Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
IVAN
I spotted her the moment I stepped out into the cool night air. She was floating lazily in the pool, her skin catching the faint glow of the moon, and something in me shifted. I decided to sit and watch her. Just watching her calms me. The world outside matters no more. They can’t take this moment away from me.
I’m not drunk. I’m just a little… smooth. The rough edges are gone.
I walk over slowly, bottle in hand, not wanting to break the spell. Water slides down her skin in shimmering trails. I don’t say anything. I just watch her, this woman who’s somehow become the only quiet in the middle of the storm.
“I was heading to the office to get the market to dance with me,” I say, breaking the silence between us, “but I heard the splash. Figured she’ll dance with someone else for a bit. I’d rather be here.”
She takes the bottle from me, her fingers brushing mine, and takes a small sip, her eyes never leaving mine. “Great decision. I… I wanted you here as well.”
There’s a pause. We’re both searching each other’s expressions, trying to figure out what to say without saying it. She hands me back the bottle, and I take a long drink.
“You um ... look quite… distant,” she notes softly.
I can’t help but let out a quiet laugh, though there’s no humor in it. “That’s one way to put it.”
She’s waiting. Not pushing, just... waiting for me to trust her enough to share. There’s something in her eyes, something that makes me want to let down my guard and stop pretending that I have everything under control.
I shake my head and run a hand through my hair. “Everything’s falling apart, and it’s happening too fast for me to stop it.”
Her brow furrows, concern written all over her face.
I take a deep breath, feeling the words like stones in my throat. “You’re already aware that the British and French authorities have frozen the assets I have registered in Europe. The yacht, the properties, the shares... they’re all locked away. And now...”
“And now?”
I smile bitterly. “And now… they want more blood. They have got their American brothers coming after everything else—my reputation, my businesses, my assets in this country. If I don’t clear this up soon, I’ll lose everything that’s not in Russia.”
She’s quiet for a moment, absorbing it all. I half expect her to be overwhelmed, to step away, but instead, she inches closer, her hand resting on mine, grounding me in the moment.
“Is there anything you can do?” she asks, her voice soft, cautious.
“Yes, I can sort it all out. I’ve got paintings, crypto and assets that I can sell to raise the funds I need, but I need time.” The frustration leaks into my tone, and I rub my face, trying to shake it off. “Even if I wanted to ask my brother to help, he can’t help, being in debt himself. My sister... well, she’s offered, but only in exchange for seventy percent of everything I own once this matter is solved.”
Her eyes widen. “Seventy percent? What’s her real name, Shylock?”
I shrug and smile softly. “Natalia is a hard-nosed career woman and it is good business to cut the best deal you can especially when you see the other side is weak and with little options. But what choice do I have? She might be my only way out.”
Lara doesn’t say anything right away. Instead, she moves a little closer, her eyes scanning my face like she’s trying to find something, some answer that I can’t seem to see.
“You’ll figure this out,” she says quietly, her hand still resting on mine. “From what I’ve learned about you so far, you’re not the type to let something like this take you down. One way or another you’ll solve this.”
Her words hit something deep inside me, and for a moment, I feel... lighter. Of course, she’s right. I know I will figure this out. And even if I have to give Natalia half, I will be okay. I hate the thought of it, but it’s only a couple of billion dollars.
“Thank you. For listening. For being here.” I shake my head. “Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be saying this to you.”
She smiles, amused. “Neither did I.”
For a moment, everything feels still—just the night air thick with something unspoken. I glance at her.
“You know because of all this... I can’t buy the house on the beachfront anymore, right?” I say quietly. The one thing I had promised—the one reason she had agreed to this situation in the first place. The one thing that tied her to me.
Her eyes look deep into mine. “I know that.”
“But I’ll make sure there’s no loss for you. Your father’s agency, the commission they were counting on—it won’t be affected. I’ve already settled all his debts and paid off his outstanding loan at his bank as I promised. I won’t let you walk away from this with nothing. I just want to tell you that I’ll need a bit of time to settle my affairs before you get paid, okay?”
She nods slowly. “I need to wait for my money, huh?” Her voice is quiet, but there’s a steadiness to it. “I guess that means I’ll have to stay... until my thirty days are up, and if you’re still not able to deliver then I guess I’ll have to stay even longer.”
The twinkle in her eyes tells me she’s not just staying for the contract or because of what I can offer her father’s business anymore. She’s staying for something more—something between us that neither of us dare name yet.
Now I know for sure. They can’t take her away from me.
I feel my chest tighten as I look at her. If I stay another moment looking into her limpid eyes, I swear, I’ll say something I will never say without half a bottle of whiskey inside me. I peel off my clothes, toss them aside, and dive into the pool. The water wraps around me, cool and refreshing.
