Page 38 of You Belong to Me
“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 livelyfolk 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 hadacquitted 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. “It’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 properlyscandalized 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,particularlyafter he’d joined in.
The only thing Vasili had alluded to at all was her unique way of keeping him faithful. If she thought that was all it would take to make him break the betrothal, she could relax, but he hadn’t been nearly angry enough the first time she’d used that ploy, proving that much more was needed to finally make him disgusted enough to sever their association. Not that she wasn’t going to continue to curtail his sexual peccadillos, publicly and privately. Doing so privately wasn’t as satisfying or as scandalous as making a public scene, but he had been careful not to proposition any more women in front of her. Because the embarrassment had been worse than his sexual frustration?
If that was the case, perhaps another “scene” was in order. Maybe a simple demonstration of temper this time, something completely unrelated to Vasili, to show him that even if he was on his best behavior, she could still be an embarrassment to him. The idea had some definite merit, and when she discussed it with the Razins that day, they agreed it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.
Timofee volunteered to be the cause of her anger, but Stenka argued that he wanted the privilege, so she assured them it would be a pleasure to scorch both their ears. And the reason? She decided that one wasn’t necessaryand that if Vasili asked about it, she would merely tell him it was none of his business.
She would have preferred to stage the “scene” in a town, where it would be even more public, but when they didn’t reach one before dark that night and ended up making camp again, she was too eager to see Vasili’s reaction to postpone the demonstration. She still had to wait, however, because as usual, he was riding far in advance of the party and it would take a while for him to realize they weren’t going to catch up with him.
But it took Vasili more than an hour after dark had fallen to return, long enough to make Alexandra begin to suspect that he had found himself a willing woman somewhere up ahead. So when he rode into camp and she immediately began cursing the twins at the top of her lungs, she really was as angry as she sounded.
Unfortunately, her knowledge of vulgarities was rather limited. And not having considered that lack beforehand, Alexandra was forced to pause in her diatribe to whisper to the twins, “I’ve run out of names to call you. Quickly, give me some more.”
Timofee was too busy covering an unrepentant grin with his hands, but Stenka was happy to oblige, and Alexandra’s eyes widened and her cheeks bloomed with color as she shouted the new names at him. But with her back to Vasili, he couldn’t see her reaction, could merely hear her outrageousness, so shewasn’t worried about his noticing her own embarrassment.
She was impatient to know his reaction, however, and couldn’t resist another whisper to Stenka. “Is he properly scandalized yet?”
“I hate to say it, Alex, but he’s laughing.”
