Page 50 of Daddy's Reluctant Queen

“Yes, sir,” he says. With that, he leaves. I stand in my living room and look up the stairs toward where Sofia is likely still sleeping.

This all just got so much more complicated.

17

SOFIA

Ican’t even cross my legs.

We must have gone at it for hours and in the end, I was both sated and sore as fuck. And when he was finally spent, we just lay spooned together on the bed with him still inside me, his chest on my back and breathing hard in my ear. Afterward, he got out of bed and without word to me, went to my bathroom and ran me a bath, even put some fragrant oil and Epsom salt in it. He stayed until I was soaking in the warm water, then he left. He even locked the door behind him.

Funny how he seems so committed to taking care of me, even after what I did. Even after my ‘punishment’. I soaked for a long time, running it all back through my mind, moment by moment.

He was really hard on me for attacking his man, and honestly, his reaction was valid. Going off the rails like I did… If he had decided to shoot me right then and there in the hallway, he would have been right to do it. In fact, he probably would be praised for it.

But he didn’t. He chose to punish his little fuck toy instead. But after that…

That’s the one part I’ve been trying to figure out. I can’t quite pinpoint the moment when it turned. One second, I was helpless under his will and then the next thing I knew, we were wrapped in each other’s arms, making love. Maybe it turned the moment we kissed, I don’t know. All I know is that the energy around us changed on a dime.

I’m sitting on a pillow on a bench in the garden while Luka plays with a flying bird toy that he told me he was given for his last birthday. He chattered on and on about it as we walked out here.“See, you have to make sure not to throw it against the wind, or you’ll break the wings.”

I’m watching him as he pauses, holding a hand up to test which way the breeze is blowing before he throws the little plastic bird again. It catches the wind, mechanical wings flapping as it rides the wind. Maybe if Titus will allow it, I’ll take him to the park later this afternoon. Not really sure how much he will or won’t allow right now, given the fact that we haven’t even spoken to one another since last night.

Our relationship is definitely changing and it worries me. I’m not some dewy-eyed teenage girl with visions of grandeur about his being my white knight someday. I know my role in his life. It’s not like whatever this is was ever meant to go anywhere. I mean, I still have the knife I stole from the kitchen under my bed. And if I were ever going to finally take my revenge, last night would have definitely been the time.

I guess the heart of what I’ve been trying to figure out is if I’ve changed my mind about him. Maybe I have. And if that’s so, then what the hell am I thinking? I’m not foolish enough to believethat suddenly, he’s going to want to marry me. And even if he did, I’d be a damned idiot to ever accept.

He still killed my father and is responsible for my brother’s death. I’m well within my rights to avenge them. Ishouldavenge them.

So, why is that the last thing I want to do?

Luka throws the plastic bird into the air and it flies off for a few yards. He darts after it, his face turned up to the sky while his golden curls bounce with the movement of his feet. Despite his unusual upbringing, he’s a sweet and thoughtful boy. Nothing like a child raised in a Bratva. Nothing like Adam and I were. Well… I guess he’s not really beenraisedin one. Not like we were. He’s been stowed away in secret.

Titus said that Ignat knows about him, and I wonder what he’s been telling the brotherhood, if anything at all. I know when I go to the park, I’m being watched. Ithinkit’s Ignat doing the watching, but what if it’s not? What if the brotherhood has somehow found out about Luka? Or maybe if they do wonder, maybe they think that he’s mine.

“Did you see that?” Luka shouts as he runs back to me, his toy in hand. “Did you see how far it went?”

“I saw it,” I say. “That was pretty sweet.”

He runs right up to me, out of breath, his face flushed. “Yeah,” he says. “I wish I could show Olivia.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Olivia? The little girl with the pigtails?”

He nods. “I told her about it and she said she wanted to see it fly.” His smile fades a little as he looks down at the toy in hishands. “I can’t bring it to the park, though. Too many trees. If I lose it, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

He sits down next to me, turning the toy over in his hands. “Wish Dad would let me have friends over. Olivia says that her mom sometimes lets her have friends over.”

“Yeah, that’s not exactly possible, kid.”

Luka swings his legs for a few moments before saying, “Maybe you could ask him? He likes you.”

My face flushes and I have to look away. “He tolerates me,” I tell him. “There’s a difference.”

“Nah.” He laughs. “He likes you.”

I just chuckle. I feel like I’m a schoolgirl. “You hungry?”

He nods and his smile returns. I take his hand and we walk back to the house.