Page 39 of Rise of the Queen
“Why?”
“Because I knew you were fond of him and that he’d always watched over you when you lived at your apartment,” I said, smiling at her confusion.
“You did that? Really?”
“Of course, solnishko. It would make you very unhappy if something were to happen to him. I’d like to prevent that.”
Her beautiful smile crept across her face. “I love you,” she sighed as she put her head on my shoulder.
“I think it’s worth calling Henry. I can take the files on the police chiefs back down to him so we know who the second one is that met with the mayor. If Henry is trying to build a case against the mayor, he’s not going to get very far if those two know everything,” Ivan said.
“Find out who the second one is. I want to know what areas they’re in too, along with any other information we have on them. Then I’ll call Henry,” I said.
Ivan nodded. Both he and Andrei stood up, walking out of the office to gather the information. Sephie was fidgeting with my collar, her fingers lightly running up and down my neck. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back, enjoying a moment with her.
“Long day?” she asked.
“Not bad. Just stressed. The information we got from Battista so far doesn’t make me happy. I’m still irritated about that whole meeting, but most importantly, I’m worried about you.”
“Why? I’m okay,” she said, lifting her head from my shoulder so she could look at me.
“Mostly. I know you’re fighting sleeping. It’s starting to show.”
Her brow furrowed. “Did I do something? Did I zone out again?”
I chuckled. “No, love. You’re just darker. Your light dims when you’re exhausted. It’s becoming visible. At least to me.”
She leaned her head back on my shoulder. “Maybe I am a little tired,” she said, her fingers returning to my neck.
“Which is why you should stop fighting sleeping in,” I said, holding her tighter.
“You’re not the boss of me,” she said, as she snuggled in closer to me. I heard her giggle softly.
The guys came back to the office a short time later. Sephie was still in my lap, lazily talking about random things. When they walked in, she realized what time it was and went to get up. “I should go upstairs. I’m hungry. I’m sure you’re all hungry too.”
Viktor smiled his sweet smile that was reserved only for her. “Sephie, I already ordered food. You’re tired. You need a break from taking care of us.”
“Told you,” I said, pulling her back to me.
“I don’t know how I feel about you all having such excellent observation skills now,” she said, resting her head on my shoulder once more.
“It’s your fault. You only have yourself to blame, gazelle. You brought it out of us,” Misha said, trying to be serious, but failing miserably.
“Accountable,” she said, giggling at him without even looking at him.
When I woke the following morning, Sephie was curled up next to me under the covers. I pulled her back against me, but she didn’t move.Finally.Instead of trying to wake her up, I kissed the back of her shoulder and got out of bed as quietly as I could. I was worried that she would start to shake once I left, so I stayed close. Luckily, she was wearing pants for once as she was cold last night when we went to bed, so I could move her to one of the guys if needed.
I took the quickest shower possible and got dressed. I didn’t hear her talking, but when I walked back to the bed, I could see her shaking. It wasn’t bad yet, but she was just starting to mumble as well. A quick text to Andrei and I scooped her up, carrying her to the couch.
It didn’t take long for Andrei to come upstairs. He stretched out on the couch, happy he could sleep a little longer too. “I’m so happy she finally did this. I’m so fucking tired,” he said.
I raised my eyebrow at him as I laid her next to him. “More so than usual?” I asked.
He nodded his head. “Feels like I got run over by a bus. It started after we were at the hotel. I haven’t recovered yet.”
That made sense. “New level for you. It always makes her extra tired. Same thing happened to Misha. The only one I haven’t seen it affect yet is Ivan,” I said. As soon as Sephie was lying next to Andrei, her body started to relax and she curled up next to him. She hugged his arm as he tucked the blanket in around her. It was, in short, adorable. Even if I was jealous that he got to stay with her and not me. “She’s likely going to sleep until noon, so take advantage of it. I’ll keep everyone as quiet as possible,” I said. Andrei just nodded his head, looking grateful.
I motioned for the other guys to be quiet when they walked in. Aleksei and Vitaliy walked out of their rooms at the same time. No one had seen Andrei on the couch with Sephie yet.