Page 43

Two weeks later

We were back in San Diego, in the best suite of the highest-rated hotel in town. Dima wanted to look at real estate, but I didn’t see a reason when we’d hardly be in town once our house was rebuilt. We’d be spending all of our time in Mexico soon anyway, because the construction was just about to start on the first phase of Dima’s resort.

Our resort.

Our house.

Our life.

Right now, I was neck deep in planning our wedding, which was going to put any royal family to shame. It all seemed kind of silly, and there had been a couple of times I almost gave up when I realized what planning something like that entailed. But Dima’s younger sister Mila had come down to help me, and had been a true lifesaver.

She had set up camp a floor below us, and half her suite was taken over by “command central,” as we started calling it. Every day, a new designer came with a small army of assistants laden down with dresses for me to try on. I was swathed in satin, silk, and lace for hours, standing on the makeshift platform while we tried to decide on what was the best style to suit me. The one that made my heart sing and would make Dima’s eyes pop out when I walked down the aisle for the second time.

Mila was much closer to my age than Dima’s since she had been a surprise addition to the family, and while Dima and the rest of his brothers adored and doted on her, it was easy to see he was getting annoyed about my wedding dress woes every night.

Mila wanted me to look like the princess my mother had dreamed me to be, and had hoped to be able to watch me walk down the aisle herself one day. My new sister-in-law took that very seriously and I appreciated it, as well as her expertise with style and fabrics. But we clashed on every single dress.

She wanted simple and elegant; I wanted to look more elaborate than a three-tiered wedding cake. Dima threatened to take me to Vegas and rent out a casino for the whole family to witness us be married amongst the slot machines while we wore jeans and t-shirts if we didn’t agree soon.

“Just put your foot down and tell her what dress you want,” he told me.

“Um, have you ever met your sister?” I replied.

The next day, a miracle happened, and the newest designer arrived with a simple column dress that was encrusted with sparkling gems and shiny pearls. Both Mila and I gasped at its beauty, and then cracked up. We found the one, and it felt like we’d summited Mount Everest; it had been such a journey.

Mila wasn’t the only family member throwing all her energy into making sure the wedding was the event of the century. When we arrived back in San Diego, I had been anxious to face Max, who I’d run out on. He forgave my unprofessionalism and couldn’t stop laughing that he never once suspected his missing brother and runaway assistant might have been hiding out in the same place together.

Facing him was nothing compared to speaking to Brooke again. She had always been so sweet to me, and we’d become friends when I gave her a nonjudgmental shoulder to cry on during her similar situation with Max. It was hard to believe, but there was a time when she wanted to get away from him, too, and no one was more delighted than me that they got their much—deserved happiness.

At first, she was mad at me for not confiding my problems with my dad to her, but then she realized if she’d been able to help me out, I wouldn’t be her new sister-in-law. After I swore I’d never keep secrets again, we fell back into our comfortable friendship, and she was saving my life, helping me pick out a wedding gift for Dima, the man who had everything.

“Have you heard anything about the Ivan situation?” she asked as we pored over watches in a department store.

That was how we were referring to the fact that no one had heard a peep out of him since Dima had ordered him to take care of Rurik and his sister. The only thing that kept me from worrying about him was the fact that Dima wasn’t worried.

“If we haven’t been deluged by the Kuzmins, then everything is probably fine,” I said, parroting what Dima had told me just the night before.

“I hope they’re not just biding their time,” she said, pointing to some cufflinks.

I shook my head, both at her fears and the cufflinks. I wanted a watch so I could have something gooey and romantic engraved on the back.

“Don’t put that out there,” I said. “Nothing bad can happen until after the wedding.”

We joked around about how that wasn’t giving us a very big window of peace and quiet, since Dima was throwing money at everyone to fast-track our big day to take place in only a month.

“Nothing’s going to happen, even after the wedding,” Brooke said, the worry in her eyes not quite matching her words. “I just hope Ivan’s all right. And I know he can handle himself. I mean here.”

She touched her heart and scowled, as pissed as I still was since I told her how Kuzmin’s sister had really laid it on thick with him. He was enamored with who he believed her to be, poor guy.

“The whole thing is such a mess,” I said as we gave up on that shop and headed to find coffee. “And I know Dima’s more upset about it than he lets on. He blames himself for that kid dying, and all those years he thought maybe he deserved whatever Rurik threw at him because he thought he’d killed his sister, too.”

“Well, Max told me that none of it was his fault. It’s a shame, but we both know he never would have set the bomb off if he knew anyone was in the building.”

I agreed, and was glad Dima continued to share his feelings with me. My sensitive Bratva king.

