Alexandr's Cherished Submissive by Ann Mayburn Page B

breath on her face as he whispered, “In case you haven’t noticed, lass, I think you’re gorgeous.”
    The pleasant flutter in her stomach was stronger this time, but before she could respond, Uncle Peter’s voice rang out over the pub in a teasing shout, “John, get your filthy hands off my niece.”
    Startled, she jerked away and blushed furiously while the other patrons laughed. John merely smiled at her then turned to face her uncle with an arrogant tilt to his chin. When John did, he tensed, and all the humor disappeared from his face, replaced with a challenging look. Startled by his reaction, she turned to look at her uncle and gripped the edge of the bar when she saw a very pissed off Alex standing next to Peter and glaring at John. Oleg was now at Alex’s side, and his glower was equally fierce.
    Puzzled by their reaction, she kept quiet as John replied, “Hey, Peter. I’m takin’ Jessica to the tree lighting tomorrow. Gonna meet mam and da’ there.”
    Uncle Peter gave John a small smile then turned his gaze on her. “You sure you want to go with this bogger ?”
    She wasn’t sure what bogger meant, but by the way John grinned, it was obvious he didn’t find the term offensive. Aware of the blistering cold fury Alex now directed at her, she ignored him and spoke to Peter. “Yes.”
    A pleased look suffused her uncle’s reddened face, but he shook his finger in warning at John. “Have her back by midnight, and keep yer hands to yerself, or I’ll have them cut off and shoved up yer arse.”
    The men in the pub laughed again, and she knew her face must be bright red with embarrassment. “Nice, Uncle Peter. Very subtle. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”
    Before she could move, John caught her wrist lightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow night at seven, yeah?”
    “Yeah,” she whispered back, trying to summon a smile and ignore the fact that Alex now appeared to be pissed off at her.
    The weight of his gaze stung, and she walked away without looking at him. She was all too aware of Alex’s anger burning into her as she moved to the other end of the bar and began filling a couple orders that had come in while she was talking with John. Fuck Alex. He had no right to be pissy with her.
    The afternoon seemed to drag on into the evening as the day blended into night. The pub was busy enough that she didn’t have a chance to take much of a break at all. By the time she was done for the night, her feet and back hurt, and she really regretted taking a double shift, but one of the other bartenders’ kids was having a birthday so Jessica picked it up for her.
    Once she was done for the night, as usual, Oleg followed her out the door. The roar of the pub was quickly muffled by the thick oak door and replaced by the hum of the busy street. The air was cold enough that she shoved her hands into the pockets of her thick wool coat and tucked her chin down into the green cashmere scarf her uncle had given her. They naturally fell in step with each other as they walked the familiar route back to her place. Oleg was a tall, big man so she found herself taking two strides for his every one just to keep up with him as he constantly scanned the crowd. Unable to stop her mouth, she tried to get some information out of him about Alex’s earlier angry mood.
    “So, uh, what crawled up his majesty’s ass and died?”
    Oleg grunted, his version of a chuckle. “You would do well to be careful with Alex tonight, prinsessa .”
    “Why? What happened? Is he okay?”
    All too aware that she’d once again betrayed her excessive interest in Alex, she stared ahead as they navigated the busy street, the damp pavement scenting the air and mixing with the delicious aromas of various foods. Laughter rang out here and there, adding to the energy filling the sidewalk. She tried to ignore Oleg’s all-too-knowing gaze on her face and concentrate on people-watching as they walked.
    When he finally spoke, it was in a