Epilogue - Gavril
Here, it was a month after I searched out that perfect antique Russian ring for Lilia and risked death by proposing in front of almost her entire family.
And we still weren’t married. I imagined we’d take a quick trip to a courthouse, but no, my beautiful bride, who was no longer that shy as long as I was around, wanted a nice, long engagement.
She and her cousins were planning her dream wedding and taking their sweet time, and I was fine with it as long as she moved back in with me. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I couldn’t live without her by my side.
With my crew completely overhauled and all the rats exterminated, my secret mansion wasn’t so secret anymore, but it was completely safe. I could wait as long as she needed for that trip down the aisle that was so important to her, as long as she was in my bed in the interim.
When I wasn’t working to rebuild the LA branch of the Collective, we were busy visiting just about every tourist trap in Southern California.
We had taken a surfing lesson, toured vineyards, held our arms over our heads, and shouted as we sped down roller coasters.
She even managed to get me to a pottery class, citing that she missed the last one because of me.
It’s been fun. I was no longer obsessed with the things that used to get me out of bed in the morning.
The Collective was on its way back to being respected and feared, and we were getting along well with the Petrovs, both organizations gaining riches and power without stepping on the other’s toes.
But the most important thing would always be Lilia.
Her family was still clearly scoping me out, waiting for me to slip up, but I kept warning them not to hold their breaths. The scrutiny was mildly annoying but worth it. It was all worth it now that she was truly mine.
The doorbell rang, and Lilia scampered past me to answer it, pausing to shake her head at my fake scowl. “It’s going to be fun,” she said.
She hustled her cousin Rurik inside, and he gave me the same nod I gave him as we headed to the back, where I had a barbecue set up. Rurik hoisted a big cooler, swearing the steaks he was bringing would blow our minds.
The man who tried to kill me had turned out to be my greatest ally in getting their cousins to accept me, and even though I liked to tease Lilia and pretend he was a thorn in my side, we got along great.
So great, in fact, that we had started up an import business, almost completely on the up and up. Before we were even seated around the pool, he was excitedly telling me about the renovations in the office building we just bought.
“Ugh, enough work talk,” Lilia said, pouring bright red margaritas from a big pitcher.
“Hey, I’m excited to be in charge for once,” Rurik said.
“Just don’t forget your silent partner.” I grinned as we clinked glasses.
“Since you’re never silent, I don’t know how that would be possible,” he joked.
Lilia beamed at us, then answered a video call from Nataliye, Aleks’s firstborn daughter, who was almost overly invested in our wedding going off without a hitch.
For the next hour or so, Rurik and I talked about the business, which he would be the face of, and would do most of the management tasks.
He was already in the process of hiring staff while I was busy getting the goods lined up for shipment.
If we happened to smuggle in some things that weren’t strictly on the shipping manifests, that was just part of being in the Bratva. We could only be so legitimate without getting bored.
The steaks were as sublime as Rurik promised, and we had a rousing—if that was even possible—game of Scrabble, before I was giving Lilia little glances to get rid of her cousin.
Yes, I was learning to enjoy being around her exuberant family members, but it had been hours since we were alone. I craved her like oxygen and was getting antsy.
Finally, finally, he was out the door. “See you tomorrow,” he called as he got into his brand new sports car.
“What the hell is happening tomorrow?” I asked Lilia.
She shrugged. “I invited him to go with us to the observatory. I think he’s lonely. He’s the only one of us left who’s single.” She got a twinkle in her eye that I quickly shut down.
“This is not a rom-com,” I said. “No matchmaking. But speaking of rom-coms… What movie are we watching tonight?”
She nestled under my arm as we walked toward the theater, where I had instructed Varvara to bring us the special dessert she had planned, but that got punted to the side when Rurik also brought a store-bought cheesecake. If it was there, it meant she was no longer pouting about that slight.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Lilia said when she spotted the tray with the special cherry-covered blinis on it. “She’s not mad anymore.” She gave them a suspicious sniff. “She still scares me.”
