“Then fight me. But you know I can handle it. What will help is having you at my side while I do it.” He extends his hand to me. “What do you say?”
“My sister is going to be pissed if she finds out I gave her up to the enemy.”
“Maksim, this is business. We have to do things we don’t like for business. You know that more than anyone. But you made it work with Natasha. Who’s to say that Kira and Enzo can’t make it work themselves?”
“Because he will hurt her.”
“That’s a risk we have to take. But you don’t know that. Not for a fact. We have to do what we have to do to prevent a war and you know it. It’s why you agreed to marry Natasha when you weren’t happy about it. But you did it because it was your duty. Now this is Kira’s duty.”
He keeps his hand out. “Come on, Maksim. I need you with me on this.”
I know he’s right. Fuck.
With a sigh, I shake his hand. “My sister is going to hate me for this.”
“Everyone will be happy when a war is prevented.”
I don’t say it out loud to Nik but I’m worried that even if we marry Kira to Enzo, we’ll still have a war on our hands. There’s so much uncertainty about the future but it’s not up to me anymore.
It’s up to what Enzo decides. If he’ll agree to peace or war.
I return home to find Natasha taking a nap on the couch. She looks so fucking cute when she sleeps. I can’t help but smile down at her. She and I did manage to make it work.
Yes, we have years to test our relationship but for now, we’re happy. A marriage neither one of us wanted and yet, here we are. In love with each other. There is hope for Kira. I just hope that I don’t lose her in the process.
I sit down beside Nat and pull her into my arms. She wakes up with a startle but calms down when she sees its just me.
“Hey,” I murmur, holding her close against me. Close to my heart where she belongs now.
“Hey. Are you ok?”
I sigh. “Just business.”
Her eyes search my face. “We’re in this together now, Maksim. You know that.”
“I do. Nikolai wants to marry Kira to Enzo to create peace.”
“She’s not going to like that. And what if he hurts her? Enzo threatened to hurt me.”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “All I know is that you feel good in my arms. Everything else well… that’s for another day. I can’t control it. I know that now. I can’t control how much my father respects me. I can’t control what my sister gets up to. All I can focus on is us. Because you’re the most important person to me.”
“It’s the same way with me,” she says with a cute little smile that makes me have to kiss her. She laughs when I press my lips to hers. “What was that for?”
“I just love you and I love saying it. I feel… at peace with you. Right here.” I tighten my arms around her. “What about you?”
“Sometimes I still think about what I did to Alexandra. And what my father did to my mom. I know that those things will always be there. But you’ve helped me to find happiness. I know that for a fact. We’re in this together now, Maksim. We’re finally on the same page. That’s all that matters since that’s all we can control.”
“I agree.”
She cups my face. The warmth of her hand spreads a comforting heat through me. It’s not passion. It’s pure and utter contentment. “We’re going to get through this together. No matter what happens with Kira and Enzo.”
“Come here.” I give her a gentle, lingering kiss that makes the comfortable heat in me spread to an inferno. “I just want to get lost in your arms.”
“Then get lost in me. I want the same. We’re a lot alike, you know.”
I chuckle as I pepper kisses along her face. “Oh, I know. So why was it so hard to get there at the start?”
“Because we needed time to fall in love. That’s normal.”
