Page 95
“You called him at one in the morning.”
“He answered though, didn’t he?”
“He probably did it out of fear.”
Aleksei looked pleased with himself. “Good service is good service.”
Judge Ward waited for them to finish with the patience of someone billing no one and therefore unconcerned about time. Then she looked directly at me.
“Alessia, are you entering this marriage freely?”
“Yes,” I said. “Completely.”
Judge Ward turned to Sergei. “And you?”
“I am,” he answered.
The vows were simple because neither of us wanted promises written by people who had never stood inside our lives. We agreed to the legal words—to fidelity, partnership, and the responsibilities that came with spending a lifetime together. Then Judge Ward invited us to say something of our own.
Sergei looked at me, his gaze warm.
“I spent years convincing myself I didn’t need anything beyond my brothers and the work,” Sergei began. “Then you came into my house and made me want ordinary things again. Your voice in my kitchen. Your hand in mine at the family table. Your shoes beside mine by the door. A thousand mornings when nothing happens except that I wake up and find you there.”
His thumb brushed slowly over my knuckles.
“You see what everyone else misses, including the parts of me I would rather keep hidden. You are brilliant, stubborn, and braver than anyone I have ever known. I choose every part of you, Alessia. I choose you for the rest of my life.”
Emotion crowded my throat, but I swallowed it down.
“Before you, being cared for always came with a price,” I said. “You were the first man who made me feel safe without asking me to become smaller. You feed me when I forget to eat, listen even when I’m furious, and hold me like there’s nowhere else I will ever belong.”
Something tender and unguarded moved through his expression.
“I promise to fill your kitchen with flour, question every unnecessary security measure, and remind you that living is more than preparing for the worst thing that might happen.”
“I rarely use unnecessary security measures.”
Every Morozov in the room made some version of a disbelieving sound while Judge Ward’s mouth twitched in amusement.
I continued before the witnesses ruined the moment entirely.
“I choose the man who watches every exit but still learned to let me in. I choose your quiet, your loyalty, and the tenderness you hide behind all that terrifying competence. I choose every ordinary day waiting for us. I choose you, Sergei. Again and again, for the rest of my life.”
Sergei’s eyes turned glassy for a moment before they flicked down, and he focused on sliding the ring onto my finger. I did the same for him, watching the platinum settle against the scarred knuckle of a hand that had spent years holding weapons to protect the people around him.
Judge Ward pronounced us husband and wife.
Sergei didn’t wait to be told he could kiss me. His hand curved around the back of my neck, and his mouth covered mine with restraint that lasted no more than a second. The kiss deepened just enough to make my fingers curl against his chest before he remembered the judge, our families, and the fact that Nikolai was already making a low, approving noise from somewhere behind him. When Sergei lifted his head, his forehead remained against mine.
“My wife,” he said quietly.
“My husband.”
* * *
The Iron Wolf was waiting for us when we left the courthouse.
Riley had transformed the back room. White flowers stood between bottles of vodka. A small cake sat at one end of the round table, while platters of Russian and Italian food covered the rest. Amy had contributed candles. Sloane had contributed champagne. Kit had contributed the opinion that open flames near encrypted equipment were stupid. Nikolai stole a pastry before Riley finished arranging the plates, and she slapped at his hand with a serving spoon.
