by K. J. Dahlen
“You are wet already,” he murmured in her ear.
“All you have to do is kiss me and I’m ready for you. I’ve been waiting all day for this,” she whispered.
Sergi surged deep inside her and they were lost in the passion of their own making. Each thrust threw them both higher and higher until they both reached the top and then they both fly over the edge into the abyss.
In the aftermath of their love making Anita watched as Sergi fell asleep in her arms. His chest rose and fell in a rhythm of deep sleep before she whispered the words he wanted to hear. Words she couldn’t or wouldn’t say to him but she had expected him to say them. “I love you, you…You silly, stubborn man and I would be proud to be your wife. But I won’t marry you for honor or pride. I will marry you for love or not at all.”
She finally closed her eyes and fell asleep beside him. At some point in the night, Sergi wrapped his arms around her and when she woke the next morning, she was safe in his arms.
The next two days were filled with visits of friends and family. Some business was conducted during those two days and Sergi had several visits with his attorneys. At sunrise on the second day, Sergi, Misha, Levi along with Petr and Zhora left to witness the execution of Nico and Gavril. Anita didn’t want to witness this at all, so she stayed home under guard while they were gone.
When the men returned, they shared a drink as they laid the past to rest finally. Later that day after everyone left, Sergi asked if Anita and Levi would excuse him and Misha for a little while.
Anita guessed where they were going and asked if she could ride along.
Misha glared at her for a moment but didn’t say anything. Sergi didn’t really want her there either but allowed her to ride along with them.
They didn’t go far, only a few blocks. When they arrived, she made no move to get out of the car. When Sergi looked at her, she said quietly, “You and your son need to say goodbye. I just wanted to know where she was buried but I don’t want to interfere with what you have to do. I can come back another time on my own.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “Go do what you have to do. I’ll send the driver back for you.”
Sergi frowned as he watched the car drive away. He didn’t understand her but then this wasn’t about her was it? At least not right now. He and Misha turned and walked over to Tasha’s grave.
He knelt beside her gravestone then paused to brush the leaves and debris away. Her name was etched in the stone and he traced the letters with trembling fingers. Misha stood silent as his father began to speak, “We did it finally. We found them men who put you here. They were judged fairly and they paid the price for what they did to you. You can finally rest in peace my love. No one will disturb your slumber anymore.”
He laid fresh flowers on her grave and got to his feet. He stepped away and made room for Misha to say goodbye to his mother.
He bowed his head and spoke quietly, “We finally got justice for you Mama. The men that did this begged for mercy just as you did the night they killed you. I’m sorry this took so long but it is done now. As dad said, you can finally rest in peace.”
When he got to his feet, they saw the car return.
Neither man said a word as they drove home again. When they got into the house, supper was ready.
After dinner, Sergi pulled out some legal papers and gave them to Levi. “These are the papers you need to sign in court tomorrow to have your name changed to Constantine.”
Levi took them and looked them over carefully. He nodded and folded them up again. Looking up at Sergi he asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I am. You are my son and you should carry my name.”
“Ok… if that’s how you feel,” Levi replied.
Sergi nodded then got up and carried another bundle of papers over to Anita. “I had my attorney draw up these papers as well. As we are getting married tomorrow I thought you should look at them and sign them before we marry.”
Anita barely glanced at the papers. “What are they?”
“One is a prenup giving you half of everything I have. The other is a bank account giving you access to money you’ll need to decorate the house. I’m giving you cart blanche to remake this house into your home.”
Anita looked around for a moment then asked, “Is there anything wrong with the way it is right now? I kind of like it this way.”
Sergi and Misha frowned a bit at her statement.
Levi smiled and shook his head.
Sergi frowned at her. “No, there is nothing wrong with it. I just thought you would like to make some changes.”
“This is your home, a home you raised Misha in. It’s a beautiful place just the way it is right now. It suits you.” She paused then added, “And as we aren’t getting married. I don’t need the prenup. I don’t want half of your money. I may not have much of my own money but I don’t need much. I’m fine.”
