Page 129 of The Mafia and His Obsession Part 2 (Tainted Hearts 5)

She was dangerous for my heart and wild for my soul.

I needed to feel her, a sheer desperation that was fed with a passion I had no control over. I wanted her inside me, so deep in the marrow of me. In return, I wanted to own every bit of her…

For a brief moment, I was jealous. Jealous of everyone who had…or were seeing her dance, in this very moment. That beauty only belonged to me.

I wanted to steal her away. Capture her demand for her to only dance for me. The urge to lay my claim on her heart, over and over again, was strong.

But this…this beautiful moment was hers.

Nobody could steal it away. Not even me.

Pride filled my chest. My sweet myshka deserved this. This and so much more.

Today, her dream was becoming true. A dream she had many years ago, a dream that was once stolen from her.

Yet today…she was here. On this stage, dancing for all to see, admire, and be enchanted.

There she was, my Valerie. My dancing swan. Her elegance shone through, each step flowing like a water down the river. She glided across the stage as if she owned it, had it memorized in her tiny head.

She danced like the rest of us breathe air.

She danced…

And I fell more in love.

Once the music ended, Valerie stopped too, right on time. The rest of the dancers came to a stop behind her, and in a synchronized movement, they all bowed to the audience.

The crowd clapped, cheered, and went a little crazy. From my spot, I watched as the Ivanshov women stood from the first row and were clapping and cheering louder than the other people.

My girl deserved this.

All of this…a family. Ballet. Love. Everything she ever dreamed of as a child.

Her happy ending. I gave this to her, I made it happen, I kept my vows.

I found myself smiling as I watched her bring her right hand over her chest, placing it over her beating heart. It bet it was erratic right now, wild, uncaged. Free and flying so high. I was far away from the stage, hidden in the shadows, leaning against the wall, but—I saw it. Her smile.

Beautiful.

I remembered her words before. When I had told her one day, she was going to dance on the stage of The Royal Opera House. Just like she always wanted. One day, the audience would cheer for her and ask for an encore.

Valerie had said that it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t hear them. She would only hear the silence.

I told her…she would feel it in her heart. Valerie had been unconvinced that day.

Today, she took out her hearing aids. She chose to dance without listening to the music. Valerie knew it by heart, in her soul.

And she told me…I don’t want to hear them cheer for me. I want to feel the audience.

So she did.

Her eyes found me, where nobody else could see me. But she saw me…

My eyes widened as I watched her leave the stage. My lungs clenched, my breath stuck in my throat, and my heart…fuck…my heart was a wild mess as Valerie ran to me. The audience was forgotten. The world slipped away.

Just me and her…my beautiful swan and her Prince Charming.

I stepped away from the wall, leaving the shadows behind. Opening my arms for her, she fell into them, laughing. Her lips fused with mine and she kissed me, madly, deeply, crazily.

My thumb brushed gently over her wet cheeks, swiping away her tears. I tasted her, her sweet, sweet taste. She kissed my demons and chased my darkness away. Valerie was intoxicating, my favorite drug.

My heart thumped harder.

The kiss was both slow and frantic. Sweet, yet not so gentle. Her sweet lips caused a fire to spread within my bones. It had awakened a rumbling storm inside me. The kiss felt like our first kiss, except even better. When her lips met mine, every part of me came alive. I was a dead star, now alive and breathing—aligned in a perfect constellation with hers.

“I love you, Viktor.”

Her whisper reached my ears when we pulled away, starving for our next breath.

“Marry me.” The words slipped past my lips before I could stop them. I had no ring; I didn’t plan a proposal.

But Valerie didn’t seem to care.

“Yes.” She smiled so brightly, it outshone all the jewels of this fucking world.

“You are making the fairy tales a little girl dreamed of come true. My Prince Charming,” she muttered. “It was all meant to be. Since the beginning.”

I nodded. “Fate had put us together, myshka.”

I grinned at that, and Valerie smile widened. Her hazel eyes gleamed, and I saw our past, and our future in her gaze.

You see, once upon a time…I met a Princess.

And she told me she was going to marry me.

***

Many Years Ago…