Vladislav kept his arms around Allegra even after their door had clicked shut behind them. He strode over to their bed – he supposed it was theirs now – and let her slip down until she was sitting on it. He helped her shoes first, knowing that having them on for so long would cause her more pain than anything.
He kneeled down in front of her and did the job thrice as quickly as she could have. Her hisses of relief when he peeled the high heels away showed him just how tender her feet were. He joined her on the bed and took one of her feet into his large hands. He began to knead them gently, keeping an eye on her facial expressions to gauge which movements hurt more than the others.
“You didn’t have to carry me all the way through Kalitsk, you know” she tutted disapprovingly.
“From the f
