12. Aurora
12
AURORA
The moonlight filters through the curtains, painting silver stripes across our bedroom. Ruslan's hand rests on my belly, protective and gentle.
The knowledge of our child growing inside me makes his touch feel different somehow.
"You're still awake." His voice rumbles through the darkness, low and intimate.
"Can't sleep." I place my hand over his. "Too much excitement."
His lips press against my temple. "The girls were happy."
I can't help but smile, thinking of their reactions. Stella jumping around the room, already declaring herself the baby's favorite cousin. Sofia asking a thousand questions about when she could hold the baby. And Mikayla's quiet smile told us everything she was thinking.
We lie in comfortable silence for a moment. Slowly, my mind drifts to the documentary. So much hinges on it. Our future. Our safety.
"I can't stop thinking about the script." I prop myself up on my elbow. "The dramatization."
Ruslan shifts beside me. "You're worried about casting, aren't you?"
"Shouldn't I be? I have to cast someone to play my mother." My throat tightens. "My father. My brother. Even Kristofer. People who look enough like them that viewers believe it, but..."
"But not so much that it hurts you to see them." He completes my thought perfectly.
"And I'll have to direct them." The heaviness of it all presses down on me. "I'll have to tell someone exactly how my family moved, talked, and laughed."
My voice breaks.
" Zarechka ." His finger tips my chin up. "You don't have to do this alone."
"But I do." I swallow hard. "Nobody else knows them. Nobody else remembers."
"We can have someone interview you. Someone who can see traces of your mother's movements in your hands, your father's laugh in your voice, and even your little brother's attitude from how you behave."
His hands frame my face, thumbs wiping away tears I didn't realize were falling.
"Your family will get justice. I promise."
My hands tremble as I look into Ruslan's eyes. The weight of his offer—to help me capture my family's essence—leaves me speechless for a moment.
When I finally find my voice, it's barely above a whisper.
"When that photographer was taking pictures today, it felt like I was staring at a gun." I bring his palm against my chest where my heart is pounding erratically. "Each click of the shutters sounded like someone pulling a trigger."
Ruslan's other arm tightens around me, and pulls me closer to his warmth.
"For seven years, I dreamed about being on camera. About standing under those lights and being seen." The irony cuts deep. "Now that opportunity is finally here, and I've never been more terrified."
My fingers twist in the fabric of his shirt. Part of me still can't believe I'm carrying our child while facing this nightmare from my past.
"But then I saw you." My voice catches. "Every time I felt like running, I found your eyes. And when I saw you, I knew that no matter how far I fell, you would always be there to catch me. Even if you don't believe that for yourself."
I reach up to touch his face, feeling the rough stubble under my fingertips.
"You're my anchor to reality when everything else feels like it's spinning out of control."
His eyes soften, golden in the dim light. I see something there—vulnerability mixed with determination.
"Thank you for being there today. For not looking away." I lean forward, "For seeing all of me—the bruises, the fear, everything—and still being here."
I press my lips against his, gently at first, then with growing conviction. Not from passion, but from gratitude. From certainty.
I feel Ruslan kiss me back with surprising lightness, his lips barely grazing mine as if he's afraid I might shatter beneath his touch. The tenderness almost breaks my heart.
This powerful man who rules an empire of violence treating me like delicate glass.
I won't have it.
I deepen the kiss, pressing myself closer until our bodies align perfectly. My hand slides down his chest, feeling the ridge of each tattooed muscle and every scar.
My fingers trace over his healing bullet wounds.
His breath hitches when I reach his stomach and continue moving lower, his muscles contracting under my touch.
"Aurora," he breaks the kiss, voice thick with want but eyes clouded with concern. "Are you sure about this? You're still healing, and I don't want to hurt you."
The bruises from Kristofer's hands still mark my skin—green-yellow patches on my thighs, my breasts, my shoulders. The bite mark on my shoulder throbs dully, a reminder of what almost happened.
But looking into Ruslan's worried golden eyes, I've never been more certain of anything.
"You won't hurt me," I whisper, guiding his hand to rest on my hip, right over one of the bruises. "And these marks aren't signs of weakness, Ruslan. They're proof of my survival."
I lean forward until my forehead touches his, our breath mingling in the space between us.
"Just because I have them doesn't mean I'm broken." My voice strengthens with conviction. "I lived through what happened. I escaped. I came back to you the same way you came back to me."
His eyes search mine, looking for any hint of hesitation.
I press his hand harder against the bruise, feeling the dull ache that confirms my existence, my strength.
"I want to feel alive with you, Ruslan." My fingers trace the outline of his jaw. "I want to feel you—not him, not the past, not the fear. Just you. Just us."
"Are you sure?" Ruslan asks, his voice so tender it nearly brings tears to my eyes.
"I am." My hands frame his face, thumbs tracing his cheekbones. "Make love to me, Ruslan. Please."
He captures my lips with his, the kiss still careful but stronger than before. His hesitation is melting. I can feel it in the way his mouth moves against mine and in how his hands tighten slightly at my waist.
I lean into him, shifting my weight until I'm straddling his lap. The thin fabric of my nightgown rides up my thighs as I settle against him. His warmth seeps through me, chasing away the coldness that's been lingering since Vegas.
When he breaks the kiss, I take his hand in mine and bring it to my lips. I kiss each finger reverently. These hands have killed for me. And now, they're bringing me back from the brink.
His golden eyes never leave mine as I press my lips to his tattooed knuckles, his palm, his wrist.
The intensity in his gaze steals my breath.
Slowly, he sits up, gathering me in his powerful arms like I'm something precious. Something worth protecting. He lowers his head and plants soft, gentle kisses along my collarbone where the bruises are darkest. Each press of his lips feels like healing, like he's reclaiming my body from the violence that marked it.
