Page 17 of You Belong to Me
Alexandra and Stenka rode up behind the visitors without being noticed. The Cardinians had been inconsiderate in not taking their horses around to the stables. Two of the house servants had come out to take charge of theanimals, but they weren’t having much luck. Several of the horses were thoroughbreds, not as fine as those the Rubliovs bred, and not as well trained either. In fact, they were causing quite a disturbance among the more placid animals.
One was a stallion at which Prince Mischa snorted and tossed his proud head, but a soft word from Alexandra and he stilled, allowing her to dismount and ignore him, sure that he wouldn’t embarrass her with any male theatrics. Her eyes had already settled on the man she assumed to be her betrothed, his fine clothes giving him away. She hadn’t expected him to be so handsome. Dark brown hair, baby-blue eyes, and grooves in his cheeks that promised dimples when he smiled. She was further surprised to find his expression so open, making him seem accessible—even likable.
Right now, he was about the only one of his group who had heard her arrival and who had turned in her direction. But his eyes never reached Alexandra. They lit on Prince Mischa and went no further.
It was a reaction Alexandra was quite used to, expected even, and understandably filled her with no small amount of pride. But then her two stallions, Prince Mischa and his sire, Sultan’s Pride, were both pure white thoroughbreds, with luxurious long manes and tails, deep blue eyes, and none of the usual patches of pink skin showing through their dense, smooth coats.
Their offspring were in constant demand and commanded ridiculously high prices, but Alexandra never sold her “babies” to anyone who wasn’t a connoisseur of fine horseflesh. If the prospective buyers weren’t going to pamper them the way she did, then they weren’t going to own them.
Her betrothed, apparently, was just such a connoisseur. Figuratively, he was practically drooling over her horse. She was amused. She was relieved. Though it was going to kill her to do it, she just might be able to buy him off with Prince Mischa. Of course, she would offer one of her mares or geldings first. All of her breeding stock and their offspring were of superior quality. But from the looks of the man, he was already in love with Prince Mischa.
Alexandra dismounted, and just to be sure she hadn’t made a mistake in identifying her betrothed, she demanded, loud enough for the entire group to hear her, “Which one of you is Vasili Petroff?”
Vasili turned from his examination of the large country house and eyed the—female? He wasn’t quite sure until his gaze dropped to a prime pair of breasts that actually widened the opening of the old woolen coat she was wearing. It was a shame the britches were so baggy, but the skin-hugging boots revealed nicely shaped calves.
He was attracted, no doubt about it. Breasts like those always did the trick for him. But there was more, for she had quite lovely features, too, flawless skin that still retained asummer tan, which attested to her peasant origins—no lady would expose herself to that much sun—with high cheekbones presently pinkened by the wind and a slim, straight nose that seemed too fine, almost aristocratic.
Her mouth was luscious, full, provocative, nearly as tempting as those breasts. The stubborn lift of her small chin was disconcerting, but could be ignored. What he could see of her hair beneath the fur hat that covered her head was almost lighter than her tanned skin. The nicely curved brows were darker, though, a light brown, and the long, thick lashes that surrounded almond-shaped eyes were darker still, making for a very arresting, exotic combination.
Perhaps his short stay here wouldn’t be completely unpleasant after all, Vasili decided, and he was grinning by the time he said, “That would be me, sweetheart. And who might you be?”
Alexandra’s eyes left the dark-haired man, who had barely spared her a glance at her question, and swung to the one who had just spoken. So shehadmade a mistake…
The thought deserted her, along with every other one in her head. Her eyes grew enormous. Her mouth dropped open. She forgot about breathing. And her stomach felt as if it were trying to drop to her feet.
Time passed without her noticing it, until finally she was drawing in a starved breath just before she turned blue. She turned bright crimson instead. Her cheeks had to be givingoff smoke. And his grin widened at her reaction to him. Was it shock? Was that what had just made a fool of her? And still was, for she still couldn’t seem to find her tongue. It must be shock, but then no one had ever warned her that men could look like this one.
He was golden all over, hair of molten gold that curled softly over his temples and ears, tawny-gold skin, honey-gold eyes. He was absolutely beautiful, but it was a masculine beauty, with features perfectly symmetrical: lean cheeks, a straight, aquiline nose, thick, slashing brows, strong chin, and well-shaped lips that were entirely too sensual. The combination was mesmerizing.
But somehow Alexandra managed to pull her stunned senses together.Hewas Vasili Petroff? She was supposed to marryhim?God, what a joke. Marry a man more beautiful than she was? Not in this century, she wouldn’t.
Now that her mind was working again, she recalled her plan and she marched over to him, belatedly noting that he was tall, a good six feet tall. And his knee-length, fur-edged coat that was wrapped and belted around a lean waist showed a military physique that she found a bit disconcerting. Her father was taller and much stockier, but the whipcord strength of the man who stood before her was somehow more intimidating.
But Alexandra was not one to show her fear to anyone if she could help it, and she wasn’t actually afraid of the man. He wasn’t her husband, after all, merely her betrothed—and soon he wouldn’t even be that.
“I’m sorry I stood there like a half-wit, Count Petroff,” she told him matter-of-factly, “but I was a bit—surprised. After all, it’s not ever day that I see a man who’s prettier than I am.”
She vaguely heard some chuckles from the men standing behind him and from the blue-eyed man she had first thought was her betrothed. She was quite disappointed that he wasn’t Count Petroff, for it would have been far easier to deal with him. She gave him a brief, wistful glance that he must have misinterpreted—he was finally looking her way long enough to see it—for it wiped the humorous expression from his face.
Returning her attention to the golden Adonis, she noted his heightened color. It was amazing how she always managed to produce that effect in men once she opened her mouth—at least in men who didn’t know her. She hadn’t intended to shock him with her frankness, but she was unaccountably pleased that she’d managed it anyway. And having gotten rid of his grin at least, she felt more in control.
Remembering his question, she was about to introduce herself when, between one thought and the next, she also recalled what he’d called her. “Sweetheart?” Without knowing who she was? She almost laughed then, as she realized that the man had been flirting with her, or rather, with an unknown female, and on the doorstep of his betrothed’s house. Andthattoldher more about his character than she was likely to learn from any conversation with him.
She didn’t laugh, but she couldn’t quite keep the corners of her mouth from turning up. This really was a stroke of luck for her. She couldn’t wait to tell her father about this paragon of honor and virtue he’d hoped to saddle her with.
She considered toying with him for a moment, just to see how far he could bury himself before she revealed who she was. It was actually very tempting, not that she really knew how to toy with a man. But she wasn’t going to resort to trickery when honesty would serve just as well.
She was still grinning slightly, however, when she said, “Let me introduce myself, Count. I’m Alex Rubliov.”
“Alex—as in Alexandra?”
“Yes.”
The moment he had her answer, his whole demeanor changed. His honey-gold eyes traveled down her long length, but this time they were filled with utter contempt, with a heavy dose of disgust thrown in. And Alexandra couldn’t have been more pleased.
To prove it, she gave him a dazzling smile that, unbeknownst to her, made him catch his breath. “It’s rather obvious that neither of us is what the other expected, but don’t despair. As it happens, I don’t want to marry you.”
Since she’d just taken the words right out of Vasili’s mouth, so to speak, he was rendered nearlyspeechless. “You don’t?”
