Page 97 of The Crimson Lily
I feel like I’m going to die; this is too much to endure. I can no longer speak. I can no longer answer Maksim’s questions without telling him the simple truth I damn wish to hide.
He raises himself up and grips the back of my head, leaning in to give me a most unsatisfying kiss. He pulls my hair back andnibbles on my exposed neck, low growls escaping his lips at each touch.
“Do you love me?” he asks one last time.
I inhale deeply and close my eyes. That’s it. I let go.
“Yes…” I admit with the most quiet whisper, pressing my eyelids shut, hoping with all my heart that he’ll respond with at leastsomething.
As I mutter this ultimate word, he gives in and enters me fully. And I come. Hard. I screamyesa thousand times. Spasms invade my body. My skin burns as much as I burn for him. I grip on to his back, his muscular arms, his face. I screamyesa hundred times again.
A minute later, I forget where I am, who I am, who he is. I just lie there, quiet, breathing in and out slowly. He rolls to his side and leads me into his embrace.
Next, his soft voice prepares to speak a few words. “I love you too,” he says, naturally, as if those words have always been there, with a squeeze and a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s sleep,zaya.”
I turn my head to meet his blue eyes.
“Together?” I ask, hesitant, not wanting to hear the answer.
He takes my lips and a deep breath. “I broke both my rules long ago, Liliana. I thought you’d want me to stay.”
I don’t let him avert my gaze. “I love you, Maksim,” I can finally say, after all this time. I can finally admit it out loud.
He looks deeply into my eyes and gives me his most beautiful smile. “You are wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Don’t you ever dare put yourself in danger again.”
Understood. I won’t do that again, Maksim. I promise. Stay with me forever, and I’ll be good.
EPILOGUE
Iunderstand now why Maksim always sleeps alone. It’s not because of his fear of doing something to me in his sleep; it’s because, for this first time in his life, Maksim lets his guard down, and I can let myself in.
The last image I see before opening my eyes is of my parents’ faces—my mother has William’s hair, red as a lion’s mane, and my father wears his uniform. It brings soothing tears to my eyes, seeing them so peaceful, in the golden light of a beautiful sunrise. I guess this is my solace after the tumults of this closing chapter.
Maksim takes me in his arms when he wakes, and I raise my eyes to meet the blue of his. I pause just to delve into them and lose myself. Here and now, I know exactly what I want—to get out of this life and live yet another one, with him by my side.
“I want to move to Paris,” I state in a small voice.
I don’t even realize what I’ve said until I dot my sentence with a simper, representing apretty please. He caresses the side of my face and tucks a wild blond lock behind my ear. He says nothing, then I realize I didn’t actually ask a question.
“Will you come with me?” I pose.
“We should go back to New York first,” he advises.
I purse my lips together and pop them after a few seconds of pondering.
“What about after we’re done in New York?” I wonder.
He smiles and presses his lips gently against mine for a short but gratifying kiss.
“Let me take care of some things first,” he begins. “Then I’ll have something arranged.”
Of course there’s a quest to complete. The Kinzhal Strastey needs to return to the Bratva before Maksim and I can plan out our lives. Will the Bratva let Maksim go? Is there even such a thing as an international Bratva transfer?
I notice the bandage around Maksim’s hand, covering the cut that a glass dagger’s blade most probably made last night. It makes me smirk, recalling what he did to me. How good it felt to be totally submissive, to be compelled and admit something I never dared to. How dangerous and a little twisted it is…
“Béatrice said they had a position for me in her department.” I elaborate onwhy Paris. “I was thinking of getting an apartment, and you could…move in.”
I wait to see how he’ll react to that last part. Instead of dismissing or embracing it, he raises an eyebrow, a little confused.
