Page 44

You may now kiss your bride.

The words reverberated joyously in my mind, just as Nik’s eager kiss still tingled on my lips. Hand in hand, we ran down the aisle to raucous applause. We’d done it. Yes, I knew we were legally married all along, but having friends and family taking part made all the difference. Even Nik had thrown himself wholeheartedly into the preparations once everything with his brothers was settled.

My dress was divine, after Mila had gone to the ends of the earth to find me the perfect one. Literally, it came from a new Egyptian designer who flew into Los Angeles to do the last-minute fittings. Aleks’s daughter Nat had turned his mansion and backyard into a pink and white fantasy for the ceremony and reception, which would have just about the best food In the state since Katie was catering.

She even let me help out a little, as I hadn’t returned to Khoroshiy yet since Arkadi was still at large. I missed the bustle of my kitchen, but there was so much to do, and now that I truly understood the reasoning behind staying out of harm’s way, I was fine with it. It was only temporary, because I had full faith in my husband and his brothers to find their enemy and stomp him into the dirt.

It might have seemed like someone was missing, because my parents declined their invitation, but I barely noticed their absence since I was surrounded by my new, supportive family. Nik urged me to give them time, since his mom and stern, but loving dad had come over the moment he admitted everything and told them another wedding was soon to be underway. Maybe he was right that they’d come around when grandchildren entered the picture, but I had made peace with the fact that not everyone got amazing parents like he did.

Before I knew it, we were in a crush of well-wishers in the stunning ballroom that was festooned with ribbons and crystal and fresh flowers. I tried to pick Nat out of the crowd to give her a special smile of gratitude for making it so beautiful, but I was surrounded by people I hadn’t met yet and couldn’t see her anywhere.

“This is my cousin Matvey,” Nik said, pulling a tall, dark-haired man with dancing blue eyes toward him. “My eldest uncle’s firstborn. His brother Daniil should be around here somewhere.”

“At the bar already, most likely,” Matvey said, beaming down at me.

He had the air of Nik and his brothers, but a bit more angular and rough around the edges. Another cousin, Rurik, came over and assured me his younger sisters couldn’t wait to meet me. My head was already spinning as Nik reminded them of a time when they were all teenagers and “borrowed” a car from someone they really shouldn’t have, and then had to go into hiding for their entire vacation.

So many more new, friendly, and curious faces I’d have to learn, but at the moment I only had eyes for Nik. He looked so handsome in his crisp gray morning suit, that he consumed all my attention. Especially now that he had promised to take some time off for another honeymoon. During the final weeks of wedding prep, he and his brothers had continued searching for Arkadi, and while there hadn’t been a peep out of him, they’d rounded up plenty of his men. They’d been duly punished, and Arkadi’s organization was in tatters, leaving virtually nothing to return to, even if he did dare to show his face in LA again.

The whole operation was especially good for Mila, who had been floundering since her boutique had to close. Accounting and planning a huge wedding in a matter of weeks hadn’t been enough to take her mind off her heartache, but throwing herself into the rebuilding efforts after Arkadi’s rampage was just what she needed. Nik had told me Aleks was planning on giving her one of Arkadi’s businesses to take on as her own, and I couldn’t wait to see the glee on her face when she found out. She despised her family’s sworn enemy and would revel in taking what was his.

By the time the first dance was over and we were no longer the focus of everyone’s undivided attention, I was exhausted, and tugged Nik out of the way of the crowded dance floor.

“Look at them,” I said with a smile, pointing out all the people celebrating our happiness.

“They all love you already,” he assured me, leaning down for a quick kiss. “Not as much as I do, though.”

I grabbed his lapels and pulled him closer, wanting more. Needing more. “I’m sick of sharing you. I want our honeymoon to start early.”

He grinned, his eyes darkening. “How about now?”

I glanced back at the crowd, dancing, laughing, toasting one another near the bar, or hovering over the decadent buffet spread. He noticed where my gaze landed.

“Unless you want to see if Katie’s cooking is up to par?”

