“Yours, Mikhail. Only yours,” she admitted breathlessly.
I banded my arms around her, hugging her to me as I gave up. The last thin thread of my restraint snapped, and I shot my cum deep inside her, filling her and knowing she would be the first and last woman I’d ever make love to.
In the darkness of all the obstacles against us, we’d found our way back to each other—our way to redeeming love.
34
CLAIRE
Mikhail was still tired from his lousy night of sleep. After we showered together and had dinner in his room, we fell back into his bed. Holding him close, I rubbed his back and finally relaxed.
He’d found me, and I was safe.
I’d accepted that I would be a better person and would willingly stay in this violent life with him.
With those two facts forefront in my mind, it seemed like all was well. Or as well as I could hope.
Everything will be okay.I believed that because I had no other choice. Seeing Jack as an associate with the Giovannis was the final piece of information that I needed to see how Mikhail was right.
Not everything was black and white. Not everything was as it seemed.
Jack should’ve been like me, a doctor sworn to help others and save lives, not participate with criminals. With that same logic,Mikhail should’ve been like any other Mafia leader, ruthless and incapable of any good.
Goodness wasn’t easily measurable. One good deed wouldn’t excuse a lifetime of badness, but with the same logic, one bad deed couldn’t be forgiven with a lifetime of servitude.
There was no one way to judge anyone, and after being a victim like I had been and seeing how Mikhail had a good heart beneath his rough exterior, I knew I would continue to accept a workable compromise where my moral ethics were concerned.
I held him as he slept, at peace just to be with him. Throughout the night, we rested and cuddled, both of us needing this simple human touch and comfort.
In the morning, he woke me and asked if I would like breakfast or if I wanted to sleep in some more. I was still catching up on eating right again, so I joined him downstairs.
Now, in the light of knowing I was his, I didn’t feel timid to hold his hand as we went through his building. The ownership we had over each other felt more natural now. Not something to figure out or decide.
He was mine and I was his.
The guards didn’t flinch or stare. Andre, Sergei, and Roman didn’t comment in passing. Anya was likely sleeping in, so it wasn’t surprising that she wasn’t out in the building.
And I made peace with being here. Not as a guest among all these dangerous killers. Not as a plaything among the armed soldiers and spies. And not as a prisoner, kept here to be used.
Mikhail glanced at me as we sat at the table, and just with that little smirk, that hint of a smile, he had me blushing like we’d just met.
I chose this sexy, strong man, not because I had to but because I had finally opened my eyes and realized how badly I wanted to choose him.
Men came in and out of the room, reporting to him and taking orders. I minded my own business as I ate and had my coffee, wondering why I was thinking being back here would be any different now.
It was the same old. And it was brand-new, too.
For the rest of the day, Mikhail and I spent time with each other. Privacy paved the way for us to really talk, to have a one-on-one opportunity to get to know each other better. While it began as an interrogation, when he asked me about what happened to me when I was taken, I didn’t baulk and hold back. I gave him the whole story of all that I’d witnessed and endured since coming to the States and working at that hospital. That led to my telling him about before I came here, how I’d lost my parents and the kind of background I’d come from.
“But of course, you know all that,” I said wryly.
“I do.” He kissed me softly. “I have to look into everyone I let into my home, into my life. But I appreciate your telling me about everything to do with Harroun.”
I nodded. “Does this mean I’ll ever get a chance to know more about you?”
He grinned, leaning over me to make love. While it was exactly what I wanted and needed, a figment of disappointment hungover my head too. It wasn’t just sex for me. To establish a lasting relationship, we had to address and foster non-sexual connections too.
Give it time.
