Epilogue 6
Daisy
"You can put me down now, you know," I giggled into the crook of his throat. Ilya didn’t even slow. With my legs wrapped around him and his cock still wedged inside my dripping pussy, he walked through the house naked and totally unashamed.
I’d lost count of how many times he had made me cum. Hell, he had cum at least once, but his cock remained a solid iron bar in my channel.
"Never," he growled out, squeezing my ass hard and giving a little thrust with his hips that pushed his cock more firmly against the bundle of nerves deep inside that almost had me screaming again.
I was so damn sensitive. My whole body felt like it was a live wire; the smallest touch would send me off again.
"Unless," he took the stairs easily like I weighed nothing more than a feather, "you can’t take anymore, wife?"
He said it jokingly, but I bit down on his throat anyway, forcing a low growl out of his throat and his cock to throb inside of me.
"I can take more," I grated out, my teeth still in his skin. "I’m the one who came on to you, remember," I reminded him with a chuckle. "You were too afraid to touch me."
At the top of the stairs, he paused, finding my lips with his for a second before he continued towards the bedroom.
"I was not afraid."
"Didn’t want to, then," I countered.
He slammed me into the nearest wall, his knees bent so he could thrust into me with a grunt. "I," he punctuated each word with a thrust that threatened to tear my whole world apart with pleasure. "Always want to touch you," he groaned. "I just didn’t want to hurt you."
"And now?"
He chuckled. "Now I know that my wife enjoys a little pain. I won’t forget it ever again." He continued to walk; every now and then he paused just to kiss me again, so it seemed to take a lot longer to reach the bedroom than usual.
Finally, we made it, and he fell back onto our massive bed, pulling me with him and slamming his hard cock even further into me.
The intrusion made me scream again, yelling his name like he was the only god I had and would ever worship.
"But you need to remember something as well," he growled out, his hands right on my hips as he began to rock me back and forth.
"And what’s that?" I asked, eyebrows raised.
"If you want me to touch you, ask. Or come and seduce me mid-call, I don’t mind. Just be honest with me, okay?"
"Okay." Breasts bouncing, I picked up the pace.
"Daisy, I mean it." Dark eyes watched me. "No more secrets between us."
"No more secrets," I promised.
Life was blissful. Every single day was full of love and laughter, the likes of which I had never thought I would experience.
We were a family, and I loved being a mom, but every night—and sometimes several times during the day—Ilya would come to me and make me remember I was a woman as well.
I opened my eyes every morning and gave thanks for my family and the happiness they gave me.
"Daisy," Ilya spoke from the middle of the bed, the book he had been reading dropping to his lap as he watched me begin to strip for bed. "Come here."
I paused, staring at him from under my eyelashes. A knowing smile curved up my lips. "Can I shower first, or is that going to be pointless because you plan to make me all dirty?"
God, I hoped that was the case.
"We need to talk."
I froze, staring at him, and suddenly my heart was pounding. It had been months since he had looked at me like that. Like he didn’t want to tell me something. Clambering up onto the bed next to him, I let him pull me into his chest.
"What’s wrong? Did something happen last night when you were in the city?"
He paused, just for a second. A second too long because suddenly I felt sick.
"Okay," I said evenly. "Tell me what happened." Not waiting for him to explain, I began to yammer on. "Did you guys go to a strip club?"
I wouldn’t be happy if he had, but as long as that was all it was, I could get over it.
"I mean, I’d be mad, but—"
"It’s worse than that."
My whole world shifted. "Oh." He knew I wouldn’t put up with cheating. I didn’t care what other men in his position did; I would walk away if he ever strayed. "Okay."
Ilya's eyebrows slammed down. "That’s all you have to say? Oh? You don’t want to know?"
Mutely I shook my head, my throat working over the lump that had lodged in it.
"For fuck's sake, Daisy," he growled out, and suddenly my world wasn’t the only thing tilting, and I found myself on my back with him hovering over me.
"I know what you are thinking, and it’s not that." Absently he brushed the tip of his nose against mine. "It will never be that. I will never stray from you. Not ever. That’s not why I went into the city."
I stared up at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
"The Romanov family wanted a meeting with me."
"Okay." The Romanovs weren’t from New York, but I had heard of them. They ruled the west coast like my husband did the East. "What did they want?"
Ilya blinked slowly. "An alliance."
Confused, I tilted my head to the side; an alliance didn’t sound too bad at all. It was good business sense to align ourselves with such a powerful family. "And that’s a problem, how?"
Ten seconds went past before he spoke. "They want a marriage alliance."
"Wait, what? How could they want a marriage alliance? Did they forget you are already married?"
Ilya continued to stare at me.
"Oh," I said a second later as realization hit me. "Which one of our children?"
Even saying the words made me feel sick. My children were just that. Children. I would not take part in the barbaric arranged marriage thing that happened within powerful bratva families.
"Rosie." This time even Ilya sounded mad, although he tried to hide it.
"Rosie isn’t even six months old, and they expect me to do what, just give her away?" My voice shook with rage. "What did you tell them?"
"I told him no." Ilya's voice was even. As cold as it used to be. "I told him that my children will have choices. That they will marry for love or not at all."
I found myself relaxing in his arms. "And what did Romanov say?" I queried, because I couldn’t imagine he was told no very often.
Throwing back his head, Ilya laughed. "He asked whether he should bring it up with you. I told him to go ahead; you’re the real power behind my throne."
I rolled my eyes at that. "I am not."
Bringing his lips to mine, he kissed me gently.
"Yes, you are. There is no me without you, Daisy. You are the boss here. I am nothing but a slave to your wishes. If you want to meet Romanov about a betrothal with our daughter and his son, then I will arrange it. And if you don’t, then I’ll tell him to get lost as well. Our entire future is up to you."
"I want our children to grow up," I admitted finally. "I want them to have a life of freedom and love. I want them to have the choices we didn’t."
Ilya's fingers roved down my cheek. "Knowing what you know now, would you go back and choose differently?" he asked in a whisper.
"No," I said without pause. "No, I wouldn't change my mind. Even after all the heartache and pain, I would have still picked you, Ilya Popovitch."
"Good." The brush of his lips against mine became more insistent. "Then we agree with each other. Our children will choose their own paths and their own loves."
"Yes. And hopefully one day they will find someone who loves them as much as I love you."
Ilya chuckled. "Impossible."
Maybe it was impossible for any two people to love each other as much as we did, but that’s what I wanted for my children.
"I love you always, Daisy Popovitch."
Staring up into his eyes, I pulled his mouth down into mine. "And I love you more. Now and for always."