“I did kind of use him to make Art jealous, didn’t I?”
Lily grimaces again, finally meeting my eyes. “You kinda did. But he's also acting like way more of an asshole about it than he has any right to.”
28
ARTYOM
The two-word e-mail reads, “Fuck off.”
“Is that any way to speak to your superior?” I shoot back.
One of my new favorite hobbies is communicating with Nina at work like this. She's been working non-stop since we got back from the honeymoon, picking up shifts like she has something to prove.
I wish I could see her, but she has banned me from going into her workplace. She says her home life and work life need to be separate.
I’m respecting her wishes, but it’s a foreign concept to me.
For the Petrovs, family and business are synonymous. For most of the Bratva, actually.
Nina’s raises the topic before bed, her expression anything but amused. “I’m serious, Art. You need to stop this.”
“What have I done now?” I sigh.
Nina takes a deep breath, like she's about to confess something. “I know you've never had a normal work life, never had to deal with annoying colleagues or gossip. But everything you're doing right now is making my life hell.”
My brow furrows.“What do you mean?”
“The flowers, Art. The pay checks. The goddamn office. I’m a resident. I’m not supposed to have an office.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re?—”
“No. Stop. I am a resident, Art. Not even a doctor yet. I’m just trying to get through the busiest three years of my career without fucking up majorly. But when my husband, who owns the hospital, starts to interfere in the workplace… It kinda fucks things up for me.”
It’s then that I see the tears forming in Nina’s eyes and I realize that she’s deadly serious.
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Nina.” I pull her against my chest.
She leans against me. “I know, Art. It’s just… My world is very different from yours, and sometimes you think you’re helping, but you’re not.”
“I do want to know about your world,” I tell her. “If people are being assholes at work, I want you to tell me about it.”
“What, so you can put a hit on everyone who was an asshole to me at work?”
“Only if it can be justified for business purposes as well.”
“Art!” she pushes my chest. “This is not a negotiation.”
I tilt her chin up to mine with my thumb, sweeping a line over her silky lower lip. “No? Then why does it feel like I’ve just made a great deal?”
Nina squeals with laughter as I push her onto her back, brushing my lips over her throat and inhaling deeply.
Whatever differences we have, whatever mistakes I make, we’ll always have this undeniable physical connection.
I’m never going to get over this, having her exactly where I want her. Knowing where she is, every second of every day.
Her amber eyes turn pure and molten as I trace my mouth down her torso, slowly unbuttoning her silk nightgown.
She might not like spending my money, but she has been wearing the hell out of the expensive lingerie I bought for her. I might need to restock soon, because every day we’re ruining another piece of designer silk.
