Page 18 of Untouchable Queen
“No,gospozha,” he rasps, his Adam’s apple bobbing against the blade as he swallows.
“Good. Then I think it’s time we went back to focusing on the business at hand. I expect the men to keep the peace if they do run into any of Lucian’s men—just like you’ve learned to work with Killian’s. Any questions?”
The men still look unhappy with the turn of events, but none seem willing to speak up again as they give reluctant nods and murmurs of assent.
“You’re dismissed. Natasha, you can let him up. I want to see you in my office.” I keep my voice formal, rigid, to avoid any questions about who might be in charge, but I’m so intensely grateful for my sister’s support at this moment, I could cry.
She removes the knife from Gleb’s throat, mussing his hair before she releases him and comes to a stand. Then she stalks after me as we head toward the office at the back of the club.
“You boys can wait out here,” I command Viktor and Niko, my designated guards, as we reach the door to what used to be my father’s office.
Viktor opens it for me, and as soon as it closes behind us, Natasha turns to face me, the tears she’s been holding back starting to stream down her cheeks.
“I’m so, so sorry Ti,” she whispers, closing the distance between us to grasp my hands. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? All I could think about last night was all the horrible things he might do?—”
“Hey, I’m fine. It’s fine, and it was not your fault. Okay?” I ask, pulling her into a hug. “Marrying Lucian wouldn’t be my first choice, but he didn’t hurt me. And I can use this to our advantage. He might be a scheming snake, but I’ll make sure he pays for what he’s done to our family.”
Natasha sniffles, pulling back to meet my eyes. “Really?”
“I promise,” I say vehemently—though I don’t have the first clue where that plot for revenge might begin.
9
LUCIAN
“Ihave a nice dry-aged Florentine steak to prepare for tonight,” Daniella confirms. “The potatoes are already in the oven.”
“Good,” I state. “And open one of our reserves. I want the atmosphere to be romantic, intimate, and celebratory.”
“More to celebrate,signore?” she asks, her round cheeks pulling into a smile as her eyes brighten.
“Besides my new wife?” I tease the matronly cook who’s been serving my family for as long as I can remember.
She chuckles, tucking a stray curl of gray hair behind her ear. “I think you’ve found a beautiful choice, though she seems quite…spirited,” she says delicately.
That makes me laugh. “A very polite way of putting it, Daniella. But yes, actually, I might have just closed on a promising agreement with the yakuza that will solve some wrinkles my dear wife’sspiritednature created in my initial plans. But if this works out, I might start thinking I have a guardian angel watching over my shoulder.”
Daniella’s smile is warm and affectionate, and her eyes twinkle when the front door slams shut with enough force toannounce Tatiana’s arrival. “I’ll have dinner ready shortly,” she says.
With a nod, I slip out of the kitchen, stealing one last olive from the bowl sitting on the counter before heading to the foyer to greet my new wife. It’s not hard to see she’s on a completely different level than I am as I step into the entryway.
Dominic is carrying a good-sized suitcase up the stairs to our room—presumably filled with Tatiana’s clothes, and it appears she changed when she went home to pack because her green wrap dress from this morning has been replaced with a deep-blue sheath dress with a boat neck that emphasizes her throat and collarbones. The dress hugs her curves beautifully, stopping at her knees to showcase her strong calves. Nude patent leather pumps finish off the look, giving her a classy, elegant sophistication and unspoken authority.
“Your driver insisted on bringing me back here,” she states coldly.
“I’m rather impressed he managed to convince you actually,” I state, striding forward to wrap an arm around her waist.
Tatiana leans away from me, glaring up into my eyes. It would appear that she’s still prepared to fight me every step of the way—even after the chemistry from last night, and again this morning.
“Well, my driver will be picking me up in the morning, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t make demands about where and when I spend my time.”
“Tatiana,” I say lowly, capturing her jaw between my fingers and lifting her face so she has to look at me. “If you’re going to be my wife, then you will have to accept this as your new house—or I could move in with you, if you’d prefer. But I’m under the impression that you haven’t been spending much time in your former penthouse as it is…” I can tell I’ve brushed on a sensitive subject as her cheeks flush, and her blue eyes narrow further.
“I wonder why I might be avoiding myfamily homethese days. Now that I have no family to go home to because of you.”
“Ah. I see.” A trickle of remorse pools in my stomach as I wonder what it might take for her to even consider putting that aside. More and more, it’s becoming apparent that my perception of Boris’s stranglehold over her life might have been incorrect. That regardless of how overprotective and possessive he might have been about his daughters, they didn’t feel trapped. Tatiana clearly loved her father. And I took him from her.
She jerks her chin, as if to remove her face from my grip, but I keep hold, peering deep into her eyes.
