Chapter 24 #5
“Mm-hmm,” she replies, downing the glass and keeping her eyes trained on me.
“I want one more thing from you, Alexei.” She sets the glass aside, running her finger in a circle around the rim and causing a serious compunction in my germ-obsessed brain.
“Even if it’s not true yet. It will be, eventually.
And I need you there if I’m going to do this. ”
“I love you.” The words are easy for me. It might be puppy love. We’re both young. We haven’t known each other long. I also know that we can make this work. That we can make this great. That’s all I need to know.
Scarlett blinks in surprise, like she didn’t expect me to figure it out or to give in so easily. Her cheeks change color. Her finger stills on the rim of the glass.
“Well?” I’m waiting, crossing my arms and trying not to fixate on all the parts of me that are dirty and unwashed.
I may have swept this floor. Mopped it with bleach.
But dear God, only a cleansing by fire would be enough to erase the taint.
“You’re okay with bareback”—swallow, choke—“anal, but not with telling your fiance that you love him?”
“Will you refuse to marry me if I don’t say it?” she asks, a challenge in her gaze. I incline my head.
“Yes, unfortunately. I will not knowingly enter a loveless marriage.” I’m not smiling anymore.
I’m thinking of my parents and what they had together.
It’s my biggest, greatest dream, a love like that.
Scarlett doesn’t have to be there tonight; she just needs to want to get there.
If we both want the same things and we put in the work, we’ll be wildly successful together.
She picks up the wine bottle, drains the last of it.
My eyes are trained on her throat, on the bead of red wine that catches at the edge of her mouth and trails along the length of her jaw.
She reaches up to swipe it away and my hand flies out, stilling her fingers in midair.
Rising from my seat, I lean across the table and lick it off.
“I love you, Alexei.” Scarlett’s face is red when I pull back and so is mine.
I willingly put my tongue to her skin. Swallowed the taste of contaminated wine with a rush of blood to my crotch.
I’m getting off on depravity. I’m falling in love with possibility.
“When I said I’d kill you if you tried to walk away, I meant it. ”
I smile back at her.
“I know. Marrying me will ensure you and I are together forever in the eyes of the family.”
“I know. Marrying me will ensure you and I are together forever—period.” She sets her glass down and we spend a few quiet moments staring at one another.
Branches scrape against the metal roof. The wind curls cold fingers against the rusted yellow walls of the bus.
On the radio, there’s a song I’ve never heard crackling through the speaker.
I won’t even remember the tune tomorrow, only the color of Scarlett’s eyes as she meets mine without flinching.
The family doesn’t scare her. Maybe it should?
I’ll have to be the best husband I can be, just like Papa.
Scarlett believes she can keep herself safe.
Fine. I should also be able to keep her safe.
It’s my job, as her partner, and I’m going to excel at it.
Failure is never an option, not as a Borisov.
“You said you’d leave me a souvenir, you lying snake.” She bites gently over the serpentine ring on her finger, winking at me.
“Then maybe you should be less tight?” I tease, flirtatious in a way I’ve never been. Never expected to be. This ingloriousness is my glory.
“Ah, so it’s my fault, huh?” Scarlett rises to her feet like something possessed, a ghost draped in gold and crowned in velvet black hair and liquid brown eyes. She extends her hand, and I take it, curling black latex through poured bronze.
“Next time.” My words broadcast both a future tryst and a shroud of confidence that many would say I don’t deserve. Next time implies that we have a future, not a death wish. Next time implies that the family isn’t on the hunt.
We turn off the space heater and walk back to the house together. Widow opens the door, beckoning us in. His eyes track the obscene stains on Scarlett’s dress. He eyes me, covered in scratches like the deviant I am, wearing gloves and looking blandly back at him.
“We’re getting married tomorrow,” I tell him calmly, without any intent to upset, just to inform. “Legally. We’ll have a ceremony later.”
“Yep,” Widow replies, just as blandly. Ash is watching us from the dining table as Scarlett sweeps past on her way to the bedroom.
Bohnes is still seated on the couch, going through his phone.
Conducting business from his phone, more likely.
He cranes a look over his shoulder at Scarlett, smirking.
He knows that Scarlett getting ahold of my fortune means he gets ahold of it, too.
“And we’re having a baby when she turns twenty-five. ”
Ash drops a ceramic mug on the floor and Bohnes cringes, curling up in his sweatshirt like a dead spider.
“You are cordially invited,” Ash whispers again, but that’s all he says. He doesn’t pick up his sword. Bohnes doesn’t shoot us. For Scarlett, we keep our energy contained. There are plenty of other enemies outside of these walls. No need to fight here.
“I see. Well, not anytime soon.” I move around him and join Scarlett in the shower, pinning her naked body against the wall and taking her again. My gloved hands hold her wrists to the wet surround above her head.
After, I take special care to clean up the mess I make of her.
Next time remains both a promise and a premonition.