My husband.
"Merry Christmas," he murmurs against my hair, and I feel the words as much as hear them, a rumble in his chest, a brush of breath against my neck.
I turn in his arms to face him. His eyes are already open, that striking blue watching me.
"Merry Christmas," I whisper back.
His fingers begin to move, tracing patterns on my bare shoulder, drifting down my arm with agonizing slowness, and every nerve ending in my body seems to spark awake.
"No regrets?" he asks.
I think about last night. The Northern Lights dancing across the sky. The way his thick cock pushed into me. The way my body opened for him, welcomed him, and craved him in ways I didn't know I was capable of.
"No regrets," I say.
I don't know what any of this means. Don't know what happens when we leave this bed, this room, this perfect morning.
But right now, none of that matters.
Right now, I'm exactly where I need to be.
In Nikolai's arms.
24
NIKOLAI
I stand in the kitchen, the steam from two mugs of coffee curling into the air, and I drag in a breath that actually reaches the bottom of my lungs.
When was the last time I could do that?
When was the last time I felt the weight lift, even for a moment?
It’s the magic of this Alaskan hideaway.
I love it here. Unfortunately, I don’t live here. My life is back in New York. Lived in a penthouse overlooking a glittering Manhattan. It’s where I wear my reputation as armor. The ruthless businessman. The untouchable boss. The man who took an empire and made it even more formidable.
But here, it's easy to pretend I'm someone else.
That I’m not a part of an alliance of men and women who run the world from the shadows.
That the secret I’m keeping from Holly couldn’t blow everything apart.
I hear footsteps, and I turn.
And the moment I see her, I can’t hold back the smile.
She's so fucking beautiful.
Fresh from the shower, she’s wearing one of my shirts.And hopefully not much underneath.
"That coffee smells so good," she says, her eyes shining.
I cross to her, unable to stop myself, and cup her face in my hands. Her skin is warm and soft, and when I kiss her, she melts into me with a sigh that makes my heart stutter.
When I pull back, I press the coffee mug into her hands. "Careful, it's hot."
She takes a grateful sip, her eyes closing in appreciation. "You're a god."
