Page 38 of Lord of Passion

He winces slightly, rubbing his jaw. "It is a real marriage," Caroline," he says cautiously. "You will be legally married. It will be viewed as valid in America as well as here."

"I don't have to stay married, though?" I ask, hoping for a light at the end of this tunnel, and not the light on an oncoming locomotive, which is what this is beginning to feel like.

"That's between you and Nikandr."

I lean back, tapping my fingers on the arm of my chair, staring at him. The cool bastard stares right back, not moving a muscle. No uncomfortable adjustment of his chair, or shift of his gaze.The staring match continues until my eyes burn. "You're really saying I have to go through with this?" I ask.

He gives a shrug that is so verySlavic.It's a vibe that seems to take over these Morozovs once they hit the home country. Like the more formal language and the slight tinge of a Russian accent.

For a moment, Alexsey seems like a stranger. "Yes."

"Well, shit," I say despondently.

"Go fix your lipstick and try not to look like I just murdered your puppy." He’s all business now, the asshole. "The registrar should be here in a few minutes."

The tube of lipstick is in my hand, forgotten as I stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror."Nikandr…" My lips twist like I just ate a lemon. "Why does it have to behim?"

He dates models. Sleek, willowy models with fabulous bone structure who are giddy that he'd chosen them. We had one drunken sexfest in anelevator,and as predicted, Ididhate both myself and him the next morning.

And I'm not sleek or willowy. I'm sturdy.

"Fuck it," I tell my reflection. "Let's get this over with."

I straighten my dress, hitching up the front a little so the girls aren't quite as on display, and head back out. The registrar is a nice, older man with black-rimmed glasses, dressed in a brown suit.

Nikandr reaches out one big paw to me and I eye him for a moment before taking it. He pulls me closer, our hips bumping gently together.

"Is it hot in here?" I ask, my voice loud in the quiet room. "It feels really warm. I should have Engineering check the HVAC on this floor."

Alexsey's lips are pressed together tightly, the heartless prick, and he strolls over to the thermostat, adjusting it.

"Hello, Caroline Basha, I am Ivan Lebedev," the registrar says, in heavily accented English. He's smiling at me kindly, like he sees nervous brides all the time and that this is perfectly understandable. "Are you ready?"

Taking a quick glance at Nikandr, I'm struck with resentment. He's perfectly calm, radiating a quiet confidence that makes me want to punch him.

"Yeah," I say bleakly.

Mr. Lebedev walks us through a dry as dust civil ceremony that lasts approximately three and a half minutes and then presents us with a form to be signed. Nikandr produces two rings from his jacket pocket. A plain band for him, and a platinum ring with a large, square diamond for me.

There are no flowers. The only photographer is Alexsey, who takes several quick pictures, telling me to, "Stop looking like you just got an ass cancer diagnosis."

Highly motivating.

And then, he's gone. The registrar is gone, and the bodyguards. It's just Nikandr and me in the suddenly empty suite.

Chapter Seventeen

In which a certain new husband should learn that pissing their bride off is not a strong start to a marriage.

Nikandr…

We're alone here in the suite. I don't think she likes it because she examines her nails, then straightens a pillow on the sofa and looks in every direction but mine.

"Well, if that's it…" Caroline clears her throat. "I'm going to get changed and run down to Sergei's office. He's going to show me how to use the keyword personalization feature that he's perfected for the guests and –"

"No, you won't." It comes out faster than I intend, but the idea of Caroline in his office and that silver fox fuck standing over her, looking down her blouse is not acceptable.

"I beg your pardon?" she says sharply. All that nervous energy finally has a place to focus: rage. Specifically, at me. It's crackling along her stiff posture and through her mossy green eyes.