I can’t help but laugh, holding on tighter as we move together. The sensation of his hard body pressed against mine, the raw strength it takes to do this, sends a thrill through me.
From the corner of my eye, I see Milana approaching Dmitri. She’s smiling shyly, playing the part perfectly. She says something that makes him laugh and turn fully toward her, completely distracted.
While they talk, I watch her hand slip subtly into his pocket and retrieve his phone, sliding it into the pocket of her kimono with surprising smoothness. He's too distracted to notice.
I bite back a smile of relief.
Maxim finishes his set and lowers us both down. I slide off him, breathless even though I did nothing but hold on.
He pulls me in for a deep kiss, his hands gripping my waist possessively. “Want to do another rep?”
What? Doesn't this man get tired? I'm tempted to remain pressed against him but I need to get that phone from Milana before Dmitri figures out it's missing.
“I’ll leave you to it,” I murmur against his lips, pulling back with a playful smile. “I’m going to get some lemonade from the sunroom.”
He squeezes my ass before letting me go. I can feel his heated gaze burning into my back as I walk away.
I signal to Milana, who whispers something in Dmitri’s ear before following me. To keep up the act, I shoot Dmitri a warning glare with no real heat behind it. He raises both hands in surrender, as if to say he did nothing wrong.
We both step into the sunroom, and the moment the door clicks shut behind us, she lets out a shaky breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“I got it,” she whispers.
She reaches into the pocket of her kimono and pulls out Dmitri’s phone, holding it like it might burn her. “Here. Take it before I change my mind.”
I grab it, my hands slightly trembling. Through the glass walls of the sunroom, I can see the men still working out by the pool, but they can’t see inside clearly because of the reflective tint.
“You did good Mil, thank you.”
Milana looks at me with wide eyes. “What now?”
The phone is locked so I can't access anything in it. I worry my lip as another idea forms in my mind.
“You’re going to take this back to the house,” I tell her, keeping my voice low. “Give it to our family’s hacker. Have him go through everything, messages, emails, call logs. Anything that might show if Dmitri is working against us.”
She stares at me like I’ve gone mad. “What? The second I walk out of here with this phone, Dmitri is going to notice it’s missing. How am I supposed to explain that?”
“He won’t suspect you,” I say quickly. “You’re the last person he’d think took it. I’ll switch it off. Just get it to the hacker. We need to know if he’s communicating with Adrian or anyone suspicious.”
Milana still looks unsure, shifting nervously. “This is risky, Calina. What if we’re wrong? What if he really was just making a work call?”
“I know it’s risky,” I admit. “But I have the feeling that he might be doing something shady.”
She lets out a frustrated breath. “God, Calina.”
I squeeze her hand. “Just do your part. Go back out there, act normal. After a while, say Artyom called and you need to leave urgently. I’ll handle the rest.”
Milana hesitates for another second, then nods reluctantly. I quickly hand her two glasses of lemonade. She takes a deep breath, straightens her shoulders, and steps back outside with a composed smile.
The moment she’s gone, I start pacing in the sunroom, my mind spinning.
What if I’m wrong? What if Dmitri is innocent and I’m about to ruin everything? What if I’m right and he really is betraying Maxim?
I feel sick with doubt. I promised Maxim I wouldn’t hide things from him anymore. If he finds out I did this behind his back, he’ll be furious. But I can’t bring it up again without proof.
Just then, the door to the sunroom opens. I shriek, spinning around in panic. But it’s only Maxim.
He steps inside, still shirtless and sweaty from his workout, eyebrows raised at my reaction.
