Page 50 of Ruthless Bonds

I turned to the platinum-blonde woman next to him and accepted her outstretched hand. She was older, about a foot taller than me, with an athletic build.

“I’m Tash. And I’m also happy to serve the Pakhan’s future wife.”

“Thank you, thank you both. It’s nice to meet you.” I gave them a genuine smile. If they were supposed to be watching me twenty-four seven when I was outside these gates, then I’d better learn how to be friends so they wouldn’t narc on me.

After they left, I followed Gavriil downstairs to the living area. “What have you done with my sister? Is she locked away also? If you’ve upset her—”

He held up his hand, cutting me off. “She’s at the pool, drawing.”

I stared at him like he had two heads. “She’s at the pool?” I’d been worried sick she was locked up in her room like me, and she was just—relaxing at the pool?

“Yes.” He kept walking and led me to a set of glass sliding doors. “I told her you weren’t feeling welland needed some extra rest. She called me a lying jerk and threatened to blow the house up. If you want my opinion, you both need therapy.” He held his hand out toward Dove, who was indeed basking in the sun by the pool.

I ran down the back steps and toward the pool. She saw me coming and stood up, bouncing on her toes and opening her arms for a hug. God, how I’d missed her in those two days. I squeezed her tightly, relief washing over me.

She pulled back and looked at my face closely, then down the rest of my body.

“I’m fine, just got put in time-out for a bit.” I turned and glared at Gavriil over my shoulder, as did Dove. “Are you OK?” I gave her a good once-over.

She seemed more than OK, if that was possible. The oversized white shirt she wore fell to her thighs, her skin sun-kissed and glowing, a complete contrast to the pale and haunted look she’d had the last few months. Her eyes sparkled a bright blue, but what was even more amazing was her beanie was gone, replaced with a silk scarf that tied around her head and trailed down her back.

This didn’t look like a woman who had just bludgeoned someone to death a few days ago. This was the happiest I’d seen her in a really long time.

She reached down and grabbed a tablet, her fingers flying over the screen. A moment later, a robotic voice came through.

“Kreos gave me an iPad. Isn’t this great? Now you won’t have to squint at my phone to see what I’m saying.” Her smile stretched across her face, and I grinned.

“That was nice of him,” I muttered and dragged a lounge chair next to hers. “Have you talked to Solene? She must be losing her mind.”

She scrunched up her face and plopped down next to me. “Oh, she was calling non-stop. Kreos had me tell her we were going on vacation and not to expect you back at work anytime soon.”

“There’s no way she believes that,” I scoffed.

“That’s what I tried to tell him! She FaceTimed me right away, but he took the phone away. You can’t call anyone or send messages with this.” She wiggled her iPad in my face. “Oh, and you should know there’s a big-ass Doberman hiding around here somewhere. Sasha. Gavriil said she would chase us down if we tried to make a run for it.”

Great, just what I needed. It wasn’t that I didn’t like dogs. It was just that when you spent a lot of time breaking and entering homes that weren’t yours, dogs usually became enemy number one.

We stayed by the pool the rest of the afternoon. Apparently, Gavriil had moved her to a room in the east wing, which was why she hadn’t heard me begging for help. The events of the last few days didn’t seem to bother Dove, which I thought was a good thing. I just hoped she wasn’t storing guilt or fear deep inside of her that would slowly drive her insane. I hadn’t told her about Kreos wanting to get married. Not until I spoke to him and he agreed to my demands.

He stayed out of sight the entire day. But if I thought I was going to get out of dinner with him, I was mistaken. When I got back to my room, a black lacy dress was laid out on my bed, a pair of matching heels next to it.

I held the dress against my body, admiring myself in the mirror. It was beautiful and had no doubt cost a fortune. But I wasn’t going to make this easy on him. I carefully hung the dress in the closet and, when it was time, headed downstairs.

If I’d thought I was prepared to see Kreos again, I was mistaken. I hesitated at the entrance to the dining room, my senses overwhelmed. The space was bathed in warm, golden light from the chandelier that hung over the long table that could easily serve ten, but only had two place settings. At the far end, he sat like a king on his throne, his gaze traveling up and down my body.

His face was completely expressionless, so I couldn’t tell if my petty act of defiance in not dressing up had paid off. I took a step inside the room, and he stood and walked toward me. Suddenly, all the angry words I’d rehearsed upstairs died on my lips as he stood in front of me. His gaze was as intense as ever as he brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

“You look beautiful,kotic,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving mine.

My mouth immediately went dry. A small part, like a super tiny part, wished I wasn’t so stubborn and had just worn the damn dress instead of my ripped jeans and t-shirt. But no. We were here to negotiate, and that meant not falling for any of his tricks.

I cleared my throat and pulled my hand away from his lips. “Thanks. You too. I mean, nice. You look nice.”

Get your shit together.

The server bustled by, breaking whatever spell he’d put me under. The table was set beautifully with sparkling crystal glasses and fresh flowers in matchingvases arranged all over. Kreos grabbed my elbow and steered me toward my seat. He pulled it out for me, and once I sat down, he went back to his seat.

The room was quiet except for the hum of a wine cabinet and the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. The server approached and placed a plate of food in front of each of us: steak, asparagus, and little golden medallion potatoes. I was practically salivating as I eyed the food. The server held out a bottle of wine to Kreos, who nodded and accepted the bottle. He then left, shutting the door behind him.

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