Page 92 of Marked (Russian Sinners 1)

“Forever,” I hummed in pleasure at hearing his words.

Silence followed with unspoken promises and pledges. I wanted forever with him, no matter what. There would never be anyone else for me.

“What should we do for the rest of the day?” I asked, my body enveloped in the sweetest satisfaction.

“I guess we are shopping for a wedding gift, wedding clothes,” he retorted, pinching my thigh lightly. “And I want to show you some self-defense moves. We never went back to that.”

“Great plan,” I agreed, smiling like a happy fool.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Dimitry

Anastasia wore a pale pink, sleeveless Chanel dress and looked gorgeous. She looked too young and innocent to be with someone as crude and rough as me.

What was that phrase, wolf in sheep’s clothing?I wore a custom tailored suit but I was still the same ruthless me underneath it all. And she knew it now too but she didn’t care.

While Anastasia looked graceful and shone like a light, I loomed like a dark cloud around her, threatening everyone that dared come near her.

Fuck, she is undoing me inch by inch. She has become the most important thing to me.

I have never laughed as much as I had with her in the last week.

Her decollete was open and she wore the teardrop diamond necklace I’d placed around her neck this morning. I smiled, remembering her excitement when I pulled it out of the gift box. My Anastasia loved gifts and loved jewelry. She jumped around like a little girl excited for her gift. I couldn’t wait to shower her with presents.

“I would imagine you have quite a bit of diamonds and jewelry,” I told her.

“But this one is special because it came from you,” she retorted, smiling. “Besides, if a girl tells you she doesn’t like precious stones or gifts, she’s lying.” She pressed her lips on mine. “I want to get you something too.”

She stunned me all the way around. She was unlike any other woman I had ever known. She had given me more than she’d ever know.

“Will you put it on me, Dimitry?” She lifted her dark hair off her neck and turned her back to me. As I placed the necklace around her ivory neck, I couldn’t resist placing a kiss on the back of it, nipping it with my teeth.

“Beautiful,” I murmured against her soft skin.

She turned around to face me and pressed her lips on my cheek. “You are beautiful, too.”

Now that was a first. Usually I was a ruthless bastard, handsome devil… I was anything and everything but beautiful.

Her hand took mine, intertwining our fingers, while I drove. Her touch grounded me through and through. I focused on my driving and our surroundings. I didn’t want to have any surprises.

She glanced over at me, her voice soft. “Thank you, Dimitry.” I nodded. Anastasia wasn’t used to being cooped up in the house, swarmed by security guards surrounding her everywhere, limiting her freedom. I knew some normalcy was important to her. “Except for the maid of honor part, I’ll be next to you the entire time,” she promised.

My eyes followed her movement, her fingers tangled around the diamond necklace. I caught her doing it several times and I loved the thought of her thinking of me every time she did that. I had a tracking device installed in it, just for extra safety measures. When I told her about it, instead of feeling undignified, she commended me on a good idea.

No wonder she convinced me to take her to the wedding. She sure had a way about her. Our first date, she called it.

She made me want things I shouldn’t want. Wife, family, children. She might have come from money and power, but she didn’t flaunt it. She didn’t find her life more valuable than anyone else's regardless of their background.

Anastasia was the light in my darkness. I never knew there’d be anything else but darkness and a harsh cold world for the likes of me.

I want you,she told me. There was no chance of misinterpreting her words; she was open and direct.

Misha was already at the church with a handful of men ensuring it was clear. The rest of the protection escort drove in the vehicle behind us and in front of us. We were all armed with concealed weapons, ensuring we were prepared.

While she was getting ready, I touched base with her father. He gave me a quick run down on the search status for Boris. He didn’t have much; a confirmation that Boris had fled the country and that he had landed in Russia. I had put out a monetary award on the black market for information on him. So far nothing concrete turned out.

I itched to have that threat removed permanently so I could take Anastasia home with me. I wanted to take her with me to Moscow, to my home in St. Petersburg, and most importantly to San Francisco. I wanted her by my side everywhere. She felt like home to me, the home that I never had.

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