Christmas Tsar (Blood and Thunder 1)

“I love you. Happy New Year!” She smiled. “Merry Christmas. And…yes, I will marry you, Alexei Riga.”

“If only to save me from myself?” Alexei suggested dryly.

“There is that,” she said wryly. “But I think we’ve saved each other.”

Swinging her off her feet, Alexei kissed her, and the end became the beginning as they started all over again.

Chapter Eleven

“Project number one,” Alexei announced, opening pale beech double doors leading onto the most fabulous penthouse on top of an iconic building in London.

He owned the entire building. Of course he did. Amber’s head was still spinning. They’d spent the night and most of that morning making love in her bed-sit, which, Alexei had assured her, was a lot more comfortable than his grandfather’s traditional yurt, the portable round tent covered with woven tapestries and animal skins they had used when they were inspecting herds of animals on the steppes. She wasn’t entirely sure whether to be flattered or not by that comparison, but she got his drift, and they had certainly raised the temperature of the room.

The penthouse had been designed and equipped by a professional interior designer—a good one—and it was practical, comfortable, and luxurious. “But this is beautiful,” she exclaimed, staring around. ‘From your description of your sterile homes, I had an image of Colditz in my mind.”

Alexei laughed. “I’m glad you like it. You can see the Shard and St. Paul’s Cathedral from the balcony, where you’ll find a lap pool and a fire pit for cool evenings. There are numerous individual local shops around here too, as well as theaters and concert halls just around the corner. There’s a cinema room behind that door, that looks like the interior of a particularly luxurious cave—”

“And a Christmas tree in the hallway,” she said, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. “You had the penthouse dressed for Christmas,” she said, her eyes glowing with warmth. “ You knew you’d get me here, didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “I thought I might.”

They entered a glorious entertaining room with double-height, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the River Thames, where there was another Christmas tree, even bigger than the first. “It’s amazing what you can do with a single phone call,” Alexei confessed, clearly having difficulty hiding a grin.

“It’s amazing what you can do with a single phone call,” Amber argued, exclaiming with happiness as Alexei swung her into his arms.

“And a whole army of Christmas mice,” he pointed out, turning her to face a shelf where they’d been arranged in family groups. “Do you like it? Your opinion matters to me.”

“I love it. Not sure if we’re going to need pest control for the mice, but it feels like a privilege to be in such a beautiful home.”

“It isn’t a home yet,” Alexei argued. “It’s nothing more than a two-dimensional magazine shoot without your energy. Could you change it, warm it, give it your own special touch—maybe make it your headquarters in London? There’s quite a big office in the back, so it wouldn’t intrude on the main living area.”

Amber held up her hand. What do you mean, my headquarters?”

“I want you to be part of our organization—I know nothing less would satisfy you. I also want you to organize my life—our lives. You can have all the help you need. That goes without saying.”

“Live here?”

“While we’re in London. As I mentioned, I do have several other properties across the world for you to work on.”

“One property at a time, please!” She laughed, a little incredulously. “I can’t take this in.”

“But you do like this apartment?”

“It would be hard not to,” Amber admitted, “but I don’t need a place as big, or as fabulous as this.”

“But we do,” Alexei insisted. “Won’t you allow me to give it to you?”

“What?”

“It would make me very happy,” Alexei admitted. “It would make my Christmas very happy if you would accept this apartment as a gift.”

“A…” She tried to speak, but no words would come out.

“I take it that’s a yes,” he said. “Don’t look so shocked. We’ll need to hold fund-raisers to get the great and the good involved in our various projects, and while I’d love to tell you that the great and good would be just as happy assembling in my grandfather’s yurt, I think you’d be more inclined to believe me if I suggest we entertain here. We can have a cozy home somewhere else. Well? What do you say? Will you join me in the biggest adventure of your life? Will you help me in my fight? Will you be more than my wife and my love, will you work with me?”

Amber laughed. “You certainly know the way to a girl’s heart. At one time, men like you would say, marry me and you’ll never have to work another day in your life.”

“And you’d accept that?”