I looked out the patio doors, seeing a group of young women sitting at the tables several yards away. I couldn’t make out their faces, but Vanessa’s white-blonde hair was easy enough to pick out as she sat with her back to me.

What if he was attracted to her?

“So, when’s the wedding?” Gabriel asked, and I blinked, seeing him look at Rika.

For a moment, I thought he was asking Kai.

Rika replied, “No specific date yet.”

“And where’s Michael?”

Her eyes flashed to Kai before she answered. “Away at a game for the day.”

My father smiled, the thoughts in his head barely keeping themselves contained as his eyes raked over her body.

Kai rose and wandered to the book cases, placing himself in front of her. My father was eye-fucking her, and Kai knew it. His forehead was creased, troubled, but he remained quiet, not speaking or looking at me. What was he thinking about?

And finally, a light knock pierced the silence.

Everyone turned or looked up as the door opened and Vanessa Nikova entered.

I don’t know what I expected. Maybe for her to be awkward and look anywhere but at him, or maybe for Kai to be surprised and instantly attracted, losing all semblance of thought at the sight of her.

But they locked eyes and just stared at each other for a minute as she slowly closed the door.

That was worse.

I darted my eyes to him, watching him take her in as if he was actually considering her.

She walked into the room, wearing a silver cocktail dress that made her seem ethereal with Her blonde hair and big, blue eyes. She had much the same coloring as Rika, but Rika was different. She was alive, and Vanessa looked like a doll kept in a box. Not a fingerprint on her.

She wasn’t so pristine on the inside, though.

She approached Kai, and I saw him straighten, bracing himself. Holding out her hand, she smiled, her perfectly manicured eyebrows softening for him.

“Hello,” she said sweetly.

I did half an eye roll before catching myself. Two-headed snake.

“Hello.” He took her hand, shook it, and finally released it. A couple seconds too late in my opinion.

“Vanessa, this is Kai Mori.” Gabriel made the official introductions. “And his friends, William Grayson III and Erika Fane.”

Vanessa turned, her heels clacking as she stepped over to Will and shook his hand. Turning to Rika, though, she paused, clearly assessing her as the other reached a hand out with a tight smile.

“Rika is soon to be married to Michael Crist,” Gabriel explained. “Another friend of Kai’s. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be here today.”

Vanessa eased, the crack in her façade sealing up again as she shook Rika’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

The room fell silent as we all just stood there, and I could hear the dogs barking in the distance, probably hungry. Gabriel fed some and starved others, and while the experienced ones knew that barking only made it worse, he constantly had new blood coming in and learning the torture all over again.

“Well,” Vanessa finally spoke up, trying to make light. “We’ll have no trouble bonding like this.”

Gabriel laughed, Kai offered a smile, and I scowled.

Why was he smiling?

Why was he even still here? What was his game now? He wouldn’t actually marry her, for crying out loud, so why attempt to bond?

“I need some fresh air,” she told Kai. “How about you?”

His head turned like he was about to look at me, but then he nodded, stopping himself. “Sounds great.”

She smiled brighter, showing teeth, and led the way out the patio doors. “And don’t follow us,” she joked to Hanson who had moved to chaperone. “We need privacy.”

I shot the back of her head a glare as they disappeared outside. The grounds were extensive. They could be gone for an hour. Long enough for her to charm him any which way she wanted.

“Go check on dinner.”

I looked over, meeting Gabriel’s eyes. And now I was going to serve dinner to the man I was sleeping with and his bride. Fan-tastic.

Charging out of the room, I slammed the door closed, knowing full well my father knew I was angry. He wouldn’t care. He knew I’d do my duty anyway, no matter how much I pissed and moaned.

A dog yelped outside, and I didn’t know if it had been attacked by another dog or disciplined by a trainer, but then another one howled the most gut-wrenching sound like it was begging. For what, I didn’t know, but I walked into the kitchen feeling like I wanted to join him. Howl and scream and fight until I either escaped or someone put me out of my misery.

“Hey!” Marina exclaimed, seeing me enter as she washed her hands at the sink. Her delighted eyes took in my clothes. “You look great. When did this happen?”

I assumed she meant my “makeover” but I wasn’t in the mood. Seeing the steaks for dinner on the cutting board, I sauntered up and picked up a large chopping knife laying on the block.

And I started slicing.

“Those are the steaks—”

Marina stopped, watching me cut strips, slicing through the prime meat with the sharp knife like it was butter, and then chop the slices into chunks.

“Those are the steaks for dinner!” she said, rushing up to the island. “Banks, what are you doing?”

I looked at her, feeling my heart race, and shot her a closed-mouth smile. She reared back, narrowing her eyes.

She probably couldn’t remember the last time I’d smiled at her.

Finishing my task, I took a large bowl out of the cabinet, tossed in all the chunks of meat, and grabbed the dish, taking it out the back door.

This wouldn’t end well for me, but God, it felt good. And I couldn’t stop myself.

“Where are the steaks?” Gabriel asked, glaring down at the leftover corn chowder from the guys’ lunch today and the plates of baked Piroshki—a hand pie with meat filling that Marina was preparing for lunch tomorrow.

“I fed them to the dogs,” I said.

Will snorted, and I heard a scoff, most likely from Vanessa, but I continued to stare at the wall ahead of me, ready to suffer whatever consequences were coming.

I could feel Kai’s amusement. He sat across the table, and I was almost sure he was staring at me, too.

Gabriel exhaled hard. “A couple weeks with you and she’s back to being as bold as brass,” he said to Kai. “Just like when she was a teenager.”

The table was silent, except for Will who’d started eating.

“She knows how to be disciplined, though,” he added.

“Oh?” Kai prodded.

I blinked long and hard. That wasn’t anyone’s business. Not here, not now.

But Gabriel continued. “Ask her to take off her gloves.”

Fucker.

I instantly locked my hands behind my back, out of sight as everyone turned their eyes on me.

Gabriel couldn’t discipline me right now, so he did what he had to do to retain his pride. He humiliated me. Kai hadn’t seen me without the gloves. Not since I was seventeen, before I was “disciplined.”

“Another time, maybe,” Gabriel said, sounding pleased with himself. “She’ll soon be your problem anyway.”

“Oh?”

This time it was from Vanessa.

“Part of the contract,” Gabriel explained, taking a slurp of his soup. “Kai gets you, the hotel, and Banks. Until the wedding, anyway.”

She remained silent, and since she sat below me, I couldn’t see her face, but there was enough hesitation to know what she was thinking.

Or what she suspected.

“She’s a good worker,” Kai chimed in, picking up a hand pie and sniffing it.

“Well, good,” Vanessa sighed, playing stupid. “Why don’t you go unpack my suitcases, Banks? Let us eat.”

“I arranged a suite in the city for you.”

“I’ve changed my mind.” She waved me off. “I’ll stay here.”

I glanced up, finding Rika’s eyes, neither of us looking at all pleased with being here.

Fine. Whatever. Not that I was here that often anymore anyway, but I’d rather she was in a hotel where I was even less likely to run into her.