We both got text messages at the same time. Mine told me to look up, and Brooke’s must have been the same. We both looked around and saw our handsome husbands on the opposite side of the street from the coffee shop where we had settled in after shopping. They hurried across, but didn’t sit with us. Max had a twinkle in his eye as he pulled Brooke away, telling me Dima had to take me to an important meeting.

A few minutes later we were driving to the beach, where we came to my favorite fancy restaurant, but it was closed, with not a soul in sight.

“Are we watching the sunset?” I asked, but it was still a good two hours away. “Taking a swim?”

“Just wait and see,” he told me, pulling me around to the back of the swanky place.

To be honest, I was glad it was closed. I loved their food and the decor was divine, but I was a little bitter that they hadn’t been available for our reception. It was silly since a place like that was booked up for years in advance, and not even Dima could work his magic to get the date we wanted.

When he shoved open the unlocked back door and told me to hurry up and follow him through the kitchen, I wondered if there was a surprise party I forgot about in all the wedding hubbub. But no one was in the main dining area either, and I gasped at the change in the place.

The magnificent columns were wrapped with rose garlands, the exact color I wanted for my bouquet. Most of the tables had been rearranged to line the walls, and the center had been transformed into a dance floor.

“You and Mila can have the planner decorate it better,” Dima said sheepishly. “I just wanted to give you an idea how it would look for the reception.”

“How?” I asked. “You said there was no way the owner would cancel any of his previous reservations for us.”

He puffed up his chest. “I’m the owner now. Made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. And don’t worry about the food. All the kitchen staff and the chef agreed to stay on and work for me.”

“Are you crazy?” I threw myself into his arms, beyond shocked at the lengths he would go to make me happy.

“Crazy about you,” he answered. “And we’re the only ones here in case—”

I cut him off with a wild kiss, already grabbing at the front of his shirt. Everything about him made me wild, and he never failed to stop surprising me with how much he loved me. His shirt buttons flew in all directions, and when his hand slid down my body to grip my ass, I squeaked and ground against him.

“God, I love your body,” he said, crumpling my skirt until his hands were kneading my flesh.

His fingers dipped beneath my panties, and I moaned, shoving him toward one of the pillars. Rose petals fluttered to the floor when his back hit it, and he whirled me around, pressing my body into the fragrant blooms. With a snap of his wrist, my panties were off, and I heard the sound of his zipper as one hand smoothed up my side and under my blouse to cup my breast.

I twisted my neck to find his mouth with mine as he worked his fingers between my thighs. I was so ready for him, craving the hard bulge that pulsed against my backside.

“I can’t believe you did this,” I said. “You bought the restaurant so we could have our reception.”

“Maybe I just wanted to fuck you here,” he said, his fingers deep inside me.

“We could have done that in the restroom for free.”

I gasped when he pulled me closer and his big cock slid into me from behind. He nipped at the side of my neck, shoving my hair away as he pushed deeper. With his arm wrapped around me to hold me tight to his body, his fingers trailed down to find my clit. I shouted, bucking against him for more and his low laugh tickled my ear.

“You wouldn’t be able to scream to your heart’s content if I took you in the restroom,” he said.

“Good point,” I gasped, letting my head fall back as he pounded me. “Tell me I’m yours.”

“Now you like to hear it,” he said, teasing me until I could hardly breathe. Everything he did felt so damn good.

“You know I do.”

“You’re mine, Liv,” he said, thrusting hard and deep as he worked his magic with his fingers.

I held onto the pillar and screamed with pure delight as he rocked against me, his own release coming soon after mine. His fingers eased up and he supported my jelly legs as I fell back against him. Turning in his arms, I wrapped my arms around his neck, seeing everything I ever dreamed of in his eyes.

“No regrets?” he asked, only half teasing.

My heart beat against my ribs, and not just from the aftershocks of the world’s best sex, at least until the next time, anyway. It was because I almost couldn’t handle being that happy, feeling that complete. My mother would have approved of him, despite his place in the state’s most powerful Bratva family. He was nothing like my father, and he would always put me first.

“Not a single one,” I said, smiling up at him. “But what if the owner refused to sell this place?”

He grinned down at me, his blue eyes full of the same love that was radiating off of me for him. “He’s lucky he took my offer, let’s put it that way.”

He was clearly teasing, and I swatted him. Then, he grew serious as he pulled me closer. I was the one who was lucky. “I love you,” I said.

“Not as much as I love you.”

I swatted him again, and stood on my toes for a kiss. “Don’t start an argument you can’t win,” I told him.

He raised a brow and looked much too smug. “I’m already the winner, because I’ve got you.”

Well, he was right about that, and I was never happier to be his.

*****

THE END