Page 69 of Emerald Malice

“Who knows? Maybe, for right now, you should concentrate on what you can get from him.”

Glancing at the blue dress in the corner, I frown. “Expensive dresses I don’t need?”

“More like getting your rocks off!” She shoots me a wink. “He’s good in bed, isn’t he?”

“Err…”

“Okay, let’s cut the bullshit, woman to woman—do you want to keep sleeping with him?”

I blush scarlet but nod.

Mila doesn’t look surprised in the least. “Great. Then keep sleeping with him. The man got you pregnant; the least he can do is be on call for nightly orgasms.”

I snort, but my amusement is short-lived. Almost as though she can read my mind, Mila adds, “You’re worried about developing feelings for him, aren’t you?”

I really need to work on my poker face. “I’m living in his house and carrying his baby,” I point out. “Sleeping with him on top of all that feels a little bit like asking for trouble.”

Mila gives me a wink that reminds me a hell of a lot of Kat. “What’s life without a little trouble, huh?”

“Oh, boy. You might be a bad influence, Mila.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Then she bounces onto the balls of her feet. “Mind if I give you some advice?”

“Go right ahead.”

“As long as you’re risking the chance of catching feelings, why not make it as difficult for him as you can?”

I look at her, perplexed. “I’m not following.”

In answer, she twirls towards the door and gestures for the nearby saleswoman. “Forget the dresses, Rosetta. We’re looking for lingerie—the sexier, the better.”

Just like that, my heart dives off the high board and plummets into the swimming pool of my stomach. “I’m not sure about this, Mila.”

“Good thing I am, then.” She fixes me with a stern look. “You’re hot, Natalia. You need to use what the Good Lord gave you. If Andrey is determined to give you up in the end, make it the hardest decision he’ll ever have to make.”

I have to be honest: as strategies go, it’s not bad.

In fact, it might just be brilliant.

“What the hell?” I decide on the spot. “Bring on the edible thongs.”

Mila beams like she couldn’t be prouder of me. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Two hours later, Mila and I duck back into the Rolls’ spacious backseat with at least a dozen bags between us. To be fair, most of them belong to Mila. But I’ve managed to come away with two of my own.

Yes, I used the black credit card.

And yes, I felt guilty as hell doing it.

But apparently, master plans don’t come cheap.

The real kicker: by the time we get back to the pool house, I realize that, quite apart from feeling better, I’ve actually had fun.

So much so that I end up inviting Mila to stay for dinner. Somewhere between that invitation and putting my bags away, I discover that Mila has expanded the invitation to include Leonty.

“Bodyguards have to eat, too,” she tells me with a wink. “Men like that have appetites.”

“Mhmm.” I wag my eyebrows at her. “I notice you didn’t invite Leif to join us for dinner.”

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