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"God, Vee, that was good. So good." He caressed my back. "Are you all right? Did I hurt
you badly?"
"You didn't hurt me and it was amazing." I had tears in my eyes as the wonder of it
all consumed me. That was so incredibly worth the wait.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?"
"Sharing this with me." He sifted his fingers through my hair but stopped abruptly.
"You have paint in your hair," Nikolai said with a laugh.
"Do I?" I reached up to touch the area he played with and encountered the tacky
wetness. "Great."
Nikolai kissed my forehead. "Purple streaks are a good look on you."
"Uh-huh."
"Better you than me."
"You've probably got paint all over your back by now."
He grunted. "As if you could tell with all the ink covering me."
"That's a good point."
He slid down a little and rolled onto his side so he could peer into my eyes. "I truly am
sorry about last night. Can we start over? Wipe the slate clean?"
I pushed up onto my elbow and traced one of the prison tattoos on his neck. "Yes."
"I don't know that we can ever be partners in the way Dimitri and Benny are but I can
try to let you in more. There are some things I can't shouldn't tell you."
"I understand that. Frankly, there are probably things I don't want to know. Just don't
shut me out like you did today."
Nikolai ran his finger over my lower lip. "I won't. I need you now." He kissed me
lovingly. "More than ever."
Chapter Twenty-One
A few hours later, Nikolai made his final tour of the house before heading upstairs to
join Vivian in bed. He deliberately took his time because he wanted to draw out the
anticipation of making love to her again. He hadn't been able to wipe the smile off his
face since they'd emerged from her studio. Their first day as a married couple might have
started off on the wrong foot but it was ending on the right one.
He ducked into the library to survey the piles of wedding gifts. They'd been arriving
for days preceding the wedding and this afternoon he'd had his men bring the remainder
over from Faze. He ran his hands over the colorfully wrapped boxes and thick envelopes.
He didn't much care for the custom of giving such ostentatious gifts to men in his
position but he understood it was a matter of respect.
A bulky wrapped object in the far corner caught his eye. Even from this distance, he
could tell it was a painting. He assumed it was a gift from Yuri because he shared Vivian's
love for art but one glance at the card attached to the gift disabused him of that notion.
His jaw clenched at the sight of boldly scrawled message from Niels Mikkelsen.
Bright stars for the next bright star ~ Niels
He didn't even want to know what obscenely expensive painting the billionaire Dane
had given Vivian as a wedding gift. As he debated whether or not to tear the wrapping
paper for a peek, his cell phone began to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and
answered. "Yes?"
"I'm not interrupting the newlyweds?" Yuri's amusement carried through loud and
clear.
"Not yet," Nikolai replied. "Listen, you need to tell that Danish bastard you hang
around to watch his step."
"Niels?" Yuri sighed loudly. "What has he done now?"
"He sent Vivian a painting as a wedding gift."
"Which painting?"
"I haven't opened it yet."
"He hasn t stopped talking about Vivian's talent since he met her. Knowing his
collection, it's probably a very rare piece." Yuri hesitated. "Don't do anything stupid with
it."
Nikolai glowered at his reflection in the mirror. "I'm not that petty. I don't trust his
motives but that doesn't mean Vivian shouldn't keep and enjoy the painting."
"You're going to need insurance on it. Once Vivian takes a look, have her call me and
I'll send her the name of the agent I use. But, listen, I didn't call to talk business. I've been
thinking about those papers the deacon gave you yesterday."
Nikolai's gut clenched. "What about them?"
"Do you remember the night someone tried to kill Lena by shooting at her in my
backyard?"
It was a phone call he would never forget. "Of course."
"We always assumed it was Jake. We figured that somehow he'd managed to set up a
remotely fired weapon. The shots taken at Lena were too close for comfort but they
weren't the types of shots you'd expect from an expert marksman."
Nikolai remembered Dimitri's theories that they'd all dismissed as something that
belonged in the pages of Ivan's favorite thriller novels. "Where would Jake have gotten a
gun like that?"
"I've been asking myself that same question. There was so much more about that case
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