Page 64 of The Unseen (Echoes from the Past #5)

FIFTY-TWO

Valentina thought she’d spend the rest of the day in an agony of indecision, but there was nothing to decide.

Alexei was alive. He was in London. He had found her, and she’d be damned if she’d deny herself the joy of loving him.

Tomorrow, she’d think about the consequences of her actions and start to doubt the wisdom of what she’d done, but tonight was hers, and she would take full advantage of her hard-won freedom.

The evening wore on, the long hours an eternity of breathless anticipation.

It seemed that Elena and the children would never retire, but they went up at last, tired after a day filled with excitement.

Valentina didn’t bother to change. She couldn’t bear to waste another moment on mindless ritual.

Instead, she grabbed her bag and slipped out the door into the balmy night.

The moon was nearly full in a cloudless sky that was a study in violet and lavender.

The air was heavy with the smell of honeysuckle and roses, which grew in wild profusion at the front of the house.

Valentina hailed a taxi and got in, ignoring the curious stare of the driver, who probably didn’t see too many well-bred young ladies going out on their own after dark.

The ride seemed eternal. Valentina made a pretense of looking out the window, but all she saw was Alexei’s beloved face, and her heart hammered a joyful melody as she drew closer to the hotel.

That place was associated with such awful memories.

She’d faced degradation, humiliation, and indifference within its walls, but everything was about to change.

Alexei’s presence would wipe out the past and usher in a new beginning.

She’d not only been spared the noose but given a new lease on life, a new hope for the future.

God had forgiven her, and it was a heady feeling.

It was as if an unbearable weight had been lifted off her shoulders and suddenly she could stand up straight again, and look the world in the eye without being weighed down by crippling shame and regret .

She paid the taxi driver and was out the door before he could even offer to give her change. She ignored the raised eyebrows of the night clerk and asked for Alexei’s room.

“Madam, you can’t go up,” the clerk said, shocked by her brazen behavior. He was new. He had no idea. The night concierge who’d witnessed her degradation had been dismissed with a glowing reference and a full month’s severance pay.

“I can and I will. I own this hotel,” Valentina replied and turned on her heel.

She took the stairs two at a time, a terribly unladylike thing to do, she reflected, as she patted her hair into place before knocking on the door.

Thankfully, it wasn’t one of the rooms she’d been in before.

She’d asked the manager to give Alexei the best room, not one of the smaller, dingier rooms reserved for Dmitri’s less savory activities.

The knock sounded unnaturally loud in the silence of the corridor.

And then she heard his footsteps, walking briskly toward the door.

Alexei opened the door and smiled, his relief evident. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

“I was,” she replied, and then she was in his arms, kissing him and tearing at the buttons of his waistcoat, desperate to touch the hot skin beneath his starched shirt.

Alexei pulled at his tie as she threw her hat on the bureau.

The years of loneliness fell away, but not the experience they’d gained during their time of separation.

They were adults now, and neither bothered to pretend there’d been no others.

Their kisses weren’t shy and gentle; they were hungry, demanding, and filled with purpose.

Alexei’s fingers flew over the buttons of her dress, and it fell to the floor, pooling around her ankles, quickly followed by her corset and bloomers.

Valentina yanked at Alexei’s belt buckle with trembling hands, for once eager to get to the business at hand.

She undid the buttons of his fly and pushed his trousers down over his hips, desperate to remove the final barriers between them.

Alexei’s gaze clouded with desire as he drank her in.

She’d never seen a man look at her that way.

There’d been lust, and need, but never love, never this speechless reverence.

He stood in front of her, naked and ready.

Valentina took him by the hand and pulled him toward the bed, silently letting him know that she knew what she was about and wouldn’t change her mind.

He pushed her down, and she spread her legs willingly, guiding him inside with an urgency she hadn’t known she was capable of.

She cried out as their bodies finally came together after years of longing, the past few months falling away like the dead skin of a snake as it shed.

The men she’d been forced to service had disappeared, the memory of them erased as Alexei moved deep inside her, bringing her to heights of pleasure she hadn’t thought were possible.

