Chapter 25
LEANNA
I’m rather pleased with myself. Despite the ick of knowing the personal shopper probably slept with my dad, I owe her a debt of gratitude for this outfit.
Because Nikolai was seething all day.
I won’t lie—it was beyond satisfying to watch. His scowl deepened with every passing hour, his fists clenched like he was seconds away from breaking someone’s jaw.
Whenever he was called on to speak, he seemed distracted. His words were there, but his focus wasn’t. His eyes always found mine. That feral, burning gaze made my skin tingle every single time.
His barely contained rage and desire became my twisted kind of entertainment. Watching him simmer distracted me from the room full of other men, all leering and calculating.
Without this battle of wills with Nik, I would have been lost in my own overthinking, counting the minutes until I could escape, far away from all of this.
When I return to the room to change for dinner, Nik is conspicuously absent. His things are untouched, exactly as he left them this morning. Which means he hasn’t been back.
There’s a twisting anticipation in my gut at the thought of what will happen tonight, when we both have to be here to sleep.
But there’s no time to dwell on it now yet.
I slip into a soft, gold dress that skims my skin. The fabric clings in all the right places, the thin straps are barely there, and the cowl neckline dips low to show just enough cleavage.
It’s a dress that will turn heads. And even before I step out, I can almost feel the electricity it will ignite in the room.
Only one pair of eyes matters, of course.
The slit runs high, all the way to the top of my thigh, and I slip back into the same gold heels I wore earlier. It’s a black-tie event, so that I won’t be overdressed. But still, this feels different.
I’ve never made a priority of showing off my body. I have curves—heavy breasts, shapely hips. I’m fit, with a flat belly and toned arms and legs, but I’m no skinny girl. In our world, leering men are a given, so I’ve always covered myself, hiding in clothes that keep attention at bay.
But with Nik… everything changed.
He made me love my body. Taught me what feels good and how to use it to give pleasure. No matter what happens between Nikolai Ivanov and me, I’ll always owe him that confidence. Space to explore. The freedom to test limits and lean into fantasies I didn’t even know I wanted.
And I’ll thank him, too, for never judging the hesitation, the insecurity, the darker corners of me.
My phone buzzes, cutting into my thoughts. I grin when I see Maria’s name. I’ve been meaning to call her, but… well, life just got in the way.
“Hey, Maria!” I answer.
“Lea! Finally! How are you? You’ve been ghosting me.” Her tone is half-teasing, half-concerned, and I can’t help laughing.
“I know, I know. I’ve been… busy,” I say, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“Busy how? Work? School? Or are you finally out there having a little fun without me?”
I chuckle. “Maybe a little of both. Actually… I attended the Commission today.”
“The Commission? Like, the Commission? That sounds… intense.”
“It is. And… I saw him.”
Her pause on the other end is palpable. “Him? Who him? Wait, don’t tell me—”
“The man from Ahren. The one in the mask.”
“Ohhh, wait… hold on. The humming guy?”
I bite back a laugh, the memory crawling unbidden up my spine. “Yep. The exact same. You know, the one I… had an orgasm humming on a dare.”
Her snort makes me grin even wider. “Lea! You are evil.”
I can’t argue with that. He’s the man I can’t stop thinking about, and just seeing him across the Commission hall earlier made my heart race like a damn drumline.
“So, what did you do? Did you talk to him?” Her curiosity drips through the phone, and I nearly laugh out loud.
“Just… saw him from across the room. That was enough for today.” I bend the truth a little. “Anyway, I have to run to dinner. I’ll fill you in later, I promise.”
“You’d better. Don’t leave me hanging like this!”
“I won’t. Later, Maria.”
“Later, Leanna. And… try not to melt the floor while you’re at it.”
I laugh again, rolling my eyes.
Yeah, no promises there.
Tonight’s event is reserved for the highest-ranking among us only, no low-level criminals. No drug-runners. No sex traffickers. Of course, excluding myself, everyone in here is somehow involved in those activities.
