Page 132 of Rise of the Queen

“I think the more we practice at this, the easier it will become all around,” Ivan said. His mood turned somewhat serious as he asked what the rest of us didn’t want to ask. “How did it go?”

Adrik sighed. “I think Sephie is right. I think he’s done everything backward from us, which is why we’re having a harder time with it. He knows he’s been an asshole. He just doesn’t know how to stop it yet. The time in Syria did a number on him. We all know that, but we all thought he was handling it. In reality, he just shoved it to the back of his mind and never thought about it again. When we first met Sephie, she was a welcome distraction from it. But then she started helping everyone else deal with their own trauma, plus revealing everything she’s been through. It was so fresh for him that he didn’t want to go through it all again. So he started avoiding. Everything.”

“What about Stephen helping him tonight though? Did that do anything for him?” I asked.

“I think so. He’s finally feeling everything that he’s been locking away. I suspect he’s feeling like you did when Stephen helped you. It was like waves crashing into all of us as everything opened back up for you. But once we felt the emotion, it was gone right away. I don’t think it’s leaving as quickly with Viktor as it did with you, but at least it’s moving now,” he said.

“Does that mean Stephen needs to do it again?” Misha asked.

We all turned to Stephen, not sure of the answer. He looked somewhat surprised. “Bold of you all to assume I’d have that answer,” he said. “But I can give my best guess. It was mucheasier with Seph, Andrei, and Misha today because the blocks were fresh. Meaning they were weak. The longer you try and bottle up something, the stronger the block gets. Viktor’s been holding all of that in for quite a while, so the block is strong. I might’ve only cracked it, so to speak. Things are moving, but he might also be able to repair the dam. We should be able to tell in the next few days if it stuck or not. I’m not above sneaking it in on him again if that’s what it takes.”

“You don’t need him mad at you like that again though. That’s not fair to you,” I said.

“Eh, he never stays mad for very long. I don’t think he was even mad at me. He was just mad at knowing now he’s gotta feel it,” Stephen said.

“That’s exactly why he’s mad. He told me so,” Adrik said.

“So what did you tell him?” Ivan asked.

“I gave him a couple more days to get a handle on everything. I don’t like being without him, but we can manage. He wants to deal with everything on his own, so he’s got the chance to do so. I told him not to waste the opportunity,” Adrik said.

I found myself feeling slightly relieved that I’d get another break from him, but I was also upset that I would feel that way about Viktor.

“Don’t worry, spider monkey. We’ll get this figured out and things will go back to normal,” Andrei said, in an effort to comfort me.

I looked at him, loving him for being so thoughtful. “Normal is relative anyway, Bubba.”

Since we’d decided to attend the fundraiser for the hospital so Adrik could have a chance to see the mayor, as well as the DA, as well as the police commissioner in one place, in one evening, that meant I had to buy yet another dress. Which meant I was forced to go shopping.

My only consolation was that I had to take at least three guys with me. Shopping for a formal dress with three giant men in tow was enough comic relief that I found myself enjoying the process. Ivan looked angry at all the dresses, Andrei looked slightly uncomfortable like he was going to get yelled at for accidentally touching one of them, and Misha was busy picking out the ugliest dresses he could find to see if he could talk me into trying them on. He would hold up the most hideous dress he laid his eyes on and would say loudly, “I really feel like this is the one. We can stop looking.” He was my fuckery twin and I loved him for it.

The poor girl working in the dress shop was completely overwhelmed with those three. She didn’t know whether to be terrified or amused. Finally, she mustered the courage to approach me and ask me what I was looking for.

“You see, that’s the problem. I don’t even know,” I said to her. I noticed her nervously watching the three guys. I tried not to laugh at her. “Don’t mind them. They look scary, but they’re quite nice.”

She tried to believe me, but it was definitely a struggle. We discussed what event I needed the dress for, what I liked, and what colors I preferred. I explained what it was for and that I needed to have my back covered. I left the rest up to her. She set off among the racks of dresses, picking several for me to try.

She might’ve been trying to get us out of the store faster because she was terrified, but she managed to help me find the perfect dress in under ten minutes. Because it was stillcold outside, she pulled a dress with long sleeves. My back was completely covered, but it had a plunging neckline that I was sure Adrik would both love and hate. I had to admit, my boobs looked amazing in the dress, so I decided the gamble on his level of hatred for me showing this much skin was one I should take. Between my cleavage and the slit in the skirt, it had plenty of sex appeal while not showing off everything. Instead of black this time, I went with a deep blue. Might as well make as many details as possible different from the last time I had to wear a formal dress.

I was busy looking at myself in the changing room, when I heard all three guys basically demanding that I show them. “We know you like this one, so you have to show us,” Misha said, in Russian.

“I had no idea you three would be so interested in such girly things,” I said, walking out to show them.

“Princess, this one might be better than the last one and the last one was pretty perfect,” Ivan said.

I pointed to my cleavage. “Too much? Think it’ll piss him off?”

Andrei chuckled. “You would only piss him off by showing your whole boob. Which you’re not. You’ll be fine.”

“You saw Vanessa. You’re still leaps and bounds more tastefully dressed, even with that amount of cleavage,” Ivan said.

Misha walked closer. He had a curious look on his face. “I know you’re going to wear your contacts that night, but make your eyes turn blue right now. I want to see something,” he said quietly.

I thought about how much I loved Adrik and saw Misha’s grin. He turned to Ivan and Andrei and motioned them over. “It’s virtually the same color,” he said, pointing to my eyes and the dress. Andrei and Ivan walked over to see for themselves, both agreeing with Misha.

“Sold!” I said, knowing that Adrik would love it just for that reason alone. “Also, it doesn’t hurt that this one fits me perfectly already and needs no alterations. This was meant to be. Wrap it up. Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said, walking back to the changing room. I could hear them all laughing at me as I changed back into my clothes.

A quick trip to get shoes, which was admittedly less painful, and we were on our way back to the penthouse. On the elevator up, they were giving me a hard time about hating shopping. I knew they just enjoyed teasing me about it. I knew they loved the fact that I hated shopping because it meant they didn’t have to go with me. “Guys have it much easier, especially when it comes to formal events. Your biggest dilemma is whether to wear a vest or a cummerbund, tie or bow tie. You saw what women put themselves through. For no apparent reason other than they hate being comfortable,” I said.

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