13. Blair #2
I nod, trying to give an encouraging smile. “You two go talk. Nadya and I can go dance for a while. Right?”
She grins, already gripping my arm, ready to drag me toward the dance floor. “We won’t go far,” she promises him.
“Fine,” he replies after a beat too long. “But make sure you stay where I can see you, alright?” I nod, but Nadya’s already pulling me toward the center of the room. She’s laughing, and I laugh along with her, ignoring the edge of hysteria building inside me.
I take another sip of my drink as the song changes, letting myself trust that Andrei’s keeping an eye on me and letting myself enjoy the moment. Nadya tugs me against her as we dance, grinning while we’re enveloped by the crowd.
I can’t remember the last time I allowed myself to just relax and have fun. Probably not since before I met Andrei.
Nadya pulls me close, face against mine so she can be heard. “So, you got married, huh?”
I nod, chewing on the inside of my lip. “It was a last-minute sort of thing.” I can feel how hot my cheeks are, and I shake my head to push the sensation away.
“I didn’t know you were…” She narrows her eyes, no doubt searching for a tactful way to say sleeping with your dead husband’s best friend . I put her out of her misery before she can embarrass us both.
“We weren’t,” I rush. “Like I said, this was a surprise. For both of us.” I feel like I’m shouting, but she shakes her head like she can’t hear me. Rather than belt out the whole damn story for everyone in the room, I point in the direction of the bathroom, hoping it’ll be quieter.
Looping her arm through mine, she heads in that direction. And thankfully as soon as we’re away from the dance floor, it’s immediately easier to hear myself think. She twirls her head toward me, fixing me with a serious look.
“It’s a brand-new thing? Totally unexpected?” she asks, and I nod. “Well, from what I’ve heard, you picked a good one. As far as Bratva men go, anyway. And he’s not bad to look at, either.” She grins while my cheeks turn pink.
There’s no point refuting that. I’ve always thought that Andrei was attractive.
With his broad shoulders, commanding presence, and gray eyes that are so gorgeous they’re almost hard to look at, I’d typically consider myself lucky as hell to be with someone like him.
If this were a real marriage, and we actually loved each other, I’d want to show him off at every opportunity.
But it’s not real, and we’re not in love, so I just smile at her.
“He isn’t hard on the eyes, I’ll give you that,” I admit.
“Oh, come on.” She gives me a knowing grin. “He’s hot as hell. And now he’s taken. So, give me something to work with while I’m mourning. How’d he propose? What was the ceremony like? Is he as good in bed as I imagine?”
I can’t look her in the eye, and I definitely can’t tell her that I don’t know.
“Or is this his version of a joke so he can piss off Alexei?” My stomach drops.
“Because if that’s what Andrei wants, I’m willing to bet everyone out there’s talking about his announcement and not Alexei’s big night.
So, I’d say mission accomplished.” She’s still grinning, and I can’t tell if she’s joking or not.
I hadn’t even considered that.
But Andrei isn’t the type of man to go out of his way to fuck with someone. He wouldn’t go to the length of actually marrying me just to upset Alexei.
“I don’t think he intended to upset Alexei.” I shrug. “I think that’s just a happy coincidence.” She chuckles, leaning a hip against the sink as she fixes her makeup.
When she speaks again, her voice is quieter than before, mindful of the fact that the room is still full. “So, he isn’t just fucking around with you? I don’t have to kick his ass?”
The image of Nadya facing off against six-foot-something Andrei with all his muscular bulk makes me laugh as I shake my head.
“Good, because I might be able to handle myself, but he’d snap me like a twig. I mean, I think his forearm is as thick as my thigh.”
Soon, we’re laughing, the conversation quickly moving on to safer topics as we exit the bathroom. I don’t like that I’ve misled her, but something in my chest feels a little lighter at sharing some part of what happened with her.
I just don’t know if I trust her enough to tell her the full story of how conflicted I feel.
How I don’t know how to deal with being around him all the time.
How seeing Andrei at the breakfast table in the morning makes him look different than the man I thought I knew.
How I’m sure Andrei’s only doing this because he feels like he has to.
How I can’t stop thinking about the way he kissed me .
How my new husband can barely stand to be in the same room as me.
Nadya’s telling me a story about Alexei and one of his other clubs when I blindly walk into a wall of muscle. I glance up to apologize, but my smile dies on my face as my mouth goes bone-dry.
