Page 11 of Shatter Me

“Out!” I point toward the door. “Before I tell Nikolai about that thing with his laptop.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” But he’s already backing away, hands raised in mock surrender. “Fine, I’ll leave you to your ‘preparing.’ But don’t blame me when he comes looking.”

The moment he’s gone, I slump against the counter. “I swear, your brother-in-law is impossible.”

“He means well,” Sofia says. “And he’s not entirely wrong about?—”

“Don’t. Just don’t.” I rub my temples. “Dmitri Ivanov is the last thing I need in my life. He’s arrogant, controlling, and thinks everything’s for sale. Including people.”

“Who thinks everything’s for sale?”

My blood freezes. That deep, accented voice can only belong to one person. I turn slowly to find Dmitri filling the kitchen doorway, his glacier-blue eyes locked on mine.

“How long have you been standing there?” My voice comes out embarrassingly weak.

“Long enough.” His lips curve into a devastating smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Please, don’t let me interrupt. You were saying something about arrogant and controlling?”

My face burns as Sofia swoops in, ever the graceful hostess. “Perfect timing! Everything’s ready. Shall we move to the dining room?” She shoots me a sympathetic look while gathering the cheese board.

“Here, let me help.” I reach for the wine bottles, desperate for any excuse to avoid Dmitri’s piercing stare.

“I’ve got those.” Dmitri’s fingers brush mine as he takes the bottles, sending an unwanted shiver through me. “You focus on not dropping anything while avoiding me.”

“I’m not—” I start, but Sofia cuts me off.

“The table’s all set. Dmitri, would you mind opening these?” She gestures to the wine. “Tash, bring the bread?”

I grab the basket and follow them into the formal dining room. The long mahogany table gleams under crystal chandeliers, set for an intimate dinner of six. My steps falter as I notice the place cards. Sofia’s put me right next to Dmitri.

“Really?” I mutter under my breath as I pass her.

She shrugs, not looking the least bit apologetic. “You’re both adults. Play nice.”

I slide into my seat, hyper-aware of Dmitri settling beside me. His cologne is so masculine, and it wraps around me like a sensual fog. I reach for my wine glass, needing liquid courage.

“Allow me.” Dmitri’s voice rumbles low as he pours deep red wine into my glass.

I watch the brothers settle into their seats, their easy familiarity starkly contrasting the tension thrumming through my body. I’m not used to this kind of casual familiarity. My family are as formal as you get. Nikolai takes his place at the head of the table, Sofia at his right, their fingers intertwined on the tablecloth.

“So, Alexi,” Erik’s deep voice breaks the silence. “Are you still terrorizing the IT department?”

“Please, they love me.” Alexi sprawls in his chair. “I only crash their systems when they deserve it.”

“Which is daily,” Dmitri drawls beside me, his knee brushing mine under the table. I shift away, but there’s nowhere to go.

“Not everyone appreciates my creative approach to network security.” Alexi snags a piece of bread. “Unlike Dmitri’s creative approach to board meetings.”

I stiffen, but Dmitri just chuckles. “At least I show up to meetings. Unlike someone who thinks hacking in remotely counts as attendance.”

“Boys,” Sofia interjects, passing the salad. “Let’s not rehash old arguments.”

“Where’s the fun in that,malishka?” Nikolai kisses her hand. “Besides, Natasha hasn’t heard all our best stories yet.”

“And she doesn’t need to,” I mutter, but Erik catches it.

“Oh, I think she does.” His eyes crinkle with rare humor. “Like the time Dmitri reprogrammed Alexi’s entire system to speak only in Shakespeare quotes.”

“That was you?” Alexi points his fork accusingly at Dmitri. “I spent three days debugging that!”

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