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"?????????????? ????????"

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I let out a deep content sigh, staring out at the distant city we were approaching.

The water underneath the yacht was smoother with less waves, practically lulling me into a deeper calmness.

Even if I was beyond ready to be back on land.

And in Moscow.

I miss the harsh cold weather and the organized city.

It felt a little less organized here.

"Done with your call?" I said, immediately glancing over to Sevan who approached me.

"Yeah," she murmured, running her hand up my back to grip my neck, "Don't pretend to miss me too much."

I lazily raised my brows, "I would have to pretend," I mumbled, knowing I didn't miss her.

I was perfectly content standing here alone.

"Then pretend," Sevan purposely said, which earned an eye roll from me.

"I couldn't if I wanted to," I countered, glancing over to meet her dark eyes, especially when she applied pressure to my neck, "And I'll never want to."

Sevan's lips only twitched up in amusement, "Right," she murmured, almost mocking me in the process.

I hummed almost forcefully when she briefly glanced down to my lips.

And instead of normally leaning in, she glanced back up to meet my stare.

"Maybe if you missed me enough I would give you something in return," Sevan purposely said, raising a brow at me.

I tilted my head slightly, "And what if I want to give you something instead?" I countered back, briefly glancing down to her lips.

Only on purpose.

I wanted a reaction out of her.

Something I didn't manage to fucking get.

Sevan looked irritatingly unaffected.

"Let's see how you feel in a few days," Sevan murmured, never once glancing away from my stare.

I hummed, finding her assumption to be almost amusing.

"Let's see then," I countered back almost in challenge.

Sevan only smirked in response, briefly glancing past me, "There's a car waiting to take you to the tarmac," she told me, glancing back over to meet my stare.

I nodded once, realizing we had already docked in Bogotà, "Good," I mumbled, unsure of if I should walk away yet.

Mostly because... I expect kiss from her?

Sevan tilted her head slightly, noticing my brief line of sight, "Do you want a goodbye kiss, Zinovia?" she purposely asked me.

I rolled my eyes, immediately taking a step back from her, "Nyet," I said, correcting my posture.

Sevan only shook her head as she eyed my face for a moment, still noticing the fact that I was fucking lingering.

Fuck this.

I suddenly took another step back to turn around.

But Sevan grabbed my waist before I could, swiftly pulling me back to her.

"You're so fucking stubborn," Sevan said as she grabbed my neck with her other hand to hold me in place.

And before I knew it, her lips were pressed to mine, naturally making my head tilt back for more.

Sevan hummed as soon as I slid my tongue past her lips, gripping my neck tighter and tugging my waist further into her body.

I arched deeper into her in response, running my hands up her arms and wrapping them around her neck.

And suddenly, I could feel this heat blooming around me.

And all I could feel was fucking needy, something only Sevan brought out of me.

I let out a breathless sigh as soon as Sevan pulled back from me slightly.

And I couldn't help but unconsciously pull her back in by her neck, clearly wanting more.

Which earned an amused look from Sevan, who glanced up to meet my eyes.

"Now do you want a goodbye kiss?" Sevan purposely asked me, barely grazing her lips against mine.

But as soon as I leaned in to close the space, she pulled back slightly—earning an irritated sigh from me.

"You are very annoying," I mumbled, wanting to pull away entirely to prove a point.

But I fucking couldn't.

I could only remain still in her arms.

"You want a goodbye kiss, Zinovia," she said again, this time less of a question and more of a statement.

I drew in a deep breath as I stared up at her dark eyes.

Until I let out a reluctant sigh, "Da," I mumbled tightly, hating that I was even fucking admitting it.

Sevan hummed immediately in approval, "See that wasn't so hard baby," she said, leaning back down to press her lips to mine.

And I decided to ignore what I just fucking admitted and kissed her back.

This time Sevan slid her tongue into my mouth, taking control of the kiss.

And I let her.

I let her press me back against the railing and tilted my head further back to take what she was giving me.

Which was something I previously admitted I wanted.

"I'll see you in a few days," Sevan murmured, briefly kissing my lips again.

"Da, a few days," I whispered back as she kissed my lips again.

And then again.

Before finally pulling away from me.

But I couldn't help the annoying laugh that escaped my lips when she leaned back in for yet another kiss.

"Sevan," I said, pushing at her stomach even if the last thing I wanted was for her to step back.

"I like it when you laugh," Sevan murmured bluntly as she continued pressing brief kisses to my lips.

"I hate it," I countered back, shaking my head when she began trailing kisses down my neck.

Sevan hummed in disapproval, "It's too pretty to hate," she said, pressing one last kiss to my skin before pulling away from me entirely.

But I felt a little taken aback by her genuine words, unsure of what to counter them with.

One might say I was speechless.

And then I would cut their tongue out for pointing out so.

"I... I leave," I suddenly said, furrowing my brows at the fact that I had stumbled over my words.

Sevan raised a brow, remaining silent for a moment as she openly analyzed my face.

Which left a deep silence between us.

