He clasps her by the elbow to steady her. “This is my wife, Ekaterina. Kotik, meet my new friend…” he trails off, obviously expecting me to fill in the blank. We haven’t exchanged names.
“Blake.”
Ekaterina eyes me with suspicion. “Nice to meet you.” Her accent is heavier than Maksim’s. “Dorogoy, chto ty tut delayesh'? Ya uzhe nachala volnovat'sya.”
Maksim sighs. “Pochemu? Ya zhe tebe uzhe govoril pro knigu. Posmotri syuda.” He points at the book and then lifts his gaze to me. “Ty vidish', kakaya ona krasivaya?”
Ekaterina scoffs at the display case. “Gospodi. Kniga kak kniga. Zachem tebe eto nuzhno?”
I have no idea what they’re saying, but their body language and the way Maksim rolls his eyes at his wife suggest she’s managed to annoy him. I wonder if the stress of not knowing where they stand with the pakhan has put a strain on their relationship or if they’ve always been like this. Vita made it sound like they married for political reasons.
Maksim drags his tongue over his upper teeth. “My wife doesn’t appreciate literature the way we do.”
Ekaterina reddens and narrows her eyes at me as if I’m guilty of something.
My nerves spike. This isn’t good. The goal was to make friendly contact with the two of them, not piss Ekaterina off.
I give her a smile. “That’s all right. I love meeting people with different passions from mine. The world would be boring if we were all interested in the same things, wouldn’t it?”
Ekaterina’s brows pinch together. “How nice.” She unlaces her arm from Maksim’s and takes a step back to look past him. “Did you already look at that Swiss pocket watch we talked about? My dolzhny ikh dostat' dlya Slavy. Yemu ponravitsya.”
My ears perk up at “Slava.” That’s the short form for Yaroslav—the pakhan.
Just then, I spot Nero under the arched vestibule that connects the two rooms, and I give him a wave.
Maksim glances over his shoulder. “Is that your husband?”
“He’s very tall,” Ekaterina notes as Nero moves toward us. There’s a hint of appreciation in her tone that I don’t like.
Maksim doesn’t appear to notice it though. His eyes stay glued on Nero, and a notch appears between his brows.
He recognizes him.
My nape begins to prickle. His reaction once Nero introduces himself is important. If he turns hostile, the whole plan might fall apart.
Nero arrives at my side, slipping his arm around my waist. “Hey, baby. Having a good time?”
Ekaterina’s eyes flare with interest, and without thinking, I get on my tiptoes and press a kiss to Nero’s cheek. “I am.”
Nero’s grip tightens slightly as he shifts his attention to Maksim. “Thank you for keeping my wife company.”
Maksim sizes him up. “It’s been my pleasure.”
For a moment, tension coils in the air, and I half expect Ekaterina to bristle at Maksim’s words, but her gaze is fixed on Nero with an almost predatory curiosity. I can practically see the hearts dancing in her eyes.
That green monster wakes again.
What is it about this man that brings out my jealous side? I never felt this way with Brett, even though plenty of women liked to ogle him too.
Nero extends a hand toward Maksim. “Nero De Luca.”
Maksim accepts the handshake with deliberate slowness. “I know who you are.”
“Have we met before?”
“I don’t believe so, but you’re a famous man among some circles.”
Understanding flashes in Nero’s eyes. “And you are?”
