Ayla made her way back into the room and sat down on the bed. She kept the towel over her body, hiding most of her nakedness from my wandering eyes, but leaving enough bare skin to tease me.
“I heard you.”
Her words pulled my attention back to her face. It felt like the air in the room had suddenly lost its calm vibe. From the look on Ayla’s face, I could tell this was definitely going to be important. Confused, my head cocked to the side. “What?”
“I heard you talking to Viktor,” she said, all serious.
“Ayla.” I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. “Were you spying behind the doors again? How many times have I told you not to do that?”
She shrugged and then leveled me with a look. “It’s my house,” she explained, as if that answered everything.
“How could you tell him that?”
Oh shit. That was what this was about.
She teased me with her naked body, made me let my guard down in the shower, smiled sweetly, kissed me passionately, all while my little wife was waiting for the right moment to investigate. Sneaky.
I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to glower. It didn’t work. Ayla was completely unfazed. Her eyebrows raised expectantly, waiting for an explanation.
“What if I tell you this was none of your business?”
“What if I tell you that you can’t sleep in this bed because I’m mad?”
Oh fuck no.
A growl rumbled through my chest. “Careful there, Angel,” I warned.
“Or what?”
“You’re dancing with danger.”
Her eyes darkened a shade. “When you came back from Russia, you said you had a feeling that something was going on between Viktor and Valentin’s wife. You didn’t seem shocked. In fact, you sounded so sure of it. I found it weird, but I assumed that you had no problem with their relationship.”
Little did she know…
Ayla slapped the mattress in frustration before standing up and stalking forward. She didn’t look intimidating. Not even one bit. In fact, she was cute as fuck.
She stopped an inch from me, and her lips twisted angrily. Her glares were sharp as a knife, and sometimes, I really did fear for my dick.
“How could you be so heartless?” she snapped loudly. “You know how Viktor feels. He didn’t confess, but I could tell…he cares deeply for Valerie. It’s not just a simple affair, and we both know that. I think…I think he loves her.”
“I know,” I simply stated.
Oh, she was mad before…but now she was livid. My cock jolted, liking the idea of Ayla angry. That meant I could fuck the anger out of her. Sweet and slow. Hard and fast.
“You know?” she mocked. “If you know, then how could you ask Viktor to make a choice? Not once have I ever questioned your decisions, Alessio. But this time, you are wrong,” she said, stabbing a finger into my chest. “I don’t approve.”
I gripped her waist and held her in place. “Are you questioning me, Angel? When it comes to anything that has to do with my world, especially if it is a threat, I will do whatever I want. This is my world. And none of your concern.”
“You can’t ask him to choose between his family and the woman he loves. If you were in his place—”
I didn’t give her a chance to finish that sentence. “Enough.”
Ayla was a little firecracker when she wanted to be. “You are wrong this time.”
She was questioning my authority. Anyone else would get their neck snapped and their intestines ripped from their stomach and then shoved back into their asshole.
“Ayla,” I growled in warning. My hands tightened on her hips, bringing her closer. I was part pissed off and part aroused. Pissed off because my Angel didn’t trust me. Aroused because she was fucking sexy as sin when she was mad. I wanted to spread her out on the bed and bury my face between her creamy thighs.
Her palms came up to my bare chest, and she held me back in place, leveling me with a look that bordered between warm and cold. I knew she didn’t like my tone. When she spoke, her words were sharp and held no place for an argument.
“Out there, you are the Pakhan, a fearful King. People bow to you. They bend to your will. But when you are with me, you are simply my husband, my king. I don’t bow to you.”
How could I forget? My wife had been reborn from the ashes. She cowered no more. Not to anyone. She was fire, and she burned brighter than the sun.
She was right. Ayla Ivanshov didn’t bow to me. In fact…
“No, Angel. I bow to you.”
And I fell to my knees in front of her.
I bowed to no one except my Queen. If I had to be on my knees for her, for the rest of my life, I would fucking do it.