Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Katarina
The dress is as perfect as the one from the night before.
Outside, the final rays of the sun set, filling the room with a rosy glow.
I turn in the fitted black fabric, looking at the back. My skin is exposed all the way down to my mid back, the spaghetti straps snake along the sides, leaving most of the skin exposed. A few scars peak out, but hopefully the lighting will be dim.
My hair is styled in a simple twist that looks elegant and glossy, while my makeup is the perfect combination of effortless and sultry.
To be clear, I didn’t create either the updo or the makeup artistry. A team came in this afternoon to help with my transformation.
But now, I could almost pass for the kind of woman who belongs on Win’s arm. I’m not doing that whole self-deprecating thing, where I say I’m not good enough while secretly hoping that I am.
Win is the kind of man that the most accomplished woman in the world would struggle to hold.
Tonight, I at least look the part.
I take one last look at my smokey eyes and touch a finger to the corner of my glossy lips, making certain they’re perfect.
I turn back to the bed to retrieve my clutch.
As I turn, I catch sight of Rebecca’s pashmina folded in the Queen Anne chair that decorates the corner of the room.
My stomach swoops the slightest bit to see it.
There was one woman who won the heart of the most powerful and elusive man on planet Earth. Rebecca.
Pulling my shoulders straighter, I leave the room, making my way to the stairs.
As I round the corner and reach the top, I spot Win waiting at the bottom.
His hands are crossed in front of him, his tuxedo impeccable.
For a moment, my breath catches, and I stop, for just a second, to drink him in. It should be a sin to look that good.
“Kitten,” he rumbles as his eyes glide up my body. It heats everywhere his gaze touches.
“It’s kitten again, is it?” I purr, starting down the stairs. I might be giving my hips a little extra sway. “This morning it was all business.”
One corner of his mouth quirks up. “You look stunning.” He lifts a hand to me, his gaze locked on mine.
When I reach the second to last step, I take it, letting him guide me the rest of the way down the stairs.
He moves my hand to his other, then slides his free palm down the small of my back. It’s intimate and the feel of his skin on mine makes my skin break out in goose pimples. Drawing a ragged breath, I know I’ve got to add a little distance between us.
Win is playing me like a fiddle. “You said you needed a companion tonight. May I ask why?”
“It’s an event for orphans.”
“Right,” I answer, pressing my lips together. While his explanation doesn’t really explain much, I think I get it. Charity events for orphans is a softer kind of cause and so having a woman on his arm makes sense.
It’s further proof that Win never missteps, he’s always aligning himself for the perfect presentation.
He starts leading me toward the door, but stops before we reach it, the butler appearing with black fabric draped over his arm. He hands the garment to Win, who lets me go to unfurl the fabric, before he drapes it over my shoulders.
My brows notch up. “What’s this for?”
“It’s breezy tonight.”
“I’m Russian. Cold doesn’t bother me.” But I pull the fabric a bit tighter around my shoulders. It’s the kind of soft that makes me want to sigh.
Win’s hand comes back to my back. “Humor me.”
We make our way outside, where, the breeze is in fact, crisp and cool. “It’s barely September,” I remark, his hand taking mine as he starts down the large granite steps.
“Welcome to England.”
The driver opens the door to the stately sedan, and Win helps me into the back seat, before he moves around to the other side.
“When we arrive—”
“You’ll exit first,” I cut him off. “I know.”
“Did your father send you to finishing school?”
“He had finishing school brought to me. But yes. I’ve been trained.”
Win nods. “I thought so. But I am curious as to why.”
“Is this where we begin our strategy discussion?”
“Sure. Yes.” He leans back in his seat as the car begins down the long drive.
My eyes narrow. In the dark interior of the car, I can’t tell exactly, but the word “sure” has my senses tingling. Win is not prone to using unnecessary words. He hardly uses necessary ones. “Don’t insult me with indulgence.”
That makes him smile. And then he gives a small chuckle. “You are the only woman I have ever met who doesn’t wish to be indulged.”
“Let me be clear. Drip me in diamonds, bathe me in champagne. Feel free to tell me I’m beautiful as often as you like, and…” I stop before I add something about the number of orgasms I’d like for him to provide. “But when it comes to my father, I only want cold, hard truths.”
He looks over at me, his eyes shadowed. “Why did he prepare you to be a wife?”
“Because,” I huff, “his vanity would be most satisfied if I married a man of noble descent.”
“Is that why he made the arrangement with Ryker?”
“It’s one of the reasons. Yes.”
Win settles back in his seat. “The other?”
“It made good business sense. At least that’s what my brother, Dimitri, has intimated.”
Win nods. “I’ll speak to Dimitri in more detail tomorrow.”
“Do you talk to my brother often?”
“I like your brother a great deal. We have more in common than any man I’ve met for a long time.”
“Besties?”
“Please.” He scowls at me.
I smile in return. “Does he know that I’m here with you?”
Win turns straight ahead. “No. Not yet.”
My eyes narrow. “Why is that?” I shiver despite my wrap and the heat of the car.
His face loses all emotion. “You promised me that you’d tell me your father’s greatest weakness today.”
“I told you I’d tell you a weakness, which I already have.” I cross my arms. “Answer my question.”
“What weakness?”
“His vanity.” I’m not telling the whole truth. My father lets his emotions rule him. His anger, his need for validation, his desire to be important. Any one of them could be used to cause him to misstep.
“Ah yes. But one might argue that it’s good business to tie his daughter to a man of influence and power.”
“One might.” I’m not saying anything else until Win answers my question.
He glances over at me again, then lets out a long slow breath. “You won’t explain.”
“You first.”
Lifting his hand, he rubs the bridge of his nose. “Must you be so difficult?”
“And you’re just a peach.”
He drops his hand again. “The less people who know you’re here, the less likely your father unexpectedly discovers your whereabouts.”
“My brother isn’t leaking information to my father.”
Win shrugs. “Ryker is attempting to keep relations strong with Dimitri while he closes all the casino deals.”
I suck in a breath. “You want Dimitri to think I just ran. It makes Ryker look innocent, and not like the scheming piece of shit—”
“That is my brother’s plan. Not mine.”
“What’s yours?”
He looks at me. “To learn everything I can about your father. Addresses, business practices, weaknesses.”
I nip at my lip, because I now understand why I’m here. “All right. So you want information from me. But how do I get my revenge? What’s my part in taking down my father?”
Win looks forward again. “Undecided.”
He better not be. I’m only here because I think it increases my chances of success. “That’s not good enough, Your Grace.”
“It’s going to have to be, kitten.”
I open my mouth to tell him he’d better make a few more promises, when the car stops in a line of cars.
They are all queued to drop their occupants in front of a stately looking nautical building. “Museum?” We’re in Dover, the building is perched on the cliffs that face the French coast. It’s an unlikely place for such an event.
“That’s right.”
“This museum is where they’re having a charity for orphans?” That feeling that something isn’t right sparks down my body again. “Are you sure it’s not a fundraising program for smugglers or sailors, or the French revolution?”
“You know your English history.”
His answer is no answer at all. But this time I don’t press, because there are moments when a person senses danger and it’s best to remain quiet and listen.
But one thing is certain.
Something isn’t right.