The kitchen flows seamlessly into the living space. Beige marble covers the island counter, the kind that cascades down the sides like a waterfall.
On the floor, Alexei has Mikhail in a headlock—arms locked tight, their legs tangled.
Mikhail then shifts his weight, grabs Alexei, and slams him into the floor with a hard thud, twisting him into an armlock that looks painful.
Alexei yells and taps out frantically on his brother’s arm. Mikhail laughs and releases him immediately. They both stand, brushing themselves off like nothing happened. Alexei slaps the back of Mikhail’s head.
“They’re going to leave now,” Alexei tells me. “Say bye to Kelly.”
Mikhail walks past me. “Bye, Kelly. Feel better.”
Daniil trails after him without a word. He leans in and says something too quiet for me to hear, and Mikhail laughs in response.
I don’t think Daniil likes me, or maybe he just doesn’t talk to people much. He only ever seems to speak to Mikhail. Weird.
“Can I crawl into your bed now? My head hurts so bad,” I say.
“Yeah. Follow me.”
The entire left side is floor-to-ceiling glass, looking out over a covered pool and open fields that stretch into the distance.
He leads me into his bedroom. The same wall of glass faces the fields, making the space feel wide and exposed at the same time. A huge bed sits at the center, dark covers pulled tight,matching nightstands on either side. An en suite bathroom opens off to the right.
The room is warm. Comfortable. It smells like him.
Alexei walks over and kisses the top of my head.
“Get some rest. I’ll set up Clover’s space and let you sleep.”
I nod and hand him the cage. He takes it without a word and walks out of the room.
I strip down slowly, every movement making my head throb harder, then crawl under the covers and sink into the mattress. It’s soft but firm. I place my hand over my eyes to block out what little light filters through the windows, and sleep drags me down before I can think about anything else.
Warmth pressedagainst my back and arms wrapped around my waist—that’s how I wake up. I sigh and close my eyes again, letting myself sink into it, into him. The heat of his chest, the slow rise and fall of his breathing against my neck.
My head still hurts, throbbing behind my eyes like something’s trying to claw its way out. The hospital gave me pain medication and told me to watch for certain symptoms. If it gets worse, I’m supposed to go back immediately.
Lips press against the back of my neck. Then his arms tighten around me.
“Morning,” he mutters, voice groggy. His accent’s heavier.
“Thank you for everything,” I whisper. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“You do not need to apologize,zaychik. I got you.”
I lean into him. Another kiss lands against the back of my neck, soft and careful.
There’s a low sounding noise from somewhere near the floor. I open one eye to see Clover sniffing around the edge of an expensive-looking rug.
“We need to bunny-proof this house,” I mumble. “Get rid of loose cables and anything she might chew.”
“No,” he says instantly. “She is a good rabbit. She will not chew anything.”
I squint at him through my headache. “She’s an animal. She’s going to chew through every cable and probably destroy something expensive.”
He looks at me with mild offense. “Do not speak like that when she can hear you.”
Then he flops down on the pillow.
