A wary look entered his eyes. “Why are you asking, ma’am?”
“Because if we are going to be spending time together, and you’re going to be reporting back on my every move, I should know your name. My name is Amy.”
“Micah, Mrs. Petrovov.”
OK. So he wasn’t going to call me Amy.
“Nice to meet you, Micah.” I outstretched my hand for him to shake, and he stepped away.
“Anyway, will you drive me anywhere I want to go?”
He nodded. “Of course. Is there something you need?”
“Yes, I’d like to go to Lakeside Retirement.“
He cut me off. “You are not allowed to work, Mrs. Petrovov. Mr. Petrovov has been quite clear on that.”
“And do you always do what he tells you?”
The look he gave me told me he did.
“I’m not going to work, Micah. I want to visit Nikolai for a little while. That’s allowed, isn’t it?”
For several seconds, he looked confused, and then he nodded. “I guess that would be OK.”
“Perfect.” I beamed at him. “Lead the way.”
Chapter Eleven
Alexei
Something was making me on edge, and I knew exactly what it was.
Amy.
There was just something about that god damn woman that got under my skin and rubbed me the wrong way. It was like her sweetness grated on my last nerve and called to me all at the same time.
There was nothing I’d like more than to get rid of her and never see her beautiful, charming face again, but she was my wife, and that meant I was stuck with her until Nikolai died and went to meet his maker.
Which I hoped would be many, many years from now.
So, until that time, I was stuck with her, and I would just have to make the most of it.
It wasn’t like we were incapable of getting on. Last night had proven that, and although I didn’t want to bed her when I suspected she would read more into it than simple human biology and need, I couldn’t help but admit to myself that I wanted to.
Even if it was a terrible idea.
It was the image of the way she clung to me that seemed to beimprinted in my mind, that and the smudge of blood between her thighs.
I had been her first. Not just her first lover, but her first kiss as well, and I hadn’t made either experience good for her, really. I was many things, but I wasn’t a selfish lover. I knew that Amy deserved more.
So maybe, just maybe, I would show her what lovemaking was actually like without the anger and resentment getting in the way. The thought made me smile, but only for a second. Spotting a familiar car in the parking lot of the care home, I felt a familiar anger bubble back up to the surface.
I’d expressly forbidden her from coming to work, and yet here she was. Sweet and innocent she might be, but my new bride seemed incapable of following orders, and that changed now.
Micah, one of my most trusted men and the one I had tasked with her safety, straightened from the wall where he was smoking a cigarette as he saw me approach. His face was a mask of panic.
“Where is she?” I asked through gritted teeth.