When I resurface, I see her watching me from the edge, her expression unreadable. I swim towards her, my pulse quickening as I approach. There’s something in her eyes—something that mirrors the way I’m feeling right now.
She slowly kneels by the edge of the pool, her fingers brushing the water. “Ivan... did you hear me? I’m not leaving.”
My heart swells at her words. I swim to the edge. Our faces are so close they are almost touching. Her eyes lock onto mine.
“I don’t know how this will end,” I murmur, my hand brushing her cheek. “But if you’re staying, you need to know... you’re not just part of a deal anymore.”
Her breath hitches as I press my lips to hers, softly at first, but then the need—the desperation—takes over. I deepen the kiss, pulling her into the water with me. She falls in with a quiet splash and wraps her arms around me, and everything else falls away—the house, the deal, the mess I’m in.
After a few moments, she pulls back, breathless, and I feel her hands on my chest. “Ivan,” she whispers. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
I raise an eyebrow, watching her carefully as she hesitates. “What is it?”
She takes a deep breath, her fingers curling against my skin. She looks so vulnerable I want to wrap her in cotton wool and never let the world ever hurt her.
“I want to help,” she says. “I’m offering you the deeds to my apartment and my father’s house. You can remortgage them and use the proceeds. It’s not much compared to what you need, but it’s something. Altogether, you should be able to get at least a million from it.”
I freeze, stunned by her offer.
My mind races, almost unable to believe what she’s just said. Her unexpected offer fills me with shock. I can't believe what she's offering, how far she's willing to go for me. The weight of her gesture leaves me speechless. It’s overwhelming and I can feel it breaking something open inside me.
God! I feel like crying.
Before I can make a complete fool of myself, I pull her into a kiss. It is desperate, raw, and filled with everything I can’t say. My lips press against hers, hard at first, but when she kisses me back, it softens. I need her closer, need to feel her, as if that closeness will keep me from drowning in the chaos of everything else falling apart.
Without breaking the kiss I yank her into the pool with me and she gasps as the cool water envelops her. Her hands slide up my chest, wet and trembling, but there’s nothing uncertain in the way she pulls me closer. She’s not just offering me an escape from my world—she’s offering everything to me.
I reach for her bikini top, pulling at the straps with a slow intensity. It falls away, revealing her breasts in the moonlight. She shivers and I lower my mouth to her skin, tasting the mix of water and heat. I kiss her breast, sucking hard on her nipple, flicking it with my tongue as she lets out a soft moan, her fingers gripping my hair.
The sound of her breathless gasps fuels something primal inside me. My hands move down her body, pulling her closer, feeling the way her body arches into me. I push her gently against the pool's edge, my fingers sliding lower until they find the thin material of her bikini bottoms. I pull them down with one swift motion, and her legs part as I press against her.
She’s slick, warm, and ready. I slide my fingers inside her, curling them deep, and she gasps, her nails digging into my shoulders as her head falls back. The water ripples around us, echoing the raw need building between us. Her hips move against my hand, desperate for more, and I oblige, moving my fingers faster, deeper, feeling her tighten around me.
“Oh, Ivan...” Her voice is ragged, breathless, and her body shudders against me.
I can feel the tension building inside her. She’s losing control, and I want nothing more than to push her over the edge.
I bite her bottom lip and suck it into my mouth. Her hands slide down my body, reaching for my underwear, pulling them off in one frantic motion. She wraps her legs around me, pulling me toward her, our bodies slick and throbbing.
Without hesitation, I push into her, burying myself deep inside. She moans as her body stretches to take me in. She clings to me, her fingers digging into my back as I start to move, each thrust harder than the last.
Her breath is hot against my neck. Her moans grow louder with each movement. The pool water sloshes wildly, but all I can hear is the sound of her voice, the feeling of her body gripping mine as I plunge into her again and again.
“Oh, God...” she cries out, her body arching into mine as she nears the edge.
“Come for me,” I rasp against her skin, my voice rough with need as I continue to fuck her hard. “I want to feel you.”
“Yes, yes,” she gasps as her body tenses, and then she goes over, her release hitting her in waves as she cries out, her nails raking down my back. The feeling of her pulsing around me, trembling in my arms, sends me over the edge, and I thrust into her one last time, groaning as my own release crashes through me.
We stay tangled together in the water, breathless and raw, the only sound being the soft sloshing of the pool against the tiles and our ragged breathing. I press my forehead against hers, my hands still holding her close, neither of us willing to let go just yet.
For a moment, everything else fades—the business, the house, the mess I’ve made of everything. It’s just her, grounding me, keeping me from falling apart entirely.
My lips gently brush against hers. “No, I don’t need your father’s house or your apartment. I’ll figure this out.”
“We’re going to be okay. You wait and see,” she whispers back, her eyes filled with some deep emotion that I cannot quite name.