I barely refrain from stomping my foot like a damn brat. "What if I get out of bed anyway?"
He gives me a look and quirks an eyebrow.
"Do you know exactly what will happen if you get your little ass out of bed?"
"Don'tpatronizeme."
"Don'tdisobeyme."
I throw my hands up in the air. "I don't need to stay in bed all day!"
"And if you step foot out of bed, you won't sit for a fucking week. So maybe make a choice."
A little thrill runs through me.
Why do I like this?
I’m not going to unpack that right now. I’m still trying to sort out the whole cage thing.
"Bed," he says sternly.
"Fine,Daddy," I throw back at him.
Oh fuck. I’m not prepared for that feral look in his eyes.
My heart sings.This, this, HIM.
He picks me up and gives my ass a—kind of—gentle smack. For him.
He doesn't want to hurt me because I’m already in pain. Oh my god, he's so cute. Bossy prick.
"You are so fucking lucky that you're not feeling well right now," he mutters as he carries me back to bed. "I swear to god, I would redden that pretty ass of yours so damn fast.”
"Is that a promise?" I tease, trying to sound sultry, which only earns me an adorable growl.
He lays me back down, and I’m very reluctant to admit that it actually feels really good. Fresh sheets, clean linens, and a thick duvet still warm from the hot water bottle he tucked inside.
I sigh contentedly.
"See? It's not that bad. And I have a couple of other things to keep you busy too. First, Rafail has a job for you."
He grabs the huge tablet, rifles through a couple of apps, and taps one.
“See this? You can help. Yana is going to walk straight into Interpol and erase every shred of evidence they have on us.”
I blink. “I’m sorry, she’s doingwhat?”
Matvei doesn’t even look up. “You heard me. They’ve got files—names, locations, transactions. Your picture. It’s bad. Yana is the only one who can get inside without raising alarms, with your help.”
I stare at the screen, the official database pulled up in front of me. “And how does she plan on doing this?”
“That’s whereyoucome in, of course. She needs an airtight cover—new credentials, backstory, access to codes. You’re going to make her disappear into the system.”
I exhale, already calculating the layers of forgery I’ll need to pull this off. “And if she gets caught?”
His expression darkens, and my heart thumps. “She won’t.”
Okay, alright.
