by Iverson, Ivy
What an idiot he’d been.
“Kate…”
Her grin widened and she traced a finger over one of her pert breasts. God she was beautiful laid out before him, her dusty rose nipples just waiting for his tongue. Those haunting sapphire eyes of hers were staring back at him, half-lidded, and he wanted her so badly.
But he’d ruined it.
He’d ruined everything.
“I’ve been waiting. Dr. Johnson said Lily was stable. After a few hours, they discharged her and Joan has her at her place the whole night. We can do anything we want.”
He shook his head but stayed just at the foot of the bed. “We can’t.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“About saving Lily? How could you even say that?” she demanded, surging to her feet, her blue eyes blazing.
“No, I mean my father said things after we arranged for me to get my inheritance. I was so angry, and I just…I went to the casinos.”
“You what?”
“I bet it all on a roulette roll, and I lost it. There’s no money at all. I’m dead broke and there’s nothing left for anything. I’m sure when my parents find out tomorrow that I’ll be permanently disinherited.”
“I can’t…you did what? All because your dad’s a jerk? How could you? Did you know that Lily’s going to die in a few months without that surgery? Do you even care?”
“Well you said a charity could help,” he said, and even that defense sounded weak to him.
“They’re Ops for Kids,” she said rushing to her clothes and starting to yank them on. “They were going to be funded by your parents once you were officially disinherited. If you don’t have funds, then they don’t either. I don’t even…you’re the most selfish asshole I’ve ever met!”
He frowned and walked over to her and she, barely dressed but at least approximating it, threw her hands up at him. “No, you don’t do this. You stay where you are, you ass.”
“I don’t understand. How did you know about that part of it?”
“I hacked records. I used to program a lot. I found out who you were and what the deal was and, at first, I was trying to ruin you so that the money would get to the foundation faster.”
It felt like swallowing glass shards. It was hard for him to even speak. “What?”
She spun on her heels and glared up at him, her eyes a burning sapphire. “I was trying to make sure my sister survived.”
He gripped her shoulders and she stilled but didn’t pull away. “You were using me?”
“At first, but I fell in love. Damn it! I wasn’t supposed to, but I did. I trusted you,” she said, pulling something out of her pocket. “Here, this is yours.”
“A flash drive?” he asked
“Yes,” she said flinging it to the bed. “I hacked into your computer four days ago. It’s a bunch of screen caps and evidence of your various gambling site accounts. I was going to give this to your parents this afternoon, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bear to do it after I saw you be so kind to Lily during her seizure.”
“I…”
“I trusted you and now you ruined everything,” she said, tears beginning to stream down her face. He couldn’t have felt worse; it was a stabbing to his heart, to his very soul. He tried to stroke her cheek but she pulled away completely from him and grabbed her purse. “No, you don’t get to do that. You never get to do that,” Kate continued, rushing for the door. “All I know is that your father was right and you are nothing.”
With that, she rushed out, slamming the door and leaving him to his pain.
Chapter Seventeen
Kate cried for a week solid, not just over Lily, although that was also killing her but also over the loss of Alex. She’d been so close to having everything, to really having a family like she hadn’t since her parents had died. Now it was all over, blown to smithereens. Ops for Kids had called her two days ago to let her know officially what she already understood. The money was gone and Lily was going to waste away.
She hadn’t slept much and was a zombie at work. While she made food for Lily and made sure her sister’s diet was balanced and healthy, Kate didn’t eat. Everything in her world felt pale and gray, like it was just a half-life she was doomed to.
Then she got a call.
“Ms. Morrison, it’s Dr. Johnson from Vegas General and I have some news.”
“I don’t understand, Lily’s appointment isn’t for another week, and she was stable at the hospital. Has something happened?”
“Yes, we received a sizeable and anonymous donation today. The only requirement for receiving enough money to build a couple new wings, frankly, was that Lily’s operation be done this week. Congratulations, we’re finally going to be able to really help her.”
She broke into tears, certain that she’d misheard everything. None of what she was hearing could be true. It was like the best dream ever coming true.
“Is this a prank? I’ve been played with too many times.”
“No, I promise you, Ms. Morrison, this is very real and we’ll see you and Lily both tomorrow and schedule it all for the 10th.”
“God, thank you!” she enthused and then she clicked off her cell. Rushing to her sister’s bedroom, she swept Lily up in a hug.
Her sister rubbed at her eyes and groaned. “But it’s Saturday.”
Kate chuckled and looked into those wide, trusting eyes before her. “And you’re getting surgery. You’re going to be okay.”
“Really?” Lily said, starting to cry. She usually had to be so brave. “Are you sure?”
She hugged her sister tightly and was never letting her go. “Yes, and soon you’ll be the healthiest kid in school!”
***
It was a month after Lily’s surgery before she went to the park. Kate loved Joan but only trusted herself with Lily for the first four weeks of her recovery. Even now, she was only risking an hour to go from her place to the chess tables. As she walked past them it broke her heart when they were empty. No one was playing anything, except, oddly there was a small black bundle folded up on the final table.
