I follow him out of the bathroom, but that doesn’t stop me from reaching over to squeeze his ass. He laughs and pulls me tighter against him.
“I think you’re obsessed with my ass, sweetheart.”
“I am,” I say, not even bothering to deny it. It’s the most perfectly sculpted thing I’ve ever seen.
The Aston Martin is parked in its usual spot, and I still can’t believe Mac was able to fix the damage. He’d called yesterday to say it was ready, and Valeri hadn’t wasted any time in getting it.
“If I didn’t know how much you love me, I’d get jealous of the way you look at this car,” I tell him when he stops to open the door for me. Even though I’m just kidding, Valeri still presses me up against the car and pins my arms behind my back with one of his hands. His body molds to mine, leaving zero space between us.
Ghosting his nose along my cheek, he stops at my ear and whispers, “Nothing is more important to me than you.” His fingers dig into my wrists while his cock presses hard against my stomach and his lips graze the shell of my ear. Hot breath hits my skin, sending shivers down my spine. “Say it, sweetheart,” he murmurs, dragging my earlobe between his teeth.
“Nothing is more important to you than me,” I whisper, my voice shaky and strained.
“Good girl.” He nips the skin beneath my ear before letting my hands go and stepping back. His eyes run over my flushed face and the way my chest is rising and falling with my fast breaths. “Get in, baby, before I fuck you in the parking garage.”
When I hesitate, he laughs and gives me a wink. I decide I’d rather not risk someone walking in on us so I get in and try to behave. He won’t tell me where he’s taking me, so I stare out the window and try to guess. When he turns onto the road that leads out of downtown, I ask, “Are we going to the beach?”
He smiles and shifts gears, refusing to answer my question.
I look back out the window. “Are we going to Vasily’s house early?” After a few more minutes, he turns onto a side road that leads into a wooded area. The tall trees loom around us, shading the road and making it seem like we’re way further from the city than we actually are. “You going to show me where you dump the bodies?” I tease.
“That’s not funny, sweetheart,” he says, but I can see the smile playing at his lips.
When he turns into a long, paved driveway, I get really confused. He drives around a bend, revealing the cutest craftsman-style house I’ve ever seen. The trees aren’t as dense here, but there’s enough to still provide a bunch of shade and make it look like something out of a fairytale, especially with all the wildflowers and bird feeders.
“Who lives here? This place is amazing.”
He turns off the car and looks at me, studying my reaction. “I’m very glad you think so,” is all he says before getting out and walking around to open my door.
Once I’m out, I start walking towards the house, wanting to see it better. It’s like the thing is calling to me. Valeri keeps watching me as he follows a few steps behind.
“Seriously, who lives here?” I ask him again, walking up the steps to the dark blue front door.
“Do you want to see inside?” he asks, still not answering my questions.
“Can we?”
He smiles and pulls out a set of keys, opening the door for me and stepping aside so I can go in. “Oh my god,” I breathe out, looking at the empty, beautiful house, things slowly clicking into place. There are built-in bookshelves in the living room and a large fireplace and wide-plank wood floors that run the entire length of it. A set of stairs is off to the left, but I ignore that for now and walk further in. It opens up into a large kitchen with a line of windows that overlook a massive backyard.
“Holy shit,” I whisper at the sprawling view of the ocean just a few hundred feet away. There’s a pebbled path from the back deck, leading down to the private beach, and I can’t take my eyes off the rolling waves hitting the shore. My throat is tight and my eyes are threatening to spill over when I feel Valeri standing behind me.
His finger grazes along the nape of my neck. “Look at me,lapochka.”
I turn around right as he lowers himself down to one knee, and I clamp a hand over my mouth while the first tear falls. He grabs my left hand and gives me a sweet smile before kissing it. Keeping it cocooned in his, he brings his green eyes to mine.
“I was lost to you the second I saw you, Evie. I’d convinced myself that I would never find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I told myself that I could be happy just being around my brothers and their families, that being an uncle would be enough, but then you stepped out of that truck and changed everything. I wanted it all when I saw you. You made me want everything.”
He gives a soft laugh. “I always thought I’d want to live downtown, but I don’t want that anymore. I want a place that’s just ours, that’s just filled with our memories, so I bought this one because I thought you would like it, and because as soon as I drove down the driveway for the first time, I imagined seeing you on the porch swing while our kids ride their bikes in the driveway.”
He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a black, velvet box while I keep crying, unable to take my eyes off him. When he opens it and I see the beautiful diamond inside, I let out a little squeak of a noise that makes him laugh. It’s gorgeous, a large, round diamond in the middle that’s surrounded by smaller ones that fan out and circle around the platinum band.
“I love you, Evie Finch, and I will never love anyone but you. You are my life, my entire world, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want a family with you. I want to grow old with you, and I want to wake up every single morning with your body tucked up against mine so I can feel the beat of your heart against my skin. I can’t live without you, baby. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I manage to croak out right before he slides the ring on my finger and looks up at me, the smile on his face easily big enough to reveal his deep dimple. “I love you so much, Valeri, and I can’t believe you want to marry me.”
He stands and lifts me up, sitting me down on the kitchen island. “Believe it,lapochka. You’re all I want, and as long as I have you, I have everything.”
More tears fall because I’m so damn happy, and when he sees them, he cups my face and kisses me, brushing them away with his thumbs as his tongue slides along mine. I hook my legs around him and run my hands through his hair. The weight of the ring on my finger is a constant reminder that I’m his. The kiss turns hungry, both of us desperate for more of the other. His hands slide down my back before gripping my shirt and breaking the kiss just long enough to yank it over my head. His fingers make quick work of my bra, and soon I’m naked from the waist up and he’s gently lowering me back as he kisses a line down my neck and chest.
