Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Alexei
Something was making me on edge, and I knew exactly what it was.
Amy.
There was just something about that god damn woman that got under my skin and rubbed me the wrong way. It was like her sweetness grated on my last nerve and called to me all at the same time.
There was nothing I’d like more than to get rid of her and never see her beautiful, charming face again, but she was my wife, and that meant I was stuck with her until Nikolai died and went to meet his maker.
Which I hoped would be many, many years from now.
So, until that time, I was stuck with her, and I would just have to make the most of it.
It wasn’t like we were incapable of getting on. Last night had proven that, and although I didn’t want to bed her when I suspected she would read more into it than simple human biology and need, I couldn’t help but admit to myself that I wanted to.
Even if it was a terrible idea.
It was the image of the way she clung to me that seemed to be imprinted in my mind, that and the smudge of blood between her thighs.
I had been her first. Not just her first lover, but her first kiss as well, and I hadn’t made either experience good for her, really. I was many things, but I wasn’t a selfish lover. I knew that Amy deserved more.
So maybe, just maybe, I would show her what lovemaking was actually like without the anger and resentment getting in the way. The thought made me smile, but only for a second. Spotting a familiar car in the parking lot of the care home, I felt a familiar anger bubble back up to the surface.
I’d expressly forbidden her from coming to work, and yet here she was. Sweet and innocent she might be, but my new bride seemed incapable of following orders, and that changed now.
Micah, one of my most trusted men and the one I had tasked with her safety, straightened from the wall where he was smoking a cigarette as he saw me approach. His face was a mask of panic.
“Where is she?” I asked through gritted teeth.
He tossed the half-smoked cigarette away. “Inside but—”
I ignored him and pushed into the warmth of the building, lifting my hand to the reception staff as I was buzzed through. I didn’t say a word, and neither did they. Maybe they took one look at my face and realized that now wasn’t the time for pleasantries.
The place was a hive of activity. The residents already been taken from their rooms to the common room. I almost didn’t look inside, but I was glad I did when I spotted the back of my grandfathers’ balding head and a familiar curly, messy bun.
Oh, she was in trouble, and this time I would do more than scold her. This level of disobedience deserved a real punishment, and my palm burned with the need to take my displeasure out on her firm, round ass.
“I thought I told you,” I hesitated, coming to a stop in front of them. The laughter died on both of their faces as they stared up at me.
“Oh, you’re here as well, Alexei,” my grandfather said with a wide grin.
“I have to admit I’m a little surprised you are out of your bedroom.
If I had such a beautiful new bride, I wouldn’t let her leave the bedroom for at least a month.
” He winked, and Amy blushed, her eyes looking everywhere but at me.
Was she reliving last night? It sure looked like she was.
“When I first married your grandmother—” he went into one of his stories. His whole face came alive.
Pulling up a seat, I stared at her until she met my eyes.
“So, what are you doing here, Alexei?”
“I could ask the same about my wife,” I said pointedly, when there was a lapse in his story telling. An uneasy silence fell. Amy looked down at her shoes.
Looking between us, Nikolai frowned. “What is going on here?”
“I told Amy that she couldn’t work anymore. In fact, I expressly forbid it.” I waved my hands in front of me. “And yet here she is.”
Even with her head lowered, I could see the deep line between her eyebrows as she frowned.
Silence fell, not just from us, but from the other residents and carers, so maybe I said it too loudly. People weren’t looking at us directly, but I could still feel their eyes on us.
“We will discuss this when we get home, which will be soon. I have guests coming—”
“I’m not working,” she whispered.
“What?” My head swung around to glare at her.
“I am not working,” she said more firmly, lifting her chin to meet my eyes.
“Is that so?” I asked coldly. “So why are you here?”
If there was one thing I hated, it was being lied to, especially to my face.
“To visit—”
“She came to visit with me.” My grandfather said coldly, and I could hear the judgment in his voice like I was a rebellious teen again. “To sit and listen to some of my stories because she knows it makes me happy. You, on the other hand—” He left the rest unsaid, and I did a double take.
“I see,” I said softly. “That changes things, doesn’t it?”
It did change things, so why did I still want to bend her over my knee and spank her ass red?
“You really do need to give your wife some slack, Alexei, she is trying and you are—”
I am what? I wanted to scream, but I didn’t because the old man was the only person in the world that I would not argue with.
What Nikolai wanted, he got.
“I’m sorry, Amy,” I said, and the words felt strange and foreign on my tongue. I didn’t even remember the last time I had apologized.
Had I ever?
“It’s fine,” she muttered in a voice that told me it wasn’t fine at all. “You said something about guests tonight? Would you like me to stay in my room?”
My grandfather scowled at her words.