On a hunch, she walked over to it and realized they were a brand new pair of yoga pants—tags still on—in her size. Frowning, she picked them up and turned around, almost squealing when she found Alex standing behind her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I think I could say the same thing. I actually play chess,” he said. “Admit it, princess, you came to see me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, madder that she was so transparent than she was that Alex was here. She’d definitely wanted to see him. She had no idea how he’d managed it, but there was only one way that operation had been paid for and that a couple of new wings were being built for the hospital.
“I didn’t. I just needed to know what the strings were.”
“Strings?” he asked, brown eyes swimming with mirth. “I don’t understand.”
“Lily had her operation a month ago, funds opened up.”
“Then that’s great.”
“Alex, cut the bullshit, where did the money come from? I know you lost your whole inheritance!”
“I went to rehab.”
“Huh?” she asked, her eyes wide. She hadn’t been expecting that at all.
“Rehab. I’m not in line to be king, yet. My parents said I had a long way to go, but they did send me to rehab and I haven’t gambled in five weeks. The price for going was that they fix my mistake and fund the wings and the surgery. The look on father’s face was pretty priceless.”
“So I guess I have you and your mom to thank?”
“My mother… she would do nothing less. She really liked Lily too,” he shrugged and ran a hand through shaggy bangs. “I think she really always wanted a little girl.”
“I just…I don’t even know what to say. You messed it up so horribly to start but then she got the surgery and she’d never gone a month without seizures before that. Sh
e’s doing so well, and the thought of living in a world without her in it, well, it would have killed me,” she concluded.
He smiled broadly but didn’t move closer. Maybe he was scared he’d spook her. She wasn’t sure she didn’t still want to run herself. “I didn’t want that to happen to you, not ever.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever,” she rushed to him and swept her arms around him, holding him close.
Like always, the kiss was magical, as hungry as it had ever been.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I set you up. I was a horrible person.”
He smiled. “For all the right reasons. Yeah, it stung, but I lost all the money the first time because of my issues.”
“You’re a lot calmer than you should be,” she said, burrowing her face in his shoulders. “I ruined everything. I stole your files. I set out to hurt you…at first.”
“I’ve had four weeks in rehab to suss things out. I won’t let my father’s opinions define me, and I won’t hold that against you because you had the chance and you didn’t take it. I think you’re a very good person, Kate.”
“And you’re a lot better than the selfish playboy all the tabloids always said you were.”
He laughed and kissed her again and that familiar heat flared through her belly. God, she wanted more. “No, I wasn’t. Not until I met you.”
“Then should we go back to your place or mine? Lily’s over at Joan’s,” she clarified. “Hell,” she said, gesturing to the chessboard. “We could play for it. A little friendly wager?”
He shook his head and swept her into a bridal carry. “I don’t play games anymore, Kate. No more risks. I’m just laying it all out there. All I want is you.”
“That’s what I want too.”
Epilogue
“Am I old?” Lily asked.
Kate hugged her tight and slid over as best she could on the sofa. It wasn’t easy at almost six months pregnant. The last year had been an amazing whirlwind. Even if Alex wasn’t sure yet if he’d be reinstated as heir, he’d thrown his enthusiasm hard into life in America. He helped co-run the hotel with his cousin Raymond, and he’d married Kate and moved into the same house that she and Lily had grown up in. She was so glad that, even if it was modest, the house had been acceptable to him. It was a great memory of their parents and, even if it wasn’t luxurious, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
She glanced down at her rings. The engagement ring was cut like a butterfly to match the bracelet Lily had made—the one she never took off. It reminded her of all she’d almost lost. Now, reaching down to cup her stomach, she was reminded of all she’d gained.
Her sister was healthy, she had a loving husband, and a son soon on the way.
It was as if after the dark struggles of almost a decade, the world was finally smiling on her again. God, if hope was always like this, then it was the most addictive thing in the world.
She chuckled at her sister. “You’re in fourth grade. You’re hardly old. Definitely not ready for a walker, although maybe there’s a gray hair there,” she said, reaching for her sister’s bangs.
Lily squealed and dove to the other end of the couch. “I do not!
“But you asked if you were old,” Kate countered.
“I asked because I’m going to be Alexi’s aunt soon, and I always thought aunts were old, like twenty, at least!”
Kate groaned. She needed to talk seriously with Lily about what it meant to actually be old. At twenty-four, Kate wasn’t a grandmother either. “No, you’re fine. Neither of us is old.”
“I’m not sure,” Lily said, biting her lower lip. “You are having a baby so that must mean you’re pretty grown up, you know?”
“That’s true but no, honey, you’re not old. You’re going to be an amazing aunt, though. Maybe you can make something nice for the baby.”
“I make bracelets.”
“Maybe you can learn to make something different with beads. I bet Alexi would like that a lot.”
