Page 20 of Vows of Blood
The door starts to move a little, so Alexei stops leaning on it and takes a step back. It opens all the way and the priest sticks his head through. He says something in Russian to Alexei and smiles at me. Alexei says something back to him and then the priest disappears behind the door.
He sticks his hand out to me. “Come on. Time to get this over with.”
The wedding was…well, it was a wedding. We did the whole ‘betrothal’ thing, which amounted to a kind of sacred ritual. Our wedding rings were blessed, the priest read scripture from the bible in Russian, and we were given lit candles to carry into the sanctuary with us.
And from there, we all walked into the sanctuary and got on with the rest of the ceremony. It was sort of a blur that’s all kind of coming back to me as I sit here at the reception. I do know that my very first thought was to the legality of the whole thing. I mean, what does the law say about being married under duress? Is that even a thing?
I’m replaying it all in my mind, standing there next to a wall of a man. The top of my head just reaches his shoulder. It probably looked like he was marrying a child. Most of the ceremony was inRussian. Alexei translated for me along the way, but who knows if anything he said was even for real. God, I feel like I just signed up to join a circus and I just married one of the fucking bears.
At least the reception is modern. We’re in the basement of the church. There’s a DJ and tables decorated with white linen and flowers and people are drinking and dancing. I have no idea if there’s an open bar. I don’t know what flavor the cake is. I don’t even know who the DJ is.
I look over at Alexei who’s currently speaking to one of the bridegrooms, a guy with curly strawberry blond hair, bright smile, and big brown eyes. I forget his name, but I know he’s Anya’s brother.
I’ve never been married before, but I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to feel like a visitor. I should have had some say in something. I didn’t even get to pick my own dress, for fuck’s sake.
An older woman walks up to the table. She takes my hand and starts talking to me, but I don’t understand a word. Alexei stops talking to his cousin and looks over at her. He doesn’t smile or really acknowledge her in any friendly way, but he does speak back to her in Russian. She nods, then hands him an envelope before walking back to her table.
“What was all that about?” I ask him.
“She was wishing good luck in our marriage,” he says as he hands the envelope to his cousin. I watch his cousin take the envelope over to a large bag sitting at the end of the table. It’s gotta be the fiftieth one that he’s put in today.
I don’t bother asking what’s in the envelopes. I’m assuming it’s money. Some of my family members have been doing the samething. I imagine that’s something else that was planned at some point without my knowledge. I’ll probably never know what’s in them.
“Attention, everyone! Attention, please!”
Suddenly, Alexei’s cousin stands up, drink in his hand. Right. This is the part where the best man gives a toast. What kind of toast could he give for a woman he’s never met?
“I’m not going to take up too much of your time,” he says. “I just want to congratulate the bride and groom today on their marriage…”
I look around and see people on both sides of the family watching in silence. A few of them are whispering to the older relatives, translating the speech for them.
And I am mortified. All these expectations for a marriage that isn’t even anything more than a contract. I’d do just about anything to leave right now.
“I won’t get too deep into things,” his cousin goes on, “but I will say that it’s about time that my dear cousin Alexei focused on something more than just work. And with a wife as beautiful as Isabella, I sincerely hope he loses all focus on everything else when he comes home at night.”
A cold sliver of horror runs up my spine.Oh, no.
I don’t know how I forgot all about that part of being married. Are we really going to have to sleep together? In the short time that we’ve been in each other’s company, Alexei has shown very little interest in me. I don’t thinkheeven wants that.
We kissed during the ceremony, but it was just a quick pressing of lips. Quick and clinical like a doctor shining a penlight up yournose or in your eyes. It was absolutely nothing. I have no idea what sex would be like with him. He looks like he’s going to drive me through the headboard. He’s twice my size. I doubt I could fight him off if he forces himself on me.
The irony of the man who saved me from being raped a little over a month ago now about to become my potential rapist is more than I even care to contemplate.
I take in a few deep breaths to bring myself back to my rational mind. I can’t believe a man who would so readily come to my rescue would turn around and commit the same kind of crime. Even if it was for his family. In fact, he’ll probably let me off the hook.
I start chewing on my bottom lip, trying to force those thoughts out of my head. We don’t have to do anything tonight. It’s not like anybody would ever know.
I look over at him as he applauds his cousin’s speech. That half smile appears on his face again. As intimidating as he is, he’s still handsome. In another life, maybe we could have been something other than pawns in our parents’ wargames.
I take a sip of champagne and as I do, I notice that he hasn’t touched his. At least he’ll be sober tonight.
8
ALEXEI
We’re driving back to my penthouse, and all I’m thinking about is that we are now approaching what has to be the easiest part of this entire nightmare. The consummation of our marriage.
She hasn’t said anything since we left the reception hall, and honestly, I wouldn’t know what to say to her, anyway. This whole thing is going to be strange. I’ve never been a one-night stand kind of man, and after Kira died, my desire for sex was slowly replaced with the demands of being Brigadier. I don’t doubt my skills in the bedroom, even though it’s been a while. I’ve just never been in a position where the sex I was having meant nothing.