Pavel’s deadly glare kills my mood faster than I thought possible. Involuntarily, I try to take a step back, but Nadya’s arm is firm where it’s linked with mine. I’ve tried so hard to get over my fear of him, but my body refuses to get on board, no matter what I do.
“Blair, what a surprise.” His voice is the same bored monotone that it always is, but I flinch at it all the same. More than anything, I want to run back into the restroom and get away from him, but I’m not foolish enough to think that a sign on a door would keep him from hurting me if he wants to.
“Hey, Pavel,” Nadya chimes, proving that she’s far braver than me.
“What’re you doing hanging around outside the ladies’ room?
” Her smile is serene, but there’s a frustrated glint in her eyes.
His empty gaze flicks in her direction, and behind him I spot Andrei storming toward us, Alexei hot on his heels.
Seeing him allows me to take a breath, but I still ache to turn on my heel and run.
Pavel’s eyes turn back to me, something dark brewing while he looks me up and down.
Not a moment later, Andrei’s there, putting himself between us while Alexei pulls Nadya to his side and away from mine. It isn’t until she’s no longer there that I realize how much I was relying on her to keep me steady. I clasp onto the back of Andrei’s jacket.
“Ah, here’s the man of the hour. Congratulations, Alexei.
Tonight has been a rousing success. And Andrei.
” He grins slowly, looking every bit the predator I know he is.
“I hear that congratulations are in order for you as well.” He tilts his head to the side while Andrei moves another step in front of me.
I’m not too proud to refuse him as a human shield. It’s not nearly as likely that Pavel would hurt him. Not in such a crowded place, anyway. But I don’t want Andrei to do anything that would put his standing within the Bratva at risk, either.
“What is it about Blair that made you so eager to marry her?” Pavel asks, voice full of malice. “She must have a magical cunt.” Andrei lets loose a growl that vibrates through his chest, rumbling where I cling to him. “How much would it cost for an hour? Or, hell, maybe twenty minutes would do.”
My face blanches.
Nadya moves in the corner of my eye, struggling while Alexei holds her, moving them both further away from us.
I can’t see Pavel from behind Andrei, but I can only imagine the condescending grin on his face as Andrei’s shoulders draw tight, his hand flexing like he’s itching to grab the gun I watched him slip into the holster at the small of his back before we left.
“I’d ask that you not speak so crudely about my wife ,” he snarls, low and menacing.
“Yes, your wife. For now, anyway. It seems it doesn’t take her long to jump from one man to the next.”
I roll my lips together to hold back my reaction, his words hitting me square in the chest .
“How long until you can expect her to be another man’s bed?”
I want to scream at Pavel that it’s his fault I had to jump into another relationship, but I can’t. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath through my nose.
“What my wife does is none of your business, Pavel. However, you’ve made what you do mine. When’s the last time you stopped by the warehouse near the train yard?” Andrei doesn’t move, but the energy around us does.
I lean around him, watching as the vein in Pavel’s throbs.
“Why would you ask that?”
“You know why.”
A tense beat passes, and I duck back behind Andrei again, shamelessly hiding.
“You don’t have any proof.”
Andrei lifts a single shoulder, tilting his head to one side.
“Are you so sure of that?” It sounds like a challenge, and Pavel must hear it plain as day.
“If you want to have this conversation, there are better venues. We don’t need to make a scene on Alexei’s big night.
” Andrei’s voice is as harsh as I’ve ever heard it.
I look around, only now noticing that the people around us have slowed, lingering while they watch.
Apparently, Pavel notices it, too. “I’ll be in touch,” he grunts before turning on his heel and storming away. Once he’s engulfed by the crowd, Andrei turns around, running his hands down my arms as he looks me over like he’s making sure I’m in one piece .
“You alright?” His voice is softer than it was when he was talking to Pavel, soothing my raw nerves like a cool breeze. As I nod, he lets out a breath. “Good.”
He looks to his right and I follow, seeing Nadya and Alexei having a quiet argument. I want to say goodbye to her and apologize to Alexei for all the trouble we’ve caused him, but I’m terrified of hanging around and chancing Pavel cornering me alone.
“Can we go home?” I ask, slipping my hand into Andrei’s and twining our fingers together.
He presses his forehead to mine as he nods, squeezing my hand.