Lydia dutifully backed away after filling his drink, and Lazar drank half of it before he answered. “I didn’t think I had to run it by you.” Lazar scoffed. “You know, you are being entirely ungrateful. You pout around as if you are chained to a beast of a woman when she was a gift! I mean, look at her.”
“Enough, Lazar,” Maxim ordered.
“No. I’m tired of your attitude. You don’t have to worry about Yakov coming after you, do you? You’re a Morozov now. So much better than me.”
“You are the one who forced this upon me! How dare you act like I had a choice?”
Kira scoffed and slapped the napkin down on the table. “Excuse me.”
Maxim observed Kira leaving the table and nearly went after her, but he pushed himself back down and instead set his glare on his brother. “I know Yakov didn’t threaten our family. You got yourself into this mess because of your ego.”
“My ego? My ego gets us money and fame. What does yours get you? An untouched, unhappy wife.”
“You want to speak of wives?”
“Maxim,” Trina whispered.
Lazar stood, his chair scraping loudly against the ground. “Excuse me. I’ll let you two conspire behind my back.” With that, Lazar stumbled through the hallway. Lydia was kind enough to lead him to the library, where Kira sat at the piano. Her blue eyes popped to the doorway, bright, but when she saw him, she was physically depressed, shifting slightly to focus on the sheet music. Kira’s back was tight, feeling his stare. Would he hit on her with Maxim just feet away? Was he that brazen?
“I meant it as a compliment,” Lazar began, easing his way closer. He placed his glass on the piano before slipping his hands in his pockets. “You are a prize, Kira.”
“No matter how you try to make it sound, it comes off as demeaning.”
He cackled. “I suppose that could be true. But intentions matter.”
“And what was your intent?”
“To expose how beautiful I think you are without being capable of saying it.”
“And yet, here you are saying it freely.”
“Yes. We aren’t in a certain company, are we?”
“You mean your wife and my husband. So you know it’s not appropriate.”
“My thoughts of you are highly ever.”
Kira sneered. There was no denying that sentence. She was disappointed. “Maxim thinks you could never betray him.”
“Is it betrayal? He thinks very little of you. Wants nothing to do with you. He hasn’t even slept with you.”
Kira’s cheeks heated. It was embarrassing, and hearing it out loud from Lazar was even more so. Humiliation was not something she was used to. “And your wife?”
“She cheated first.”
Kira clenched her teeth. She had been right, and Maxim refused to believe it. “So you’re out for revenge?”
Lazar smirked and shook his head. “Do you always try to convince someone not to be attracted to you?”
“I’ve never had to.”
“I doubt that.”
“I’ve had three overprotective brothers my whole life. Normal men don’t want to deal with that.”
He cackled. “I can see that.” Lazar took a seat beside her.
Kira moved to get up, but he put a hand on her wrist, keeping her still. “Show me.”
