Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“What?” Ania snaps, her cheeks turning so red I’m sure I can see it through her pale, otherworldly makeup. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Whoa, Ania, I just—”
“No, no. Why? Why say that? Look at you!” She grabs my shoulders and turns me to face the tall mirror, not the vanity unit. “Your hair is thick and shiny in a beautiful way. Your figure is classic, like how people used to think of beauty. You’re full-bodied. Don’t put yourself down, please.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” I say, touching her hand. She sounds like she might cry.
“I’m sorry,” she counters, shaking her head. “Body-image stuff is so ugh.”
“Okay, then, Miss Positive. Show me how it’s done.”
I mean this to make the tone light and fun again. Yet when Ania looks at herself, looking so pretty, like a dainty, beautiful fairy, her lips turn downward, and she sighs. Then she smirks at me. “Do as I say, not as I do, okay?”
“No, that’s not okay,” I say, then take her shoulders and make her stare at the mirror. “Go on. Compliment yourself.”
She swallows. “Lia…”
“No, I mean it.”
She purses her lips, then says, “That girl looks like she’s one hell of a ballerina.”
I laugh. “Okay, I’ll take it.”
“Shall we go?”
Together, we leave the room and walk down the hallway. Walking past the gold-framed paintings and the centuries-old-looking décor still feels weird. Dimitri and Mikhail are waiting for us in the main sitting room. Dimitri is standing at the fireplace, turning when he hears us. He looks dashing in his dark blue suit, his piercing eyes fixating on me, his strong jawline going tight as he studies me.
“Where’s Mila?” Mikhail asks, already confirming the obvious, but Dimitri doesn’t react. He just keeps staring at me.
“She said she was going to wait,” Ania mutters. “She never said where…”
Mikhail looks like he’s about to leave, but then he pauses as if remembering that he’s just supposed to be her… her what? Partner-in-hacking? Friend?
“Want me to check on her, Dimitri?” he says, making his voice casual.
“Sure,” Dimitri mutters, then he smiles tightly at Ania. “Sorry to abandon you, sis, but do you mind if I talk to Lia alone for a second?”
“Sure,” Ania says, shrugging. “But I ain’t leaving.”
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t dare ask you to.”
Dimitri gently takes my arm and leads me into the hallway. As soon as we’re out of sight, he kisses me hard, making me gasp and hunger for more. I wrap my arms around him, squeezing through his expensive jacket and feeling the solid power beneath.
“That wasn’t why I brought you out here,” he says huskily.
“No?”
“It’s time you knew the full extent of the plan.”
I take a breath, nodding. “I’m ready.”
Before he can tell me, his cell phone rings. “Sorry.” He takes it out and answers. “Right.”
Hanging up, he says, “Security is delayed slightly. Apparently, a flat tire needs changing.”
“What about the plan?” I ask.
He sighs darkly. “Okay, Lia, but you won’t like it.”
CHAPTER 23
DIMITRI
“How much longer?” Ania asks, standing anxiously at the window.
“Not too long,” I tell her as she rubs her hands together, her shoulders tight. Social events always make her nervous. Ania’s never been as good as me at just blocking off the world. Or as good as I was before I found my Lia.
“All this just to change a tire,” Ania huffs.
I’m glad she’s facing away from me, but Lia sees the face I make. She tilts her head at me, a question in her eyes. Just looking at her is enough to get my mouth watering like a goddamn hungry animal. It’s the way the blush in her cheeks matches the red of her dress, the slit of the fabric showing a tempting, thick glimpse of her thigh.
Lia gives me a look, nodding toward the hallway.
“More private conversations?” Ania says dryly as we stand up. “Anybody would think there’s a secret romance going on. One or two, anyway.”
“One or two?” I say. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ania turns to me, giving me a look. “Really?”
It takes me a moment, but I guess she’s talking about Mikhail. I find the idea a little difficult to accept. I’ve seen Mila giving him looks, but nothing from my baby brother. When he left, he asked me if he should go. He’s trying to be a good second.
Walking into the hallway, I ask Lia, “What do you think?”
“That you’re hiding something.”
“No, about what Ania said. About Mikhail and Mila.”
“I don’t know. Mila’s hard to read. She’s also… Well, she’s nice. I like her, but I don’t think she’d want us talking about this. She’s already super stressed.”
I wonder if Lia’s covering for her, but is there anything to cover?
“What’s taking so long?” she says after a pause. “When Ania asked you, you looked almost concerned.”
“Painted quite the picture, did it?”
“Okay, cornball, but seriously…”