Page 58 of Inked in Devotion

I was still coming down when Kolya stiffened. And my heart slammed into my throat when he spun us around.

His body shielded mine. We were not alone.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Kirill. His voice was amused, but on the edge.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Kolya demanded.

“It’s my property.”

I peeked around Kolya’s massive form to see Kirill nonchalantly heading to the kitchen and opening the cabinets as if he didn’t just walk in on me and Kolya in a full make-out session.

“Wrong fucking answer.” Kolya stalked toward Kirill, who had found what he was looking for.

Vodka. He set the bottle on the counter, found two glasses, and looked at me. “Do you drink?” By this time, Kolya had reached Kirill’s side and was practically snarling at him, but Kirill’s face remained unreadable.

“I could use some alcohol right now.”

Kolya glared at me.

“What? I’m already drinking wine,” I teased. I had a feeling Kolya wanted to resume our make-out session. “I can move on to the harder stuff.”

A slash of a grin broke through Kirill’s bland face.

“Did you have a fight with Lucy?” I asked.

“No.” He filled three glasses. “But she’s not happy with me.” He tossed his phone on the counter, and I could see messages pinging it.

“Why are you here, comrade?” Kolya finally lowered his aggression a notch.

The way Kirill’s icy blue eyes focused on me made me squirm. “You might want to take a sip of that.”

“Oh no,” I whispered. “Something tells me I should, too.” I let the vodka burn down my throat before croaking, “Is Theo okay?”

Kirill chuckled darkly. “That asshole.” He glanced at Kolya. “I should have left the King brothers at your mercy.”

“Wait, what did he do?” What could Theo possibly have done that would drive Kirill to drink?

The door to our cottage opened, and Lucy walked in, looking pissed as a wet hen. Well, she was dripping from the rain.

“Kirill Zahkarov!” she shouted. “How dare you run off in the middle of an argument?”

“The two of you can’t simply walk in here,” Kolya growled. “And lower your voice. Sebastian is sleeping.”

Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth as if she finally remembered there was a toddler in the house. “Sorry.” But her eyes continued to shoot sparks of annoyance at her husband. “Well?”

“I’ll never agree to it,” he told his wife in a tone that spoke of finality.

“It’s not your decision now, is it? It’s Aralina’s.”

“I’m the pakhan of the organization.”

“What does Aralina…?” I trailed off. “Wait…”

“Fuck,” Kolya spat and glared at Lucy. “Please tell me Theo didn’t just suggest marrying Aralina.”

“Marriage between a King and a Zahkarov,” I whispered, echoing the secondary condition in the trust.