Misha stared at her in wonder.
Levi kept smiling though the tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife.
Sergi sat down and glared at her. “You infuriating, stubborn woman! We are getting married and I need the prenup signed by you. The High Council has to have the paperwork for their files.”
Anita got to her feet and threw down her napkin. “I am not marrying you for your money or your power, so I don’t need a prenup. I wouldn’t care if you had nothing to offer me at all. I’d still be your woman. Don’t you understand that?” She turned and marched away.
When they heard the door to the bedroom slam shut, Sergi gazed over at Levi. He looked entirely lost and at his wits end. “Why won’t she marry me? I don’t understand.”
Levi felt sorry for the man, as he was clearly clueless about the type of woman his mother was. Maybe he needed to school the man a bit.
“What does she want from him?” Misha asked. “I think half of his money is more than good enough for any woman.”
Levi shook his head. “She is serous about the money. She doesn’t want it or need it. She doesn’t want anything that isn’t given freely. Flowers? She only likes wildflowers not roses or orchards. Jewelry? She doesn’t wear it. Diamonds mean nothing to her. Clothes? She only likes what’s comfortable. She really is a simple woman. She’d rather look at the night sky than be given anything shiny like shiny a new car. Did you know she can name the constellations? She used to show them to me when I was a kid. We would climb to the roof of our building and we would lay there wrapped up in a blanket and watched the stars night after night. When we went to the park early Sunday mornings, we would look for the birds and feed them if we had any stale bread.”
Misha shook his head, as he did not seem to get it.
Levi turned to look at Misha. “You asked what kind of woman she is? Well, I’ll tell you. She’s the best kind. She worked hard to give me a childhood filled with adventures and surprises a kid could only imagine. She said every day could be whatever we wanted it to be and the only thing holding us back was our own limits. She would tell me that love was the only thing that mattered in life and that we should never settle for anything else. That honor was good and pride sometimes let you down but love… real true love would never do that.”
“The why won’t she marry me?” Sergi asked. “I’m offering her everything I have. My honor and pride and half of everything I own. Most women would snatch that up in a heartbeat?”
“Try offering her the one thing she really wants,” Levi suggested.
“And what would that be?” he asked in complete exasperation.
“Try offering her your heart. I realize Russian men are different than say, American men who have learned the hard way about this subject over the hundreds of years of being in the West, but you need to realize what…” he paused as he tried to word it so they would get this point. “That my mother is old school maybe in this one facet. To her, it has to be the real thing. If you can’t give her your love, you’ve got nothing she wants. She won’t settle for anythin
g less than that.”
Sergi stood and looked down at his newly found son as he threw his arms up in the air. “But I have told her. I have shown her!”
Levi shrugged. “Apparently, you haven’t done it the right way.”
Sergi glared at him.
Misha let out a sort of snicker. This man who ran an empire, one who took whole countries to task for a slight as he’d trained at least a thousand men to be pure Bratva. For many years now, he had dominated most parts of the world with power that only most rulers ever knew or even tasted…and yet, he could not get one tiny woman to bend to his will?
Sergi whipped his iron glare over at his firstborn son. “And what pray tell, is so dammed funny?”
Misha stopped smirking and lowered his head. “Do not look at me for the answer, Dad. I am no expert on this subject. But I finally do see…” He raised his gaze to meet his brother’s eyes. “…What the kid is trying to say.”
Sergi gave them both a disgusted look and left the room. Walking slowly up the stairs and down the hall, he thought about what Levi had said. He’d only given his whole heart to one woman and that woman had been his wife. When she died, he lost whatever heart he had left. He would admit this. He became cold and unfeeling to protect what was left of his soul. Even when he met Anita twenty four years ago, he held back from loving her with his heart. Although he did love her, he wasn’t in love with her. He knew the difference. So did she, according to her son.
