Page 10 of An Heir to Blood and Power

“Excellent.” Nicolai turned back to me with a sly little smile that was really pretty cute. “We’ll find something for you to wear.”

He took my hand and held it in his like he was soothingme, and I considered crawling up the wall to get the hell away from him because his clasp felt so gentle, so foreign.

People didn’tdothat.

People weren’t gentle like that.

Not to me.

Not to someone they consideredan interlude.

Nicolai said, “You’ll be the most beautiful woman there.”

I slipped my fingers away from his. “You don’t have to do that.”

Konstantin stood. “I have places I need to be. This chick?” He pointed at me. “You need to get out of this so-called marriage, Nico. This chick is a wreck. She’ll wreckyou.”

“Konstantin, that’s enough.Stop.”

He grimaced, and his fists clenched by his sides. “Sorry, Lexi. Again, I’m worried about my brother, who is obviously still drunk if he thinks no one else is going to ask questions. Call Clementine if you want a rat’s ass chance in Hell at pulling this off.”

“Kostya,again.”

He sighed.“Fine.I’m sorry, Lexi. I’ll be more polite. I’m rattled. I’m rattled at my brother, who for the last several years andas of yesterdaywas thoroughly against marriage as an institution and has announced dozens of times in all manners of company that having a family was never to be in his plans, atthat guysuddenly showing upmarried.”

“It’s not Lexi’s fault,” Nicolai said. “I insisted. Lexi is a decent human being who was trying to keep a drunkard out of trouble.”

“Yeah,” Konstantin muttered. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Nicolai’s little brother disapproved of our ersatz marriage, and I didn’t blame him.

Nicolai saw his brother out of the suite and returned to sit beside me on the end of the bed, staring straight ahead at the wall. “I apologize for Kostya’s behavior.”

My whole body was rattling because everything Konstantin had said was true. “It’s fine.”

“That upset you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“When things got heated between Kostya and me. Kostya has always been . . . volatile, and he takes liberties with me because he has no one else to fight with. It’s always been that way between us. I am his older brother and have been responsible for him his whole life, so he fights with me.”

I scratched the white linen duvet cover. “It doesn’t matter.”

He reached over to where I was fidgeting and maybe vandalizing the duvet and took my hand in his. “It won’t happen again.”

“What, no one will ever question us about being insta-married again? People aredefinitelygoing to ask questions. Probablyeveryone.”

His thumb very gently stroked the back of my hand. “I’ll make sure I don’t get angry again, unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t like how scared you looked.” His solemn gaze was steady, serious. “It won’t happen again.”

That seemed like it needed an affirmation. “Okay.”

“I’ll text Clemmy to see if we can get on her schedule for a consult.” He glared at his phone. “In the meantime, it appears I have a few texts to reply to.”

I huffed ahehat him. “I’ll bet. How many?”

Nicolai was still scowling at his phone. “Everyone I know, it seems.”

My phone was silent and dark.