Chapter Thirty-Seven
Today was their last full day on the Serenity; they would fly home tomorrow. The boat remained docked not far from the harbour in Dubrovnik. George had the tender ready for them to explore one of the nearby islands. Casey loaded a picnic blanket and basket into the tender while Stefan loaded the sea gear. Aliannah sat on the wet deck with her feet dipped into the sea.
“Are you ready, darling?” Ivan stood behind her and held his hand out.
“Yes,” Aliannah squinted at him as she took his hand to stand up. The sun was shining directly behind his head, blinding her. They boarded the tender, and George drove them over to the island.
Casey set up the picnic on a sheltered part of the beach away from the sea breeze, and George unpacked the sea gear.
“I will radio for you when we are ready to leave,” Ivan told George. George nodded and drove the tender back to the Serenity with Casey.
Aliannah sat down on the blanket while Ivan unpacked the picnic basket. The chef had packed an array of sandwiches, snacks, and a large bottle of orange juice. It was delicious. They savoured every last bite. When they were done, Ivan packed the bits back into the basket and jumped up.
“I sent George here to scout the other day. He found some caves over there. Let’s go check them out.” Ivan’s eyes lit up with excitement. They headed off to where the rocks began.
“Is this the same island you proposed to me on?” Aliannah asked as she looked around.
“Yes, that was on the other side of this island,” Ivan smiled at her. Aliannah had noticed that he had been more relaxed since she had accepted his proposal. She held his hand for balance as they navigated their way over the rocks to the cave entrance.
“Is… Is this safe?” Aliannah held on tightly.
“Yes, darling.” Ivan helped her into the mouth of the cave.
“But what if the tide comes in??” Aliannah looked to the shoreline. She could not tell where high tide would hit on the rocks.
“There is no tide here; the island is too small to have a tide,” Ivan said confidently as he led them deeper into the cave. He pulled out a torch from his pocket as they turned the corner into darkness. They walked for a while before the cave opened up into a cavern; they found a pool of water in the centre. Ivan shone the torch down.
“It looks safe enough,” he shrugged and removed his trainers and shirt. He set the torch down, pointing up at the ceiling to provide the most light. He carefully made his way into the water. Aliannah stood back, eyes wide.
“Are you insane? There could be anything in there!” She exclaimed
“Darling, it's fine; there is nothing here.” Ivan walked around the pool. “It doesn’t have any openings that I can find. Come on, it's warm.”
“Did you pee in it?” Aliannah raised a brow.
“No!!” Ivan was bent double laughing.
“Fine,” Aliannah said, rolling her eyes and putting her sundress and trainers next to Ivan’s shirt. Ivan whistled. She was wearing a tiny blue bikini that did not hide much. Aliannah walked to the edge of the pool and carefully lowered herself in. Ivan was right; it was warm. It was chest-deep on her, and this made her feel uneasy. She couldn’t see the bottom of the pool in this darkness. The torch did not illuminate the water, only the cavern around them. Aliannah lost her footing on her last step and went under the water. She surfaced in a splutter, Ivan helping her up.
“Careful; it is slippery.” He looked down in her eyes, his full of darkness. Aliannah wiped the water from her face and rested her hands on Ivan’s chest. The air around them became thick with tension. Ivan traced a finger down her neck and across her collarbone. Aliannah shivered as a trail of goosebumps was left behind. The sound of water dripping echoed around them. In the distance, the waves crashed outside.
The heat between them grew with intensity. Aliannah tilted her chin upwards, and Ivan kissed her softly. She nipped his lip, and Ivan let a growl. This caused every nerve in Aliannah’s body to come alive. She had not realised she had pressed her body to his until she felt him against her stomach. Ivan grabbed her legs and lifted her to wrap around his waist. They lost themselves in each other as the world outside faded away. It was just her and him in that moment. It was as if the cavern was their own private sanctuary, with no one to hear them or interrupt them.
“Ivan….” Aliannah whispered his name, desperate for more. Ivan obliged and picked up his pace; he set a harsh rhythm that sent the water around them into turbulent waves. All that could be heard was their panting and the water lapping as they climbed to the top of their peaks. Their movements were frenzied; their need for each other was insatiable.
Aliannah arched her back, surrendering completely to Ivan’s mercy. He pulled her bikini top away and worshipped her more. He held her closer and altered his angle, hitting that perfect spot. Her eyes rolled back in her head as the stars exploded in her vision. Only Ivan knew her body this well and could hit that perfect spot.
“IVAAANNN.” She cried out as she gave herself entirely to the stars.
Ivan roared as he found his own release. He kept going until Aliannah's body slowed down. He buried his face in her chest as they came down from the high. Aliannah reached up and rubbed the back of Ivan’s head. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other’s embrace.
A loud splash echoed from the cave's entrance. Aliannah jumped from Ivan and turned to see that the entrance was wet.
“What the fuck?!” she shouted. Ivan righted himself and leapt out of the pool. He ran over to the entrance of the cavern and put his hands on top of his head.
“Shit shit, SHIT.” Ivan threw on his shoes and ran. Aliannah panicked and climbed out of the pool to see what was happening. The cave floor where they had entered was about two feet deep in water. Ivan returned running.
