She didn’t answer for a moment, kissing him until they were both breathless. He was right. Not about it being nonsense, but that she would have said she didn’t care. Because in that moment, Alina truly didn’t care where it happened so long as it did. But she also knew Nikolai well enough to know that it did matter to him, and that he didn’t want to be like his brother or father, taking their latest flame wherever the fancy took them. It was an embarrassment to the Tsaritsa.
Finally she managed to pull back. Not enough to break their connection, but enough that she could look him in the eyes.
“You know we won’t have much of a chance at the Palace,” she warned him, aching for more. “But..I suppose you’re right.” She needed to bathe before dinner.