I turn to go, but he stops me with a final line:
“Be sure she understands the weight. A Korolyov marriage is eternal.”
“I know,” I say. “That’s the point.”
His words play on repeat in my mind all the way down to the ground floor where the casino and mall are located.
The jeweler is closed, but it doesn’t matter. One phone call and the lights flicker on like a shrine coming to life. I select the ring instantly, a bright diamond center stone flanked by two amethyst baguettes that burn violet under the display glass.
Her eyes. That impossible, unguarded violet.
“I’ll take it,” I say before anyone can speak.
When I return to my penthouse, Callie is curled on the sofa, hair damp from the shower, wearing my clothes again, and it feels like fate pulling a loaded gun on me.
She looks up.
I kneel.
Her lips part on a small, broken inhale.
“Callie,” I say, my voice unsteady for the first time in years, “you walked into a room you shouldn’t have and gave me a reason to defy everything I’ve ever been. You’re the only thing I care about protecting anymore. Be my wife. Stand beside me knowing you can never leave.”
Her hand trembles when I take it. She doesn’t snatch it away. She doesn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” she whispers, and it sounds like salvation.
I slide the ring onto her finger, and it fits like it was forged for her alone.
Before she can say another word, I draw the gun from my holster. Her eyes widen. I break the magazine open, bullets falling into my hand like dull gold.
One by one, I place them on the table between us.
“From this moment,” I tell her, screwing the silencer into place with slow, deliberate turns, “we have no secrets, no shame.”
My gaze lifts to hers.
“We are honest with each other in every aspect of our lives.”
She exhales shakily, stepping closer, until the ring presses against my chest.
“I didn’t know,” she breathes. “I thought it was a combination of adrenalin and fear and the way you were looking at me.”
“It’s okay, krasótka. It’s okay to be turned on by something that scares you.”
“Yes,” she agrees. “And it’s okay for you to break apart when you come inside me. I love knowing how good I make you feel. How you can let yourself go completely with me.”
I nod, her words giving me a permission I didn’t know I needed.
“Take off your clothes, Callie. I want you fully naked for me.”
She does as I say and pulls off my T-shirt and sweat pants, revealing she is wearing no underwear. Once she has thrown them onto the back of the sofa she stands in front of me. I shuck off my jacket, open the buttons at my collar and cuffs, and roll up my sleeves.
When I step towards her, she shivers with anticipation, her nipples pebbling.
I bow my head and she looks up, tracking her eyes over every part of my face before landing on mine. I press the length of the cold silencer against her thigh, exactly where it was last night.
Her response is instant. Her eyes cloud, and the scent of her arousal blooms between us, heady and sweet.
