We’ve been through enough that we deserve one perfect, uncomplicated kiss, where I push down my questions for long enough to just enjoy the feeling of being with the one person I want.
26
ARTYOM
“Is this what your life is?”
Nina gestures around at the archery course at the back of the Estate. We’ve just come back from a week on our private island in the Caribbean, and I think she’s apprehensive about returning to work.
I feel a rush of sweet relief every time I see that ring that I put on her finger.
The trimmed lawn is fringed by trees, and there’s a rose garden to the other side. We can still see the complex of houses, and in the distance the skyline of the city, but the archery course is peaceful.
She’s pouting at me as I notch another arrow into the bow. I let it fly, watching it soar in a perfect arc to hit the target. It’s not my best shot. I’m distracted by my wife, and it’s throwing off my normally perfect aim.
I can feel Nina simmering away, her gaze hot on me. She’s cute when she’s mad at me.
“Sometimes, this is my life, yes,” I reply slowly, turning my gaze to her.
I didn’t think that having Nina around would be so distracting, but all I can focus on is her.
She’s shaking her head now. “It’s so not real.”
I set the bow back on the stand and turn to Nina, looping an arm around her waist and pulling her close.
“Trust me, this is real, Nina. Things can work out. Things have worked out for us. This is our happy ending.”
I show her how to use the bow. She fires an arrow that gets nowhere near the target, but I watch a smile creep over her face.
“You can do better than that, Nenoka.”
“Fuck you, Art. That was my first one, ever,” she pouts. I hand her another arrow and she lets it fly.
It soars in an arc and lands in the grass, still miles away from the target. “That was an improvement.”
“Give me another one.”
I hand her another arrow and help her string it to the bow again. She bumps me away from her with her hip when she’s got it in place. “No more help from you.”
Every arrow that misses the target only makes Nina more determined to hit it. When she finally gets close, glancing the very edge of the target, I squeeze her against my chest and take the bow away.
“You know what? I think if I let you get too good at this, I mightend up with an arrow in my favorite sports car one day.”
She’s still pouting, but she starts to smile as I cover her mouth with mine, sliding my hands over her shoulders and forcing her to unwind some of that tension.
All week in the Caribbean, I would catch her glancing at the ring on her finger, then at me and Ava, with a dazed expression on her face. As though this were some kind of dream she was having instead of reality.
“Do you think you could get used to this?” I smirk, sliding my hand down to cup her ass.
I’d fuck her in anything, but damn, it has been nice to see her spend a couple of weeks out of hospital scrubs. Today, she has her curves on full display in a tight dress, and I think it’s a crime that she normally has to hide her body.
“Well, someone told me there was no divorce in the Bratva, so I guess I’ll have to.” She sighs dramatically, flipping her hair over her shoulders, and wraps a leg around me.
I want to fuck the brat right out of her, here on the archery course, and I let her know it, pushing my hardening bulge right against her pussy as her mouth parts open sweetly to let my tongue explore her.
“Art, people could see us.”
“If I want to fuck my wife on my archery course, that’s entirely my business.”
