Epilogue- 6 Months Later
Epilogue
I opened the front door to the apartment, and something unfurled in my chest when I saw Alisa curled up on the couch. There was something so right about seeing her nestled into her favorite blanket, safe and content.
I’d never felt happier.
Granted, every morning I was convinced the highlight of my day was making her orgasm before and after she had her coffee in bed. And every evening it was when I fucked her so hard she forgot her own name.
Okay, maybe every moment with her was the new highlight.
“How was your doctor’s appointment?” I asked.
“It went well,” she said.
Now that Alisa wasn’t microdosing anymore she was on the road to a full recovery. It was funny what some love and serious money can do.
Still, I didn’t want her to overdo it.
Especially since there was no reason to. Since becoming the Pakhan I’d given her the choice to work as little or as much as she wanted by my side. Even on her days off, there was little doubt among the underworld who was my queen.
“I picked up that new series you mentioned,” I said, setting the heavy tomes on the counter. “You can take tomorrow off to binge read it.”
“Thanks.” Alisa bit down on her lip, and stared down at the floor.
When her eyes met mine, a small frown flickered on her lips.
“How was your day?” Alisa asked, immediately scrubbing the expression from her face.
I could’ve laughed. As if she could hide anything from me.
Still, I’d let her think she’d got one over on me for the moment.
“Boring.”
I plucked Alisa up from her position, so I could nestle her into my chest.
“What’d you get up to after your appointment?” I said. Her eyes widened at the question.
For fuck’s sake. Enough was enough.
I grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at me.
“Talk to me, Alisa.”
“I’ve been thinking…” she said, chewing on her lip as she trailed off.
My heart started pumping in a way that it never did when I tortured someone. Something was wrong, and all I wanted was to make it right. Even though it killed me, I remained silent and allowed her to gather her thoughts.
Finally, she met my gaze again, her eyes shining bright.
“I want to have a baby.”
Well, I hadn’t been expecting that.
“I know it’s a lot to think about, and I’m not saying you have to make a decision immediately. You can decide years from now if you want.” She spoke rapidly, the complete opposite of before. “Just maybe consider it? And if you aren’t okay then it’s fine-”
I smoothed out the worried lines on her brows, and she fell silent at my touch.
“Is that what you want?”
Alisa nodded, tears forming in her eyes.
“I had no idea you were even interested in kids. You’ve never mentioned it before.” I paused. “Are you pregnant?”
“No, I’m not.” She sighed. “I first thought about it during that assignment to kill Selene.”
My body stiffened at the reminder. I still had nightmares that something had gone wrong, and I’d lost her. I’d wake up in a cold sweat, and only regain my breath when I realized she was cuddled up beside me, snoring away.
Her hand tightened against my own, and I knew I wasn’t alone in that feeling.
“Even though I was sure I was going to die,” she said. “The idea of having a baby with you crept into my mind. At first, I thought it was just the effects of a near death experience.”
Alisa’s lip trembled, and my chest tightened.
She took a steadying breath, and said, “But now, I can’t stop imagining us raising a child the way our parents never did. Protecting them from anything that could ever hurt them and loving them the way I wish we would’ve been loved.”
Silence descended as I absorbed her words.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” she said quietly.
“I never thought about it before,” I admitted. “And honestly I’m surprised you’d even want a child with me. I’d probably screw them up just as much as our parents did.”
Alisa shook her head vehemently. “You’re wrong.”
“How can you be so sure about that?” I laughed darkly. “For fuck’s sake, I killed all of your relatives.”
“How many times have you risked your own life to protect me?” she said. “I know you, you’d jump in front of a bullet to save me.”
I shrugged. There was no denying that. Still, my chest ached at even the hypothetical of something hurting her.
“It’s your decision, Dmitri, and I promise we’ll be okay if you decide you just want it to be the two of us.
” Alisa’s expression turned fierce. “But if you think for even one second you’d be anything like our parents, you are absolutely wrong.
The people you care about are the luckiest people in the world.
And if we decided to have a baby, I have no doubt they’d be completely cherished and protected. ”
I placed a hand on her flat stomach, just for a moment imagining that world.
Our genes melded into a human being and growing inside that perfect belly.
A mirror of Alisa’s big innocent eyes staring up at me as I gathered my two favorite girls close on my lap.
Coming home to not just Alisa’s smiling face, but another giggling being that we created.
Fuck.
Alisa cocked her head. “If you don’t want to, I promise we’ll have the most fulfilling life-”
“Yes,” I said, pulling her even closer, and feeling the reassuring hum of her heartbeat.
“Are you sure?” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. “You’re not just saying yes to make me happy?”
“Of course, I want to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of,” I said. “But I just pictured that life you described… and I want that, too.”
My heart thudded as an image of Alisa holding our baby flashed across my mind. “Fuck, I really want it.”
“Really?” Alisa said, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice gravelly. “I love you, Alisa.”
“I love you, too.”
I held her tight, relishing the feel of her. She snuggled in closer, nuzzling her head against my shoulder. Her arms wrapped around me, and her hand nearly brushed against the small velvet box in my pocket.
I slowly disentangled from her grip, and moved off the couch.
“Where are you going?” she whined.
I couldn’t help a smile. I could never bear to be too far from her, and I knew she felt the exact same way.
Alisa’s eyes grew impossibly large as I knelt down on one knee.
“If we’re going to have a baby together, I think we should do it the proper way,” I teased.
Her mouth dropped open when I opened the velvet box.
“Alisa, after the first night we collided, your eyes haunted me in my dreams. I tried to avoid you for years, because I knew once I tasted you I’d become addicted. That once I fucked you, I’d never want to stop.
“But I never thought I’d fall in love. You stole my heart that I didn’t even know existed, and taught this monster how to love.”
“You aren’t a monster,” she interrupted.
I raised an eyebrow.
“I most certainly am, kotenok. I flayed the skin from someone’s bones, because he joked about forcing you to your knees and making you swallow him.
” As I remembered the look on his face when I grabbed him by the hair and dragged him into a dimly lit room, a dark smile spread across my face.
“I certainly savored every single of one of his pathetic screams.”
She blinked. “You did?”
“Yes, and I’d do it again,” I said. “More slowly, though. He bled out far too quickly for my liking.”
I tapped my chin, and added thoughtfully, “I’d also record it. That way everyone sees what happens when they threaten my kitten.”
Heat flared in Alisa’s eyes, and it took all my self control not to make those eyes roll back in her head.
That would come soon enough.
“So yes, I’m a monster,” I said. “But I’m also your monster, and I will always fight to keep you safe.
“I love you so much it scares me sometimes. I would burn this city to the ground to keep you smiling, and I promise I will always do everything I can to make you happy.”
I took a deep breath and said the five words that would make her irrevocably mine. “Will you marry me, Alisa?”
“Yes!” she squealed, jumping off the couch and into my arms.
I memorized the way Alisa’s eyes danced, and the huge grin swallowing up her entire face.
I looked forward to spending the rest of my life protecting her happiness.
The End