I grin at him. “Yeah, mates.”
He leans me slightly to peer around a few trees, and I see the table set up, people milling around to music and drinks.
“There are so many.”
“Da.”
That makes me squirm as I approach the gifts. I wonder what’s inside each one. I reach out and shake a large box.
“Careful,” Georgiy says softly. “What if you break something?”
“Oh, I don’t think they’re going to break. Anyone who knows me knows not to get me anything fragile.” I shake it again and grin. “I bet it’s a bone dildo. Never had one of those before.”
Georgiy huffs in amusement.
“Can I open one now?”
“You can do whatever you’d like, umnyashka. They’re our presents. If people want to watch, they can.”
I grin and move to the biggest box, peeking at the tag and seeing it’s from Diablo. Without hesitation, I begin to unwrap the newspaper clinging to the sides with both hands. Paper goes flying this way and that, one landing on top of Georgiy’s head until a gift is revealed.
“A saw!” I gasp and then look more closely. “A cordless one! What a gift. I bet he did some research and it can cut through skulls.”
“I bet it can,” Georgiy says, pouring himself a tall glass of medovukha that Mikhail bought him. Drink in hand, he takes a seat on one of the many folding chairs as I set the saw aside and then rip open another package—this one from Angel.
As soon as I see what it is, I squish it to me. It’s a long body pillow—one with a large picture of a decaying body printed on the front. He must have had this custom-made. What a thoughtful gift.
“I hope that doesn’t replace me,” Georgiy says, taking a small sip of his medovukha.
“Oh, never, but this will be nice when you have to travel to meet your Craigslist workers and I’m left to wait for you. It’ll be nice to have something to snuggle up to.”
I glance at the very realistic-looking corpse on the front.
“I bet this is an actual dead person, too.” I press my face into it and inhale, smelling the soft scent of Angel on the fabric before putting it down. I glance around, searching for my friendto thank him, but I spot him dancing slowly to the music with Mikhail. I don’t want to interrupt him.
They look so lost in each other.
So, I turn my gaze to another box and tear it open, seeing a security camera set gifted to me from Lex.For the catacombs,it reads. I can’t wait to put them up down there. Mainly so I can film myself and Georgiy fucking, but also so I can rewatch some of the very bad people getting taken apart.
I especially love when Anthony gets all growly and peels out their tongues. Very sexy. Wouldn’t mind watching that on repeat.
As I work through the gifts, people amble over, commenting on what we’ve received. I’m proud of all of them, of how thoughtful each one is.
Mikhail gifted me a Russian sword, and Georgiy a very expensive scalpel set, one I plan on using downstairs on myotherguests. Agatha gave me a few bottles of poison to be used on our enemies. I can’t wait to see how they work on actual humans. Casey gave us an industrial-sized bottle of lube, and Anthony’s gift was probably the nicest of all—a blueprint for a house on his property. Georgiy and I can make ourselves a home for when we stay here.
I know we’ll be traveling back and forth between Anthony’s and Mikhail’s, but to know we’ll have a nice place to sleep in here, one that will meet Georgiy’s standards, makes my eyes well up.
“What’s wrong? Are you not happy with the gifts?”
“I am. These are so thoughtful. And Ellery promised me an anaconda or a crocodile for the backyard, along with the hog that Fallow got me. I just…this all makes me feel so seen. So loved.”
Georgiy sets his drink down and comes to stand next to me. His hands move to my face, and he holds me steady. Those darkeyes meet mine, and I feel his thumb brush against the apples of my cheeks.
“You are loved. You are seen, umnyashka. I promise you that. Everyone here adores you.”
I sniffle and press into him, letting his arms engulf me. He holds me tightly until I pull away.
“Thank you for being one of the ones who loves me.”
