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My gaze cuts to him, catching the flex of his jaw. Delight spreads through me. Pissing off Volkov is going to be my lifeline during this year.

He glowers. I smile wider.

“He has a lot more stamina than you’d think,” I continue. “Don’t be fooled by his age. He can go all night .”

I wonder how big his dick is—an unwelcome thought that I swat away fast.

A big, warm hand comes to the back of my neck, gripping firm but not tight, and a rush of heat moves through my body. The biting quip I’m about to say disintegrates. With his hand on my neck like this, I can’t think.

He brings his mouth to my ear. “Behave, Hellfire.”

A shiver runs down my back.

“All I need to do is flash a couple bills from my wallet and the doctor’s all over me,” he tells Darcy, still gripping the back of my neck. “She’s surprisingly good at begging.”

Low in my abdomen, fury clenches. I would never beg, and especially not with him.

I take a deep breath to clear my head, but instead get a deep inhale of his scent, clean and masculine.

“You’re so funny,” I manage, scrambling for control.

With a sweet smile, I give his bad shoulder a playful slap, the one with a metal plate and a handful of pins.

His jaw flexes again like he’s biting back a groan of pain.

“You know what’s also so funny? How much you love being tied up and spanked.

” I give Darcy a knowing look. “It’s always the big tough guys who like to be told what to do, if you know what I mean . ”

His hand squeezes my neck and I get another rush of warmth low in my abdomen. I always choose guys who are laid back, affable, and easy to push around, especially in the bedroom. The last thing I want is someone telling me what to do with my own body.

Darcy looks concerned. “This is a lot of personal information.”

I get the feeling Volkov isn’t interested in being told what to do during sex, though. I don’t know why I’m thinking about this. It doesn’t matter.

Thankfully, his hand drops, and my brain works again.

“But you know what he’s best at?” I stare Volkov down, my mouth curling into a smug grin, thinking about that stiff, awful kiss at our wedding. “Kissing. He’s an incredible kisser.”

I barely hold back the laugh as his eyes flare with irritation.

“Sorry, Darcy.” He turns to her. “My little gniloy kluben loses her filter when she gets horny.”

My smile hardens. “Your what?”

His cold eyes flicker with challenge, fire, and something I’ve never seen before. “It’s Russian for sweetheart .” The corner of his mouth tightens. “It’s an endearment, saved for the ones you love the most.”

“Aw.” Darcy melts. “Alexei. Who knew you were such a teddy bear?”

“Yes.” My eyes narrow. “Who knew?”

His eyes glint with dark amusement. He’s not smiling, his mouth is still a cruel slash across his face, but he looks pleased with himself.

Too pleased.

I don’t believe him, but I’ve already forgotten the words he used so I can’t look them up later.

Darcy gasps, like she just thought of something. “Hawaii.”

The trip to Hawaii this summer with her, Hayden, Hazel, Rory, Pippa, Jamie, and Volkov. The one Darcy pleaded with me to join .

“Oh yeah.” Hayden gives us a cheeky grin, shaking his head. “You guys were hooking up the whole time?”

More like, Volkov glared at me in my swimsuit while I attempted to read fashion magazines at the pool.

I wait, giving Volkov a look like, your turn . He can take a turn being humiliated.

He stares me down. “Yes. Georgia kept sneaking into my bed at night.”

My face burns hot. He wishes.

Darcy gets pulled into a conversation with Rory and Hayden, leaving me alone with Volkov.

“Nice work,” he mutters. “This is going to be more believable if you don’t ramble incoherently.”

My temper flares, hot and angry. “Shut up, Volkov. At least I’m trying. You’re just standing there and letting me do all the work. It’s probably what you’re like in bed.”

“You sure seem interested in what I do in bed. You keep bringing it up.”

Heat washes through me again, and I take a deep, calming breath so my head doesn’t explode. Why does he get under my skin so easily?

Later, when I can’t stand beside my new silent, brooding husband any longer, I pay my tab with Jordan and pull my jacket on.

“You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?” he says at my side, eyes cruel and mocking.

That’s exactly what I was going to do.

“I’ll walk you out.” He grabs his jacket. “I’m leaving, too. Darcy. Owens.” He nods at them. “Congratulations.”

“You too, buddy.” Hayden claps him on the back.

I give them both a hug, whisper my congratulations in Darcy’s ear, before I walk outside, Volkov’s looming presence right behind me .

In the cool autumn air, I can breathe again.

“Hold on,” he says as I start to walk away without a word. He reaches into his pocket and hands me something. “Here.”

It’s a key. Right. We agreed I’d move in on Saturday. I’m already dreading it.

“Did you decide to stow me in the dungeon or the rotting garden shed?” I ask, studying the key.

When my gaze shifts to him, he yanks his gaze up from my mouth. “I could give you the master bedroom and you’d still turn your nose up at it.”

I roll my eyes, tuck the key in my coat pocket, and start to walk away but he catches my sleeve, frowning.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.” I give my sleeve a tug but he doesn’t let go.

His eyes flick down the dark alley. “Take a car.”

Ugh. So controlling. “Jordan and I live three blocks from here.”

He hesitates, something odd in his eyes. Concern, if I didn’t know him better. For a horrifying moment, I think he’s actually going to offer to walk me home.

“Don’t walk through the alleys.” His throat works, eyes moving over my heels. “It’s dark.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Volkov. Learn that rule and this agreement is going to be a breeze.”

This time, when I pull my sleeve from his grip and walk away, he doesn’t stop me, but I feel his gaze on me until I turn the corner.