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“I knew you would come,” he whispers in my ear. “I knew it. I just knew it.”
voice low and menacing. “Those are my kids up there. Those are my kids you’re after.”
There’s a handwritten note, too. I’ve spoken to a cop that we work with closely. He can make the missing persons reports go away. We’re gonna work on proving that Ben is an unfit guardian. Until then, you’ve got custody of the kids. –Kirill.
“Yes, I came here even when I knew you would say no. But I just wanted an excuse to be in your space. I wanted to be near you. Because… because I miss you so damn much. Even if you’re not here.”
“No, you’re not. You’re not here at all. I miss the old Ruslan. The man who carried me to bed after I fell asleep. Who covered me with a blanket to make sure I wouldn’t get cold at night. I want the man who took care of the kids for me so that I could fall apart in peace. I want the man who looked at me as though I was special. I want that man.”
“N-No… I miss you.”
“But I realized today: you can call me anything you want—as long as you also call me yours.”
“You haven’t screwed him up. Believe me: you saved that child. And you should be proud of it.”
“Because you always felt too good to be true. I was terrified from the beginning that I would lose you. I suppose, when Kirill came to me with the news that Remmy had gotten his hands on our contract, it was like a self-fulfilling prophecy coming to life. I was so scared of losing you that I told myself it was easier if I was the one who pushed you away first.”
“By giving you my time and attention, to start with. By showing you with time and patience just how important you are to me. And, for right now, with an orgasm or five. For as long as you want it.”
“It won’t happen overnight. It’ll take time.” He keeps kissing my neck. And my ears. And my face. And my breasts. It makes it very hard to pay attention to what he’s saying between the kisses. “It’ll take months of orgasms. Months of romantic dinners and expensive gifts. Months of nights like this, lying here and talking about everything or nothing at all. Maybe it’ll take years of all those things. And I’m okay with that.”
“I knew exactly what you would be to me from the moment I heard that accidental voicemail you left me.” I’m so lost in desire that I don’t even blush. “I heard your hungry moans, your desperate little gasps, and I knew from that moment on exactly what you were.” “Ahh… W-what… what was I?” “Mine,” he growls. “All. Fucking. Mine.”
“Outside of this bed, outside of my cock in your cunt, you are my woman. My queen. And I’m going to take care of you as such. I’m going to spoil you and I’m going to protect you. That goes for the kids, too. You, them—you all belong to me now, Emma Carson. And if you ever leave, I will just drag you back here. I will drag you back into my house and my bed because this is where you fucking belong.”
“You are mine,” he says again, hands hard on my hips. “You’re not going anywhere. And neither am I.”
I am completely, madly, desperately in love with Ruslan Oryolov and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
“I don’t believe you. But even if I did, I’d say it sounds like you became the person you admired most. That’s beautiful, you know. He’s still alive in you. You’re a memorial to him.”
“I am in charge of something called a Bratva. I’m not going to explain exactly what that is yet, but it means I don’t always follow the rules, Josh. That includes the law. I’m often involved in dangerous things; I’m often involved with dangerous people. More often than not, I’m the bad guy. But—when it comes to you and your sisters, when it comes to Aunt Emma, I’m always gonna be your biggest protector. You have nothing to fear from me. Not now. Not ever.”
“Good. Because I only ever want you to feel safe when you’re with me.”
“I… I wanna be like you,” he says so quietly that I almost miss it. “I know that you do bad things sometimes. But I also know that you’re a good man. You’ve taken care of us. You’ve given us a home. You looked after us when our own dad didn’t. You don’t always follow the rules but I know you’d never hurt me like he did.”
“I want to grow up to be a leader. I want to grow up and protect my family like you’ve protected us. I want to fight like you. I want to be a part of the… the Bratva… if that’s what it takes.”
He will always be the alpha. But I get to be his queen.
“I was scared to say it. But… I’m not anymore.” I take both her hands in mine. “I want you to worry about me, Emma. I want you to wait up for me and ask me what the fuck I’m doing. I want you to be there for me when I’m old and gray. I want you in every conceivable way and I will forever.”
“Please come out. Mama’s tired.”
“And terrifying.” “What was that?” I snap. “I said you look so beautiful right now.”
