Page 38 of Twisted Empire: King's Gambit

But I don’t hear the rest of her words, because I see why she suddenly got so awkward. Mikhail has just walked in with a gorgeous as fuck leggy blonde on his arm, and she’s smiling brightly at whatever he’s just said.

He pulls out her chair and kisses her cheek, only for his gaze to immediately fall on me.

“We should go,” I say when I look away, and signal for the bill, not daring to look behind me again.

“Gabi, it’s really not what you think—”

“I’m not interested,” I say with finality, and Natalya blanches at the venom in my tone.

I don’t have the time to listen to Natalya making excuses for her brother, and thankfully she offers nothing else and honestly, I’m glad.

Because how do I tell her those few seconds of seeing Mikhail with another woman hurt me more than I care to admit? Well, at least now I know why he’s going to be late tonight.

Mikhail said he would get his kicks elsewhere, and I was fine with it, so why the hell does seeing him with someone else make me feel like absolute trash?

MIKHAIL

“If I knew you were going to be this out of it, I wouldn’t have feckin’ bothered coming, Mischa.”

I get snapped out of my thoughts, turning my focus back to the woman in front of me and breathing out a sigh.

“Sorry, Lee, my thoughts just went … elsewhere. Anyway, what did your uncle have to say about the merger?”

She blinks a few times and frowns at me, and I know she wants to ask where my thoughts are right now. But even being my best friend, she knows not to push it, so she dives into her uncle’s proposal.

As I listen to her speak, I can’t help but think about Gabriette and how it must have looked to her. She glanced over just as I kissed Liadan’s cheek in greeting and for those brief seconds; I saw the hurt in her eyes.

But why would she be hurt because I’m with another woman? I told her I’d find someone else to fuck because I won’t force myself on her, so what was with her reaction?

Not that I have fucked anyone else since, but she doesn’t know that.

After spending a few more hours with Lee, we said our goodbyes, and I made my way back to the penthouse. It’s after one in the morning, so thankfully I don’t have to face Gabriette after what happened.

I’m seriously not in the mood for an argument, not that I think she would be the type to argue about something like this.

Sighing, I finally look down at my cell phone and let out a groan when I see the texts from Natalya. According to her, after a few texts cursing me out, Gabriette’s mood changed as soon as they left the restaurant.

Fuck. Adding this to the news that I’ve arranged a marriage between Natalya and a Greek kingpin, I just know my sister will be busting my balls about everything when she comes here tomorrow.

I lean back in my seat and pinch the bridge of my nose. Gabriette and I haven’t really spoken since last night because I’ve been busy, but then again I didn’t want to face her. I’m sure she could sense my need when we were in the elevator, and the last thing I want is to expose myself like that again.

We arrive back at the penthouse all too soon and I start to feel the exhaustion set in, so after a shower, I drag myself to bed. Everything else can wait until I’ve had enough sleep.

Gabriette is laying on her side facing away from me, but as I lay down and my leg accidentally grazes hers, I feel her stiffening up.

Wait, is she still awake? I decide not to push it, even though I’m curious as hell as to why she’s still up. I close my eyes and breathe out a sigh while allowing sleep to pull me under.

“I have a question for you,” she suddenly asks, snapping me out of my near slumber and I turn my head to look at her.

“A question?”

“Yeah, a question,” she says, then she turns around and faces me and I can see fury blazing in those whiskey eyes. “You mentioned finding someone else to fulfill your sexual needs. Does that extend to me as well?”

Okay, now I’m fucking awake.

“Are you asking me if I’ll allow someone else to fuck you?” I ask and when she nods, anger coils in my chest and I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“Answer the question,” she says in a level voice, although I catch how her voice goes up slightly when she says my name. “What’s good for you should be good for me, right?”

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