Page 25 of Koroleva

I yawned all the way until we reached the huge mansion my husband had in La Zagaleta.

And I thought he would be more of a penthouse guy in Puerto Banús.

But of course, considering the world we moved in, it was not surprising that he had chosen that place.

The urbanization was known as "The Millionaires' Park," an ultra-luxurious gated community with armed security.

It contained some of the most luxurious properties in all of Spain. Celebrities or superstars, like Hugh Grant, Rod Stewart, and my beloved Putin, owned properties in La Zagaleta. My parents had been there with him, my mother told me.

The house was secluded, high in the hills of Benahavís.

I admired that beautiful property. It had plenty of land, a huge wall that isolated it from prying eyes but blended perfectly with the surroundings.

The house itself was a sculpture, sharp-edged, elegant, in stark white contrasting with the green of the surroundings.

Adriano had fallen asleep on his father's thighs, who held him lovingly.

My husband and I were sitting in the back seat of the Bentley that brought us from the hotel. It was driven by one of Romeo's men, and the co-pilot was the tall guy who had sat behind one of my sisters during the ceremony, the same one from the bar.

My husband and I had not spoken since we got in the car. "Husband," what a strange thing to call him when he was almost a stranger and now I had to think of him as family. A word too big for him, under the circumstances.

I thought about my sisters and my mother. They stayed behind. They would be staying for several days at the hotel, sunbathing and enjoying Marbella, courtesy of Massimo Capuleto, who insisted on showing them the city and acting as their guide.

I left my men with them. I had a little argument with Romeo before he told me we wouldn't be spending the night there, as was supposed to happen. He preferred to spend it at home. That wasn't what ticked me off, I didn't care which bed it was, what annoyed me was that he said my men couldn't come with us, or live with us. According to him, there was no room at his house, but given the enormity unfolding before my eyes, I doubted that.

The car entered the garage, which was at least two hundred square meters, completely filled with motorcycles and some sports cars.

"Lack of space, huh?" I asked sharply, looking him in the eye. He just shrugged.

"I don't like to be cramped," he replied. I snorted.

Romeo Capuleto had no idea what it was like to live cramped, at most his biceps did within that damned white shirt that made me salivate. It looked like the sleeves were going to burst at any moment.

His men came out and opened the door for us.

"I'm going to put Adriano to bed. Aleksa will show you around the house," he said, looking at the brunette. Had he called him like the Amazon Echo? I laughed inwardly and turned my gaze to the brunette by my side.

"Your name is Aleksa?" He nodded. "And if I ask, do you also turn off the lights and tell me a joke? Let's try... Aleksa, turn off the light." I thought I heard a chuckle from my husband, which he masked with a cough. "The one at my house works better, your Aleksa's battery is running low."

"My Aleksa doesn't fail at anything, keep your harpy tongue for those who deserve it."

Romeo stood in front of an elevator that opened its doors.

He turned around, and I couldn't help but keep my eyes on the image he presented. My husband was carefully holding the little demon's body, who rested completely relaxed and trusting. His tie had been removed hours ago, and two buttons were undone, showing part of his tanned skin covered in tattoos that I wanted to lick.

I swallowed hard as I saw that smug smile that dawned on the corners of his lips when he saw how I blatantly checked him out. His mouth had kissed me too many times that day for me to remain sane. The doors closed, and I could finally take my eyes off the elevator.

"This way," Aleksa said, prompting me to follow.

He did not reference my jabs; he reminded me of Andrey, so serious, so stiff, so in his place. That was good for Romeo; loyal employees were better known for what they kept silent than what they revealed. I would tell my man to try and befriend Aleksa, to see if he could extract some relevant information.

For that, I needed them together, so I would press Romeo about the living arrangements for my men. I wanted them close to his.

We used the stairs to reach the first floor.

The first thing that surprised me was a gigantic spiral staircase with black, suspended steps that made me think of piano keys. It was wrapped in a huge white spiral that made you look up to see its end.

It was so wide that at least four people could fit on the same step.

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