I smirked. Katie had built her business from the ground up, starting in a tiny kitchen and taking her gourmet lunches to office buildings, all while working nights as a sous chef in a restaurant almost as famous as Khoroshiy. Now, she was famous in her own right and in high demand. I was sure her cooking exceeded my expectations.

“I’m hungry,” I admitted, nipping at his lower lip. “But not for food.”

His hands slid down my back to cup my bottom and drag me flush with his rock-hard body. “I might be able to help out with that.”

He scooped me up and carried me out of the ballroom and down a short hall that led to a narrow stairwell. As soon as he kicked the door shut behind us, he pressed me against the wall and began teasing his lips down my neck. I breathed him in, smiling at the scent of the rose in his lapel as it was being crushed between us.

I arched my back, letting my head tip against the wall behind me. Nik yanked me against his stiff shaft, but there were far too many layers of silk and organza between us, and I whined in frustration. Understanding instantly, his hands roamed down my sides to grip handfuls of my flowing skirt and begin working it up until his palms smoothed along my thighs.

Yes. Finally, his hands were on my heated flesh, his fingers gripping the edges of the lacy stockings Mila had insisted on. The antique blue garter that was encrusted with pearls and worth a fortune in both money and sentiment, slid down to the ground.

“You’re supposed to throw that later,” I said absently as I felt it drop against the toe of my shoe. When his lips reached the sweeping neckline, I stopped caring about anything but his mouth.

“What the hell is this dress made out of?” he muttered, tugging at the shoulders. “Is it reinforced with steel?”

“Not even a zipper,” I moaned, dragging my fingers through his neat and tidy hair to rumple it up. “About a thousand buttons, and you will be murdered if you tear it.”

He made a low rumbling noise in his throat, yanking the skirt up higher and pulling me to the throbbing bulge that stretched the front of his formal pants. I wrapped my legs around his middle and sighed as I ground against him.

“That’s so much better.”

Maybe he didn’t dare rip the dress and face his sister’s wrath, but my panties were gone in an instant, his fingers delving into my slippery folds and making me squeak. I bit his shoulder, impatiently shoving his jacket down his arms. We both had way too many clothes on. I was burning up, desperate to feel his hot skin against mine. But also desperate to have him pounding inside me. His growls of pleasure as he found a way to get my bodice down had me arching up against him again. In a moment, my breasts were free from the horrible corset I was crammed into, and his tongue traced my nipples to taut peaks.

His fingers worked magic as he kissed his way up my neck again, muttering words I could barely comprehend. He’d taken to speaking in his halting Russian since he was around so many relatives from the old country, and I’d even learned a few words.

“What are you saying?” I gasped.

“That you’re so fucking beautiful, and I’m so damn lucky you’re mine.”

I giggled and then gasped when his fingers pushed deeper, and his thumb found my swollen clit. “Nik, we’re in the stairwell.”

“Damn it,” he said. “You’re right.”

“I don’t mind.” I grinned up at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I can hold on.”

“Now all I can think about is fucking you in a stairwell,” he said. “But not on our wedding day.”

My skirts flooded back down around my feet as he let the mounds of fabric go to pick me up. Tossing me over his shoulder, he took the stairs two at a time, racing down the hallway to the nearest door. He swore and I burst out laughing to see it was a bathroom.

“Add it to the list,” he said. “But not on our wedding day.”

The next door led to an office, and I pounded on his back. “Hurry,” I said, “I’m getting dizzy.”

“To hell with it,” he growled, leaping into the room and slamming the door shut behind us. “Beds are overrated.”

As soon as my feet hit the floor, he swept everything off the desk, sending a laptop, several silver candlesticks, and a cup full of pens crashing. My back hit the surface, and my skirt was flung up over my head.

With a laugh, I swiped all the layers away, just in time to see Nik, my gorgeous, impatient husband, diving between my thighs. “Oh no,” I yelped, reminding him of the discarded panties and that all-important garter.

“We’ll get them on the way down.”

My cheeks burned at the thought of someone finding them first, but only until his tongue swept over my clit, pressing at the aching bud and making me clamp my lips together in blissful concentration.

