Page 51 of An Heir to Blood and Power

Clementine rubbed my back, bare where my dress’s straps crisscrossed over my spine, and glared at Nico. “Oh, yes. We have another topic to discuss while we’re back here, hidden away from the crowd.”

I glanced up.

Clementine had turned toward Nicolai, her posture aggressive, chest puffed, center of mass forward on her toes like she was about to grab his shirt collar and haul him down to her face.“…Motherfucker.”

Nico flicked his gaze at her and held his drink away and higher, like she might grab his own drink and throw it in his face. “Clemmie!”

“Whythe fuckdid youlieto me,djävul?”

Uh-oh.I swiveled my head to watch.

“Jeez, Clemmie. No need to goSwedishon me.”

“You two? Twoyearsof dating?Fan ta dig.”

“Wow.”His eyes stretched wide as he drank from the squat glass he held.

“Nico,”Clementine snapped.

“Sorry about that,” he said with a sigh breathing through his words. “It seemed better to keep our story consistent.”

“I’ll expect to hear the real story, thewholestory,from you,tomorrow. In the meantime, it’s past one in the morning. You should take Lexi home. I think she’s had quite enough of us tonight.” To me, she said, “I’ll see you in the afternoon forcoffee, shopping, and strategy. And you’re cut off from alcohol. Only water or club soda for the rest of the night. Don’t make me inform the bartenders, because I will.”

Clementine darted into the crowd, leaving Nicolai and me hidden away from the chaos.

In the gloom, Nicolai’s fingers found my chin, lifting my face to look into my eyes. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. It’s just kind of overwhelming,” I admitted. “I pattern-matched wrong. But you-all arereallytall.”

Nicolai nodded sagely. “I think someone mentioned that.”

He caught my hand in his, lifting my knuckles to his lips and brushing them, his breath warm on my skin.

Every time he kissed my hand like that, my heart stuttered, not in fear, but in wanting to move closer to him. “You don’t have to do that. No one can even see us back here.”

“I know.” He looked down at me. “But you never know who’s watching.”

Yeah, Caesars likely had CCTV and security cameras throughout the nightclub. They couldn’t be too careful about things that could get them sued.

Nicolai sighed. “I shouldn’t have tried to fool Clemmy. She’s known me too long.”

“Do you think she’ll narc?”

“No. She likes you.”

“Are you sure? She’s never even smiled at me, not even once.”

“I don’t think she can. The Botox, you know. And the nipping and tucking.”

“I think she just doesn’t like me.”

Nicolai lifted one eyebrow. “I’m worried she’ll try to steal you from me.”

“Oh, does she prefer girls?”

His eyebrow drifted down. “Clementine prefers privacy, but I think she’s private about men, probably. Or mostly.”

He kissed my knuckles one more time, this time looking down at me.