Page 50 of Devil's Bride

“I don’t think you’d fall for him if you truly considered him an enemy, babe,” she says. I catch the sarcasm in her tone. “Maybe he’s not as bad you think.”

“Maybe he’s worse than I think, Ari. He shot a man for saying rude things about me last night. I imagine he does worse behind the scenes.”

There’s a long pause before Arielle exhales. “How about we grab lunch later and discuss it some more?”

“Sure.” I twist my wrist to look at my watch. “I’m visiting my parents after breakfast this morning. I’ll spend an hour or two with them, then I’ll call you.”

“Great. Don’t forget we’re going to meet.”

I smile at reflection in the mirror. “I won’t. See you later?”

“Yeah. Love you.”

“Love you too, bestie.” I blow kisses to my phone and hang up. My smile takes a while to fade. I’m certain Arielle will give me an earful for speaking badly about Alexei. I need to hear what she’ll say, at least I’ll know I’m not insane for feeling the way I do about him.

Alexei is already in the dining room when I go downstairs for breakfast. He looks up from his phone and inhales. “You smell good this morning.”

“Thank you.” I don’t bother to tell him he looks good himself. He’s wearing a gray shirt and black sweatpants. His dark hair is disheveled in a sexy way. I bet he hasn’t bothered to brush it after all that pulling last night.

I settle on a chair next to his and grab an empty bowl from the center of the table, filling it with the oats I specially asked Nina to make last night. I add a tablespoon of sugar and pour in some milk, then I top it with berries. “Do you have plans for today?”

“I’ll be busy most of the day.” He places a chicken wrap on his own plate. One of the maids, who’d been standing in the corner, fills his glass with orange juice. “How about you?”

Contrary to what I thought, it’s a lot harder to tell him I’m visiting my parents today. Given their history, he’ll probably think I’m spying on him for my Dad, but I know I have to tell him.

I’m still mad at my Dad for arranging this marriage, but I’ve missed my family. It’s been ages since I last saw them.

“I’m going to see my parents today.” I can’t fight back the urge to explain myself further. “We’ve been married for weeks now, and I haven’t seen them since the wedding. I won’t stay for long, I have a lunch date with Arielle after.”

“Okay.” He takes a bite from his chicken wrap. “But you’re not allowed to go alone. I assigned three bodyguards to you this morning, they’ll follow you wherever you need to go.”

I’m torn between thanking him for not making a big deal out of me visiting my parents and arguing about having bodyguards tagging along. But he could change his mind and now allow me to go, so I don’t argue.

I finish my breakfast and get dressed.

Alexei is standing outside when I return downstairs. He has three men with him, and they’re all as tall as he is. One look and I can already tell they’re going to be my new bodyguards.

Alexei introduces them, “This is Viktor,” he says, pointing to the one with long curly hair. “Twinky and Illya,” he adds, gesturing to one with a spear tattoo on his bald head, and then to the most normal looking one with trimmed brown hair and a beard.

“Viktor, Twinky, and Illya,” I echo, looking at each of them as I call their names. “Nice to meet you.”

They nod, but they don’t respond with words.

“They’ll be your bodyguards from now on,” Alexei tells me. “Try not to go anywhere without them, and know that they’ll put their lives on the line to keep you safe.”

I frown. “I don’t want anyone to sacrifice their life to keep me safe, Alexei. My life is not worth more than theirs.”

“It’s not about what you want. It’s about what you need.” Alexei walks towards me. He cups my face and plants a kiss on the top of my head. “To me, your life is worth more than anyone else’s, even mine.”

His kiss is like honey as it seeps into my head. I suddenly want more than a kiss to the head, but I manage to hold myself together. I want to tell Alexei that to me, a world without him would be empty, but I don’t.

I’m just lusting after him. This is nothing more than infatuation, I tell myself. I know it’s a lie, the fluttering in my chest is all the evidence I need. But it’s easier to live in denial.

“Fine.” I pull away and smile at him. “I’ll see you later?”

“I’ll be home early today.” He curls his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. He presses a soft kiss against my lips this time.

My new bodyguards look away. My cheeks turn red with embarrassment as I push Alexei away and gently beat his bicep. “They’re looking.”

---