10. Alek
ALEK
The morning sun peeks through the curtains, hitting me right in my eyes, and I wake up a bit disoriented.
I’m in bed. I’m no longer on the couch.
Someone warm is against my chest and my arm is wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against me.
I open my eyes, tilting my head a certain way so the sun doesn’t blind me. Mia’s back is against my front, skin to skin. I hate I’m wearing shorts. I wish I could feel her on me from head to toe, but I’ll take what I can get. Whatever Mia is willing to give me, I’ll gladly take.
I do love to take what I want, after all.
I brush my lips back and forth over the soft skin of her shoulder. I can still smell the fresh scent of soap clinging to her from her shower last night. The perfume from yesterday is gone and I immediately miss it. I wish she had it with her. I hope, by some chance, it’s her bag that’s in the car.
Mia moves, rubbing her ass against my very hard cock. I grunt, tilting my hips back so she doesn’t feel pressure for anything sexual right when she wakes up.
God, there is nothing more I want to do than to dive down beneath these covers and feast between her legs.
My son is a fucking idiot. I’ll never forget the words I read in her journal while I sat in their getaway car in front of the church. I will never forgive him. He doesn’t know this yet, but he will be banished from the family and stripped of all roles and responsibilities.
“Good morning,” Mia says, her voice still riddled with dreams. She flips over so she can face me, and I’ve never seen her more beautiful. Sleep still clings to her eyes. They’re half open and a lazy smile falls onto her lips.
She stretches, lifting her arms above her head. The blanket falls past her breasts and her nipples tighten as the air wraps around them.
“Good morning,” I rasp, wanting nothing more than to bend down and suck one of those sweet beads into my mouth.
She blushes, pulling the blanket up to cover herself.
“You’re beautiful. You never have to hide yourself with me. I think you’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on.”
“But you’ve been with so many women.”
“Da, I have,” I agree, not wanting to lie to her.
The truth hurts her by how fast the morning smile fades.
I roll her onto her back, placing my hands on either side of her head.
I play with a piece of her hair, tucking the short strand behind her ear.
“I don’t mean to hurt you. While I have been with many women, I have never yearned for someone before.
I have never wanted more with someone, and you make me want more. ”
She surprises me by wrapping one arm around my shoulder and the other around my waist. “I make you want more?” She asks, her eyes focusing on my lips.
“Da. So much more.”
I’ll trade all of my guns for one kiss from her. Holding myself back from stealing her lips with mine has me very proud of my self-control. I’m just not sure how much longer I can hold on for before I break.
Her fingers drift down my back, up and down, soft and sweet. Her innocent fingers feel every scar I’ve earned in my life from my job. There’s concern in her eyes. Questions she wants to ask.
“Survival. It was me or them,” I explain.
“Promise me you’ll always survive. You’ll always win.”
“Da, Lyubimaya. I promise. I’ll win because it means coming back to you.”
Her eyes water, a small tear falling onto her cheek. “You’ll always find a way to come back to me, right? You have to, Alek. I can’t be without you.” Her hand settles on my chest, the warmth of her palm melting the ice that’s turned my heart cold over the years.
“I swear, Mia. Nothing will stop me. No one will stop me.”
Her bottom lip trembles as she turns her head to look away. “Ivan won’t allow it.”
“Hey. Look at me. Mia. Look at me, please.” I keep my tone firm, knowing sometimes she need a stern tone.
She’s so delicate, so innocent, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I fucking love it. She’s perfect for the soft dom inside me. Every part of her, her sweetness, her eagerness to learn, everything about that calls to me.
Mia has been sheltered so much of her life for Ivan, and I know that’s partly my fault along with her father. That arranged marriage shouldn’t have happened. If I could go back and turn Roswell down, I would in a heartbeat.
She wouldn’t have so much trauma either if it weren’t for me.
Everything she feels, every nightmare she has, every scared emotion that startles her, her trust issues, it all has a starting point.
And it starts with me.
I had no idea I’d fall in love with her.
She was strictly for my son. I never gave her a second thought as Mia and Ivan grew up together.
Two to three years ago, that changed. She’s twenty-five years old compared to my forty-five.
There’s a big age gap there yet I don’t care.
I’ve never felt drawn to another person like I’m drawn to her.
“Mia,” I repeat her name again and she finally brings those big brown eyes to me. “Good girl,” I praise. I wipe away her tears and kiss the tip of her nose, hoping it helps soothe her. “You don’t need to worry about Ivan. That’s my job. You’re free of him, remember?”
