Page 64 of Claimed By Shadows

“Yes, I think you are right there,” he replies, and I hold my glass out in a toast. He picks his up, clinking the glass and taking another sip, even as his lips pucker again.

“Enjoy the performance, Commissioner,” I say, my attention caught on the door as a vision steps in after a hulking Shadow.

All else is forgotten as I watch Iris, sparkling in a beaded gown that steals the very breath from my lungs. Usually, Holland Park is informal, but tonight is a special performance, a charity fundraiser, so everyone is dressed to the nines, but my beautifulKotenokoutshines them all.

I pick up the bunch ofSwerti Irisfrom the bar, her knife tucked safely in my pocket, and follow them from a distance. Notthat the Shadows don’t know I’m here. Not only did they invite me, but Hunt clocked me as soon as he walked in, and I’m glad. Iris needs that kind of protection on her, at least until my father no longer walks this earth.

The fifteen-minute call for people to take their seats sounds around us, and I enter the auditorium a few people behind me, knowing that my seat is right next to myDorogaia.My heart pounds, my body tingling as I take my seat just after the lights go dark.

Leaning over slightly, I drop the flowers into her lap. “Happy birthday,Malyshka.”

I watch as the sun’s final rays decorate her face, her mouth parted and eyes glittering as she stares at me as if nothing else exists. It’s a look that makes my chest tight. No one has ever looked at me like I’m worth that much, no one but her.

“Nik,” she whispers, quickly glancing around us as her hands take the flowers. She looks down, then her head snaps back up, her eyes wide. “All these years, it was you sending me irises on my birthday?”

“Da,Moy Solntse,” I whisper, my fingers twitching with the need to reach out and brush her cheek, feel her soft skin against my own, but even though Dima, Andrei, and I all checked to make sure none of my father’s men are here, it’s still a risk. Even sitting next to her is one, but I couldn’t not be beside her, even if it’s just for a little while.

“Oh, Nik,” she breathes out, clutching the flowers just as the opening bars of the first act sounds around us, but it’s all muffled, nothing else is real aside from the goddess in front of me. Her eyes glisten as tears fill them, and it tears me in two, not being able to hold her.

I slide my hand down between us, and she glances down, inhaling sharply, then reaches her own hand to brush her fingersagainst mine. I tangle our hands together, turning to face the front.

“Watch the show,Moy Solntse. We can find somewhere private later to catch up,” I whisper, seeing her nod out of the corner of my eye as she too turns to face the stage.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Nik,” she murmurs, but I hear it, my whole body attuned to hers.

“Me too,Malyshka.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“ONE FINE DAY (UN BEL DI) (FROM MADAME BUTTERFLY)” BY GIACOMO PUCCINI, KATHERINE JENKINS

IRIS

Ican hardly concentrate on the performance in front of me, wonderful as I’m sure it is, because Nik, my Nik, is right beside me. His warmth seeps into my leg, his own spread wide in a way that would normally have me scoffing at a man needing so much room, but the space he takes up is justified. Plus it allows me to feel him more than just the clasp of our hands.

It’s the sweetest torture, to have him so close but be too afraid to touch him fully. I don’t know how he knew we’d be here, though a quick glance at Hunt’s smug smile gives me some clue, and it makes me love my Shadowmen even more, knowing that they organised this so I could see Nik on my birthday.

The first act is stunning, the music adding to my own heartache and anticipation. There are also those damnedbutterflies, the sharp kind, on account of the secret that Nik hasn’t discovered yet but I need to tell him about.

How do you tell the man you’re in love with that you’re carrying his father’s child though? A child he knows was put there in the worst circumstances.

What a shitshow.

The first act finally comes to a close, the applause loud, but all I can focus on is Nik beside me, on being so close, and soon perhaps being in his arms. Then the lights come on and the audience stands.

“Come, Peaches,” Hunt says from my other side, taking the flowers from my hand and helping me to my feet.

Nik is slower to stand, and I see the moment his eyes alight on my bump, feel it in the way he grips my hand. I freeze, Hunt looking down at Nik, who’s still staring at my stomach, his chest barely moving.

“Petrov,” Hunt hisses quietly, and it’s enough to have Nik’s head snapping up, his deep chocolate eyes locked on my face, which I know is drained of all colour. “Come with us and we will explain. Not here.”

Nik’s jaw clenches, but he gives a sharp nod, letting my hand go as Hunt tugs me in front of him. It’s like a piece of my soul has been ripped away, and tears flood my eyes as we are swallowed up in the crowd leaving the auditorium, most heading to the bar.

We take another route, towards the gates we entered but are going to be closed for the evening. The twins are ahead of us, and I barely register someone opening the gates, money exchanged as we slip through, Nik following us moments later.

We remain silent as Roman leads us to the Chinese gardens, the sound of the water trickling down the man-made river attempting to be soothing, but it’s not enough. My hands tremble, my throat tight with what I know will be explosive. I can feel it in the air and it leaves me feeling nauseous.

As soon as we enter the garden, Nik grasps my upper arm and spins me around, Hunt growling behind me.

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