Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore…
“Half an hour,” I agree in a meek little pipsqueak. “Sounds good.”
Uri smirks and shuts the door behind him on the way out. I take several deep breaths before I start to get ready.
The dress fits like a glove. As I turn to examine myself in the full-length mirror in the bathroom, I realize how sexy it is. My legs are on full display, as is my cleavage, which somehow looks extra generous. The dress also has an inbuilt corset which means my waist is cinched in, accentuating the hourglass figure I didn’t even know I had.
So that’s why people go the designer route. Macy’s, eat your heart out.
Once the dress is on, I put on the heels. In the blink of an eye, I go from Shylyssa Walsh to some glamazon runway model with legs for miles and a proud strut. It’s literally a magic trick. This can’t be real.
Next is makeup. I sit in front of the dressing table and stare at the mirror. I don’t want to go overboard or anything, but I kinda want to put in some actual effort. If only to drive Uri crazy. So I go with a sleek cat-eye which complements my dress perfectly. I do a little light contouring around the cheekbones, highlight with rouge, and then finish my face off with a nude lip that brings out their natural pink color. Hours of watching YouTube tutorials on “How to Get the Met Gala Look of Your Dreams” that I never actually intended to make use of are getting put into action.
“Okay,” I tell the seductive stranger staring back at me out of the mirror. “You got this.”
That feeling lasts up until I catch sight of the silver bullet vibrator I’m supposed to shove up my nether regions.
Would Shylyssa do this? I wonder with my breath caught in my chest. Would Ziva?
I toy with the charm. It tinkles beneath my fingers like it’s trying to tell me something. “Oh, for God’s sake—fuck it,” I decide suddenly.
I snatch up the toy, flip up the hem of my dress, and tease it inside of me. It’s cold at first, but once I adjust, it melts into the background. I step into a pair of black lace panties and try to forget about it altogether.
It’s definitely not a tampon, that’s for sure. This thing is three times as big and it doesn’t have the kind of give that a tampon would. But surprisingly, I can walk and move without discomfort.
“So weird,” I mutter as I head downstairs.
Then again, everything about the last several days has been weird. And it doesn’t look like that’s stopping anytime soon.
30
URI
Nikolai’s voice is dark and cranky when he finally answers my call. “What?”
“So I’ve been thinking—”
“Did it hurt?”
I roll my eyes. “Why do you make things so difficult?”
I can’t see him but I’ve known him long enough to be able to tell when he’s smirking. “I’m your older brother. It’s my job to hold you accountable for everything.”
“Do me a favor and take a break every once in a while.”
“No promises.” He chuckles. “What have you been thinking about?”
“We can’t just leave Boris’s threat unanswered. We need to figure out a way to answer without escalating the situation further.”
“This is Boris Sobakin we’re talking about. He is the king of escalation.”
“And I’m the king of this fucking city. So I guess we need to figure out who has the bigger crown.”
There’s a beat of silence. “And what if it turns out he does?”
My jaw clenches hard. “Then I’ll just have to knock it right off his head. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll remove his head altogether.”
“Finally. Something we can agree on.”
“I’ll be over in the night to discuss things.”
“I’ll organize dinner.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll probably be over late.”
“Oh? Got big plans?”
I grit my teeth. He’s fishing and the more I avoid telling him what my plans are, the more he’s going to suspect that my plans revolve around Alyssa. Which, in this case, is accurate.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I say vaguely, trying to put an end to the conversation before he asks about—
“And the girl?” he blurts, ignoring my attempt. “What’s the latest there?”
I’m in the process of trying to figure out an appropriate response when I hear her heels on the staircase. I turn around and my body tenses up. At the same time, all this adrenaline floods through me.