Champagne Wrath by Nicole Fox

Author:Nicole Fox [Fox, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-15T16:00:00+00:00

43

PAIGE

The date started out fun. Full-on rom-com style, with Misha wrapping his arms around me, swaddling me in his warmth and his smell while he whispered instructions in my ear. He was so tender, so attentive. When my ear protection slipped just barely out of place, he firmly put it back where it belonged and told me I was worth protecting, every part of me.

“Even your selective hearing,” he teased.

My first few shots went wildly off-target, of course, even with him there to steady my hands and show me the ropes. I offered up silent apologies to the warehouse rafters that’ll forever be scarred by my shit aim.

But then an hour passed, and another, and by the end of it, I was hitting four or five out of every ten with reasonable confidence.

The first time I went ten for ten, I whipped off my goggles and headphones and whirled around to look at him. I wanted to see him beaming with pride. I was so, so sure that’s exactly what he’d be doing. That he’d sweep me up in his embrace and kiss that soft spot below my ear that functions like a TURN PAIGE ON button.

But he didn’t do any of that.

He looked at me with that cold, gray, glacial distance I hate so much and said, “Good.”

That’s it. Just, “Good.” No “I’m so proud of you, kiska.” No sweet nothings.

Good. The word has never felt so frigid or meaningless.

Now, we’re stepping back into the hotel suite, and I can feel the distance between us like I’m standing on the edge of a huge, dark canyon filled with shadows at the bottom. He’s taking off his shirt in the bedroom when he speaks for the first time in twenty minutes.

“We’re hosting a dinner next week.”

“A dinner?” I ask, trying to get him to make eye contact with me. He refuses.

“We need to address your resurrection, and we need to introduce you to the Bratva from a position of power. It’s a good time to announce your pregnancy, too. Strategically, the timing is right.”

I frown. “Okay. Strategic dinner. Got it.”

“This is important, Paige,” he tells me, as though I’ve just told him that I’m not willing to host it. “It won’t be just the family—it’ll include council members, senior Vors, and long-time business partners. We need to establish ourselves as the ones in charge.”

He sits in the middle of the sofa in just his undershirt, with his arms and legs spread in a limp, exhausted kind of way. His eyes are trained on the open doors of the balcony, but the light in them is bleak.

Nervously, I slip off my dress, revealing the jade green lingerie I have on underneath. It was supposed to be a surprise. The grand reveal of the night, so I could repay him in part for the things both big and little he does just to make me smile.

The set came with a garter belt, but it wouldn’t fit over my baby bump. But the lace bra and matching panties—what little there is of them—still fit fine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.