Page 20 of Knot Their Princess

Maybe too intoxicating.

And it belongs to the man in front of me with the piercing green eyes.

His nostrils flare at the same time as mine, but his attention is drawn behind me again. This time, he moves in close to me, but reaches behind my back, never touching.

“It’s so good you came,” he says, but not to me. A new scent hangs on the air, something I can’t put my finger on, but reminds me of… something familiar.

An older man comes from around my back, his hand still connected to Ilya’s from their handshake. When he releases his grip, his gaze narrows on Petrov beside me, who’s suddenly whiter than a sheet. Then, he turns those hard eyes on me, and something changes. He blinks once, then again, his mouth opening then closing silently. Then, he clears his throat, his gaze softening.

He offers me his hand. “I am Giovanni.” His voice is lightly accented, and given his name, I’d guess it was Italian.

I take his hand and smile, finding it less difficult to do than I thought. “Sin. Er, Sindella.” I let out a nervous laugh. “My friends call me Sin.”

Giovanni brings my hand to his lips and places a soft kiss on my knuckles. There’s nothing sexual in the move, more polite and even endearing. “Sin.” He nods as he releases my hand. Then, taking a play from Ilya’s book, his voice grows harsh as he addresses Petrov, but his eyes remain on me until he finishes speaking. “You have a very beautiful woman on your arm, Mikhail.”

At Giovanni’s words, Petrov snaps back to his regular, easy self. His demeanor changes as an easy smile stretches across his face. “Yes, Giovanni. Thank you. My fiancee is quite beautiful.”

Giovanni’s gaze snaps back to me. The look in his eyes is surprised, but mixed with something unreadable.

My skin prickles, growing hot and uncomfortable, like when the spotlights are set too high on the stage at the club when I’m performing a scene. My hackles have been up since the moment this weird conversation began.n

“Your fiancee?” Giovanni’s voice is low. “Is that right?”

“Indeed.” Petrov takes my left hand in his, quickly presses a kiss to my fingers before holding it up for Giovanni and Ilya to see that sparkly boulder on my finger that gets even heavier than before.

As the whole world narrows in my vision, my thoughts begin to spiral.

Are these the people who he wanted to convince he was engaged to someone? I knew that I’d been a piece on a game board, but for some reason, looking at these two men and seeing the surprise and disbelief on their faces makes my senses go wild.

They’ve have all but confirmed every suspicion of mine since I’d boarded Petrov’s jet.

“Well,” Giovanni says straightening, then looking back-and-forth between us. “I’m very happy for the two of you.” Though his voice is tight, the older man sends me a warm smile, clears his throat and gestures with his head toward the dais at the back of the ballroom. “Ilya, let’s convene for a moment.”

Ilya looks reluctant to follow him, but a moment later, he nods at the two of us, and he and Giovanni make their way to the back of the ballroom.

I peer over at Petrov again, his eyes following their every move. Eyes that I had always considered warm and approachable grow cold and calculating.

But that changes when he turns back to me.

And my hackles further rise for it.

That practiced smile of his spreads across his face as he says, “Why don’t we dance?”

Chapter Eight

Garen

That was interesting.

Ilya converses almost heatedly with Giovanni after their little chat with Mikhail and his date.

We should eavesdrop.

Well, that’s not very polite, is it?

Who gives a fuck? Don’t you smell that?

Frowning, I inhale slow and deep through my nose. Something floral and herb-like invades my senses, sweet and somewhat familiar. My heart rate picks up speed immediately, my vision hazing.