When he reaches the bite mark on my shoulder, I shiver involuntarily.
"You're safe now, zarechka, " he murmurs against my skin.
This is exactly what I wanted. To be cherished like this. To be loved. To have a man like Ruslan chase away the icy ghosts haunting my heart with nothing but his warmth and tenderness.
My hands slide down his chest, feeling the strong beat of his heart beneath my fingertips. I don't stop until I reach between us, taking his cock in my hand, feeling it grow harder under my touch. He inhales sharply, his eyes darkening with desire.
I lean forward and kiss Ruslan deeply, pouring every ounce of my need into it. This time, he doesn't hold back. His hesitation melts away as his hand finds the back of my neck, strong fingers cradling me close to him.
"Aurora," he groans, his voice catching on my name.
His golden eyes lock with mine as I reposition myself, my thighs trembling slightly with anticipation. I reach between us, guiding him to my entrance, and slowly inch forward onto his cock.
The initial stretch takes my breath away. He fills me like we're made for each other. My body remembers and welcomes him. I feel a surge of happiness, of rightness, as he stretches me and pushes deeper.
I close my hands around the nape of his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as I begin to move. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, deepening our kiss as our bodies find their rhythm together.
Each rise and fall of my hips feel like coming home. The bruises on my body seem to fade from my consciousness, replaced by the burning connection between us.
With every movement, I'm taking back what was nearly stolen from me. With every kiss, I'm choosing this man, this life, and this future.
His hands rest against my back, steadying me while he lets me set the pace.
Even now, he's giving me control. Letting me lead. Understanding exactly what I need without me having to say it.
My forehead rests against his as we breathe the same air. I feel the tension building inside me, hot and insistent. But more than that, I feel safe. Cherished. Powerful.
"Look at me," I whisper, needing to see his eyes. Needing him to see me—all of me—in this moment of vulnerability and strength.
His golden eyes meet mine, burning with something I've been too afraid to name. Something I can no longer deny.
"I love you," I whisper against his mouth, the words slipping out before I can catch them.
Those three words hover in the air between us, weightless yet more powerful than anything I've ever said.
For a terrifying moment, Ruslan stares at me, his golden eyes wide with something I can't read.
Then his expression transforms.
"I love you too, Aurora," Ruslan whispers, his voice thick with emotion.
His confession crashes through me like a tidal wave, washing away every doubt, every fear. I capture his mouth in mine again, greedily drinking in the taste of him as tears of joy blur my vision.
I rock against him more urgently now, my body demanding more. His hands grip my hips, not to control but to support as I dictate our pace. Each time I sink down on him, I feel complete in ways I never knew were possible.
The motion of our bodies feels like poetry, like the most natural expression of this love flowing between us. I break our kiss just enough to see his face—the way his jaw tightens when I grind against him, how his eyes darken when I moan his name.
"I thought I'd never say those words," I confess, breathless as I quicken my movements. "I was so afraid of loving someone again."
Ruslan's hand comes up to cradle my face. "And I was afraid I couldn't protect someone I loved."
I rise and fall faster now, chasing the pleasure building inside me. The friction of his cock hitting just the right spot makes my thighs tremble.
"We're stronger together," I gasp, feeling my body tightening around him.
His eyes never leave mine, witnessing every expression, every moment of vulnerability as I ride him harder. There's no hiding from him, no pretending. Just raw, honest connection.
"Aurora," he groans, his voice breaking with need.
I press my forehead against his, our breath mingling as our bodies move as one. The intimacy of this moment, everything from the whispered confessions to our shared vulnerability, pushes me closer to the edge.
The delicious tension coils tighter and tighter with every movement. Ruslan's hands hold me closer as I ride him. His golden eyes lock on mine, burning with love and desire.
"I'm close," I whisper, my voice breaking. My entire body trembles as I chase my release.
"Then come for me, zarechka ," he murmurs, and the tenderness in his voice nearly undoes me.
I watch his face as the pleasure mounts. The way his jaw tightens, the way the furrow between his brows is deepening.
I can feel his heart racing beneath the swell of my breasts and through his cock moving inside of me.
And then it happens.
My orgasm crashes through me in waves, making me cry out his name. My inner walls pulse around his cock, and I can feel him throbbing inside me in response.
"Aurora," he groans, his voice rough with need. "I'm going to?—"
His body tenses beneath me. I keep moving, deliberately clenching around him as he spills inside me. The sensation of his hot cum splashing inside me triggers another wave of pleasure, and I moan as I milk every last drop from him, our bodies locked together in ecstasy.
When the pulsing subsides, I collapse against his chest, my heart hammering wildly. His arms wrap around me, holding me close as we both struggle to catch our breath.
I lift my head just enough to find his lips with mine. We kiss deeply, languidly, like we have all the time in the world.
Like nothing exists beyond this room, beyond us.
Ruslan shifts, gently rolling us until we're lying on our sides. He pulls out of me with a soft moan.
I nestle against his chest, listening to his heartbeat gradually slow to a steady rhythm.
"I love you," I whisper again, because now that I've said those words once, I never want to stop saying them.
"I love you too," he replies, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my back.
I feel fulfilled in ways I never thought possible. Not just physically, but emotionally. For so long, I've been running scared, hiding in shadows, trying to be invisible.
But now, I've found something worth fighting for. Someone worth standing in the light for.
We created a new life together.
A new future together.
I place my hand protectively over my belly where our baby grows, and determination hardens inside me like steel.
A monster once took my family from me. That same monster made me believe that love was something that could only hurt me.
But he was wrong.
Because I've found love in spite of that monster. I've found real love against all odds.
And I'm going to fight like hell to save it.
No matter what it takes.