a social circle that includes you, yourself, and your penis?”

“You’ve been thrilled with that social circle the last few days.” The deep rumble of his voice vibrates between my legs. I’m painfully aware that he’s still dripping down the insides of my thighs.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not.” His mouth whispers over my neck. I close my eyes and take a deep steadying breath that doesn’t do a damn thing to steady me. There’s no such thing when he’s this close to me. “The fact that we’ve been fucking like it’s our full-time job is very much the subject. You’re going to be pregnant with my baby soon, Viviana. The target on your back will only get bigger.”

“So hire more security. I’ll take Raoul with me everywhere I go.”

Mikhail pulls back to look at me, annoyingly at ease. “He’s not a bodyguard and he’d hate you for even suggesting it.”

“Then find a bodyguard. I don’t care who it is. You can’t make me quit.”

“Okay.” He nods, thinking it over. “Then you’re fired.”

I shove against his chest, but he catches my wrists in his hands and curls them harmlessly against his chest. “You can’t do that!” I argue, even though I know he can. “I’ll sue you for wrongful termination.”

He kisses my knuckles and my wrists. He slides the large sleeves of my robe higher, tasting my skin.

I try to pull away, but he pins my hands to the edge of the countertop and looms over me. The front of the robe gaps open and he notes it for several heated seconds before his eyes meet mine again. “You told me this is what you wanted, Viviana. You told me you wanted my baby.”

“I do, but?—”

“Do you want to be a personal assistant more than you want to be pregnant?”

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