“We are trapped. The tide came in, and those rocks we climbed to get in here are covered by water.” Ivan tried to calm his voice, but Aliannah could feel the tension rolling off him.
“Can George get the tender close enough?” Aliannah asked. Ivan shook his head.
“The rocks would destroy the tender. I’ll radio him to see what can be done.” Ivan grabbed the radio. A stream of curses flew from his mouth. Aliannah looked to see the problem.
“The radio was soaked in that splash. It won’t work. We are stuck here until the tide goes back down,” Ivan said, hitting his fist off the cavern wall.
“Hey… it’s ok…” Aliannah rubbed Ivan’s shoulder, “If the tide does not get any higher, we should be ok in here.” Aliannah took him by the hand, led him over to a large rock, and sat him on it. She sat next to him.
“I’m sorry, darling. I should have checked the tide before bringing you in here.” Ivan put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“How about we talk about our wedding while we wait?” Aliannah suggested. Ivan nodded. Aliannah took a breath before she spoke next.
“Ok… so I know you are Mr Big Oil Tycoon Billionaire, and the world will expect you to put on this big extravagant spectacle of a wedding…” She paused…. “That’s…. not what I want.” Aliannah looked at the ground. She felt ashamed for not wanting a spotlight wedding and couldn’t bring herself to look Ivan in the eyes. Ivan dropped his shoulders and released a breath.
“Oh, thank fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair and started laughing. He turned to face Aliannah and lifted her face to meet his eyes.
“I don’t want the spectacle either, darling. I am more than happy to have a small wedding,” he said, touching his forehead to hers.
“Really?.....but I thought your world needed it?” Aliannah’s voice was shaky.
“I will have to invite a few Pakhan’s and their wives; it is customary in ‘my world’ as you called it, but no, we can keep it exclusive. High security, keep the media out.” Ivan rubbed his knuckles against her cheek. Aliannah smiled at him.
“High security?” Aliannah bunched her brows.
“Yes. That’s a non-negotiable. The Pakhan mandate there is to be high security at any gathering regardless of the occasion. Also, my father will bring extra security with him; he would rather die than let something happen to my mother due to his lapse in judgment. All the Pakhan’s will have extra with them.” Ivan’s tone was firm.
“Your parents… oh my god… what if they don’t like me?” Aliannah’s panic began to rise.
“Of course they will, darling. My mother loves everything I have told her about you,” he smiled. Aliannah's jaw hit the floor.
“You told your mom about me?” Ivan nodded and lifted Aliannah’s hand to kiss it.
“This ring belonged to my grandmother; I had my mother send it over before you left last year. She is very excited to meet you,” he rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand.
“Does… does she know what happened with…” Aliannah could not bring herself to finish speaking.
“Yes darling, she knows what happened. She gave me a hard talking to for not telling you about Igor before that night with Milena… she also gave both of us an earful for not protecting you better in Zino’s, and don’t get me started on my father…. Safe to say, I am not looking forward to his next visit.”
Aliannah could see the guilt weighing heavily in Ivan’s eyes. She reached up and stroked his face before kissing him softly.
“I am here; I am with you. That’s all that matters now. I want to forget the past.” Aliannah kissed him again.
While they waited for the tide to die down, they talked about where and when for their wedding. They decided they wanted to have a short engagement for the safety of the Pakhans. If news travelled to the wrong ears about this wedding, unwanted parties might try to sabotage or assassinate one of the Pakhans. The risks ran too high for a long engagement. It was already mid-June, and they needed to allow time for organising and preparations, so they settled on September. They would decide the date after they spoke to their venue.
Aliannah wanted a private venue, and a manor estate just outside of New York fit the bill. It was big with gardens, but it was also exclusive and private. Ivan said he would buy the venue if he had to, which made Aliannah laugh.
“Oh, Ivan! You rush too much. I am sure the venue will be able to make room in their calendar for the great Mr. Ivan Kozlov! They will bow to kiss your feet for the opportunity to host a billionaire’s wedding.” Aliannah stood up and dropped into a dramatic bow. Ivan took her hand and spun her around, the two of them giddy with excitement.
“So this is really happening…” Aliannah said with disbelief
“Yes, yes, it is Mrs Aliannah Kozlov.” Ivan winked at her.
They continued dancing, twirling, and kissing in between further discussions of their wedding. After what felt like an entire day, the water finally receded enough for them to leave the cave. Ivan helped Aliannah climb down the rocks back to the beach. George, Damien, and Stefan stood where Ivan had left the picnic basket and blanket.
“Oh, Sir! We were so worried! What happened?!” George was in a fierce panic.
“The tide came in while we were exploring the caves, and the radio got wet and wouldn’t work. We had to wait it out before we could leave.” Ivan handed over the still-broken radio. George apologised for not checking the tides and for the radio's failure.
The breeze on the beach was strong, and Aliannah began to shiver, and her teeth started to chatter. She was still wet from being in the pool, and the breeze was much cooler than the cavern air. Everyone boarded the tender and headed back to The Serenity.