“But he won’t just let me go, Alek. He takes that contract seriously. It’s why he never touched me. I know he cheated. And I never cared. I mean I did in the beginning, but not anymore.”
“If we took that contract seriously, he wouldn’t have cheated, Mia. I’ll need to read the contract again to see if there is an easier way out for you.” I roll off her and sit on the edge of the bed, my elbows on my knees. “You can be free of the Bykov’s.”
“I only want to be free of one Bykov.”
I turn to her, reaching for her hand.
“Unless you don’t want me anymore. I wouldn’t blame you. It’s a messy situation.”
I rub my thumb across the top of her hand.
“All I want is you, Mia. I hate my son was marrying you. I hated you were going to be his wife when all I wanted was for you to be my wife. Mine. Not his. He doesn’t deserve you.
He never did. And after I read your journals…
” I raise a hand knowing what’s she is about to say.
“And I’m sorry for invading your privacy but I don’t regret reading them. I learned the truth about my son.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
I tug her to me and wrap her in a tight hug, cupping the back of her head to keep her close. “Don’t ever apologize for his wrongs. You have no reason to apology.”
She leans away, her wet lashes dripping loose tears. Mia stares at my lips again and I wait for her to make a decision.
When knock sounds at the door downstairs.
Mia inhales a sharp breath and scurries away from me. Fear has replaced any progress we have made. She bundles herself in the blankets and looks around the room for a place to hide.
I stand, placing a finger against my lips, telling her to be quiet. Grabbing my gun, I cock it, the bullet sliding into place.
“Go to the bathroom and lock the door,” I whisper. “Go, Mia. Now.” I order when the knocks become louder and more persistent.
She clutches the sheets to her body, nearly tripping on the material dragging behind her. When she’s in the bathroom, I’m the one who grabs the handle to close to the door.
“Don’t make a sound,” I repeat. “I’ll be back.”
“You promise?”
“I promise. I’ll always come back to you, remember? Lock the door behind me, Mia.”
Fuck, it hurts to leave her alone.
The lock clicks into place and I press a hand against the door. “Good girl.”
Leaving my heart behind, I rush down the steps. I’m not the ease into a situation kind of man. I don’t peek out of the window to see who I’m dealing with. I meet everyone with a barrel and a bullet.
As quietly as I can, I pad my way to the front door with quick massive strides. Pressing my hand against the scanner, the lock is freed, and I swing the door open, aiming the gun at the unwanted visitor’s forehead.
I curse in Russian. “Damn it, Nikolai. You nearly got yourself killed.”
He seems unimpressed, his pale blue eyes studying me. His thick black hair hangs to his shoulders, messy and unkept. “You are a fool.”
I step aside and tuck my gun in the waistband of my shorts. “Did anyone see you arrive?”
He analyzes the living room, tilting his head up the steps to where Mia is. “I am not stupid,” he says in Russian.
“I never said you were, Nikolai,” I sigh, leaning against the coffee table.
“She is here, Da?”
“You won’t tell a fucking soul she’s here.”
“No shit. Do you have coffee? We have much to catch up on.”
“Da. Da. Make a big pot. I’ll go get Mia.”
“Seems you and Mia have gotten to know one another.”
I’m in front of him in a second, grabbing him by his shirt and shoving him against the counter.
The asshole has the audacity to grin.
“You know nothing about Mia or me or what we have had to do to get here,” I speak in Russian just in case Mia can hear. “Whatever you are thinking you are wrong.”
“Okay,” he says playfully, poking me in the chest.
I can tell he doesn’t believe me.
“I will make coffee. You go get Mia. We have a lot to discuss. I also brought groceries.”
“Where are they?”
He fills the coffee pot with water and gives me a quizzical glare. “They are in the car. I bought them. The least you could do is go get them.”
“You go get them while I go get Mia.”
“I’m making coffee.” He gives me his back as he scoops coffee grounds.
I sigh, annoyed with him already here, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Nikolai knows me better than I know myself. He knew I was here. And I know he didn’t tell a soul.
“You didn’t tell anyone you were coming, right? You weren’t followed? You kept your cellphone at home so it can’t be traced?” I ask him in Russian.
He groans with annoyance and replies, “Da, Aleksandr. This is not my first time doing my job. No one followed me. My burner phone is in my pocket. Go get, Mia. I don’t feel like dealing with your questions,” he grumbles, waving me away.
Taking the steps two at a time, I rush to Mia and unlock the door to find the bathroom completely empty.