“I’ll say,” her husband said, stepping through the door with a large bouquet of roses.
She tried to stand but failed. “Ugh, I can’t wait to be normal again. My sense of balance is shot all to hell.”
“You’re beautiful. Both of you are beautiful,” he said, leaning down and kissing her bump. He set the roses on the table. “I’ll get water for these in a minute.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Hello! Aren’t I beautiful too?”
He opened up his arms wide and her sister hopped up. Alex spun her around the room as she squealed. “You, kiddo, are the best sight for sore eyes, especially after a long day of work. I’ll tell you what. You run out to the patio and I’ll grab the burgers.”
Kate rolled her eyes again. “Cooking out, I see. I’ve created a monster.”
“Barbeque is the best thing Americans invented,” he said, kneeling down before her even as Lily rushed outside. “I think I’m going to love it here.”
She nodded and rubbed her stomach. “I think we all are, and, you know what?”
“What?”
“Checkmate, Alex, I think I found my prince.”
End of Book Two
Book Three Out Mid September 2015
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The Tonov Triplets Series
Book 1: The Russian’s Resistant Lover (FREE Excerpt Below!)
Book 2: The Russian’s Assertive Lover
Book 3: The Russian’s Secret Baby
All books available through Kindle Unlimited.
Excerpt From The Russian’s Resistant Lover (Book 1 of the Tonov Triplets Series)
“Go fuck yourself,” Valov Tonov shouted over his shoulder.
“Excuse me!” She said, matching pace with him. “All I want to do is ask you a few questions.”
He sighed. He already knew what would happen. As the big, bad mafia boss, anything he said would immediately be used to turn him into a villain and defame him in the press. It didn't matter that he was most likely more honest than most politicians were.
“I do not talk to the media,” he said. Not even ones as sexy as you. The reporter following him was sexy; there was no doubt about that. Her coffee-colored skin looked as smooth as silk and her big, brown eyes and full lips were just as alluring as her generous breasts and hips, which seemed to be bursting out of her expensive designer clothes. She was definitely a vision, even though she was two heads shorter than he was and carried around the biggest purse that he had ever seen. He had to admit she was damn fast, even under the weight of that bag.
“Look,” she said breathlessly as she struggled to keep up with him. “This is Bangor, Maine. No foreigners go unnoticed here, especially the rich ones with thick, Russian accents. There are already rumors and reports about you being part of the Russian mafia.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and she quickly held up her hands in defense. “I'm not saying you're evil,” she quickly said, as if being part of the mafia and being evil was the same thing. “But your silence, refusal to cooperate with the press and the authorities, and the coincidental drop in crime since your arrival here has rumors flying.”
“What’s your name, again?”
“Rae St. Germaine. Listen, I’m giving you a chance to tell your side of the story, give yourself a human aspect for the people. This will help end the discrimination against you and your family, and it will help everyone in Maine better understand your culture.”
“It will also help sell newspapers,” Valov said. “Last time I checked, the Bangor Daily News was in trouble. If it doesn't get a lot of sales fast, then ther
e will be a huge drop in sponsorship deals and there will be no funding to keep your office in repair, let alone your salary paid.”
“You're right,” the woman said, suddenly moving in front of him and blocking his path. “And that's the exact argument I used to convince my boss to let me pursue this story. You honestly think I wouldn't want to clear your name?”
He smirked at her, looking her up and down. “How do you know you have the correct person?” he asked. “Maybe you've confused me with one of my brothers. In case you haven't heard, we look a lot alike.” They were identical, actually but neither of his brothers would talk to the press either. They knew better than that if they wanted to stay alive.
“Everyone knows who you are, Valov,” she said. “You're the one who has a constant scowl and wears the designer suits. Also, you're the one with tattoos on your wrists,” she said, looking pointedly at the edges of his shirt cuffs where the tattoos were plainly visible.
Valov nodded. She’s done her homework.
“Although all three of you are never seen in anything other than suits. Even in summer, you wear long-sleeved shirts. Why is that?”
Too many questions. That was something he would never tell her, let alone let her print. Not if he had something to say about it. But he was careful to keep his anger in check. With seventy-degree weather in October, there were more people than usual on the sidewalks of downtown Bangor and the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself. Negative attention especially.
“I still haven't agreed to an interview,” he said after taking a couple deep breaths. “But if it will get you to leave me alone, then I will answer questions for thirty minutes and thirty minutes only. Meet me at The Hyde. Eleven PM. Tonight. I'll have a limo pick you up at the Bangor Daily News office.”
She raised an eyebrow, her face so indignant it was almost cute. “A nightclub?” she asked. “I'm not one of your girls and I'm not conducting this interview at night in a club in the sketchy part of town.” That wasn't why she was objecting though, and Valov knew it. She was objecting because the interview would be in his territory, not hers. He would have the power, and if he were going to talk to the press at all, then he would need that power.
