He was playing unfairly, making a comment that she had to accept as a compliment. Her horses were her pride and joy. She couldn't help being pleased that he'd noticed how superbly they handled. Besides, she wasn't going to risk injury to a horse, even his, just because she'd like to get off his lap immediately. So she said Bojik's name in a tone the animal recognized and instantly heeded.
The barking stopped. The big stallion settled down soon after. And Vasili said, "Now you can do the same with your Cossacks."
One concession on her part was enough as far as she was concerned. "When they start barking, I will," she replied in a low grumble.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"And I'll pretend you haven't lost your mind," she shot back.
Suddenly she felt his chest rumbling with laughter. It hadn't been her intention to amuse him, anything but, yet what she was hearing was the sound of genuine humor. And it had him stopping his mount.
"It's about time," she said, but apparently she had said this too soon.
He wasn't putting her down, he was turning to address the Razins. "My betrothed and I are going to talk, to get to know each other better. Ride ahead. We don't need your escort for conversation."
They didn't ride ahead, of course. They stared at Vasili for a moment, then they stared at Alexandra, and she was close to growling, she was so infuriated. Vasili was going to force her to make this concession, too, or pit him against her men, which could have repercussions she didn't want to find out about. Did he know she would give in, or would he back down if she didn't? She wasn't going to risk it.
She gave the nod that allowed her friends to depart without worry, but she did it so imperceptibly, she hoped Vasili hadn't noticed. And she thought he might not have when he turned to follow the Razins and the rest of their party, though at a much more leisurely pace.
But as soon as they were beyond shouting distance, he said, "A wise choice."
Since she had no desire to find out what he meant by that, she ignored it and said instead, "You don't want to get to know me, Petroff, any more than I want to know you any better, so what was the point of this?"
'To prove that you are subject to me, whether you like it or not."
"Well, you certainly made your point, didn't you?" she replied sourly. "But nothing has been proved, since your authority requires my cooperation, and my cooperation is in no way guaranteed."
His arms closed a little tighter around her and his head bent forward until his lips were very near to her ear. "Then perhaps I should extract a few promises from you," he said in a voice she recognized as seductive because of what it made her feel.
Her elbow to his belly worked to gain her some breathing space, but only because he wasn't expecting it. "No promises, Petroff. Not a single one. And we've had enough point-proving and talk, so put me down."
"When you say please, very, very nicely," he said in a soft hiss.
She'd managed to make him angry, probably with her elbow. But she was just as angry that he'd made her panic enough to hit him. "Go to hell," was her curt reply, but it didn't get her put down.
He continued at a mere walk, still maintaining a far distance from the rest of their group. Her silence said he wasn't going to get the "please" he'd requested, so she wondered how long he would make them suffer this uncomfortable ride before joining the others. Could he be as stubborn as she was?
"I believe it was mentioned that you have sisters," he said suddenly, proving that he was curious about her, if only mildly. "Are they ... like you?"
Curiosity? Or was he paving the way for more insults?
"They are nothing like me," she answered hesitantly. "I was never all that close to either of them. They had their interests, and I had mine."
"And your interest would be breeding horses."
She detected the censure, and replied defensively. "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean—"
"I wasn't criticizing you," he cut in.
"Weren't you? I doubt that. But it certainly doesn't matter to me what you think."
Now his tone turned dry. "So I've gathered."
When he fell silent again, she decided she might as well catch up on some lost sleep. Her back was supported by his arm. She just had to lean her head against his chest...
"Usually when a woman is this close to me, I am compelled to touch her," Vasili remarked offhandedly. "Since most of the time you don't look like a woman in your ridiculous attire, except for those lovely breasts of yours, I can probably restrain myself—for a while."
Alexandra's eyes rounded incredulously. All thoughts of sleep were gone, all thoughts of escape prevalent. But she wasn't ready to say "Please" yet.
"That isn't funny, Petroff."
"Actually, it's something of a joke, and I don't find it amusing either, since it's on me."
She refused to ask for an explanation that she was sure she wouldn't like. "Put me down."
"Say please."
"Dammit, put me down!"
It looked like he was going to when he put both reins in the hand whose arm was supporting her. That left his other hand free, but instead of using it to lower her to the ground, he lifted her chin so that she was staring at him as his head began to lower.
"I did try," he said in a husky whisper.
She was mesmerized, for all of two breathless seconds. Then the fear of being lost to those same sensations she had experienced last night had her bursting out with "Please, please, please."
For a brief moment, he looked disappointed that she'd given in. And then he found satisfaction in winning. Another moment and she was on the ground, and had to suffer that smug smile looking down at her.
"There is a lesson to be learned here, sweetheart," he said with a heavy dose of arrogance. "It pays to give in sooner, because delay will cause nothing but unpleasantness."
Lesson, or warning? But she didn't have to wonder whether he had changed the subject and was talking about the betrothal now, rather than the "pleases" he'd just got.
"Then it's a lesson you should heed yourself, Petroff," she replied, and then called sharply, "Bojik!"