Still, appearances matter. Most keep their hands clean enough to pass in polite society. Plausible deniability is survival if the law ever gets too close.
I step into the private dining room and spot my brother almost immediately. Ezra.
He’s in a tux, sharp and composed, and for a moment it takes me off guard at how much he looks like our father.
Elegant, polished, hair swept neatly back from his face. Wavy, glossy. The same poise, the same effortless command. His aquiline nose and dark eyes seal the resemblance, unmistakably Italian.
My father is a nice-looking man, for sure, but my brother has a little bit of my mother in him as well, his lips fuller than my father’s
“Sister,” he says, nodding as I approach. “Get you a drink?”
I nod. “A white wine, please.”
He turns to the bar and orders a house white, then turns back to me a moment later, handing me the drink.
“You look nice,” I say.
“You look…like you need to put on a coat.”
I give him a look.
“What?” he asks with a chuckle. “I now have the added duty of protecting your virtue all night. Thanks for that, asshole.”
I slap his arm. “My virtue is fine, intact.”
His eyes narrow at me. “Seriously?”
I shrug. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
He sucks on his bottom lip, heavy brows knitting together in the middle of his forehead as he thinks. “Interesting.”
“What is?”
“Vince has other theories.”
“Well, Vince can go jump off a bridge. He doesn’t know a thing about me, and I don’t want him to, so don’t tell him.”
An awkward silence follows, and I can’t handle my curiosity.
“What are his theories?” I ask.
He shakes his head, takes a sip of whatever amber-colored liquor he’s drinking. “It doesn’t matter.”
But there’s something in the set of his shoulders, something in the way he won’t meet my eyes. I look around to see where his gaze lands and find Vince across the room, looking like the psychopath he is.
It’s early in the night, and he should look poised and put together like Ezra.
But Vince… Vince has curly hair, inherited from Mom’s side, a head of wild curls that never quite obeys. Tonight, those curls are unruly, spilling every which way, like he didn’t even bother to tame them.
His tuxedo shirt is unbuttoned at the top, his tie hanging loose around his collar.
And that grin.
God, that grin makes my blood run cold.
He lifts his glass toward me, eyes glinting with mischief and challenge, and I can feel it all the way down to my core.
“What. The. Fuck.” I breathe quietly. Then, so Ezra can hear me, I ask, “How much has he had to drink already?”
“A fair amount,” Ezra admits, his jaw tight. “And he’s been looking forward to this.”
“Looking forward to what?” I ask, suspicion tightening in my chest.
Ezra sighs. “Seeing how you handle yourself tonight. You’re the heir apparent, Leanna.”
I blink at him. “So…none of this is a surprise?”
“Not at all, and I’m fine,” Ezra says. “But Vince is…”
“Fuck,” I say.
“Yeah. Just…be careful.”
I want to tell him to maybe have my back for once. He’s always been easier to deal with than Vince, who’s always been jealous, violent, and power hungry. But he’s also always let Vince bully me. He’s never stepped in to stop him.
Before I can respond to his warning, a young man approaches us. He’s tall and lanky. A flop of dark hair falls onto his forehead.
“I’m Trace Webster,” he says, holding out a hand for me to shake.
“Oh,” I say, shaking his hand. “I’m Leanna. This is my brother Ezra.”
“I know who you are,” he says, addressing me and ignoring Ezra.
Of course he does. He’s in the dossier my father prepared for me. One of my potential matches. Barf.
“I thought maybe I could request your first dance tonight, after dinner? I figure there will be a long line, so I wanted to be the first to ask.”
I can’t help but smile at him. There’s an earnest quality to the question that pleases me. I’m in no way interested, but I do know that the act of dancing with another man is likely to incense Nikolai even further, so I accept and tell him to find me once the band starts.
“What a nerd,” my brother comments.
“He seems…Nice,” I say.