Page 130 of Savage Empire

“Sure did.”

Another whisper. “But she threatened to cut his balls off literally two hours ago?”

Elio makes abahhsound, waving him off. “They were flirting.”

“Eat your pizza, kids,” Cassio says, directing the table in a soft command. “We’ve got boxes to move and if we keep talking, the little ears will need to leave the room.”

He’s such a mediator.

“Good point, husband,” Ana agrees, smirking at him.

“Oh, don’t start with the husband and wife thing, you freaks,” Matteo complains. “I’m trying not to lose my appetite here.”

Ana gives him a scathing look. “How’s Anya, Matteo?”

Dmitri and Ivan both snap their gazes toward my youngest brother, hearing their little sister’s name. Since Jade’s wedding, Anya and Matteo have been granted permission to strike up a virtual friendship. From what I’ve been told, they text nearly every day.

The Morozov brothers are aware, and wary. They’re protective of their vulnerable younger sibling, but Matteo’s presence in the girl’s life has seemed to help her. She’s lightened up, and her depressive states are reportedly less intense as the days go on.

Ana and Jade are under the impression that Matteo and Anya have crushes on one another, and have begun teasing Matteo as a result. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. As long as he doesn’t piss off Dmitri’s father in a detrimental way, who he flirts with is none of my concern.

“She’s fine,” Matteo grunts. “Nicer to me than you are.”

“Poor baby,” Ana drawls, rolling her eyes. “You’ll live.”

Jade giggles at the pair of them, and nudges Rayna with her elbow lightly. “Welcome to the chaos, girl.”

Rayna

I’m exhausted by the time all of the boxes are unpacked. Though there were a ton of hands helping out, I found myself carrying around a baby or a toddler at any given time while working. I was thrilled that the kids all seemed to be fond of me after only a short while of knowing them, but fuck my back hurt after a couple hours of carting them around the house.

Thankfully, there were no real issues with the move in. Yordan apparently already had a room picked out before we arrived, and he had plenty of space for all of his stuff. Me on the other hand, I had the unfortunate realization that my days of having a bedroom all to myself were over.

So far, sharing a space with Apollo isn’t as daunting as I assumed it would be. His bedroom is huge, so big in fact, that I didn’t find myself dreading the situation. His closet fit all of my clothes, and his bed was large enough that we could sleep on either side without touching…if we wanted.

My only complaint thus far, is the lack of color. Though cozy, Apollo’s furnishings are all dark. Black and navy blue bedspread, dark wood floors and matching accents. The lighting is warm and dim, too. It’s a man’s room through and through.

But apparently, Apollo was expecting me to think as much.

“Change whatever you want,” he says suddenly, leaning against the doorframe. We’ve just put away the last of my bath products in the ensuite, but haven’t deigned to return downstairs yet. “Pillows, blankets, furniture. But the mattress stays. It’s customized to keep my back in good condition.”

“I’m sure the mattress is fine.” I shrug. “But are you sure you don’t care what I change? You saw my bedroom before, I’m fond of pink.”

“You could always test it, you know.”

My brows draw in, confused. “Test what?”

“The mattress.” His eyes darken, drawing up and down as he looks at me. “You could test it out.”

Oh.

I swallow, heat crawling up my neck. “How would I do that?”

“Would you like me to show you?”

My stomach flips and my breath catches.

“Didn’t you refer to what we did as premarital debauchery?” I ask, putting a hand on my hip. “You wouldn’t be implying that we should do it again, would you?”