Could he offer her a part of him he didn’t have anymore? Would that be fair to her? He didn’t know. He opened the door to his bedroom and watched as she got into his bed. He could join her there and she would shower him with her love. He knew that but could he give her his love too? She had healed a big part of his heart by loving him but still he held back a part of himself he wasn’t sure he could ever let go of again.
He moved around the room getting himself ready for bed. He hadn’t bothered to turn the lights on but when he crawled into bed he pulled her into his embrace and just held her.
Anita turned to him and without a word….she made love to him in her own way.
She drove him insane with want and need and in the end, neither of them said anything but their love making was different that night. When they were finished and he wrapped his arms around her, he felt her tears meet his chest as she wept… then she fell asleep.
That night he dreamed of his former wife. Of the last night, they had together as man and wife. They had driven each other half crazy with desire until they had no other outlet but to fly higher than the eagles as they flew over the edge. Tasha had turned to him and said, “I love you so much. I always have and I always will. You have my heart and it beats for you. Not even death can change that. But I also want you to be happy even if I’m not here with you.”
“Where are you planning on going without me?” He smiled down at her.
“Fate sometimes gives us a second chance at love and if that happens, I want you to take it. Embrace it and make it your own. Love is too rare not to hold it in your heart. Lust and desire are good things to have but love is the only real thing out there. If you ever find it again, hang on to it and never let it go. Open your heart and let it in.”
Sergi suddenly woke up. It was as if he heard his Tasha speaking the words she told him from that night, a very long time ago. It had only been two days later that she was gone. Did she know she was going to leave him? Did she know that one day long after she was gone, he would find another woman he would fall in love with? Did she know he would be afraid to give her his whole heart?
Had Tasha just told him to let love back into his heart? Is that really what she wanted him to do? Let her go and give his heart to someone else?
Sergi looked down at the woman in his arms. She was so different than his Tasha. Could he really take that chance?
For some reason, his heart felt different this morning. It was more open than it had been in a very long time. He smiled as he remembered her words. Open your heart and let it in. It was a line from the old Russian poem, he thought of the day he first saw Anita. Oh, the line was somewhat different in translation but the meaning was exactly the same. He realized he’d given her the name used in that very poem.
He looked down at Anita again, and found her eyes were open. She was watching him with a curious gaze. Suddenly, he wasn’t afraid anymore of what he felt for her. “I love you,” he whispered to her and he said it for himself to hear it on his own lips.
She smiled back at him. “I love you too. I’ve loved you from the day we first met. And I’ve been waiting for you all this time… for you to feel the same way.”
“I’ve told you I love you before.”
“I know but I think this is the first time you really meant what you said.” She smiled.
“You might be right about that.” He sighed. “But I do love you and I do want you to marry me, today.” He held his breath. How did it all come to this? A man such as him? Allowing a woman to once again, to hold his heart in her small hands. Waiting for her to just say yes…
“I would be honored to marry you…” Anita smiled and gave him a slow nod of her head. “…Today.”
Sergi leaned over her and pulled her underneath him. “It’s about time, you stubborn woman!” Was all he said.
Anita laughed outright at this accusation. “Me? Stubborn? Well, I guess you would know,” she teased.
Sergi grinned then he proceeded to make sweet, slow love to her as the sun came up on a new day, full of wonder and adventure.
Today marked a new era for them, a new beginning.
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About K.J Dahlen
Author of the bestselling, award winning Bratva Brothers and Satan Spawns MC Series…
I live in a small town (population495) in Wisconsin. From my deck, I can see the Mississippi River on one side and the bluffs, where eagles live and nest on the other side. I live with my husband Dave and dog Buddy. My two children are grown and I have two grandchildren. I love to watch people and that has helped me with my writing. I often use people I watch as characters in my books and I always try to give my characters some of my own values and habits.
I love to create characters and put them in a troubling situation then sit back and let them do all the work. My characters surprise even me at times. At some point in the book, they take on a life of their own and the twists and turns they create becomes the story. Of all the stories, I could write I found I like mystery/thrillers the best. I like to keep my readers guessing until the very end of the book.
