Page 175 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

I decide that it means nothing. I was just tired.

Demyan laughs. “You alright there, Sleeping Beauty?”

“I had a late night,” I mutter.

“Yeah, I heard a little something about that,” he says, sounding far too pleased.

“Who did you talk to?” I demand.

He cackles. “I was getting ready to throw out a full-fledged search party when you didn’t reply to my last text. Had your picture ready for the side of the milk cartons and everything. But then I ran into Jen.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.”

“She told me you were holed up in Olivia’s bedroom. Not just that—she did a walk-by about an hour after you two went gallivanting off, and it seems as if there were some pretty telling sounds coming from the room.”

“What the hell is she doing spying on me?”

“Well, for starters, that’s literally her job title, so if you’re surprised she’s good at it, that’s your own damn fault. But in this one instance at least, she wasn’t actually spying; she was just checking to make sure Olivia was doing okay. No need to worry, it seems. Apparently, you were taking very good care of her.”

“Fuck you.”

Demyan just laughs again. Fucking hyena. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he warns.

“She knows how this works,” I say. “She wants me. I’m not going to deprive her of that privilege.”

But my bravado rings false, even in my own ears. Just yesterday, I could have said it confidently. She means nothing to me. Just a means to an end.

It would have been a lie back then, but a bearable one.

Now, though?

It’s a fucking fiction and everyone knows it. Demyan included.

“If you’re sure that’s all she wants from you,” he says cheerily.

“Where’s Jennifer?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Not sure now. She was looking for you again this morning,” he informs me. “I think something’s come up.”

“Did she tell you anything?”

“Fuck no. That girl saves the best information for your ears alone, no matter how hard I try to coax it out of her.”

“It’s why she’s my favorite,” I say. “And why you’re at the bottom of the list. Although the spying last night certainly knocked her down a peg or two.”

“Heaven forbid. Although I do appreciate her giving me some room to move up the rankings.”

“You are stuck in dead last for as long as you live, sobrat,” I drawl. “Where are you?”

“In your office. I’m going over a few plans for the warehouse projects.”

“Stay there,” I tell him. “I’ll be down soon.”

I hang up, dress fast, and head back into the bedroom.

Olivia is still wrapped up in the sheets, but now, they only come up to her waist. Her breasts are bare and exposed. Her nipples are perfect pink points, begging to be sucked and pulled until she yields like putty beneath my hands.

I wrench myself away from her and storm out the door. I’ve just managed to shut it when I feel her presence behind me.

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