Page 79 of Shutter and Sin
Silence.
I glance briefly at the crowd. No one moves. Good. I would’ve killed them anyway.
The priest nods. “Alexei Romanov, do you take Zoya Koval to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?”
“I do. And if we’re ever poor, it’s because I’m dead. Even then, I’d have left you everything so that would never even happen.”
A few people in the crowd laugh nervously. Zoya’s eyes widen slightly, laughter mixed in those stunning pools.
“Zoya Koval,” the priest says. “Do you take Alexei Romanov to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
She looks right at me. “I do.”
Fuck. She actually said it.
“The rings, please.”
Bohdan steps forward, handing me Zoya’s ring. A platinum band with diamonds circling it. Simple but expensive. Like everything I give her. I take her left hand and slide the ring onto her finger. Then she takes my ring from Anya and slides it onto mine. Her hands are steady. Mine are shaking a little, but I hope no one sees.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest says. “You may kiss the bride.”
I don’t wait. I pull her close and kiss her. It’s deep and possessive. I want everyone to see she’s mine. The crowd starts cheering and whistling.
“Mrs. Romanov,” I whisper when I pull back.
“Mr. Romanov,” she whispers back.
The reception hits full swing with the pulse of music, the blur of dancing bodies, and a constant flow of champagne. I spend twenty minutes searching for Taras. He is supposed to give the family toast, but he is nowhere to be found, and Anya is missing along with him. I check the hallways and empty rooms until voices drift from a private sitting room near the back - raised, angry shouts followed by a heavy crash.
I push the door open to find that Taras has a man pinned against the wall. His massive fist connects with the guy’s face over and over, sending blood splattering across the white wallpaper. The guy’s nose is clearly broken, leaking crimson down his shirt as he gasps, “I’m sorry, man! Fuck! I didn’t know she was your woman! I swear to fucking god…she was the one that approached me!”
Taras refuses to stop, landing another brutal punch that echoes in the small room. “Taras, stop!” Anya shouts, pulling desperately at his arm, but he ignores her. He pulls his gun and points it directly at the guy’s head.
“TARAS!” Anya lunges forward, grabbing the weapon with both hands. They struggle for the iron, she pulling and he refusing to let go, but the truth is obvious. He’s letting her take it. A man of Taras’s size could easily push her away or break her grip. Instead, he stays careful, ensuring she doesn’t get hurt while she wrestles the gun from his hand.
Finally, she yanks it away and steps back, breathing hard. Taras doesn’t even look at her; his eyes stay fixed on the guy. “Get out,” he says, his voice cold and deadly. The guy scramblesup, blood still pouring from his face, and runs out of the room as fast as he can.
Silence falls over the room. “What the fuck happened?” I ask.
“He was dancing with her,” Taras says flatly. “They were about to kiss.”
“We were just dancing!” Anya snaps back at him.
Taras turns to her, his hands covered in blood and his eyes looking wild. “Stop fucking playing with me.”
“I wasn’t…”
“Stop fucking dancing with these men,” his voice rises as he steps toward her. “Stop fucking letting them put their hands on you.”
“You don’t own me…”
He crosses the room in two strides and grabs her face with both of his bloody hands, kissing her in a way that is hard, possessive, and brutal. She struggles against him, pushing at his chest and trying to turn her head away, but he doesn't let go. He holds her tighter and kisses her deeper until she finally gives in. When he pulls back, she’s breathless, her face smeared with blood from his hands and her lipstick completely ruined.
“You’re mine,” he says quietly, and then he’s gone.
Anya stands there alone, breathing hard and trembling slightly. I look at her and ask, “So. What exactly is your relationship with my cousin?”
She wipes the blood off her face with shaking hands. “We don’t have one. We just fucked three days ago, and he’s taking this way too seriously.”
