Her blonde hair was like spun gold, her skin so pure it made porcelain look marred. In fact, her face was so perfect, it was like a china doll’s. With the make-up she wore, she was the most flawless woman I’d ever seen. She was too skinny, and she definitely needed to eat more, but with her tits, she was a clotheshorse so she looked phenomenal in everything.
Didn’t she realize that Abramovicz wouldn’t have been doing Vasov a favor?
He’d have been drooling over her since she’d first been promised to him. Maybe even before, the perverted bastard. And now she had those tits, sweet Lord.
She must have realized where I was looking, because a smile danced on her mouth. It pissed me off that one of the Sinners must have paid for them, but hell, they were mine to play with forever now.
“You’re beautiful, Camille. I’m glad you weren’t wasted on that cunt.”
Her smile was like the sun appearing on a darkened horizon. The stars, the moon, the sky itself had no choice but to fade away under its beaming power.
I found myself staring at her a moment too long, before she murmured, “I’ve only ever had cold sake before.”
Clearing my throat, I decided she was wise to change the topic. Picking up my chopsticks again, I popped a salmon nigiri into some soy sauce, explaining, “Declan, my brother, told me chilled sake was for wannabes.” I grinned then popped the sushi into my mouth and savored the bite. “He said that premium sake should be enjoyed at room temperature, not chilled like everyone says. I tried it with him, and I’ve never gone back.”
“He’s younger than you, isn’t he?”
“He is. They’re all younger than me apart from Aidan Jr,” I told her. “You’ll meet them all tomorrow.”
Another smile danced on her lips. “Oh, you’re all in alphabetical order. How did I only just realize that?”
My nose crinkled. “Original, right?”
“Well, it makes it easier for me.” She hesitated, then asked, “Finn O’Grady’s Aidan’s age, isn’t he? I, just, well, I mean, he looks older than Eoghan, you know?”
“I’m surprised you know him.”
“He’s in the society pages, plus, Inessa mentioned his wife and their son to me a few times. I saw his picture in the hall too.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, there’s a couple of months’ age gap between him and Aidan. But he isn’t blood, don’t forget. He’s a brother, but more like an adoptive one.”
Her eyes rounded. “Oh.”
“He moved in with us when he was a teenager,” I explained. “Ma and Da are like his adopted parents. They treat Jake as if he’s their grandkid and everything.”
“Right. Good to know.” Her smile was genuine, but something in her expression had me frowning. Before I could ask what the problem was, she questioned, “So, Declan knows everything about sake but isn’t a wannabe?”
Snickering at that, I explained, “Declan’s a poser, sure, but he’s obsessed with all things Asia. He’s got me hooked on quite a few things over the years.”
She turned a little in her seat, moving into me like this was an intimate meal. Like we were dating. Instead, we’d bypassed all that shit and were married.
I’d come to see if I’d regret that in time, but I’d have regretted letting her loose and not living up to the honor I vowed to live by. Sure, my honor code was a little more skewed than most, but I had standards.
Either way, I liked that she moved into me. She didn’t have to do that. She could have stayed where she was, only allowing the bridge of my hand on her thigh to connect us. But she didn’t.
She charged things up a notch.
“What like? What did he introduce you to?”
“Pho? Some Thai dishes. But I prefer sushi. That’s my favorite.” I wrinkled my nose. “This is exotic by comparison to the kind of food we grew up eating. Da likes nothing that he considers ‘foreign.’”
“That rules out a lot of food.”
“Having met him now, do you think he cares about that?” I said wryly. “The man’s a walking ‘-ist.’”
“Is that why he doesn’t approve of me?”
“Because you’re Russian? Nah. It’s because there’s no deal to be had or to make. I told you, there’s no divorce with us. No matter how hard he huffs or puffs, this is it.”