LUCIE
“You really didn’t have to come all the way to Edinburgh, you know,” I tell Aleksei who’s seated across from me in the luxuriousfucking suitehe got us to travel the distance between my old life and my new one. I thought it was only in the Orient Express that trains had lacquered wood panelling, and upholstered seats. I was wrong. And it’s not the cheap kind either. The fabric is soft under my hands and the details of the design masterful.
Tea burns my tongue as I take a sip, observing the broody Russian. With his scars on his eyebrow and at the corner of his mouth, and his brow constantly set in a frown, he intimidates everyone. Except, I know what a softie he is inside all that icy exterior.
He just shrugs. “Wasn’t going to let anyone else do it, Lucie.”
I narrow my eyes at him and he avoids them, looking at the window as if he’s engrossed in the landscape passing by. It’s comical. I don’t think Aleksei enjoys anything but murder and his lovers.
“Aleksei?”
“Yes?”
“You love me.” My smile stretches until it’s full blown. Because why else would my ex-husband make the trip to make sure I’m settled in my new place, that he chose for me?
He clears his throat and looks at me again, shifting ever so slightly on his seat. “Yes, Lucie. I love you. You’re like my sister.”
I giggle.
“Not… Not, like that,” he stumbles. Considering he fucks his step-sister, I would hope not. “I mean, like that but not. Not like Irina. You’re my family.”
A full body laughter makes its way through me at his scrambling for words. His cheeks brighten. I’ve never known the Bratva kingpin to blush. I roar with glee and he crosses his arms over his chest like a petulant child.
“Well, you’re surely annoying exactly like a sister.”
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I get up and give him a side hug, brief as he prefers them. “I love you, too, Aleksei. Thank you for coming with me. Truth is I was a little nervous, so I’m happy I don’t have to go by myself.”
The rest of the trip is silent, as we each read, him a Russian classic, and me, a heart-warming alien cowboy romance where the awkward alien finds love in his sunshine-y human bride. If only love could be that easy.
Once we reach my new flat, Aleksei introduces me to a couple, armed to the teeth. The woman is stocky, brown hair pinned in a very tight chignon at the back of her head, while the man stands two heads above her, shaved head and all dressed in tactical gear.
“This is Gemma and her husband Milosh,” he says and they incline their heads in greetings.
I smile at another Russian-Italian pairing. Dante must be ecstatic that his own marriage has become an example and his organisation, grounds for match-making.
“They’re going to live in the flat next door and have been assigned as your protection details,” Aleksei continues.
“That’s so unnecessary,” I complain.
“It’s non-negotiable.”
“Aleksei! What if I want to bring someone over?”
“What for?” he asks and his brow dips as if he truly doesn’t understand my meaning. Gemma smirks behind him.
“Do I need to remind you what happened with Magda?”
“Please don’t,” he says as he swipes a hand in front of his face. “I don’t need the reminder that I had to fire my housekeeper because she couldn’t keep her hands off of you.”
“What can I say? I’m irresistible like that.”
Magda was a nice distraction when I landed in London and was left alone until Irina took notice of me. We fucked a couple of times, but Aleksei went nuclear when he found out. As if I was going to stay celibate while he frolicked with my cousin and his wife.
“If you want to fuck, they have to be vetted beforehand.”
“Oh please. Do you really think I’m gonna vet every one-night-stand I’ll bring over here?”
Milosh clears his throat, and Aleksei gives him a nod before and he and his wife retreat into their own flat.
