Page 144 of Immaculate Corruption (Romanoff Bratva)

“Our birthstones,” Arya says softly, her voice thick with tears. “Mine and Lukas’s. You had this made, didn’t you?”

I nod. “I wanted something special for you.”

“As a gift?”

I look over and I see the uncertainly on her face. She’s happy—thrilled with the ring—but she isn’t confident it is what she thinks she is.

After everything we’ve been through, I wonder how she could have any doubt. Being with Arya has changed me, body and soul. I’m lost without her. I need her.

“More like a promise,” I say. “And a question.”

She lets out a tiny, breathy laugh, and smiles. It’s breathtaking.

Then she frowns and slaps my arm.

“Hey,” I say. “What the hell?”

“Don’t ‘what the hell?’ me. What the hell, you?! No more secrets! We talked about this!”

I can’t help laughing. “It’s a good secret,” I say.

She sighs and relaxes. “Yes,” she says. “It is.” Something occurs to her and she glances up at me, brows furrowed. “When did you have it made?”

“As soon as you moved in.”

She looks at me, eyebrows wide. “We weren’t on the best terms when I first moved in.”

“No, but that’s the nature of our relationship, I think. I do something stupid, you get mad at me, we make up. I figured we’d sort it out.”

“And when we did, you wanted to give me this?”

I reach out and wrap my hands around both of hers. “I never planned to get married. Not seriously. I knew it was a possibility, but I assumed it would be more of a duty I fulfilled to the Bratva than anything else. Then you came along, and everything changed. I changed.”

Tears are rolling fat down her cheeks now. I reach out and brush one away before I continue.

“You took me in stride. You weren’t scared or timid around me, and you didn’t care who I was or what kind of power I had. You are a force, Arya. An unstoppable force. And I knew I wanted to marry you the second you walked away from me in Chicago.”

She gasps. “We’d only known each other a few days.”

“I would have denied it until I was blue in the face, but I knew it even then. Down deep. I knew I’d marry you one day. So I bought the ring to have for whenever I thought you’d have me. Which brings me to the question: will you have me?”

She opens her mouth to answer. But before she can, the door opens. Gennady waltzes in with his ever-present smile on his face.

“Santa’s here!” he announces.

I turn to Arya. “Quick, unplug the life support,” I drawl.

Arya giggles as Gennady sighs and puts a hand on his chest like he’s been mortally wounded. “Don’t be a sourpuss,” he scolds. “You’re lucky I didn’t put on the nurse costume I bought for the joke. I figured that would be a bridge too far.”

“So youdoknow when to stop?” I joke.

He raises an eyebrow. “You’re one to talk. You’ve been shot, burned, strangled, and punched in the face.”

“All in a day’s work.”

He turns to Arya. “What do you think about that, Madam President?”

I frown. “What does that mean?”

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