Page 107 of Brutal Reign

I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face at his bossy concern.

“What’s so funny?” He hooks his foot around my chair leg and drags me closer until we’re side by side. His eyes are soft as they study my face, like he’s cataloging every detail.

“I like this side of you, fussing over me like a bossy mother hen,” I admit. “No one’s done that for me in a long time.”

Pavel reaches across the table and brushes his fingers over my knuckles, his expression growing serious. “I hate that there was no one to care for you in the past, but that’s my job now.” The corner of his mouth lifts. “I’ve never been accused of being a bossy mother hen before, but it’s a lot more polite than some of the other things I’ve been called.”

The waiter arrives with enough food to feed a small army, and I shake my head at the ridiculousness of it all.

Pavel smiles and shrugs. “Have you not noticed how much I can eat? A big man like me has a big appetite.” His gaze turns molten as he adds, “And I can’t wait to eat you again… for dessert.”

I roll my eyes, even as my pulse skips. I don’t protest as he loads my plate with more food than I could possibly eat in a day, because it’s kind of nice to be cared for like this.

“By the way,” he says, taking a sip of water. “The doctor wants to see you every two weeks for the next little while. Just to check your levels, make sure everything’s stabilized.”

“Really? I’ll be going to see Dr. Medvedev? Like, at his office?”

Pavel nods. “He’s the best. If I can’t take you, one of my guards will. But no wearing that sexy-as-fuck hospital gown in front of him.”

I nearly choke on my linguine. “No one in the history of time has ever called a hospital gown sexy-as-fuck, except you.”

He winks. “Take it as a compliment.”

We eat in silence for the next few minutes as his words sink in. Regular appointments at Dr. Medvedev’s office... His office is in the medical district, a public space with multiple entrances and exits. Even with guards, there would be moments I’d be alone. Like in the bathroom or during the exam. It would be perfect cover to slip away and meet Chen.”

This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for, but instead of excitement, I feel... conflicted.

Now, when I picture the quiet life on the coast that I’ve been dreaming of, it feels incomplete, empty. Like I’d be leaving something, or someone, behind.

Through the terrace railing, I watch a family walking down the sidewalk. There’s a father swinging a little girl between him and his wife, all three of them laughing. The little girl looks to be Kin’s age, chattering excitedly to her parents about something. I take a moment to imagine what it would look like if Pavel, Kin, and I were walking together like that.

What would our mornings look like? Pavel making coffee while I help Kin with breakfast, the three of us reading together, swimming, or playing in the garden. Kin showing Pavel his drawings, and Pavel teaching him to throw a ball. Normal things, the kind of life I never dared dream of. Not hiding, not running, not constantly looking over our shoulders. Just living.

Part of my reason for escaping has always been so Kin could have a carefree, normal childhood away from violence and danger. But living in Pavel’s home so far has felt pretty damn normal. Kin loves picking tomatoes with Yarik, playing Mario Kart with Dinara, and making breakfast with Pavel, who has stepped up and made Kin feel like his own.

Because he is.

I’d hoped to finish my degree. Write that book on trailblazing women throughout history.

Do I need to escape to some cottage on the far side of the world to do that, or can I do it right here, with this man beside me?

It means accepting that I’ll always be tethered to his world. But maybe Pavel is worth accepting that fate for.

He lifts a spoonful of something rich and spicy to my lips, his eyes steady on mine as I taste it, watching to see if I like it.

These past few days, since I stopped fighting the pull between us, everything has shifted. The sex is mind-blowing, but it’s the aftermath that destroys me—the way he holds me like I’m precious, like I’m the answer to every question he never knew how to ask.

I’m falling for him.

The realization hits suddenly. I’m falling for the man who destroyed my father’s empire, who forced me into marriage, who represents everything I should despise.

And I have absolutely no clue what to do about it.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-EIGHT

PAVEL