"You didn't even ask me!"
"I know." I glance at her. "Would you have said no?"
She opens her mouth to answer, then closes it. Opens it again. Closes it.
"I don't know," she finally whispers, her shoulders dropping an inch.
"Then it's better I didn't ask." I reach over and take her hand, threading our fingers together.
"But marriage— That's forever. That's—"
"Exactly what I want." I bring her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Forever with you,milaya. Waking up next to you every morning. Protecting you. Providing for you. Watching you grow round with my children. Building a family together, a future, a legacy."
"This is crazy," she breathes.
"Yes."
"We barely know each other."
"We'll learn."
"Your brother could change his mind. Could decide I'm too much trouble."
"Then I'll burn down his empire and build you a new one." I squeeze her hand. "I told you, Ava. You're mine. Forever. Nothing changes that. Not my family. Not your doubts. Nothing."
She's quiet for a long moment, staring at our joined hands. Then she says, so softly I almost miss it:
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay." She looks up at me, and there are tears on her cheeks. "I'll marry you. I'll be yours. Forever."
The relief that crashes through me is so intense it's painful.
"Say it again," I demand.
"I'll marry you, Renat Korolyov." A small smile crosses her lips. "Even though everything."
I pull her to me and kiss her. Hard and claiming and possessive.
When I pull back, we're both breathing hard.
"Even though everything," I tell her, the depth of what that really means sinking in.
Because now I have to find her father, and she has to help me.
Ava
Three days pass in a blur of expensive meals, expensive sheets, and Renat making good on every dark promise he whispered against my skin.
True to his word, he keeps me full of him. Morning, noon, and night. Sometimes gentle, sometimes rough, always possessive. Always with his hand on my stomach afterward, like he's willing his child into existence through sheer determination.
I'm addicted. To his touch. To the way he looks at me like I'm the only thing in his world that matters. To the safety I feel wrapped in his arms despite knowing exactly what he is.
But all good things have to end.
On the fourth morning, Renat wakes me early, his expression grim.