He was driving me wild again, and what was more, I was having fun. We could laugh together easily now, nothing holding us back. Even when I thought I hated him, I still wanted him. Couldn’t resist him no matter how hard I tried. But it was so much better when we were on the same page about everything.

My body moved with the masterful rhythm of his tongue until I was gripping his hair and moaning. I thrashed my head, sending crystal pins flying from my hair.

“You know what I want,” he said, his breath hot against my thigh. “Hurry.”

That was all it took. Just his voice and the merest touch, and I was screaming into a wad of my skirt that I hastily grabbed. I held on tight to his hair until my fingers went limp, along with the rest of me, just letting all that ecstasy course through me.

Shoving the fabric aside, I watched as he stood to rip his pants open, smiling with proprietary greed when that big cock burst free. Mine. And then it was deep inside me, with Nik’s mouth pressing kisses to the side of my neck, my ear, dragging his lips along my cheek to claim my mouth.

I only wanted to feel his release, hear that roar that gave me such satisfaction. But Nik was determined to wring every ounce of pleasure out of me, sliding his palm up the back of my thigh to spread my legs wider, taking me so deep I gasped. He reared back to look down at me, his eyes blazing and wild. He was loving every second, and never wanting to stop.

Until I screamed again, burying the sound in his shoulder, clamping down tight with my teeth and longing for flesh instead of fabric. My body pulsed and I dug my fingers into his hair.

“Give me a baby, Nik,” I pleaded, as surprised as he was to hear those words.

But I meant them. I wanted us to start a family, one that was going to be as happy and as full of love as I felt in that moment. With a growl, he thrust hard and deep, coming inside me until he fell on my chest. His heart beat as fast as mine, and it was a long moment before he rolled over to look me in the eyes.

“Do you think that worked?” he asked with a tender smile.

“We better keep trying, just in case,” I said.

His laugh rang out, and he hugged me close to him. Then, regretfully, he told me we had better return to the party. It was for us, after all.

I was fairly sure I got my bodice back up the way it was supposed to be, and we retrieved the garter on our way back down. I stuffed my torn panties down my corset, going into an uncontrollable fit of giggles as we emerged back into the crowded ballroom.

It was as if a spotlight went on us. Everyone turned and gave each other knowing looks, laughing and teasing as we tried to slip back in without any fuss.

“It’s all right, they’re married,” one of Nik’s very old-fashioned uncles called out.

“It’s about time,” Mila said, still in full wedding planner mode. “It’s time to toss the bouquet.”

After another round of toasts that had me tearing up at their heartfelt sincerity, all the unmarried ladies lined up. There weren’t too many, just some of my kitchen staff and a few of Nik’s employees, as well as Nat, Mila, and Nik’s Russian cousins, Masha and Lilia, a set of curly-headed twins around Mila’s age. Lilia was shy and took some coaxing, but Masha jostled with Nat for the front of the line.

Mila flat-out refused, swearing that marriage wasn’t on her list of things to do.

“It’s just for pictures,” Nat said. “Don’t throw it to her, Em. Toss it to me. I’m sick of being single.”

Her overprotective father grumbled at that, and told me not to throw it to her.

“My back will be turned. It’s only fair that way,” I said, winking at Nat as I took note of where she was standing.

As soon as I heaved the stunning rose and peony bouquet, I whirled around to see it heading for Nat. With her arms outstretched, she leaped for it as it flew through the air. At the last second, Aleks jumped in and batted it off target, making all the onlookers erupt into laughter.

Nat scowled, but Mila scowled harder as the flowers flew straight at her now. She lifted her arms like she was going to volley my poor bouquet at someone else, but at the last second, she must have considered what the video of that would look like and begrudgingly caught them.

“They really went to Nat,” she said, glaring at her eldest brother. “Your interference doesn’t stop the magic of the bouquet.”

“No, sorry, sis,” he answered. “It’s whoever catches it. You’re next in line.”

Watching my new family teasing each other, I stepped back, overcome with emotion. Nik moved to my side, and I pulled him into an embrace that was almost desperate, holding on with all my might.

He leaned back and looked down at me with so much love in his eyes, I was able to loosen my frantic grip.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re here to stay. And I’m never letting go.”

*****

THE END