Page 48 of Wicked Arrangement

“Well, I can’t exactly stay in this room now, can I?” I say lightly, trying not to sound like I’m mad at him for it.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I just got so angry,” he says forlornly before adding, “We have plenty of other rooms you can sleep in though, or you could stay with Yaroslav.” he wheedles.

I have to hand it to him, he’s persistent.

“Okay, I’ll stay, but just for tonight,” I reply, giving in.

“Thank you, Kimmy. I’ll make sure you have the best night ever and then you won’t want to ever leave!” he exclaims, squeezing me tightly.

“Alright David, go with Mikhail and Ivan now and get cleaned up. Kim and I need to talk,” Yaroslav orders, his tone still soft and calm.

Thankfully, David complies, seemingly calm and happy again. He gets up and allows the men to lead him out, happily chatting about a TV series he’s been watching as though nothing just happened. It’s a little unnerving, how quickly his mood can shift.

I stand up and dust myself off, looking around at the devastation in the room.

“You’re good with him,” Yaroslav says, “When he’s like that, it’s usually impossible to calm him down without sedatives.”

“Is he like this often?” I ask. Yaroslav’s tone and reaction imply he is.

He shrugs, “Not as much these days, it used to be worse. How did you know what to do?” he asks, fixing me with his full attention.

“Gran,” I reply truthfully, “Singing always helps to calm her down, I didn’t know what else to do. I just got lucky.”

He shakes his head, “No. It’s more than that, David really cares about you. I haven’t seen him bond with someone like that in a long time.”

“I care about him too.”

“Thank you, for saying you’d stay tonight. You will, won’t you?” he says, his voice less confident than usual.

“Of course, I wouldn’t break my promise. Though I can’t well sleep in here tonight,” I say, gesturing around the room.

He does the same, nodding. “I’ll have someone come in and clear all this up. Tonight you can sleep in the guest room, I’ll have the maid make the bed.”

I’m disappointed he hasn’t offered for me to stay in his room with him. After three weeks of being intimate, I was hopeful that he might want me to sleep in his bed beside him. But it’s clear this is just sex to him, nothing more. I can’t leavenow, I won’t break my promise to David. But nothing’s changed. Come tomorrow I need to go. I don’t say a word, but my face must tell him exactly what I’m thinking.

“You’ll sleep better in your own room. I don’t sleep well.”

“Sure. So, now you have me for one last night, what do you want to do?” I ask, trying to act nonchalant.

He doesn’t reply right away, I can see his thoughts whirring.

“Stay,” he says abruptly.

“I just said I would,” I reply, confused.

He shakes his head, “No. Stay longer.”

I don’t understand, the passionate way he’s saying it and his desperate expression make me think that he’s asking me to stay for him, that he feels the same way about me as I feel about him.

“Why?” I can’t help but ask the first question that pops into my mind.

“David needs you,” he says, his eyes looking away, no longer meeting mine.

So this is about David. I should have known it. Yaroslav just wants me to stay to keep his brother happy. It’s not about us. I can’t help but feel disappointed.

“Well, as much as I care about David, he doesn’t need me to live here. I can still come to visit him after I’m gone. I am not some toy for the Volkov boys to keep around for their amusement,” I say snippily.

“David doesn’t see you as a toy, he genuinely cares about you.”

---