He crossed to her, and that was when she noticed that he was barefoot.She’d never paid much attention to his feet before, but the big toe on his left foot was a bit crooked.
That slight imperfection somehow made him moreattractive, if that was at all possible.Dmitri pulled her into his arms, and hugged her tightly to him.“It will be okay.”
“I’m all wet.”She didn’t struggle, though.Instead, she buried her face in his chest and let him comfort her.This feels so real.
“I’ll survive.”He let his chin rest on the top of her head.“Is tonight bothering you?Or what happened last night?”
“I’m just worried across the board.”It was the truth, though not the complete truth.
He gave her a squeeze and released her.“After tonight, the reception will be over.We’ll have made our public announcement and we can get back to us.”
She tried to dredge up a smile.“Okay.”There was no point in saying that the reception was the least of her worries.He knew.It was still easier to focus on the guests that were about to descend on their household than the fact that Alethea and Mae could strike at any time.
Dmitri, damn him, saw right through her.He took her hand and drew her out of the shower.She let him dry her off with one of his ridiculously luxurious towels because it felt good to have him taking care of her.But when he rose to face her, she couldn’t keep it buttoned up any longer.“I don’t know what’s real.”
He nodded as if she’d confirmed something he’d suspected.“You think I told you that I love you to keep you in line.”
“It sounds extra evil when you say it like that.”She hugged the towel to her chest as if she wasn’t shivering and naked in front of him.
“For God’s sake.”He disappeared into the closet and came back with the same robe she’d co-opted that first week.He dropped it over her shoulders and watched heruntil she slipped her arms into it and tied it at the waist.It helped the shivers, if not her state of mind.Dmitri crossed his arms over his chest.“Explain why I would lie to you when we were finally coexisting comfortably.”
He didn’t have to make it sound so ridiculous.It wasn’t.She lifted her chin.“You like me nice and compliant, which is a whole lot more likely if I’m all goofy over being in love with you.”
“While you have a point, that’s not a low I would ever hit.”
She wanted to believe that, and she didn’t trust himbecauseshe so desperately wanted to believe it.That didn’t make sense, even in her own head.
Keira rubbed her eyes.“I’m scared.”It felt like the words were ripped from her, but once she started, she couldn’t stop.“It feels too good to be true, and that scares the shit out of me.I know you’re not some Prince Charming type, and I’m sure as hell not a princess, but it doesn’t seem possible that we could end up in love after everything.There has to be some plot, some manipulation,somethinggoing on.That’s our world.It’s not the one where people get happily ever afters.”
He cupped her face and stroked his thumbs along her cheekbones.“What if it was?”
Her mouth went dry and her heart tried to beat its way out of her chest.“It will blow up in our faces,” she whispered.
“Mozhet byt’.” He shrugged.“And maybe Alethea will manage to outmaneuver us and we won’t survive the day, the week, the month.You can’t live in fear of the bad.You have to grasp the good with both hands and fight for it.”He paused.“Fight for me.”
“Is that some kind of code for a game you want me to play to win your affection?”
He rolled his eyes.“Moya koroleva, you already possessmy affection.I merely want you not to allow fear to get the best of you.Stand by my side.Fight with me.When we are sure of our victory, we can do whatever it takes to make you feel better about our current situation.”
He was handling her, but he was also being completely transparent about it, so she couldn’t be too pissed.Keira sighed.“I should have chosen a better time to freak out about it, huh?”
“I highly doubt you chose it at all.”He kissed her, quick and light, a reassuring touch.“Love was unexpected for me, as well.There’s nothing wrong with reacting honestly.”
He didn’t quite stress the wordhonestly, but she felt it all the same.Keira took a breath, and then another.“I should get dressed.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I’m fine.”She would have said it even if she wasn’t.He was already tweaked out about her back—he didn’t need to know the bruises hurt like a motherfucker and she had a hard time twisting in some directions.It would just start another argument, and seeing as how Keira couldn’t skip this party even if she wanted to, it was all a moot point.
He gave her a long look, and finally nodded.“Pavel will stick close to you.”He kissed her again and released her.“We don’t have much time.”
A quick glance at the clock had her cursing.An hour shouldn’t be the end of the world, but when it came to getting glammed up, Keira needed all the time she could get.At least if she was focusing on her lipstick, she wouldn’t be focused on the fact that, in sixty minutes, she’d be face-to-face with her family and Dmitri’s allies.
She wasn’t sure which of them she dreaded seeing more.
Dmitri took a precious ten minutes to go over the plan with Pavel and Alexei one last time.He had no logical reason to think the attack would come tonight, but his instincts said it would.Alethea was too smart to miss the opportunity to cut him off at the knees publically.His allies and enemies knowing that he was vulnerable would do just as much damage as anything she could physically do.
They were as ready as they could be.
