She didn’t disappoint as she dipped her head in deference, her cheeks turning rosy. She’d momentarily dropped her guard, doing away with being on her best behavior. I wanted more of that; I wanted her walls to crumble completely for me.
I sipped my drink, keeping it in my mouth this time, and I watched her with fascination. She assumed the role of subservient wife, but brimming below the surface was someone a little fiercer. More daring, and quite possibly much more fascinating than even Ivan realized. She had humor, and poise, beauty and class.
While my father was courting Ivan and deciding if he was to be allowed back into the family’s folds, here I was wondering if it was Marisha that should be allowed into our warm embrace and not Ivan after all. Of course, they came as a package deal, which was unfortunate. But nothing was ever out of reach for a Vasiliev.
Nothing.
Not even her.
“What are you thinking, Marisha?” I asked, hoping that she’d surprise me.
She looked stunning tonight, her dress flashing the barest of breast, taunting me with their firmness beneath the slinky material. Her hair was piled high on her head, soft curls dancing around her neck and shoulders. What I’d give to have a fist full of those curls in my grasp. Wild strands had escaped her updo and they were curling against the side of her face. It was enough to grab, enough to tug…
Fuck, I wanted her. I began to grow hard, anticipating the body beneath the cream gown.
She looked up from her glass, still not having drank any. “Thinking?” she asked, looking puzzled.
I tutted again. “Please tell me that Ivan hasn’t taken away your ability to think for yourself.”
A smile danced on the corner of her lips. “No, though he prefers his wife seen and not heard.” She paused, worry flashing through her eyes.
I pursed my lips. “Such a waste.”
“My mind?” she asked with a small laugh.
I leaned forwards in my chair, placing my glass on the floor beside me. Her dress had opened again, the split flashing the treasures underneath and it took all I had to tear my gaze away.
“Yes, your mind. If your mind is half as beautiful as your face then it is a waste,” I said, to clarify.
Her blush deepened and she tore her gaze away from mine. “Stop it,” she whispered.
“Stop it?” I frowned. “It’s the truth. You’re beautiful, Marisha. Your face, your body… I’ve thought of nothing else since we kissed.”
Her eyes shot back to mine and she stumbled to a standing position as she shook her head frantically. “Alexander!” she gasped, my name a whisper on her lips, “you’ll get us both killed.”
I stood up, stalking towards her as she backed away. “Do you think I’m scared of a man like Ivan? I kill men like him before my breakfast. He’s nothing. A nobody.”
“You said he was like family? You said you knew him well enough to know the kind of man he is? If that’s true, then you should know that you’re playing with fire, Alexander. And maybe you won’t get burned.But I will.” Her hand went to her mouth, her gaze flitting between me and the door behind me and I chuckled.
“Marisha, don’t panic, he’s nowhere near here.”
Her eyes widened. “What? Where is he?”
Her back bumped into the pool table and I took the opportunity to close the space between us, placing a hand on either side of her body and effectively caging her in. We were barely inches apart, so close I could feel her rapid breathing against my cheek.
I dipped my face to hers. “They’re meeting on the opposite side of the mansion in my father’s office. Far from here.”
“But… but the butler. He could come back at any second,” she stammered out another excuse, another reason to keep me at arm’s length.
“The butler won’t bother us, Marisha,” I growled, body humming with anticipation.
Her pupils dilated. “What do you want from me, Alexander?”
A slow smile crept up my face. “The same thing you want.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she protested, arching her back to put some distance between us. But it was futile. She wanted this as much as me, perhaps more. She was desperate for affection, for a gentler touch than what she was used to, but she wouldn't find that with me. The Vasiliev men didn’t fuck gentle, but we did know how to satisfy a woman better than that bastard Ivan.
I dipped my face to her throat, inhaling her musky perfume and she shivered, a soft moan leaving her. I closed the gap even more, until there was barely an inch between our bodies. I looked down, seeing her heaving breasts between the cut of the material on her dress, ribbons barely keeping the material clung together, and I raised my eyes to meet hers.
