Page 68 of You Belong to Me
Alexandra could breathe again. It had felt as if the bottom had dropped out of her stomach when she’d seen him there. Now she felt queazy, as if she’d just experienced fear. But that made no sense.
She turned back to the mare. She was going to ignore him. He was probably here only to complain about her behavior at dinner, and she could do without that.
“Leave us.”
Her head snapped back around. Vasili was staring at Stenka, and Stenka wasn’t budging. Her friend was angry, and no wonder. He’d just spent the better part of the past hour trying to lighten her mood with the most ridiculous antics, and having finally managed it, he didn’t appreciate Vasili ruining the effect. But she’d succeeded in keeping Vasili and her friends from one another’s throats for the past five weeks. She wasn’t going to let them have at each other now.
“It’s all right, Stenka,” she said, her voice firm. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Stenka nodded curtly and she finished applying the poultice to the mare. So she missed the looks that passed between the two men. Stenka’s expression said clearly, Hurt her and I’ll kill you. Vasili’s said, just as clearly, She belongs to me now, so don’t interfere.
Not that he really felt that way. He certainlydidn’t. But he’d been compelled to give that impression to the Cossack.
His gaze came back to Alexandra as soon as the Cossack left the stall. And Vasili had to wonder why she’d let the man go when he knew she didn’t like to be alone with him. But they were definitely alone now. His arousal came immediately with the thought. Oddly, it didn’t annoy him this time. He must be getting used to it. But then, wanting her was so easy—and it happened so damn often.
Alexandra washed her hands in a bucket of water. When she deigned to notice Vasili again, she sighed. “You might as well get it over with.”
Could she possibly have been having the same thoughts as he? “What?”
“The complaints,” she said. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“Actually, no,” he replied. “I thought the dinner went rather well, all things considered.”
“Your mother’s not furious?”
“‘Determined’ would better describe her.”
He didn’t elaborate, but he smiled, and she was always suspicious of a smile from him. “Then why did you come?”
“To get my horse.”
“Youcame to get your horse, instead of sending someone?” she said, her tone going beyond skeptical to the realm of disbelief.
“Don’t make it sound as if I never do anything for myself, Alex.”
“You don’t.”
Now he sighed. “Do you think we could have a conversation for once without arguing?”
“Probably not.”
“Could wetry?”
Her look was wary, but after a moment she shrugged indifferently and asked, “Do you have something in particular you want to talk about?”
He didn’t. He simply didn’t want to leave yet. But he knew why, or thought he did. His body was hoping he’d do something about the state it was now in. He wasn’t going to. Making love to her again could be nothing but a bad idea, leading to complications—and addiction.
But for want of a subject, he said, “I noticed the wagons outside are still full. Aren’t you going to unpack?”
“I took a few trunks into the house. I don’t see any reason to unpack the rest.”
She was making it very easy for herself to leave on the spur of the moment. He found he didn’t like that idea. His body liked it even less, going into something of a panic as he thought of her never being available again to—
“I should go,” he said abruptly.
“About today,” she said at the same time, but she’d heard what he’d said. “Never mind.”
He’d tried, he really had. But ifshewas going to bring up his promise of making love toher if she committed any violence, what chance did he have of letting it pass?
