Time Stood Still (Volkov Bratva #3.5)(16)

It didn’t matter that they had been married for months, nor did it matter that she and Mishca had had sex plenty of times over the few years that she had known him, nothing could describe the way she felt when Mishca was inside of her. He knew her, inside and out, and knew exactly what she liked, even when she didn’t know herself.

He kept her mouth covered with his as he whispered soft words in her ears, telling her how beautiful he thought she was, how he loved the way her * gripped him, and more importantly—and a fact that made her wetter for him—how no one else could make him lost control like she could.

“More.” The plea came from her when he finally released her mouth.

A growl vibrated in his chest as he gave her exactly what she wanted.





CHAPTER FIVE





It was now Lauren’s turn to be the voice of reason now that she wasn’t the one getting married. While she might not have been getting married in a church or was having a lavish affair, Susan was more than a little excited about going down to the courthouse to sign the appropriate paperwork. But although Lauren was little more in control that morning, she was still freaking out as well.

Excitement was humming inside of her and if it weren’t for Mishca and Ross, they would have never gotten anything done before heading out and to the courthouse.

Ross wore a brown suit that fit him well, Susan in a dress of ivory lace. They fit well together, and Lauren had already went through a small package of tissues at just seeing them together walking inside.

On the steps of the courthouse, Mishca grimaced, the action happening almost too fast for anyone to catch, but Lauren did.

“Why the face?”

“It’s rare that I voluntarily walk into a courthouse.”

Lauren smirked. “Too afraid you won’t walk back out?”

His expression only made her smile wider. “You don’t realize how true that statement is.”

Squeezing his hand, she gave it a slight tug as she led the way into the rather large brick building that was older than the town itself. It took no time at all to reach the courtroom towards the end of the hall. There weren’t many people inside that day, most of those that were present, were people that Lauren actually knew.

It wasn’t long before it was time for Susan and Ross to go up to the front, and it didn’t matter that there were other people on either side of her and Mishca, she was close to crying as she watched them stand before the judge, hand in hand. Lauren had been waiting for this day for as long as she could remember, and she was more than happy that she got to spend this special moment with them.

Squeezing Mishca’s hand, she smiled over at him, dabbing at her eyes with the handkerchief that was once in the breast pocket of his jacket. He was far more composed, looking like his former self in his suit, his hair styled expertly out of his face.

In retrospect, the courthouse wedding was far simpler and less stress inducing than Lauren’s, and she was glad that it went down without a hitch. Just as quickly as they arrived, they were leaving again, heading back home with the paperwork in hand.

Since they would be leaving soon to visit Ross’ sister who lived a couple hours away, she and Mishca were ready to present their wedding present.

When Susan pulled out the tickets that were inside the envelope, her mouth dropped open. Not just because it was a pair to the one place they had been planning to go—Paris—but because there were a number of tickets inside that didn’t expire and were available for anywhere they wanted to go.

“We can’t accept these,” Ross said immediately.

Lauren, at first, believed that he’d said this because the gift was extravagant, maybe more than what they expected, until Mishca spoke.

“They are from the both of us, yes, but Lauren paid for them herself. They’re clean.”

Ross looked like he was ready to object again, but Susan beat him to it. “Thank you, both of you. This is just what we wanted.”

“May I speak with you privately, Susan?” Mishca asked, making both Lauren and Ross look to him.

“No.”

“Thomas, don’t be so mean. He did fly all this way for Lauren to be here.”

As Lauren watched them head out of the room, she couldn’t help but wonder what Mishca wanted to talk to her about.

***

“Congratulations,” Mishca said once they were alone, or at least as alone as they could get with Ross hovering in the next room. Not that he blamed him, he understood the man’s hesitation.

“Thank you, Mishca. What can I do for you?”

“Lauren tells me you’re thinking of selling your house, that you want to travel for a while.”

She smiled, but shook her head, and he could see where Lauren got some of her habits as he watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just wishful thinking.”

“If you want, I can set that up for you.”

“That’s thoughtful of you, Mishca, but I—we can’t accept that. There’s so much here that we would have to take care of, and by the time we finished…maybe in the future.”

“Lauren took me by your old house.” He could see he was treading in dangerous territory and rushed to explain. “I think, like you, she’s ready to let go and leave it in her past. This will be my gift to you,a new beginning.”