Page 73 of Wicked Vow

“If you’re sure,” Sasha says simply, and I smile weakly at her.

“I’m sure.”

Mikhail doesn’t move all through the rest of the night. He holds my hand, letting me grip it to the point of breaking, stroking my hair until, at last, sometime in the wee hours of the morning, our son is born.

The nurse hands him to me, screaming loudly, and I cradle him against my chest, looking down into his light blue eyes.

Mikhail’s eyes.

“Your nephew’s name was Gregor, right?” I ask softly, looking up at him. I see the flash of pain in his face, the way his mouth tightens, and he nods.

“That’s right.” His voice is hoarse with emotion.

“Then that’s what we should name him. Gregor Kasilov.” I hold the baby closer as he nestles into my arms, feeling a wave of emotion wash over me as Mikhail squeezes my hand. When I look up, I can see the sheen of tears in his eyes.

“That’s a good name,” he says softly.

He bends down, lightly kissing Gregor on the forehead and then me. And then he lets go of my hand, starting to back away from the hospital bed.

“Mikhail–” I reach out before he can get too far, and grab for his hand. “Mikhail, please. Stay.”

He swallows hard, looking back at me. “I promised you. Not until after the baby is born, when you decided. I already–”

“I’m deciding now.” I pull him back, drawing him in towards the bedside as I hold Gregor in the crook of my arm. “We both made promises, Mikhail, and we both kept them.” I look up at him, at his handsome, chiseled face, at the pained expression in his eyes, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m not letting him leave again.

“I’ve seen what you’ll do to protect our child and me,” I tell him softly. “Even from yourself–and I love you for it, Mikhail. I love you, no matter how strange that might seem. And I want you to stay.”

At that, I see his face light up in a way that I’ve never seen before. “I love you too,” he says softly, reaching out to touch my face as he brushes a damp piece of hair away from my cheek. “I have for a long time, Natalia. I wanted to wait to say it when it felt right.”

“It feels right.” I reach up, covering his hand with mine. “I’ve missed you–”

“I didn’t know I was capable of this kind of love.” His jaw tightens, his eyes full of a deep, dark emotion as he looks down at our son and me. “I never thought it was possible for me. But what I feel for you is different than anything else I’ve ever experienced.”

Gently, he turns my face towards him, his thumb stroking along the top of my cheekbone. “I want a life with you, Natalia. A second chance. That’sallI want.”

The room has emptied out by now, Sasha having squeezed my hand and slipped away to give Mikhail and me our moment alone. There’s no one but him and me, and I move carefully toward the other side of the hospital bed, giving him room to climb in with me.

He lays next to me, gently and carefully, cradling me in his arms as I hold Gregor. “I can’t wipe away the sins of my past,” Mikhail says quietly, looking at me from where his head is pillowed next to mine. “But I can try to be a different man–a better man, day after day, for you and our family.” His fingertips brush across my cheek. “I want to be worthy of you, Natalia.”

I laugh softly, reaching up to press my hand against his face. “You were an enemy worthy of me, once,” I tell him quietly. “And now, I know you’ll love me just as fiercely.”

And then, as we lie there together, I lean closer, and press my lips to his.

—

Six months later

It’s amazing to me, even with as few things as I feel like I’ve accumulated in the little over a year’s time that I’ve been living at the McGregor estate, how many boxes I’ve still had to pack in preparation to move.

I’d come back to the estate after Gregor was born. There had been no question in my mind that Mikhail was our future, but I’d known that I needed to take things slowly. We couldn’t change our lives overnight, and I also knew that Sasha and the others in my life would need time to see that Mikhailhadchanged. It would need to be a gradual adjustment, and to my surprise, Mikhail had agreed wholeheartedly.

His rescue of me had gone a long way in Connor’s eyes and Liam’s in time. Months of careful visits and time getting to know the others who had welcomed me into their lives had taken Mikhail from an exile to someone who was slowly being accepted back into the fold, as he proved again and again that he was willing to give me and them the one thing that was needed more than anything else–time.

And now, it’s time for us to be together.

Once we’d decided that it was the right time for me and Gregor to move out of the estate and find a place to live with Mikhail, Liam, and Connor had agreed to give him a position working with the Kings. I’d been unsure at first, knowing how dangerous it could be, but I also knew that this is the sort of life Mikhail is meant for. With the Kings, at least, the violence and danger would never be unnecessary. All of them–Liam, Connor, Niall–had reassured me that, for now at least, there’s peace. Mikhail would work as an enforcer, but it would be nothing like when he worked for the Bratva.

“Mikhail is outside!” Sasha calls up, and I stand up slowly, brushing off my jeans as I go to get Gregor dressed and ready to go. When we come down the stairs, I see Mikhail standing there, and my heart leaps in my chest.

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