Page 17 of Emperor of Havoc

“Good girl.”

He leans down. Before I can register it, he’s pushed his mask up slightly and kissing me, pulling his fingers from my mouth andlicking them himself.

Then he stands up, rolling his shoulders and pulling the mask down again. Not once have I seen his eyes.

“This still isn’t over, princess. I’d respond to my messages from now on. Or the next time, when I find you and fuck you, it’ll be wherever the hell you currently are, even if that’s right in front of your family at the dinner table. Are we clear?”

All I can do is nod, my entire body limp and shaking.

“Good girl.”

He steps out of sight behind me. Part of me wants to turn and look at him, to drink in his presence. But the other part of me can’t even move. So I just lie there, sprawled out and shaking, trying to force my pulse back to some semblance of normalcy, until I suddenly realize I can’t hear or feel him.

I whip my head around, and my body stiffens.

He’s vanished, as suddenly as he appeared.

The weight of his hand, the heat of his presence—all of it has melted away into the shadows, leaving me lying there, trembling and breathless, the memory of it all still burning in my mind.

Shaken. Angry.Aroused.

I press a hand to my chest, feeling the rapid beat of my heart beneath my palm. The room is silent again, but the chaos he’s left behind rages on within me.

Something tells me he’s righter than I am willing to admit.

This isn’t over at all.

It’s barely begun.

5

KATARINA

“Does it owe you money?”

I’m startled out of my thoughts by Nina’s hands signing in front of my face, and my gaze lifts from the piece ofHamachisashimi I’ve been stabbing repeatedly with my chopstick without even realizing it.

I glance at her somewhat sheepishly. She grins at me.

“Like, maybe give it a chance to pay you before you murder it?”

I roll my eyes, managing a faint smile as I glance at her. “Just practicing for the wedding night,” I sign, dropping my eyes to the small, pale piece of raw fish on my plate. “I’m guessing this is about as much as I can expect from him.”

Nina bites back a snort. Her sharp blue eyes glint with amusement, though she keeps her expression neutral.

“Everything okay,Nina?” Papa mutters quietly, yanking both our gazes across the table. He eyes us coldly, his expression tolerating zero bullshit.

Obviously, Papa knows what we’re signing. I could switch from the American Sign Language that Nina and I usually use to the Japanese version, and he’dstillknow. He’s good with languages, something I’ve inherited from him. I may notspeakanything these days. But I can fluently understand Japanese, English, Russian, and Italian, as can Nina.

Next to me, she blushes, clearing her throat. “Everything is fine, Kolya-san,” she says with a quiet smile. “I merely had something in my throat.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s no longer there,” Papa answers dryly. “Still, why don’t we keep the conversation in a language the whole table understands,” he murmurs, turning to smile benignly at our guests.

Sergey Vorobev clears his throat. “Is no problem, Kolya,” he grunts in his thick Russian accent. “My son will be doubling up on his signing lessons as we proceed with this…” He glances at his idiot offspring, who’s halfway through chugging his god-only-knows what number glass of wine for the evening. “Arrangement,” Sergey finishes, squinting meaningfully at his son.

I pick at the delicate slices of sashimi on my plate, zoning out and letting it all fade to white noise. Everything about tonight feels distant, unimportant. My mind drifts back to that evening, four nights ago.

Four endless, sleepless nights.

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