Page 123 of Untamed

I stare at him in surprise but think it over. I swallow hard.

“Let me change into something a bit more comfortable?”

He smirks in the darkness.

Chapter 28

RODION

I didn’t setout to test her. But I know if we return to the gala, she’ll be permanently immersed in my world—brutal, unforgiving, but loyal.

I’m checking her for signs of shock, but she’s only quiet, clinging to me.

“Stop,” she finally says. “You have no idea. The memory of what he did haunted me so much worse than what we just did. That was awful, yeah, but I’m…god, I’m relieved. But I need a stiff drink, stat.”

The gala is in full swing when we return. Laughter spills from the open doors, mingling with strains of violin music.

I get her a stiff drink. Actually, two.

It should feel surreal—stepping back into the world of glittering celebration. It doesn’t for me.

I feel nothing but relief. Maybe that’s fucked up.

“You alright?” I ask Ember. She’s cleaned herself up and changed, with fresh makeup and her hair down her shoulders, loose and wavy.

“Yes,” she says with that majestic energy fitting of the queen she is. She stands next to me, her chin held high, her fiery red hair cascading over the silk of her dress.

She doesn’t shrink back or hide.

Maybe she’s as fucked up as I am.

God, I fucking love her.

I watch the way their eyes track her, both men and women alike, as if they’re drawn to her beauty, her magnetic energy, and can’t quite put it into words. A part of me wants to growl at all of them to look away.

Because she’s mine.

But when Ember turns toward me and buries her head on my chest, I wrap my arms protectively around her. It was a lot tonight, but she’s handling it so well.

“You sure?” I whisper in her ear.

“Yeah,” she repeats. “I feel like I should be a lot more upset about what happened, but I…” Her voice gets a little choked, and she doesn’t complete her sentence. “I needed closure. I needed to know there’s no going back, that it can’t possibly happen again.”

“You don’t have to explain. I understand.” I tip my finger under her chin and bring her gaze to mine. I stare into her bright green eyes, and my heart swells because I know—I’m staring into my forever. “But I want you to trust me to handle the details. The rest of this. Can you do that?”

Holding my gaze, she nods. “Yeah.”

Ekaterina swirls her champagne, oblivious to what we just did or what we’re talking about, but I know that even if she did know details, she wouldn’t judge. After all, it was her son’s cleanup crew I borrowed.

“I’ve heard you’re a photographer, Ember?” she asks with a welcome smile. “We hired someone, but they didn’t show.” She rolls her eyes. “Sometimes our reputation gets in the way of such things.”

“I am,” Ember says. She stands up tall. “Do you want me to take pictures?”

“Just while we hand over the big check,” she says with a wink.

Ember slides into artist mode, her eyes trained on various people. I watch her take snapshot after snapshot until finally, she lowers the camera and turns to me, her cheeks either flushed from the heat of the room or from the weight of my eyes on her.

“Done yet?” I’m getting impatient to have her alone. My thumb grazes the small of her back.

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