She moved her hips against him, calling out his name as he taught her the meaning of love and brought her to her first orgasm.

She clung to him long after their desire was sated, needing to feel his solid presence.

He wasn’t a dream, a delusion caused by her loneliness and fear.

He was real. He was back. And he still loved her.

Valentina traced the jagged outline of the scar on his chest. It had healed, but there was still a ropey mark left by the sharp blade of the bayonet.

“You’re alive,” she whispered, filled with wonder. “You’re really alive.”

“I’m alive and I’m here,” Alexei replied. He took her hand away from the scar and kissed her fingers, one by one, then moved to her wrist. The skin was so sensitive, she gasped when his lips brushed across it. “I’ll never leave you again, Valya.”

Valentina touched his cheek. His skin was flushed and his eyes were heavy with fatigue. “When did you last sleep, Alyosha?”

“Not for a while,” he replied.

“Then go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Will you really?” Alexei asked, smiling into her eyes. “I dreamed of waking up next to you so many times, and then I awoke to find myself alone, and it was like losing you all over again. ”

“I’ll be here,” she replied.

“Won’t you be missed?”

“I’ll leave early in the morning and get home before the housekeeper arrives. I won’t give up this night with you.”

Alexei pulled Valentina close and she rested her cheek against his chest and slid her leg between his.

They fit perfectly together, like two pieces of a puzzle finally clicking into place.

So this is what it’s like to share a bed with someone you love , she mused as she began to drift off to sleep.

To her, falling asleep in the arms of a man was the ultimate act of trust. Knowing that she was safe and cherished and had nothing to fear was more intimate than any lovemaking could ever be.

Morning came all too soon and Valentina disentangled herself from Alexei and got up. Her hair tumbled down her back and her skin was flushed from the warmth of his body. She was naked, but she felt no shame as she stood before the bed, smiling down at him.

“You are so beautiful,” Alexei whispered.

“So are you.”

“Come back here.”

She had to get dressed and get home before Mrs. Nemirovsky realized she’d been gone all night, but couldn’t find the strength to leave.

She pulled back the covers and admired Alexei’s body, so strong and lean, and pulsing with life.

She straddled him, taking him into her body with one sure stroke.

He cupped her breasts as she leaned down to kiss him, all the while moving against him in a rhythm as old as time.

Alexei’s hands slid down her body and grabbed her hips as he took control and thrust deep into her body.

Valentina collapsed on top of him, her insides still quivering as she began to spiral back to Earth and reality .

“I have to go,” she whispered. It was fully light out now, and the sound of morning traffic had begun to replace the peaceful silence of the night. “Come for lunch.”

“When can we tell your family about our plans?” Alexei asked as he watched her dress.

“What are our plans?” Valentina asked as she did up the buttons of her dress with practiced fingers. She hadn’t thought beyond last night, but now that the harsh glare of a new day filtered through the net curtains, she was suddenly overcome with uncertainty.

“To be together,” Alexei replied.

“Alyosha, I can’t openly be with you. I’m a married woman.

My husband might still turn up, and if he doesn’t, I must observe a period of mourning.

” She tried not to cringe as she uttered the words.

Her “husband” was rotting in his bathtub, his body being slowly devoured by lye.

She hated Dmitri with every fiber of her being and rejoiced in his death, but she was now bound to him more securely than if she’d actually married him.

She could never leave his house. The truth could still be discovered at any time and she had to safeguard her secret, never, ever allowing the mask to slip for fear of giving herself away.

“Come back to Paris with me.”

Valentina shook her head. “I must remain here in case Dmitri returns.”

“You sound as if you’re hoping for that,” Alexei snapped. His eyes brimmed with pain as he studied her face. “You did love him.”

Valentina shook her head. “Alyosha, I can’t pretend he never existed and erase him from my past,” she argued, knowing full well that was exactly what she’d done. “I must wait until a year has passed, at the very least.”

“Then we’ll wait together.”

“Yes. We will wait.”