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Chuckling, he took her hand and pulled her closer. “No. But when we kiss, I want it to be because you want to. Not because your cousin told you to. And not only because you think I will like it.”
Too humiliated to speak, she just stared at his chest. Why, oh why, had she listened to her cousin? She was so going to pinch her when they got back to the house.
A finger came under her chin and he lifted her head to see her face. His lips pressed into a firm line, but the gentleness of his hand on her chin made her feel warm and protected instead of afraid.
“Do you hear me, little bird?” he asked, drawing her attention back to his voice.
She got the feeling this man was used to being obeyed. Swallowing hard, she forced the word from her mouth. “Yes.”
Chapter Two
The occasion was far less civilized than Konstantin had anticipated. He’d thought maybe breakfast, hugs and handshakes with Varushka’s family, then driving straight to the airport. Instead, he was stripped to the waist with every other man of the family, working on the new sheep fence.
It was a test, of course, so see what kind of man he was.
“So, today you bring our Varushka home with you,” her father said, as yet another post went into the ground. Anatoli Koslov was built like a bear, and had joked amiably with him when he’d arrived, but all his levity had disappeared.
“Yes. She seems okay with the idea,” Konstantin said, not sure how eager to sound. “She’s a great girl. You must be very proud of her.”
Anatoli cleared his throat while he pointed out to Konstantin and his sons where to dig the next series of holes. Konstantin pretended not to notice the man struggle to control his emotions.
“No father could ask for a better child. She is the flower of our family, and far more clever than her brothers.”
Konstantin glanced at her older brothers, who were standing close enough to hear. They all either nodded in agreement or glared at him in warning.
“She’ll make a good wife for the right man.” Anatoli pressed his lips together, as though the decision was still paining him. “You will be good to her, though? She’s an innocent girl. A good girl.”
Mud splashed up on Konstantin as he plonked the next fencepost into the hole he’d dug. One of the middle brothers filled dirt in around it as Konstantin held it in place. He hadn’t helped to build a fence since he was a teenager, and he was glad he remembered how. They knew he didn’t make his living as a farmer, but the men of this village judged a man on specific qualities. If a man didn’t balk at manual labor it spoke volumes about his character. Konstantin could more than afford to have professionals build fences for him, but in Nasva, being helpful and a hard worker were more important than having money. It was an attitude he’d always respected, and it had followed him over to his life in America.
“I’ll take good care of her. If she’s not happy with me, I’ll send her home to you.” He held her father’s gaze earnestly, until the man nodded in approval. “It’s not like it was years ago when people moved overseas. You can call her anytime, or visit. Say the word and I’ll send plane tickets.”
“No, no.” Anatoli laughed, his gregarious bravado making a reappearance. “You don’t need an old man living in your back pocket. I have too much to do here. But my wife may need to see her more.”
The man cleared his throat again and wiped sweat from his face that may or may not have been coming from his eyes. He supervised the packing of dirt into the hole next to Konstantin’s as he regained control of himself again.
Konstantin swallowed the sigh that had almost slipped out.
Wasn’t sending for a wife supposed to be less hassle? Maybe he should have stuck with dating worldly women. That wasn’t what he wanted, though. He could have married almost anyone if all he wanted was arm candy. He wanted a real wife. A partner who had the same values and would share the kind of connection with him that his best friends had with their wives.
This meeting-the-parents thing was a lot harder than he’d thought it would be. It wasn’t like a business transaction at all. It was much muddier, and not just in terms of his borrowed boots.
For as long as he’d dated Sindee and Anna, he couldn’t remember whether they’d even had parents.
When it came to Varushka, he felt like he was abducting a child from her loving family. Would he ever be able to sleep with her, let alone explore a BDSM relationship with her, after seeing that look of adoration and concern on her father’s face?
Anatoli glanced back at him. “I’ll be content with visiting with her at the wedding, hopefully within a year, if things go well.” It was said with a grin, but the man’s eyes were not joking. “And again when my grandbabies start coming. Then I’ll be on your doorstep so much you’ll be sorry you made the offer.”
Grandbabies?
Cold dread ran through him. It was all part of the plan, but hearing her family’s expectations so bluntly was like falling into a half-frozen river.
Him, married? Him, a father?
He wanted both, but the immediacy of it scared him. Someday had just come calling. There had been no question that today was going to irrevocably change his life. At almost thirty, it wasn’t as though he was a child anymore, and he’d been fine with moving on to another phase of his life. But babies? He didn’t know anything about babies.
It was too early to think about that anyway. Varushka was still very young—only twenty-one. They had plenty of time for that later. Getting to know each other was the priority now, not nannies and Little League.
It was a damned good thing his years in the business world had given him the ability to keep a neutral expression.
