Page 51 of Bedazzled
Clearing my throat, I held out a slim velvet box to her. “I thought these would go well with your dress.”
Tania opened the box and blurted, “Oh, fuck are you kidding?” I smothered my chuckle. She lifted the necklace reverently, watching it sparkle in the light.
Stepping behind her, I took the necklace, fastening it around her neck. “This is Baltic Amber, forty million years old.”
She touched the pendant gently. “What’s this in the stone?”
“It is a flower,” I explained, “almost perfectly preserved. To find one in this condition is unheard of. I thought you might like something you could wear every day, but it is certainly elegant enough for the Imperial Ball.”
“I’ll never take it off,” she said, “thank you. It’s… wow. It’s gorgeous.”
My fingertips slid down her back after fastening the necklace. Tania gave a little shudder and sighed, and I barely swallowed down a groan in time. I used to spend hours running my hands over every inch of her skin, loving the silky texture.
“Allow me,” I said, taking the bracelet and fastening it around her wrist. “Perfect,” I praised her, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles, noticing that my plain signet ring clashed with her extravagant new jewelry. She swayed slightly toward me, and I turned her hand, kissing the thin skin on the inside of her wrist, feeling her speedy pulse against my lips. “You are so very beautiful, darling.”
It was the closest I had been to her since our last night together, her lips were pink and slightly parted. I remembered how she tasted, how she would slide her tongue along my lower lip…
“Miss Tania, here’s your-” Anya bustled in with a shoe box. “Oh, excuse me, Master Yuri, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Not at all,” I said, “Tania, I will see you downstairs in ten minutes?”
“Uh, yeah,” she mumbled, sounding as disappointed as I felt.
I could tell that my beautiful wife was trying very hard not to bounce in her seat as the limo passed through the colossal gold and blue gates of Catherine Palace. Spotlights flashed in a dizzying array, and as the car stopped at the row of uniformed guards at the entrance, I took her hand.
“There is a line of paparazzi to pass on your way up the stairs,” I murmured in her ear, enjoying the little shiver she could not control. “Keep your eyes lowered so they do not disorient you and give a small smile. Your Mona Lisa smile would be excellent here.”
She eyed me curiously, “You have names for my smiles?”
“Well, of course,” I said slowly. “There is the ‘this is too ridiculous smile’ you wear when you are dealing with fools, the huge ‘here comes Ella and we are going to tear it up’ smile, the…”
My door opened, the driver looking uncertain. “Did you wish for me to circle the drive again, sir?”
“This is fine,” I answered, still staring into Tania’s wide golden eyes. Getting out and moving around the limo, I brushed away Gavrill, her bodyguard, and opened her door myself. Holding out my hand to her, I nodded reassuringly, and she smiled back.
How long has it been since she smiled at me?
After kissing her hand slowly for the photographer’s benefit, I guided my wife up the red-carpeted stairs to greet our first host, the Governor of St. Petersburg. Looking over his shoulder, I see a group of Bratva princesses clustered like a school of piranha, staring avidly at us.
A smile curved the corner of my mouth. I was going to enjoy watching Tania win them over - or terrorize them - no matter how jealous or catty they might be.
Tania…
Oh, sweet baby Jesus and all the Saints never in my life did I think I would be standing at the massive golden entrance to Catherine the Great’s Palace, my hand on Yuri’s arm. We were announced by a man who looks like he should be doing this 300 years ago, because he has the uniform for it and a voice like a bullhorn.
“Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Yuri Morozov of St. Petersburg,” he intoned, and it took everything in me not to giggle like a schoolgirl.
“Keep up that smile, darling,” Yuri murmured out of the corner of his mouth, “you’re doing beautifully.”
With that praise, I felt like I could float down the stairs.
I was trying so hard to look regal, like the wife of the MorozovSovietnikshould but oh,my godI wanted to run around like an over-caffeinated tourist, trying to see everything about this palace! The exquisite blue exterior with all the embellishments slathered in gold leaf, the magnificent golden chandeliers, and mirrors in the Grand Hall… I leaned a bit closer to look at a throne-like chair and slapped a hand over my mouth. Giving my full-out witch cackle would not help my image.
Naturally, Yuri caught the movement. “What is so humorous?”
“Um…” I stifled another cackle, “the chair inlay- it’s covered in pearls. You were right about Russian royalty.”
He gave me a slow, dangerous smile that was doing very bad things to my body. “I must show you her bedroom before we leave tonight.”
