Page 104 of Gilded Cage (Kovalyov Bratva 1)

“There’s a full wardrobe on board for you,” I tell her.

“Oh.”

I turn back and board the waiting plane.

Esme makes it on a few moments later. She looks pissed off—that’s not new, though. Nor totally unexpected.

In comparison to how poised and polished she looked walking down the aisle, she looks wild now. Hair messy. Dress slipping off one shoulder. A high blush in her cheeks and that never-ending fire in her eyes.

I think I actually like this look better.

The stewardess, a leggy blonde with too much makeup, takes Esme to the back of the jet where her wardrobe awaits.

A few minutes, the blonde emerges alone.

“Your wife is changing, sir,” she says, her words coated with honey as she stares at me appreciatively. “I’m Svetlana. Please don’t hesitate to ask me for anything you might want. I’m here to service youreveryneed.”

She even licks her lips. “Piling it on” doesn’t do this justice—she’s throwing herself at me like a dog in heat.

The old Artem might’ve taken her up on it. Would’ve bent her over the teak dining table in the middle of the plane, hiked that navy pencil skirt over her hips, and fucked her senseless until the cabin reverberated with her moans.

The new Artem doesn’t consider it for the slightest of seconds.

“Thank you,” I say curtly. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

“Please do,” she replies, leaning in a little and offering up her cleavage to me. Her manicured nails graze my forearm. “I just want to make sure you’re completely and totally satisfied during your journey.”

“I said I’ll let you—”

“Ahem!”

We both turn towards Esme. She’s standing a few feet away, her eyes tight with annoyance as she glances between me and the slutty stewardess.

She’s swapped out the wedding dress for a sunflower yellow lounge dress with little cut outs along the bodice. Her dark hair compliments the color perfectly, as do the flecks of molten gold in her hazel eyes.

“Please,” she says, in a snippy tone as she passes between us, “don’t let me interrupt you.”

The stewardess gives me an apologetic smile and heads towards the cockpit. For the rest of the flight, she brushes against me every time she passes. I ignore it each time.

Esme, on the other hand, picks a seat as far from me as possible and stays there. I can only see the back of her dark head, but I can see from the stiff posture of her back that she’s tense.

Possibly even a little jealous.

Like her wild hair, I think like that, too.

She’s hotter when she’s angry.

28

Artem

I manage to sleep for a bit. When I wake up, we’re about to land.

Everything goes smoothly as we touch down. When the hostess informs us that we’ve just arrived in Hawaii, I see Esme’s eyes go wide with surprise.

She hides it as soon as she sees me looking. Doesn’t want me to notice her genuine interest.

Suppressing a smile, I disembark. Esme follows behind. We take a car to the private ferry and ride the boat to Kauai, where our private mansion awaits.

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