I shook my head. “No, of course not. You will be hosting as my wife, but we need to leave soon.”
She paused for just a second and, with a sigh, bent and retrieved her purse. "I am ready, Micah—”
I stood and offered her my arm. “Micah won’t be needed this evening. I’ll drive us home.” Pointedly, I stared at my arm, and she slid her small hand onto it, which made my grandfather smile.
This was all for his benefit, and I was glad it made him happy.
“If it’s OK with Alexei, I’ll see you tomorrow."
The way she said it made me bristle, because it sounded like she had to ask my permission for everything.
“No, you won’t. You two are going to spend some time with each other, as my grandson hasn’t arranged a honeymoon. That’s an order.” He gave me a look, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
So now I had to arrange a honeymoon? Check.
“Get to know each other.” He winked again, and his meaning was clear. “I’d like to meet some grandbabies before I meet the big man upstairs.”
Children? I paled. Was he seriously asking me to put my heirs in this woman’s belly? I couldn’t think of anything worse, and neither could she if the look on her face was anything to go by.
“Sure.” She bent over him, pressing her lips to his cheek in a soft kiss. “We will get right to that, you old perv.”
He laughed. My face remained emotionless.
No one spoke as we headed back to the car, although I saw the way the staff stopped and stared at her hand placed in the crook of my arm. They all had questions. Probably lots of them, and I wasn’t sure what Amy had told them, if anything.
“So, who are our guests tonight?” she asked when I opened the car door, and she slipped inside.
Not answering her, I took my own place and pulled away.
“Alexei?” she asked again.
“Friends and business associates,” I said through clenched teeth. My eyes stared stonily ahead. “You will need to dress respectfully, but to impress. Tonight is very important.”
She remained silent. The only sound remaining was the low thrum of the engine and the rain pelting against the darkly tinted windows. That silence seemed to stretch on and on.
“It won’t work, you know,” I said finally.
The leather seat made the smallest of sounds as she shifted her weight. “What won’t?”
“Charming my grandfather to get to me.” I continued to stare straight ahead, but I could feel her eyes on me.
“That’s not what I am doing, Alexei. And the fact you think so little of me says more about your own personality than it does about mine.”
My eyes slid over to hers before I could stop myself. She had a defiant look on her face, almost like she wanted to argue back. Did sweet little butter-wouldn’t-melt-Amy have a backbone? I didn’t know how I felt about that. Part of me kind of liked it.
“Is that so?” I asked cooly.
“Yes.” She went back to staring out the window into the rain. “I actually enjoy your grandfather’s company.”
“And you don’t mine?”
"I wouldn’t know, Alexei. You haven’t tried to spend any time with me.”
The words died on my lips. Shit. She was right there. I just hadn’t expected her to call me out on it.
Sighing, I blew out a breath. “You’re right, Amy, I haven’t, have I?” I sucked in a breath. “How is your sister?”
It was like the whole atmosphere in the car changed and became lighter. “She is doing so much better. I honestly can’t thank you enough, Alexei.”
The rest of the journey home was spent listening to her excited chatter about her sister. I could literally hear the love in her voice. It was like her whole body came alive when she spoke.
I was still thinking about the way her face became animated two hours later when dressed for our guests. I waited in the dining room for her. The click of her heels on the stairs told me she was finally ready, and I went to the doorway to check she was dressed appropriately and stopped dead.
She wasn’t dressed appropriately. She was dressed exquisitely. The dress was modest but showed off every curve she had.
Starting at her legs, I let my eyes wander up, taking in the shapely calves that I suddenly wanted wrapped around me so badly that my cock jumped to attention, to the curve of her hips that I could feel under my hands.
Finally, I met her eyes, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“You look—” I stepped out to meet her, forcing her to stop on the bottom step. Even with that advantage she was still shorter than me. Curling one hand around her hip, I fought the urge to yank her into me and instead reached for one of her soft curls, twirling it around my finger.
She had worn her hair down because she had remembered that I preferred it down. She really was trying.
“The staff said it was suitable, and its—” reaching for it, she rubbed the scalloped edge of the dress between her fingertips. “It’s so pretty. I’ve never owned so many pretty things before,” she said almost shyly.
Fuck, the way her lips formed the words made my cock ache. I wanted to kiss her so badly it was like an ache in my chest. Maybe throw her over my shoulder, tell our guests not tp bother coming, and spend the night in bed with her.
“Thank you, Alexei.”
My eyes snapped to hers. There was uncertainty in them. Was she having the same thought I was? She sure was staring at my mouth. I pulled her closer, and her eyes fluttered closed. I wanted to kiss her.
But kissing her would be a very bad idea. I stepped back, and her eyes snapped open. “You look presentable, Amy. Let’s go.”