The wolfhound was at her side almost instantly, barking so loud and viciously that Vasili's stallion took fright this time and raced off at a breakneck speed, not down the road, but across a nearby field. Alexandra grinned as she watched Vasili try to bring the animal under control, and not very successfully. She might have to walk a while until one of the Razins noticed she was on foot and came back for her, but she didn't mind in the least.
She even laughed as she ruffled her dog's hair and started down the road. "He wants to make points, Bojik, but I don't think he's going to like ours, is he?"
16
A full week passed without any further incidents, possibly because Vasili and Alexandra took pains to avoid talking to each other. Both would have preferred to avoid seeing each other as well, but that was impossible to manage, though Vasili certainly gave it his best effort by continuing to ride far ahead of the party each day.
Twice they had camped out in the countryside, and although Alexandra had expected a fight about doing so from the fastidious popinjay, she didn't get one either time. Had she been privy to Vasili's true feelings, she'd have known how close she'd come to inciting one. But Vasili had come to understand in the short time he'd known her that her horses were of paramount importance to her and that she couldn't be budged on the issue of their safety. And truth be known, he didn't like traveling in the dark any more than she did. Had he objected, he would have done so out of sheer contrariness, which wasn't to say that an objection wasn't highly probable in his present state of mind.
He wasn't happy with the progress he was making. Lazar was right: he couldn't leave his fate entirely in his mother's hands. He did believe she would forbid the marriage once she saw how far from a lady Alexandra actually was, baroness or not. But there was a slim chance that she might think she could correct Al
exandra's faults instead. And although Vasili viewed such an undertaking as an impossibility, he knew his opinion wouldn't be taken into account if his mother made up her mind to try.
Ignoring Alexandra had seemed another ideal solution to his dilemma when it had first occurred to him. Any other woman whom he was involved with wouldn't have stood for such lack of attention on his part. She would have shown him extremes of emotion in retaliation. But Alexandra was not any woman. And that she seemed happy that he was avoiding her annoyed him in the extreme. Perhaps he should have seduced her first and then ignored her. Damned woman, couldn't she even react properly? Did she have to be different in every way?
Even the rare few times they did happen to have words, and he turned on his contempt full blast, it seemed to just roll off her. Vasili was even beginning to suspect that she somehow found his derision amusing. It was nothing that he could put his finger on, no turning of the lips however slight, no crinkling of those pretty blue eyes. It was more an utterly bland look she gave him that was so devoid of expression that it had to be suspect.
The fact was, he was out of his element where his betrothed was concerned. He was too used to dealing with women in only one way, with practiced charm and seduction, neither of which was an option with Alexandra if he wanted her to despise him.
It had been a mistake to kiss her, and to nearly kiss her again, even if it had been an attempt to make her back down from her threat of "public scenes." The mistake had been a serious one for him, because he would rather not have found out how perfectly her body fit to his. And he could definitely have done without discovering that the taste of her was like ambrosia, her hair like spun silk, her skin warm velvet. And to know the feel of those magnificent breasts crushed against him...
It had been an even worse mistake not to explore those breasts thoroughly when he'd had the chance, because now he dreamed of fondling them, licking them, biting them. He dreamed of hearing her moan with pleasure beneath him. He had no business dreaming of her at all.
"I can't tell whether they're trying to save you from the embarrassment of Alexandra's causing another scene," Lazar remarked offhandedly, "or if they're abetting her in keeping the wenches away from you."
They were seated in a private dining room tonight, at Vasili's request, yet it was only a small alcove that was open on one side to the common room, where the rest of their party was gathered. Vasili glanced out now to see what Lazar was talking about, and noticed that the Cossack twins, Stenka and Timofee, were both vying for the attentions of the cook's assistant. And the cook herself was being whispered to by the older brother, Kon-rad, on the other side of the room.
This was a small posting house that employed no serving wenches. Yet the only two women who worked on the premises were being engaged. It had been happening all week. Whatever females were available, the Cossacks got to them first and monopolized their time. Vasili had been brooding too much to really notice or care.
"Whatever they're doing, you can be sure it's not to my benefit," Vasili grumbled in reply.
"Why don't you ride ahead tomorrow to the next town and get it out of your system?" Lazar suggested. "I might even join you."
"An excellent idea, except I don't trust Alexandra to show up in the next town if I do that."
And he wasn't about to let her camp in the countryside without his being there to protect her. He did have a duty to her, after all, whether he wanted it or not.
Vasili added in disgust, "Either that, or she will show up and tear the town apart until she finds whichever wench I bedded so she can cut her ears off."
Lazar burst out laughing. Vasili scowled, because it wasn't the least bit funny.
"Actually," Lazar said, "I've heard she does much better with a horsewhip than a knife."
"Who told you that?"
"One of her grooms. Something about a young lieutenant who abused one of her horses."
Vasili groaned. "So she really is prone to violence."
"Only in defense of what's hers." Lazar started laughing again before he got out, "And you, my friend, she considers hers."
Vasili gave that remark the silence it deserved, but a while later, he wondered aloud, "Have you had any luck yourself, Lazar?"
As usual, Lazar had no difficulty following the drift of Vasili's thoughts, even when they weren't fully expressed. "I've been turned down twice due to association," Lazar admitted, since it was women they were still discussing. "Mind you, I'm not complaining. I'm having more fun watching you pulling hairs anyway."
