King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Sephle

Adrik and I were the last ones to breakfast the following morning. Everyone gave us knowing looks and I suddenly worried that I’d been too loud the night before. Adrik felt my sudden panic. He slid his arm around my waist, his lips next to my ear. “Nobody heard you. But if they did, they’re just jealous.” He was clearly amused at the possibility of them hearing me. It was an ego boost for him. It was insanely embarrassing for me.

“Good morning, princess,” Ivan said. I was fairly certain he felt my momentary panic as well. He was becoming quite good at feeling as much from me as I could feel from him. “We made bets as to whether you would wake up late today or not. You’re due for a late morning.”

“Sh ut up.”

“No, it’s true, gazelle. It’s been a few weeks since you’ve slept in. I think you’re past due, actually,” Misha said.

I couldn’t hide my amusement at them apparently knowing my schedules better than I did. “I had no idea I was so predictable,” I said, sitting in an empty chair beside Viktor. He put his giant arm around my shoulders, hugging me sweetly. He kissed the top of my head, saying, “you’re allowed to sleep in whenever you like. You waste a lot of energy taking care of all of us, sestrichka.”

“I would not call that a waste, Papa Bear.”

didn’t sleep in this morning, spider monkey. I was going to feel bad about letting

different names?” I smiled at him, nodding my head. “I assume there’s a reason for

Misha said. Both Aleksei and Vitaliy looked at all

first day I stayed with her while Boss was working, she jumped on my back so I had to carry her around every chance she got. She still does it. That’s why I call her spider monkey,” Andrei said as he smiled and winked at me. I knew he’d come to love carrying me around as much as I did. Half the time,

that first time. She’s like a gazelle. I like to remind her that she almost killed me as often as

her. I had called her princess to try and pi ss her off.

since.”

pi ss her off?” Vitaliy asked.

“Ivan has a very special set of skills that he enjoyed using on your son’s past girlfriends.”

“How so?”

world to see, so everyone else can see the person as Ivan sees them. He just didn’t realize that I have many of the same demons he does and I’m very good friends with them, so it didn’t work on me.” I laughed, remembering that morning in my kitchen. “He’d been hurt and needed stitches. It was before I knew of his aversion to doctors. I was offering to clean him up and trying to talk him into going to the hospital but he was giving me shi t. I gave him shi t back so he let me clean his wound, but I told him he

when she told him she wished she had a lollipop to give him and thanked him for not killing this princess when