Page 190 of Rise of the Queen

“I might’ve made it difficult for you to walk,” he said, a boyish grin on his face.

“You definitely did, but I loved every minute of it.”

As we stood under the hot water, he was watching me. “What happened when I put my hand on your back?”

“Mmm, you brought all the feeling back. It felt almost like I didn’t have scars. Same for the scar on my hip. I have feeling there when you grab my hips.”

He smirked down at me. “Well, then I’ll have to grab you more,” he said, holding me against him tighter.

“Please do. I’m a fan,” I said, giggling at the look of surprise on his face.

He leaned down and kissed me. “You never cease to amaze me with how perfect you are for me.”

“It’s like we were meant to be or something,” I said, grinning at him.

His face turned serious as he looked down at me, brushing a curl from my face. “Sephie, I’ve never been more sure that I can get through anything life throws at me now that I have you by my side. All of this … shit that’s happening with the other bosses? It doesn’t worry me in the slightest. I find myself enjoying the process, simply because you’re with me. I know you will always be there to make my path in life even brighter with your light.”

My breath caught. I looked up at him, my fingers lightly running over his facial hair. I felt the pull in my chest from him so strongly. A smile slowly stretched over my face as I looked at him, thinking about how completely I loved him. I felt the same as he did. I knew I could get through anything as long as I had him. I stood up and kissed him sweetly, then rested my head on his chest as his arms completely enveloped me. He sighed as I pushed all my warmth to him, his body completely relaxed and content to have me in his arms.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Adrik

Sephie was still sound asleepand very much tangled up with me when I woke up the next morning. I went to move and she latched on tighter, without waking up. Apparently, she wanted me to stay for a while longer. Who was I to deny her?

I fully expected her to stay asleep, but she eventually started to stir as I held her, thinking about everything that was going on lately. I felt guilty, as it was likely my emotions that were all over the place that woke her up.

She opened her eyes, smiling sweetly at me. I had to admit to adoring seeing her eyes turn blue first thing in the morning. She hid her face in my chest, pulling me closer to her if that was even possible.

After a few quiet moments, she finally inhaled and went to stretch. She winced when she did.

“Yeah, that’s my fault,” I said, trying to look apologetic and not show how proud I was of it.

She giggled. “You can be proud. I enjoyed it immensely,” she said. “But you might have to carry me everywhere today.”

I got out of bed, pulling her into my arms. “I like this idea. If I keep you so sore you can’t walk, then you’ll have to goeverywhere with me and you can’t get away,” I said, walking her to the bathroom.

She cut her eyes over at me but didn’t say anything for a moment, like she was legitimately considering this option in her life. It made me laugh. “I adore you for even pretending to consider this,” I said, kissing her as I set her down.

“What? It’s a good plan,” she said. I kissed her one more time, then went to the closet. I was still laughing when she finally joined me in the closet. She was still completely naked from the night before, giving me plenty to think about the rest of the day. She caught me looking at her, but I tried to cover.

“You’re still excited that Ivan agreed to spar with you more often,” I said.

“You’re still excited that I’m still not wearing any clothes,” she said, smiling at me. “We’re both correct.”

God, I love her.

Vitaliy surprised us all by showing up with his men in the gym when we went down. We had just arrived in the gym and they walked in.

“Did you plan this last night and I missed it?”Sephie asked me.

“Nope. I told you he’d be back to get an explanation for why we feel different,”I said, laughing. I could hear her laughing in her head.

“To what do we owe this pleasure, Vitaliy?” Sephie asked as she walked over to him to give him a hug.

“Ivan said you two were going to spar this morning. I didn’t want to miss it,” he said, smiling at her. “My guys could use new partners as well. Ilya wants to see how his progress is coming too.”

Sephie had told me the night before that Ilya was happy working for my father. She’d shown me what his face looked like as he was talking to her about it earlier in the evening. It was evident that he was very excited with his new situation. It was good to see.

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