Page 69 of Surrogate for the Bratva
“I know.” I gave her a sad smile because everything she thought, everything she felt was written on her face. “I know that you could love and care for him but that is no longer what I want.”
“Of course.” With every word I spoke she drew in on herself a little more, clearly misunderstanding me.
“It was a good plan. I would provide for you and your brother, quite handsomely, and in exchange you would care for my son and any other children that came along. But I can’t do it.”
A breath rushed out of her, and I wasn’t sure if it was relief or disappointment. “Okay. But you didn’t ask me to do that, and you don’t want it, so what are we talking about here, Igor?”
I smiled. “One of the things I like most about you is that you don’t bow down to me, except in the bedroom. You tell me what you think, what you feel without regard to how I might receive the message.”
“Thank you?”
“That was my plan, April. To make the offer to you and move on with my life, running my organization and doing as I damn well please. That was my plan until you blew it all to shit.”
Her brows dipped. “How did I do that?”
“You made it impossible for me to imagine a life without you. You made it too fucking irresistible to wake up with you in my arms, to listen to the sound of your slow, even breaths when you fall asleep. That smile. The gentle way you touch me that tells me you feel the same way? How can I live the rest of my life without that? How?”
“Igor.” My name was a soft whisper on her lips.
“That’s what we have to talk about, April. I want you in my bed every night before I drift off to sleep. I want to wake up to your smiling face every morning. And I want to spend every fucking second in between knowing that you love me as much as I love you.”
“Holy shit.” Her hand went to her chest, and her eyes were filled with shock. “You love me?”
“Is that such a surprise?”
Laughter bubbled out of her. “Um yeah, it’s one hell of a surprise Igor. I was waiting for you to tell me it was safe to go back home and to let you know when I went into labor.”
“Is that what you want?” It had occurred to me that maybe she didn’t feel the same way, but I would’ve sworn she did.
April didn’t respond right away. She stood and turned away from me, staring out the window that overlooked the gardens. “I spent the past hour preparing to learn to live without you.”
“April?”
She turned to face me with tears in her eyes. “I didn’t think you and me were possible and I didn’t want to make you feel guilty for not loving me back.”
Before she could say another word, I was in front of her and gathering her in my arms. “I do love you. I wantusto be possible. We’re already anus, and the only thing left is to make it official.”
She laughed. “I’m carrying your baby and living in your house. How much more official do you need things to be?”
“I want you to be my wife. To have my name. To have my children.” The more I spoke the more I could see our future laid out in front of me. “The life we could have together, April. It could be perfect.”
She smiled as the first tear fell. “Your wife. We haven’t dated and you want me to be your wife?”
I laughed. “Hell yeah, I do. I know everything I need to know. You’re sweet and sexy, kind and willing to help a complete stranger, the same as you help Jacob. You’re strong on your own. You don’t need me to protect you because you can protect yourself and our babies.”
“I’m not strong,” she insisted.
“You are. Most women would have crumbled under the pressure of what happened today, but not you April. You didn’t wait for me to save you.”
“I knew that you would.”
“But I would have been too fucking late to save you, so you did it yourself. Not only is that sexy as fuck but it tells meyou are the perfect woman for me. Say yes, April. Say you want to be my wife my partner, my everything.”
“I do, Igor. I want to be all of that and so much more. Yes. Yes! Yes!”
I never expected to find love as a Bratva leader. The best I hoped for was a loyal woman who understood her role in my life, but to find everything I needed and love in a spitfire who was shooting away her anger was one of the greatest surprises of my life. “You won’t regret it.”
“I know,” she answered before she pressed her lips to mine and showed me just how perfect we were together.
