Evie
Valeri kisses me like he’ll never be able to get enough. My head is swimming from everything that’s happened. I feel adrift, but I cling to him because he’s my anchor. I push aside my fears about my dad finding out about us, about bitchy exes who will always try to make me feel like I’m beneath them, and about my own doubts that he’s far too good for me, because fuck all that. Life is too goddamn short, and right now the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen is kissing me like his life depends on it, and I’d be a fool to let anything come between us and ruin this moment.
When the doors open, he carries me into his apartment. I break the kiss so I can look around, eyeing the floor-to-ceiling windows that give an amazing view of the lit-up city around us. I never even knew places like this existed. It’s an open floor plan with comfy-looking leather furniture, a gas fireplace, and to the side is a big kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a countertop that probably costs more than I would ever believe possible. On the edge of it is a crystal vase filled with the pink roses he bought for me.
“Wow,” I whisper when he walks further in, and I’m able to see the huge rooftop terrace beyond the windows. I can’t see everything, but I glimpse the corner of a pool and a hot tub.
He drops my bag on the counter and sets me down. “You want your presents now or your cake?”
“What?” I laugh, watching as his face lights up in a big smile.
“I kind of cheated on the cake and asked Vasily’s cook to make it, but it’s for the best. Anything I would’ve made couldn’t have possibly tasted good. Katya’s been with our family since before I was born, and she makes the best damn cakes.”
I have so many questions about his family, and I can’t help but think that I’m missing something important. I noticed tonight that Nina and Maddie both had bear tattoos on their forearms, exactly like the one I’ve seen on Valeri’s. When I’d asked them about it, they’d waved it off as if it was no big deal and said something about the Medvedev name coming from the Russian word for bear, so they got the tattoo with their husbands’ names beneath it once they got married. There’s a loyalty there that I’ve never seen before, and I’m still puzzling my way through it, but all that gets put on hold for tonight. I don’t want to think about anything except Valeri.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I tell him, but he just laughs.
“How about presents and then later when we’ve worked up an appetite, we can have cake?” Before I can answer, he leans down and kisses me again, giving my bottom lip a soft bite. “There are other things I’d rather eat first.”
I suck in a quick breath, feeling him smile against my lips before he pulls back and gives me a wink. “Time for presents.”
He grabs my hand as I take a quick sniff of my roses before he leads me down the hall and into what has to be his bedroom. It’s massive with more floor-to-ceiling windows and one hell of a view. I bet you can see the ocean from here when the sun is out. On his king-size bed are two wrapped gifts. Excited to see what he got me, I slip off my shoes and climb onto his bed, ignoring the nerves that start to tickle at my spine. I have every intention of giving everything to him tonight, but I can’t help but be a bit nervous about it.
He sits down next to me, watching as I grab my presents. He laughs when I run my fingers over the silver wrapping paper and the big red bows on top.
“No one’s given me a wrapped gift since my mom died,” I say, and then wish I hadn’t when I see the way his eyes grow sad. “Thank you, Valeri.”
He smiles and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “You haven’t opened it yet. You may hate it.”
“That’s impossible.” I set the smaller gift aside and very carefully open the other one, not wanting to tear the paper. My jaw drops when I see it’s a book of Chekhov’s stories. It’s a hardback, dual-language edition, and I absolutely love it. When I open it, I see that he’s written something in the front.
Happy birthday, Evie. The first of many we’ll share together. Love, Valeri.
“It’s so perfect,” I whisper, carefully thumbing through the pages and running my fingers over the beautiful yet completely foreign Cyrillic on the left-hand side. “Will you read them in Russian to me?”
He laughs and nods his head. “Of course, and I can help you learn Russian if you want.”
“Yes,” I quickly say, making him laugh again. “I would love to learn it. It sounds so sexy when you speak it.”
“I’ll have to remember that.” He gives me a wink and hands me the smaller gift. “One more.”
Based on the size, my first thought is jewelry, but when I open it and a black key fob falls into my hand, I look up at him in confusion.
He cups my face and says, “Just remember that it will break my heart if you turn down my gift. You remember the Mini Cooper that we parked next to?”
“You didn’t,” I whisper, already trying to give him the gift back. “It’s too much, Valeri, way too much.”
“It will never be enough. The car is yours, and that’s your own reserved parking spot. I’m never going to worry about you riding the damn bus at night again. My heart can’t take it,lapochka. I have to know you’re safe.”
He grabs the key fob and sets them on the nightstand with my new book. Turning back to me, he threads his fingers through my hair and pulls me closer. “Last night was very unfair. You gave me the most amazing blowjob, but I only got to lick the taste of you from my fingers. It’s been driving me crazy all day.”
“It has?”
The soft groan he gives has my stomach doing a flip and my pussy starting to ache with the desperate need to be filled. His lips lightly run over mine, sending little sparks of pleasure all through me.
“Tell me what all you’ve done, Evie,” he whispers.
“Nothing.” As embarrassing as the truth is, I can’t lie to him. “I was kissed once very quickly and very badly, but that was in the seventh grade.”