“She’s scared me since I was a kid,” I said. “Nobody’s pissed her off more than me, and I’m still alive.”
We fell onto the couch, laughing, and she handed the remote to me. “It’s your turn to choose.”
I scrolled through until I found one she had been wanting to watch, keeping an eye on her reaction. It didn’t disappoint. “I finally finished it,” I said, referring to the original novel this movie was based on.
She moved closer, pressing her hands to my chest in her excitement. “You really read the whole thing?”
“No Cliff’s Notes,” I promised, taking the hand her ring was on and kissing it.
“So, did you love it?” she asked.
I wrinkled my nose. “I love you,” I said.
With a purr, she crawled onto my lap. “That’s good enough for me. And you know, you can stop torturing yourself.”
“It’s not torture. I like getting into the worlds you like to hang out in.”
“None more than this one,” she told me, sliding her fingers into my hair.
“Is that really so?” I asked, looking at her seriously.
“We are my favorite story, and the best part is I know the ending without really knowing it.”
“How’s that?” I trailed my fingers down her sides, finding the edge of her shirt and lifting it so I could feel her soft skin.
“Happy,” she said. “Perfect.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” I promised.
She shook her head. “You already did.”
Her mouth was hot on mine, fierce and yearning. As she lifted her body, I shoved her sundress up around her hips. With a moan, she sank back down, rubbing against my rock-hard shaft, fumbling with my zipper.
Dragging my mouth down the side of her throat, I kissed along her collarbone, enjoying the feel of her bouncing and tugging. For about thirty seconds. With a growl, I helped her get my jeans undone and grabbed her hips when her fingers curled around my stiff cock.
“What about the movie?” I teased, closing my hand over hers.
“Ha,” she said, squeezing as she stroked. “What about it?”
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t tear my eyes from her soft little hand working my cock until I was ready to burst.
“Lilia,” I said, yanking on her panties until they tore. “I need you, right now.”
She was soaking wet when I sank my fingers inside her, and she shuddered as I found her swollen clit. Her grip loosened as I brought her to the brink, panting and begging me for more.
“I’m about to give you everything I’ve got.”
Her dress was one of her new favorites, but my eager hands ripped it straight down the front. Lifting her by her waist, I leaned forward and clamped my teeth around the edge of her bra, tugging it away from her creamy skin.
“I need to see you,” I said. “I need to taste you.”
I rolled my tongue around her pink nipple, gently dragging my teeth across the taut peak. She pressed down hard against my pulsing shaft as I teased her sexy tits until she was crying out and holding on tight to my shoulders.
Pulling herself away from my questing tongue, she raised up, her thighs shaking as she came down hard, taking every inch into her tight little pussy.
I roared. She gasped and laughed breathlessly, riding me hard and fast. No, she was no longer shy at all.
Not with me. But she had changed me, too.
I knew what was important now. Family, love.
Lilia. I could give up all I owned, all I ever had a hope of attaining, and still be happy as long as she was at my side.
Or bouncing on my cock and giggling while I slowly went insane. I let my eyes roam over her body, moved my hands wherever they could reach, spanking her cute ass cheek before pushing my fingers against her clit until she reared back and screamed.
The feel of her as she writhed against me had me grabbing hold of her and taking over, driving hard and deep until I was spent. And I still held on, my face buried against her neck, murmuring her name.
“I love you,” she gasped, melting against me, her hair flopping across my face. “Gavril, I love you so much.”
“I need another word,” I said. “I love you more than love.”
She found the strength to pull away, smiling brightly as tears sparkled in her eyes. “I knew you were a poet deep down. And not just with threatening people.”
Then she seemed to realize her dress hung from her in tatters, her panties lay in shreds on the couch beside us. With a shrug, she pulled one of the blankets around her shoulders and cuddled up in my lap, her head resting against my chest.
“Where’s that remote?” she asked. “You’re going to love this adaptation.”
I found it and got the movie rolling, but it didn’t hold a flicker of my attention. That was all for Lilia, nestled against me, right where she belonged.
And where she would stay. Until the happy, perfect end.
*****
THE END