actually pretty damn good wine.”
“It’s not too late to order that fried cat.”
“Not funny.” I sipped some more.
“So. . .how do I get you back in our bed tonight? Do I beg? Do you want me on my knees?”
A wave of heat rolled down my chest, past my stomach and between my thighs. He directed his gaze to my mouth as if he yearned to kiss me. He licked his lips, took another sip of his wine, and set it down on the table.
The door opened.
I looked that way.
Pavel walked in holding three boxes in his hand. One took up both of his arms. The other two were small and stacked on the top of the big one. Pink wrapping paper covered all of them. Large white bows tied around the two smallest. While little holes were scattered across the bigger box.
I gestured to them. “What are these?”
“Bribes.”
“You don’t need bribes.”
“Then, what do I need?”
“To stop the bombing. Which you have. But the question is, are you done?”
His lips were tilted at the corners as if he was composing a dirty joke. No words left his mouth.
Come on, Kaz. Please end this.
My heart pounded in my ears as I waited for the response.
Chapter 4
Compromise
Kazimir
This was the part of the conversation I didn’t look forward to. Being in a relationship proved to be difficult. We had to talk this through and come to some form of compromise. I could see no other option. She wasn’t like my men. I couldn’t threaten her.
Without my mouse, there would be no lion. That I knew for sure.
At this point, whatever she wanted, I would give her. I would tether the moon and sell its light. I would gather up all the stars, if their glow annoyed her. My mouse wasn’t just a woman. Not merely skin and bones. She was my religion. My light. The wonder that made this reality easier to bear.
I leaned my head to the side. “Am I done?”
“With the war.”
I stifled my groan. “No. I’m not done with the war.”
Pavel stood with the boxes like an idiot. “Where do you want them?”
“Put the big one on the floor and the two smallest on the table.”
He did as I instructed and left as if wanting no part of our argument.
I turned back to my mouse. She looked innocent sitting across from me. Her black hair fell to her shoulder. The blue of her pajamas blended with that lovely brown complexion.
The trauma and pain of the miscarriage had also made me think of her as more fragile. I felt the need to protect her more, destroy every possible enemy to keep my anxiety down.
Yet, I had to remind myself that this innocent, desirable woman in front of me, could kick the shit out of most of my men outside. She damn sure could outshoot them. And if I had the choice of taking them or her into a war, it would be her any day. She had the smarts, the wisdom, and the unbreakable determination to win at anything she tried.
I won’t lose her due to my anger with the French.
She frowned. “You’re not done with the war?”
I chose my words carefully. “I know you don’t like that answer, but you’ll appreciate that I’m compromising with you.”
“What’s the compromise?”
“No more bombing of innocent people.”
She took another sip of her wine.
I placed my hands on the table. “You want more of a compromise?”
“Keep the killing in your war to just between Bratva and Corsican men.”
“What if women work for both?”
“That’s fair, but they really have to be soldiers. No intentionally harming of wives and children.”
Fury bubbled in my chest. “Do you know how difficult that will be? There are always casualties in war. I never go out to kill children, but sometimes wives, girlfriends, and even lovers get caught between the gunfire.”
“There are ways to kill a man without murdering his woman too.”
“Jean-Pierre took you while I made love to you in our bed. You think I won’t give him that same fate?”
“I don’t think you will.”
“Why not?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Because that’s part of our compromise. Keep your revenge away from women and children that aren’t fighting on either side.”
I glared at her but kept my annoyance to myself. It was a fair thing to ask, filled with lots of logic.
But why am I so pissed?
In that moment, I realized that my revenge wasn’t just based on rationality. Emotion had mixed with my anger. Usually I acted with some form