Page 152 of Ivory Oath

Mikhail backs away, but his eyes are glazed over and black. I can tell he doesn’t want to move away from me.

“What are you saying?” I repeat, shaking my head to rearrange my muddled thoughts. “I gave you a choice, Mikhail. I told you to choose, and you?—”

“I choose you.” He kneels between my legs and grabs my hands. His thumbs stroke over my skin like he has to remind himself I’m still here. Like today reminded him, the same way it did me, how fragile everything is. “I choose you every single time.”

My heart pulses at the base of my throat, but I swallow it down and hold myself still. “I know you love me.”

“Entirely,” he agrees, licking his lips.

Heat stirs low in my belly, but I ignore it. We’ve always had this part figured out. It’s everything that happens outside of the bedroom that we’ve had trouble with.

“I know you love me. You know I love you,” I add. “But that isn’t enough. Unless you’re willing to walk away from the Bratva and everything your family has built, we can’t be together, Mikhail. I can’t keep doing this if?—”

“I’m willing.” He falls forward, catching himself on his hands, which are on either side of my body. He crawls over me until I’m forced back against my pillow. His voice pitches low. “Eager, too.”

His erection brushes high on my thigh. I chew on my lower lip. “I’m serious, Mikhail.”

“So am I.” He crawls another few inches closer until all I see when I look up is his face. The strong, square edge of his jaw and the bright blue of his eyes. “The only reason I’m doing any of this is for you and Dante. But if you want me to give it up, then I will.”

“I don’t want you to do this because I want you to. I want you to want it.”

I feel ridiculous arguing with him. He’s giving you what you want, you dummy. Shut up and take it! But if he’s doing this for the wrong reasons, it will all backfire later. I don’t want a few months of bliss to go up in spectacularly devastating flames when Mikhail realizes he isn’t happy.

“Do you want to know what I want?” he whispers. He drops his mouth to my neck. Goosebumps flare everywhere his lips touch.

I swallow. “Tell me.”

“I want to wake up next to my wife every morning.” He kisses the skin beneath my ear. “Every night, I want to fall asleep next to you, wrapped around you… buried inside of you.”

My body throbs as if in agreement with that plan.

He scrapes his teeth over my jawline and then soothes away the ache with his tongue. “I want to raise babies with you, Viviana. I want to go to the park on a sunny day and watch our kids play. I want to hold your hand while I drive instead of keeping both hands on the wheel in case we’re attacked. And—” He groans, deep in his chest. “I want to be there to climb into the tub with you and ruin every single bath you ever try to take.”

I laugh in surprise. “Hey!”

“Don’t worry,” he shushes me, biting back a smile. “I’ll make sure you enjoy it.”

My heart is so light it feels like a balloon in my chest. Like we could both float out of this bed, flying over the mess our lives have become in the last few weeks.

“That’s a pretty picture,” I say, a tinge of sadness creeping into my voice. “But there are a lot of people who would work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Which is why I need you to give me some time.” He strokes a finger under my chin. “I have a plan, but I need time to set it in motion. I need you to be patient with me. Can you do that?”

The last few weeks felt impossible because there was no end. I kept straining for some light at the end of the tunnel, but it was all darkness.

Now, Mikhail is giving me a timeline. He’s promising me that this will end and our lives will start.

I couldn’t muddy through the dark forever, but how long would I wait if I could be sure Mikhail would be on the other side?

“I’ve been nothing but patient for six years, Mikhail.” I press my palm to his chest. I can feel his heart thudding against his ribcage like he isn’t entirely sure what my answer is going to be. As if I ever had another choice. My mouth tips into a smirk. “I’ll wait forever, as long as I know you’ll be there at the end.”

Mikhail’s eyes flare. Then he falls over me.

The distance between us dissolves. His hands slide under my shirt, cupping my breasts and kneading my nipples until they’re in hard, desperate points. His erection nestles between my legs. I press my legs together and roll my body, stroking him with my thighs.

“Fuck,” he moans, dropping his forehead against mine. “If you want me to be patient, you better slow down.”

I squeeze my thighs together again. His eyes flutter closed. “I don’t want to slow down.”

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