Epilogue
LIA
Four Months Later
Idrive home, humming a tune under my breath. My body is pulsing from all the dirty texts my man and I have been sending each other all day. A smile touches my lips when I realize that home now means Maksim’s place. I’ve been spending more time there than at my apartment.
Mom is doing much, much better after the intensive therapy. She’s even got a part-time job, which means, with Maksim’s help, I’ve been able to reduce mine to something more manageable.
As I walk across the lobby, my phone vibrates again.
Maksim: I’m shaking right now just thinking of you. I’ve read your last text at least ten times.
A thrill runs through me as I read the message I sent.
Lia: I want you to take me the moment I walk through the door. I want you to carry me to bed. I’m already getting wet thinking about it.
My sex aches, my clothes feeling too close, too tight. I shiver when I think about his hard, firm body. His chest is even sexier with the scar, a reminder of what we had to overcome to get here.
I use my key to open the door, then Maksim is on me, his firm, protective bulk pushing me against the wall. I gasp and wrap my arms around him, my body lighting up immediately. All the texting adds to the pleasure, hours of withheld lust bursting out of us.
A squeal of delight escapes me when he lifts me off my feet, one arm cradling my back and the other hooked under my legs. I cling to the back of his neck, savoring his firm hold.
In the bedroom, he lays me down. I catch sight of a picture of him, me, and Mom at the zoo a couple of months ago. All the photos of Nikolai are gone. It’s sad, but I know that Maksim can’t forgive his brother for what he did to me.
My thoughts are brought hotly into the present when Maksim leans over me, eyes wild, pushing his hand down my pants, groaning, a hungry noise.
“Fuck, you’re soaked for me,” he growls. “Fucking drenched for me.”
I shift against him, nodding, moaning. “I’ve been wet all day,” I whimper. I love how wild it drives him.
He pulls my pants down as I wriggle out of my shirt, then stands over me for a moment. I’ll never get tired of the look of obsession on his face when he sees me naked, as if every time is the first.
“Don’t tease me,” I say, shifting my legs.
He slowly starts to undress, those intense eyes fixed on me.
When he’s naked, my body grows even hotter. He climbs between my legs, grips his thick cock, and guides his shaft to my entrance. I moan as he easily slips inside, my body responding immediately.
We move together like we were made for it, his massive cock stretching me out as my tunnel clings onto him. I love when he’s inside of me. I love when he looks down like every inch of my body is a gift, and he’s the luckiest man in the world because he gets to claim me.
I love how he supports me and holds me. I love how honest he’s been. I love how he’s always there for me.
When he presses his body against mine, my nipples ache from the pressure of his firm body. I wrap my arms tightly around him and hold him close. His cock moves in and out, the heat expanding, burning, an orgasm tickling at the edges.
“I—love—you,” I whimper, and I mean it. It’s the first time I’ve said it.
He kisses my neck, groaning. “I love you,” he snarls. “Fuck. Fuck. I love you so damn much.”
I say it again, rocking my hips faster, the room filling with the wet, sexy noises of our bodies. He fucks me fast and hard and deep, the bed protesting, but we can’t stop.
The declaration of love – so much sweeter because it was earned, real – adds to the pleasure.
I can’t take it anymore.
I drag my fingernails down his chest as the orgasm makes me quiver all over, my toes curling, my vision bursting white.
He arches up as he comes, staring down at me, directly into my eyes. I grip his face, cradling his cheeks, watching his eyes as his body tightens in desire. He explodes, then falls aside, pulling me into his arms.
“I love you,” he says again, breathing hard.
“I love you too,” I whisper, kissing him on his sweaty chest. I feel teary-eyed, flooded with emotion. “I never want to stop being your light.”
He smiles down at me, looking like the happiest man alive.
Maksim
At one AM, Anton calls me.
I pull on my robe, kissing Lia on the cheek and taking a moment to look down at her. She’s bundled up in the sheets, so beautiful, her hair fanned across the pillow. I kiss her again, then walk to the windows, looking over the city of secrets.
“How’s it going down there?” I ask.
Anton is my eyes and ears on the ground, keeping watch on Nikolai. I still don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to speak with him.
“He is doing well,” Anton says begrudgingly. “Finally making some progress. He isn’t sad over the girl anymore.”
I swallow, trying to switch off my emotions when it comes to my baby brother. Rachael and Mikey, the people he risked everything for, have moved to the West Coast to be with their family. After suffering at the hands of Conrad and his men, they didn’t want anything to do with this world anymore.
“Good,” I say, making my voice hard.
“Three nightclubs, and we have a profit. Nearly.”
“That’s good.”
“Nikolai has found an information pipeline. He works eighteen hours a day. These men like to talk to waitresses and other staff. They are morons, boss. I think Nikolai wants to be a better man. I think he can make something of himself here.”
I smile, nodding. That’s something. And the fact Anton is speaking of him like this – Anton, who would’ve happily put a bullet in his head – is everything.
“Keep watching,” I say, hanging up.
I'm still conflicted, but I don’t need to think about that now. Instead, I return to the woman who floods me with certainty. For a moment, I just watch her, like I did last year, watch her and think about how blessed I am.
THE END