Page 61 of Ivory Oath

“Someone has to load the supplies.”

Finally, her eyes open. She sits up and leans against the headboard. The comforter falls to her waist, revealing the swell of her bare breasts and the curve of her waist.

Fuck the supplies. Maybe I should stay in bed.

She rubs at her sleepy eyes. “Supplies for what? Do we have plans?”

I turn away from the temptation and tug on my thermals. “I told Dante I’d take him ice fishing if the ice was thick enough. It’s been below freezing for the last week. The lake should be ready.”

I slide into snow pants and turn back as Viviana stretches her arms over her head and rolls her neck side to side.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from lunging across the bed at her. If we only have a few more hours in this cabin, I want to spend them inside of her. But we have our son to think about.

“Okay,” she hums.

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, I’ll come.”

I blink, clearing my lusty head. “You’re going to come with us? Fishing?”

“Ice fishing,” she clarifies. “Yeah. Might as well. I want to be with the two of you.”

“It’s going to be cold.”

She rolls her eyes. “You know, I actually guessed that. The ‘ice’ in the name kinda gave it away.”

“You hate the cold.” She spent all of last night with her ice-cold toes wedged under my calf.

She stands up and pouts, the blankets falling away behind her. “I can handle it. I’m made of tougher stuff than you think.”

After everything she’s been through, everything I did to and on and inside of her, she isn’t wrong. The fact she’s still standing is a miracle.

“A mafia princess roughing it in the woods.” I shake my head and pull her naked body flush to mine. “That wasn’t on my bingo card.”

“What about being outfished by a mafia princess? Was that on your bingo card?”

“Is that a challenge?” I tease, pinching her waist.

She yelps and whacks my hand away. “It’s a guarantee, Mr. Pakhan. Prepare to be dazzled.” Then she sashays into the bathroom, leaving me achingly hard but smiling like a damn fool.

“I caught one!” Dante cries out, no doubt sending whatever tiny fish might have come our way in the last half-hour darting back to deeper waters.

Viviana tosses me a look over one of the three ham sandwiches she packed. They were meant to be for lunch, but she’s been so bored that she’s eaten everything she brought for herself only an hour into our excursion.

“Are you sure?” she sighs. “You’ve said that a few times and every time?—”

“I’m sure!” He tugs on his little pole, jerking like he’s fighting with a shark under the water.

Last time, he was standing on his own hook. I’m actually curious to see what he “caught” this go around.

I push up from my folding chair and cross the ice. “Let’s see, bud. What do we have?—”

Dante pulls back and loses his hold on the reel. It starts to spin.

“Holy shit, he actually caught something.” I stop the reel and start reversing course, bringing the line in.

“Holy shit, I caught something!” Dante yells over his shoulder.

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