Until she finally nodded once, silently backing away from me so I could walk past her.

Which I didn't hesitate to do, suddenly wanting to be as far away from her as I could.

Mostly because it irritates me that she held the power of leaving me speechless.

Which was something I thought about during the long car ride to the tarmac.

Although, the beautiful countryside and winding roads were hard to admire with Sevan weighing my thoughts down.

All I could do was count down each fucking second of every minute.

Until I was finally walking onto the empty private plane—

And grabbing the nearest bottle of vodka.

Given the length of this flight, I planned to have a few glasses and get as much rest as I could before we landed in Moscow early tomorrow morning.

Then I get to see what trouble conspired while I had been gone.

???????

Moscow was just as I left it.

The air was colder than ever, thick snowy flurries blowing with the harsh wind.

As I stepped off the plane, the morning air was almost like a shock to my system—practically knocking the wind out of me.

On any other occasion, I would've felt reminiscent.

Happy even.

Yet part of me wanted to climb back into that plane where the warmth from Colombia still lingered.

Weird.

I didn't give the desire further thought as I tugged my fur coat tighter to my body, descending the stairs of the private plane.

Luckily I had time to change into a Chanel top and a skirt with stockings, pairing it with one of my usual furs.

My stilettos clicked against the pavement as I approached the line of SUVs, their headlights glistening through the thick fog.

Nikolai slid out of one of the SUVs first, nodding me over as I approached him.

"Via," he greeted me with his usual flashy smile.

I only nodded in response, "Kol," I said, awkwardly nudging his arm as a way to show some sort of affection.

It was something I wouldn't normally do.

Which made Nikolai tilt his head at me, clearly as surprised as I was at the initiated contact.

But since I decided to ignore it—so did Nikolai.

As expected Arina was buckled in the seat closest to the window, looking at me with nothing but irritation.

I was previously informed that we were dropping her off at Petrosky's Institute on the way back to the compound.

"Someone's excited to see me," I purposely said, getting settled in my seat as Nikolai slid in beside me.

"I was wishing your plane would crash," Arina said bluntly, which naturally made me grow amused, feeling my chest weirdly tighten.

I think I missed this?

"I would've preferred it crash if it meant not seeing you," I countered back, feeling the car slowly roll forward and follow behind the other SUVs.

Arina only rolled her eyes in response, "I think I am excited about school for once," she mumbled, leaning against the door away from me, "Anywhere away from you."

I hummed in approval, "Da, I hope you have very long day," I said, feeling my lips twitch up as I relaxed against the leather seat.

Arina only hummed tightly, suddenly meeting my stare, "Where were you?" she questioned almost purposely.

I could tell by the way she was eyeing me with a knowing look.

"Handling business," I said, suddenly feeling my defensive walls shoot up.

Especially with Arina raising a sharp brow, "I assume this business won't be discussed?" she asked, her tone as smart as ever.

I lazily raised my brows, "Not with children," I emphasized, now turning my attention to the front of the car, "Now be quiet, you are giving me headache," I lied, trying to keep her questions far at bay.

"You give me worse headache," Arina said back, clearly trying to hold the last word.

And for once, I let her—deciding to be silent beside Nikolai for the entire ten-minute drive to Petrovsky's.

Once we arrived, Arina didn't spare us nothing but a slammed door after she hopped down from the SUV and walked off into the sea of students dressed in plaid attire.

It was barely silent for a few seconds between Nikolai and me until he decided to say—

"I should inform you of Nerissa."

My ears perked up immediately, feeling somewhat curious about what Mireya had done.

"Go on," I murmured, not bothering to glance away from the front of the car.

"She's been marked—The Fixer apparently paid her a visit," Nikolai went to explain, causing my stare to naturally divert and meet his dark eyes, "No one has laid eyes on her since."

I hummed almost in approval, "Good," I determined, knowing Mireya was probably only torturing her.

Killing her is deemed too easy of a let-off in our world.

"Very good for you," Nikolai said, tilting his head slightly as his eyes analyzed my face for a moment, "You make good connections—The Fixer is valuable ally."

I nodded almost reluctantly, knowing I still didn't like Mireya.

But she performed well with Nerissa.

So long as she lets that nickname go, perhaps we could be cordial.

"Very valuable," I mumbled, glancing down when my phone buzzed once.

And almost immediately, I decided to slide over into the seat Arina had once sat in, subtly moving away from Nikolai to open the text I received.

Mostly because I knew who the text was from.

And I was right.

I clenched my jaw to fight back the amusement threatening to show on my face.

Even if Nikolai seemed to be busy on his own phone now, I didn't want to risk visibly reacting to her text.

Especially as I typed up my response that challenged everything she stood for.

I felt a sense of satisfaction grow inside of me as I watched the typing bubbles appear.

Before her text buzzed through.

Two texts actually.

I clenched my jaw yet again, mostly from her challenge, but also because—

I liked it.

Especially the familiar fire burning in my lower stomach, typing up my response back to her.