"Don't think I haven't noticed," Vasili replied dryly. "For a friend, your good cheer warms my heart, it's so offensive."
Lazar grinned unrepentantly. "At least one of us is beginning to enjoy this trip."
Vasili waited a while before he asked, "And is my nemesis enjoying herself tonight?"
"Why don't you look for yourself?"
"Because it turns my stomach to watch her when she's eating," Vasili lied.
The truth was, the way Alexandra fed herself with her fingers, then licked them afterward, was too damn erotic for him to watch without becoming aroused every time. He'd stopped watching.
"Actually, those musicians who wandered in a few minutes ago have her full attention now."
Vasili's eyes immediately sought the musicians setting up in a corner of the room. He relaxed only after noting that all three of them were beyond their middle years, with nothing about them to interest a young woman other than the entertainment they could offer ...
Vasili slumped in his chair, incredulous over what he'd just done. What the hell did he care whom Alexandra might be attracted to? He didn't care.
To prove it, he turned to Lazar and said, "Why don't you seduce her?"
"Why don't I what?"
"Not so loud, dammit," Vasili complained. "I wasn't joking."
"Yes, you were," Lazar replied emphatically.
"When it would give me legitimate grounds to take her back to her father, you know I'm not joking. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."
"But this is not one of your forget-the-next-day women you don't mind sharing, Vasili. We're talking about your betrothed, chosen by your father, approved by your mother—at least until she meets her—your soon-to-be wife."
"A fact I'm trying to change with a little cooperation from a friend."
"That's dirty. Next you'll tell me you'd do the same thing for me."
"You know I would."
Lazar did know it. He also knew Vasili didn't have a jealous bone in his body, at least where women were concerned, so that wasn't what bothered him. It was that Alexandra wasn't like all those other women, even though Vasili was determined to give her no special distinction.
"It would never work, when she knows she can have you instead," Lazar pointed out. "She doesn't even look at me, and if she looks at me, she doesn't see me. I've never been quite so uniquely ignored by a woman before."
"You could at least try."
Lazar grimaced, but nodded. "When am I supposed to accomplish this miracle? Tonight?"
That question seemed to startle Vasili. It certainly brought a frown to his brow. "No— you don't want to ruin your chances by being too hasty. Take some time to consider your strategy first. Sleep on it."
Since Lazar wasn't looking forward to the rejection he anticipated, he said, "By all means."
The musicians had started playing a lively folk song by then. Three men got up from their table and began to dance one of the Russian dances traditionally reserved only for men.
The Cossack twins looked on disdainfully. Alexandra was apparently teasing them, because they suddenly got up and joined the dance, and Vasili had to admit they were definitely more exuberant, as well as adept at it.
He knew the dance himself, though it had been years since he'd tried it. It required strong thighs and excellent balance for the kicks and ... He didn't believe it. Alexandra wouldn't dare ...
She
would. She was actually dancing with the men, and they didn't seem to mind. More of her own men joined in. The shouts were becoming deafening.
Beside him, Lazar said, "I'll be damned— she never ceases to amaze!"
Vasili wasn't listening. He was watching how those baggy pants of hers tightened with each squat and kick, how her breasts bounced when she leapt, how her face glowed with enjoyment. He had to get a closer view. He didn't have to dance to do so, but that was what he did.
Later that night, in the bed they were sharing because of the shortage of rooms—a problem they were often encountering because of the size of their party—Lazar was still chuckling to himself over Vasili's unexpected participation in that dance. He had acquitted himself well, and Alexandra couldn't have helped but be impressed. It was probably the first agreeable interaction they'd had, and without a word spoken. Too bad they'd both been embarrassed when it was over.
Vasili wasn't sleeping yet either, but it wasn't the dance he was thinking about. He suddenly cleared his throat to say, "Forget I mentioned it."
Once again, Lazar knew exactly what was on his friend's mind, in this case the seduction of his betrothed. "If s already forgotten," Lazar assured him with a great deal of relief.
Vasili didn't let the subject drop there. "You weren't really considering it, were you?"
"I was merely humoring you."
"Good."
Somehow Lazar kept from laughing out loud, but damn, it wasn't easy.
17
Snow greeted them the next morning. The flurries didn't last long and didn't stick to the ground, but the temperature dropped considerably from what it had been the day before. And they weren't anywhere near the mountains yet, where it was going to be much, much colder.
Alexandra loved such weather, but she had too many things on her mind to enjoy it. Her plan wasn't working as swiftly as she had thought it would. Actually, it didn't seem to be working at all.
Not once had Vasili remarked on her disgusting eating habits. The twins had fought one night, and instead of stopping them with a word, as she usually did when she witnessed their tussles, she'd pretended to be fascinated and encouraged them. But Vasili hadn't commented on her bloodthirsty behavior. He hadn't noticed yet that she was beginning to stink, either, though Nina certainly had and frequently complained about it. He hadn't even been properly scandalized last night when she had danced a strictly male dance, and she wasn't going to think about how much fun she'd had, even with him joining in, particularly after he'd joined in.
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