Chapter 26
E dmundo
My heart was full.
That was the only way to describe this feeling, and I wished that freezing time was within my power. Ana rested on my chest as I let the strands of her long hair slip through my fingers. It had always reminded me of spun gold. The moonlight pouring through the window made it shimmer as it fell.
I’d spent our time apart, keeping my promise and using the information that the Curators had given me wisely. I still hadn’t figured out if Martin was one or just worked for them indirectly as the Dean of Wayward. Guess it didn’t matter if they were on my side.
Partnering with Seamus had been a wise decision. His vast knowledge and industry experience had been welcome as I made moves to position myself as a formidable adversary. We’d grown close, and with no children of his own, he had named me the official beneficiary of his entire fortune. I was humbled that he thought so much of me and trusted me to carry on his legacy. Together, we’d garnered six new military contracts across Europe worth billions. To tighten the screws on Vadin, I included Dimitri in a move that brought me immense satisfaction.
In another attempt to undermine him, I helped Ana set up a shell corporation. Together, we’d been actively building her wealth by undercutting his deals with better ones offshore. She’d also been purchasing stock in Vadin’s companies so she could one day take over. Ana was a hell of a negotiator and had studied the ins-and-outs of her father’s businesses in only a few short months.
I was so fucking proud of her. Yes, I’d helped her get the ball rolling, but only because her father kept her hands tied.
Vadin was ignorant enough not to notice that Ana had gone from saving her monthly allowance to it all disappearing. She now had twelve dedicated employees who kept her informed on everything, guards who would give their lives for her, and she reinvested the rest back into her businesses.
The man had wanted a son and ignored his daughter, assuming she was nothing more than a skirt to sell. For that alone, he was an idiot. Ana was incredible and I had no doubt that she would take the Mikhailov name and make it legendary.
“You finished it,” Ana said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Sitting up, she outlined the tattoo that ran down the right side of my body. It was the design I’d started the night my father ambushed me with the idea of marrying Patricia.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it,” Ana said, tracing the lily leaves and her name.
I’d incorporated everything that made me think of her into the intricate artwork, which included a set of wings that spread across my chest.
“I still can’t believe that you tattooed half of your body with my name.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know, just a lot of pain to sit through I guess.”
I chuckled and pulled her back down.
“This wasn’t pain. This was therapy.” She lifted a brow at me. “Don’t you see? Not being with you is more painful than anything else I can endure. Having this artwork makes me feel close to you and reminds me every day what we’re fighting for.”
“Am I being selfish by hanging on to you? Sometimes, I feel like I’ve trapped you, and I’m just a weight holding you back from living your life.”
Tipping her head up so she was forced to look at me, I watched as a fat tear slid down her cheek and landed on my chest.
“Ana…we had this conversation once before, and my answer is the same now as it was then.”
She sat up and wiped the tear away.
“I’m serious, Eddie. We don’t know what the future holds and what if….”
“Stop,” I said, kissing her until she relaxed.
I took advantage of her distraction to roll us over, trapping her underneath me. Ana moaned, holding me tight, and I loved how she wrapped her legs around my waist.
Breaking the kiss, I nipped at her lush bottom lip, teasing her as I wiggled my hips. If I made love to Ana a hundred times a day, it would still never be enough.
“Are you listening to me,” I asked, kissing her cheek.
“I always listen to you.”
Laughing, I wiggled again until she whimpered.
“No, you let your mind run off with you and stop listening sometimes. I need you to really hear me.”
Bracing my arms, I stared down at my goddess.
“I’m going to ask you for a favor,” I said, and she sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever came out of my mouth. “Don’t ever think of me as being like all the other guys out there. I’m not. I never have been.”
Ana’s eyes softened.
“I’m sorry. I know you’re right. It’s just that I feel so guilty. We haven’t seen one another in over a year. What kind of life is that?”
“It’s a life I would choose to live a million times over for you. Ana, I don’t wake up thinking I’m unlucky. I wake up thanking my lucky stars that you love me, that you chose me, and that we found one another. Yes, the obstacles keeping us apart are difficult to overcome, but nothing great in this world was ever achieved without a hard-fought battle. I’ll fight to the death for you. I’ll wait until we are old and grey as long as you’re just as dedicated to having me by your side. Do you love me?”
“Yes. My answer is always yes,” Ana said, her bottom lip trembling. “With everything in me.”
“And I love you. I don’t want anyone else. Other women don’t interest me, and they never will. A life with you, waking up to you every day, I will sacrifice everything for that. Don’t ever think that I’m missing something with someone else. My heart has only ever belonged to you. We were meant to be, and I don’t just believe that.” I tapped over my heart. “I feel it.”
Ana glanced away and bit her lip.
“How are you so perfect? Are you even real? Or is this just the best dream of my life, and sometimes I wake up to face the dark reality I’m forced to accept? Because if there is a way to remain asleep forever, I’ll do it. I’ll never wake again to keep you just like this.”
Kissing her hard, I slid my hands down her body and pulled her hips up before gently nudging her entrance.
“Just like that, or like this,” I teased, easing one inch at a time into her.
