Moving Target (Target #3)(36)
“I don’t know why you bothered to come back.” Her chin tips up.
“Because I can’t live a life without you.”
“So you say now, but what about the next time someone orders you to stay away from me? I don’t exactly trust Konstantin to keep his word.”
Smart woman. “Because I am free of him and you are free to choose what you want.”
“Maybe I choose not to be with a guy who thinks he can make every decision for me. Ones that have nothing to do with life or death situations.
“I’m completely amenable to your decisions in those cases,” she adds and I bite back a smile.
I touch her cheek. “Take a chance on me again. Please, dushka. I lost my way for half an hour, but never again.” I’m all but pleading with her. Perhaps I should plead with her, show her how desperate I am for her.
Falling to my knees, I take her hand.
“What are you doing?” she all but shouts.
“Begging you to give me another chance.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t have to beg. Get up.”
“Not until you say you forgive me.”
Tears slip from her eyes. “Of course I forgive you, but I’m not sure if… Why are you really here?”
“Because I’m fucking miserable without you. Because I need the joy you bring to me. We’re not the same people anymore, but I think… no, I know that who you are today is still exactly who I need.”
“You always know what to say.” She sniffs. “It’s not fair.”
“Why is that?” I kiss her hand.
“Because I want to make you grovel and beg and… well, basically, do all the things you’re already doing. It’s not fair!”
I bite back a smile. “You’re upset that I’m doing what you want before you’ve demanded it of me?”
“Yes!”
Her perfect lips quiver again, and I stand so I can kiss her. “My beautiful dushka, tell me what to do. Stay or go. Kneel or stand. Take you to bed or on the floor.”
“I want you to…” She takes a deep breath and smiles. “I want you to stay. Take me to bed and vow never to leave me again.”
I do as she bids, ignoring everyone in the hallways as I carry Chloe to her room. In no time at all, I’m inside of her warm, welcoming body.
“I’ll never leave you again. This is my vow, my promise, and our future.” I kiss her lips, the tips of her breasts scraping against my chest. “I will adore you, cherish you, and give you everything your heart desires.”
“And?”
“I give you my love.”
Tears make her eyes glisten. “Took you long enough.”
“You will have to teach me.” I push inside of her again, and she wraps her legs around my waist. “You will have to love me.”
“I already do.” She kisses my chin, my lips, and my nose. “I love you so much that I forgive you for leaving me, even for that short amount of time.”
I stop moving and look down into her lovely face. “I love you, Chloe.”
She smiles at me. In that smile, I see our future.
“Take me home now, Dima.”
“I can’t live in the US, dushka.”
“What about your island?”
I smile, tilting my head to one side. “That can be arranged, but you will have to learn Italian.”
“Will you teach me?” She licks her lips. “I’ll be the best student you’ve ever had.”
Lust and love collide. I want this woman, but I want to do right by her. When we leave here, I will persuade her to marry me.
“Right after you kiss me.”
Epilogue
Chloe
Two years later…
My life has not been the same since Dmitry rescued me. Although, he claims I am the one who did all the rescuing.
In my opinion, we rescued each other.
Team Romanov!
“Chloe! We must go before this little charmer convinces me to stay home,” Dmitry calls out from the nursery.
Our daughter is in his arms, I know it.
It’s where she spends the majority of her time when he’s home and she’s awake.
I take a quick peek at the monitor. Sure enough, he’s holding Natalya’s in his arms and speaking in low tones. My mother and father, who have recently started dating, smiles at the two of them.
“Anniversary dates are important,” she says.
“You are a wise woman,” my father says, making her blush. “Leave Dima, so that we may spend time with our grandchild.”
“Chloe and Natalya are the most important people in my life,” my husband says and my heart melts.
“I know,” she says, taking the wriggly nine month old from him. She kisses Natalya’s head. “I’m so glad the two of you reconnected.”
He gives her a smile. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“It will make a great story to tell this little beauty when she grows up,” my father says. He eyes my mother. “Perhaps we will have a new story to tell as well.”
“Maybe.” Her cheeks grow even rosier.
Dima casts his gaze to the camera and winks at me. “Not if I can help it. She will stay like this forever, with her mother and me.”