Page 127 of Ruthless Reign

“There’s one more thing.” He reaches below the bed. “I’ve been waiting a long time to give this to you.”

He presents me with the first edition of Jane Eyre, the one I didn’t accept in London. His eyes lock with mine—deep, intense, and brimming with emotion.

“You kept it.”

“I knew you’d say yes one day. I was going to keep on trying for the rest of my life.”

All the air whooshes from my lungs, and I’m about to tackle him back onto the bed, when Kira’s voice carries from the other side of the door.

“Okay, love birds, time to get out of bed.”

“Give us a second,” I call out. “We're just … in the middle of something.”

There's a pause. “Jesus, how much longer is this something going to take?” To Maxim, she says, “I bet they’ve been doing a lot of something lately.”

Roman and I exchange a smile. His eyes light up with affection as he leans in to kiss me. It's soft and sweet, and I know nothing will be the same again—not my life, not my future, and definitely not my heart.

Kira can't stop gaping at my ring. I don't know if it's the shock of learning that Roman and I are together, or if the pink sapphire is just so dazzling it’s made her dizzy, but she seems a little shell-shocked.

She clears her throat. “So, to be clear, things started between you two the night we went to Sanctuary?”

Roman smirks. “You brought us to a sex club. What did you expect?”

Kira smiles like the cat that ate the canary. “Exactly that.”

My eyes narrow as understanding sets in. “You planned for us to hook up?”

“You can’t plan for that kind of thing, but I saw the way you two looked at each other from the start. I knew there was something there. I just created the optimal conditions.”

My mouth hangs open. “Looked at each other? I disliked Roman intensely until we went to London.”

Roman swoops in to kiss my neck. "You know what they say: there's a thin line between love and hate.”

I'm still reeling from Kira's revelation. “You little she-devil. We are going to have a serious talk about boundaries,” I jokingly scold her.

She lets out an amused huff. “Please. There was chemistry between you two from the start. We all noticed.” She looks over at Maxim to confirm her point.

He holds up his hands in front of him. “I'm not getting involved."

Kira purses her lips. “I knew you were miserable with Anatoly, but you would never accept my money or help. I figured it was worth a chance to play cupid and see if my gut was right.”

I look over at Roman, who seems more amused than surprised.

He leans in to kiss my neck. “Well, Kira, you might have a new career as a matchmaker,” he declares.

Maxim rolls his eyes. “Please don’t encourage her.”

She elbows him in the ribs. “Obviously, I’m amazing at it.” She gestures to Roman and me curled up together on the couch.

I sigh and rest my face against his shoulder.

Roman kisses my head and rises from the couch. “Maxim and I have some business to discuss. We’ll leave you two to catch up.”

Kira scoots closer to me on the couch. While I’ve filled in Kira and Maxim on pretty much everything, there is something else I need to say.

“I’m sorry that I lied to you. With the shipping deal, the pregnancy, and everything that Anatoly threatened, I was too scared to ask for help. I just wanted to protect Sofiya and all of you.”

She squeezes my shoulder. Emotion shines in her eyes. “Why are you saying sorry? I’m the one who’s sorry you went through such hell. He was a monster, and you deserved none of the abuse he inflicted. It's hard to ask for help when the people who should be your protectors are the ones hurting you.”

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