“Oh god, like this, definitely like this,” Ana panted, making me smile.
“Now, promise me,” I said, holding still once I was buried to the hilt. “Or I’m leaving you right on the edge, craving that orgasm.”
“You really are diabolical,” she said with an adorable smirk.
Ana kissed me tenderly and like every time we touched, I felt her thoughts and emotions as if they were my own. Her love for me, the fear she held deep inside, all the worry she tried to forget. With me, Ana let it out, and for a little while, I helped her carry the burden. I only wished that she’d let me do more.
“Alright, I promise never to worry about what you could have with someone else again. But only if you promise that if at any time you change your mind, you’ll be honest with me.”
“Easy and done. I’ll never lie to you, Ana, and you’ll never lose me.”
“My father made such a mistake not choosing you, and you’ll prove that you’ve always been far too good for the Mikhailovs.”
“Unless we’re talking about you, then I could never be worthy,” I whispered in her ear as I began to move.
Pushing her hands above her head, I locked our fingers together and rose up to stare down into her dazzling eyes. Like the ocean outside, she’d lured me in with her beauty, and I’d been willingly drowning in her crystal blue depths ever since.
There was no other sound than the rhythmical waves of the ocean, the gentle breeze blowing in the window, and Ana’s soft moans. For just a snippet of time, we’d been dropped into our own little paradise, hidden away from the rest of the world.
I kept the pace slow, savoring the feel of her body and the sight of Ana as she slowly climbed the peak to a climax. She gripped my arms as she thrust up with her hips, meeting me stroke for stroke.
“Oh god, Eddie…yes, please don’t stop,” Ana moaned.
Keeping my own needs at bay was easy until Ana came. Her body arched up, seductively pushing her breasts toward my face as her pussy tightened around my cock. Nothing was sexier than seeing Ana writhe in pleasure and knowing that I was the reason.
“Fuck me, you’re so sexy it hurts, Ana.”
I groaned through clenched teeth as she collapsed to the bed, breathing hard. Pulling out slowly, I loved that even though she was spent, she gave me a pouty face.
“Flip over.”
Just when I didn’t think she could look more beautiful, she rolled over and got up on her hands and knees, giving me a sly look over her shoulder. I ran my hands over her ass and shuddered. Lining myself up, I watched as my cock slowly disappeared. I grabbed her hips and dug my fingers into her skin as I came to a stop, barely hanging onto my sanity.
“Every time you make me lose control,” I said, pulling almost all the way out to tease her.
“Oh yeah? What if I do this,” she asked as she pushed back onto my dick.
“Fuck, yes.”
“What about now?” She did it again and again, and I lost it.
“Fuck, Ana,” I growled and thrust into her so hard that she grabbed a pillow and bit it as she moaned like I’d never heard before. There was something oddly erotic about it hanging from her mouth. The sight and needy sounds surged right to my aching cock.
Our bodies slapped together as sweat dripped down my back while a similar sheen coated her skin.
“Jesus, Eddie, you’re going to make me come again,” Ana said.
She dropped to her elbows and buried her face into the pillow she’d been biting.
The new position only pushed her ass up higher. My eyes rolled back in my head as I lost all conscious thought other than the feel of sliding into her. I could hear Ana’s muffled screams, but it was nothing more than sweet background music to the pounding of my heart.
“Fuck…Ana!”
My muscles spasmed a second before I experienced pleasure so intense that I froze in place. It should’ve been impossible after fucking her all night that I could come again, and so much so soon, but my cock unloaded like it was the first time.
All I could think about was getting her pregnant. I wanted us to conceive a child so badly that the thought of failure hurt as much as knowing that we had to leave this place. Once more, we’d be forced apart.
As soon as I was done, I collapsed. I smiled when she crawled off the edge of the bed and lay on the floor with her legs crossed in the air. Leaning over, I stared down at her content face, eyes closed as she rubbed her belly.
“Do you really think this will work,” I asked, petting the massive jade turtle she’d asked me to get for the room. It was a little creepy having it sitting on the nightstand, staring at us. But if it worked then I was taking it home and putting him in my office.
Ana had asked for a million different things to set us up for success. She’d gone around the villa placing everything just so after our second round. It oddly felt as if she was nesting. Like a bird, Ana had fluffed pillows and set statues a certain way before we showered and rubbed oils on our bodies that were supposed to help with fertility.
I had zero idea if any of this would help or if it was simply old wives’ tales. But if it made Ana happy, then I was happy.
Her eyes fluttered open, and the smile she gave me stopped my heart.
“Ted will make sure it happens.”
“Ted? We’re calling the turtle Ted. I have a Ted watching me.”
“It suits him,” she said, exactly like she had when she deemed that I was forever more Eddie.
“I’m a little self-conscious of my performance now.”
Ana laughed, her eyes shining up at me.
“Don’t be.”
“Well, as long as you don’t plan on running away with Ted. Otherwise, I’ll have to take him outside and let him find the ocean.”
“I think my crazy is rubbing off on you.”
“No….” I shook my head. “You reached into my chest and captured my soul as your own. I love you, Ana.”
“I love you more.”
“Impossible.”