Page 83 of Craving Dahlia

I shatter around him, crying out his name, and I don’t care who hears. I don’t care about anything except how good he feels, howright. How every doubt and fear is washed away by what I see in his eyes as he pulls back and looks at me, his gaze meeting mine as I feel his body go taut.

“Look at me,zhena,” he growls, his hand tight in my hair as I feel him start to throb. “You’remine. Feel me fill you up, ohfuck, god—oh fuck, Dahlia?—”

He cries out my name as I feel him start to come, my body still fluttering and rippling around him as he kisses me again, his moan of pleasure swallowed up. His hips thrust against mine, driving him deeper, every hot spurt sending a jolt of ecstasy through me.

Alek doesn’t let me go immediately. He holds me there against the wall, his forehead pressed to mine, breathing hard as my legs tighten around his hips. “You were incredible,” he breathes, his fingers still knotted in my hair. “I never thought you’d—you fought with me. You saved me, just like I saved you. You held your own—I thought you’d hide or run, and I wouldn’t have blamed you, but…fuck. You’re fucking incredible.” His fingers stroke over my cheek, and I breathe him in, the room still narrowed down to just the two of us.

“You fought for me,” I whisper. “And I’ll fight for you. I’ll never turn on you, Alek. I’ll stand by you. I promise. I’ll always fight for you, not against you.”

He swallows hard, and when his eyes meet mine again, there’s a glassy sheen to them. “I love you,zhena,” he whispers. “Dahlia. My wife. I love you. I should have said it before, but I’m saying it now. I love you?—”

“I love you too.” I clasp his face in my hands, kissing him fervently. “I love you. I don’t know when it started, but I know I’ve loved you before tonight. And I’ll keep loving you forever, Alek. I don’t care who you were before or what happened. You’re mine, and I’m yours. This proves it, if nothing else.”

“You’re perfect for me.” He smooths my hair away from my face, still buried inside of me, our bodies clasped together as closely as they could possibly be. “You’re the kind of woman I never thought I’d find, and I’ll never let you go. You’re everything I never believed existed in this world, Dahlia. I fucking love you?—”

“I never saw this future for myself. A husband, a child—” I kiss him again, deeper this time, running my fingers through his blood-sticky hair. “But this is the one I want. As long as you’ll fight for me, Alek, I’ll keep fighting for you. For us.”

“Marry me.” He blurts it out, and I blink at him, startled.

“What? We’re already?—”

“Marry me again.” He reaches for my left hand, clasping it in his. “I’ll get you a ring. I’ll get you anything you want, Dahlia. Just say you’ll marry me again. For real this time—with both of us there because we want to be.”

In that moment, my heart feels like it might burst. Tears well in my eyes, and I kiss him, long and deep, clutching his face to mine. “Yes,” I whisper against his lips. “Yes, I’ll marry you again.”

He pulls me away from the wall, stumbling past the carnage on the floor, all the way to the bed. He spills me back onto it, still inside of me and hard once more, and as his hips start to rock against mine, Alek kisses me, our hands twined together as he pins them above my head.

“Forever,” he whispers against my lips, as he moves us both onto the bed, thrusting into me as if he can’t bear to stop. “You’re mine,zhena. Forever.”

EPILOGUE

DAHLIA

The second wedding, unlike the first, is just the two of us.

Three months after the attack on the safe house, Alek and I move into a home of our own, a penthouse in the city. And there, on a moonlit night in summer, I meet him up on the rooftop in a long white lace gown that I picked out myself, the oval emerald ring set in gold that he picked out for me glittering on my hand.

Alek is wearing a new suit, standing there waiting for me. The look in his eyes is like nothing I’ve ever seen as he watches me walk towards him—full of so much love, so much hope and happiness, that it makes my heart break and mends it all at the same time.

I still remember when I’d never seen him smile. Now I can’t count all the times I’ve seen him smile and heard him laugh, all the jokes we have together, the moments where everything narrows down to just the two of us as we pass each other in the hall, the kitchen, the bathroom, always touching, always kissing, always wrapped up in one another.

It’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when I thought we hated each other. Now I know it wasn’t hate, it was fear. Fearof what it would mean for each of us to love the other, of what we’d have to let the other see in order for that love to happen.

We’re both stubborn, and proud, and we’ve both been hurt. And we’ve both had to learn how to trust again. But together, I know we’re going to be happier than we ever could have possibly been apart.

Alek takes my hands in his as I walk up to him, the moonlight lighting up the rooftop. His gaze sweeps over me, from my face down to the soft swell of my stomach under the dress and back up again, and I can tell from the way he lingers at my mouth that all he wants is to kiss me.

“Dahlia Kennedy,” he says quietly. “When I met you, I thought I’d never see you again. And when I did, I wasn’t the kind of man who deserved you. I should never have had a second chance, but you gave me one. You believed me even after I pushed you away, and you stood by my side when you could have run. You fought for me when I didn’t know how to fight for us, and for that I’ll always be grateful.”

His hands tighten around mine. “I love you. You’ve given me everything I thought I’d never have again. You are everything I could want—intelligent and passionate and strong, beautiful and funny and every bit the match for me. You challenge me and you love me despite everything, and I will love you until the day I die. I will cherish you, and protect you, and keep you safe. And I will love you.” He repeats it again, and I feel my eyes burn, tears welling at the edge of my lashes.

“I never thought I’d see you again either,” I say softly. “I thought you were one night before my life as I knew it was going to be over forever. And instead I found a life I could never have dreamed of with you. You’re brave and strong, you’re my safety and an adventure all at once, and I can’t wait to find out where our life together leads. I will always fight for you, Alek Yashkov.I will always fight for us. And I will always love you, too. I’ll be your light when you need it, and you’ll be mine.”

I reach for his left hand, sliding his ring onto his finger. Above the gold gleam of the band, I see my name tattooed across his knuckles in curving bold script. “You can’t ever take this off again,” I tease him gently, and he looks at me.

“I never will,” he promises, as he slides my band back onto mine. “I should have put it back on a long time ago.”

And then, under the light of the moon, just the two of us, he pulls me into his arms, his mouth slanting over mine. He kisses me, long and deep and slow, and sweeps me into his arms, carrying me down the stairs…and across the threshold of our home.

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