by Ivy Iverson
Valov swallowed. “Thank you,” he said.
Gary stood up and shook Valov's hand before nodding to Rae and then leaving. The door shut behind him and then Rae was alone with Val. She swallowed. “I'm so sorry,” she said.
“I'm sorry,” Valov said. “I should have believed you. It was wrong of me to accuse you like that.” He looked at the table in front of him, refusing to meet her eyes.
Rae tentatively reached out and put a hand on his arm. “I didn't use you,” she said. “And I'd never do that. I want you, Val. I...” she swallowed. “I don't know. I might be a little bit in love with you.”
He raised his eyes to look at her. “How do you not care?” he asked. “How do you not care about my scars, or about my work? Doesn't that mean anything to you?”
“No,” she said. “Because I know the real you. I know that you don't like what you do, and those scars were sure as hell not your fault. Why would I ever be repulsed by something that was a part of you?” She looked at him, bewildered he would even think she would care about that. Did he really think she was that shallow? Rae shook her head. “It's you I'm falling in love with. The real you. Not the persona you put on for everyone else.” She pulled out a piece of folded up computer paper. “However, we need to get one thing straight,” she said, sliding the piece of paper across the table to him. “No matter how much you try to fool the world into thinking you're the big bad wolf, I'll be trying to tell them that you're not.”
Valov reached out and slowly unfolded the piece of paper. “Valov Tonov Creates Positive Change in Maine's Youth,” he read aloud. “By Rae St. Germaine.”
“This is the article that's being printed tomorrow,” she said. “That's what I submitted last night.”
Valov stared at it and then let out a long breath. “Holy shit,” he said. “I am so sorry I ever doubted you, Rae.” He pulled her into his lap and kissed her hard as she melted into the kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. He kissed her temple and then buried his face in her shoulder. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” he said.
“You deserve it,” Rae whispered. “Every bit of this article is true.”
“There's another thing I want to tell you,” Valov said. “I've been thinking about what you've said about starting a nonprofit as my true line of work and I want to. I don't want to be a criminal anymore.”
Rae kissed his forehead, smiling. She couldn't help but feel relieved by that. “What about your brothers?” she asked.
“I think I can handle them,” Valov said. “Dmitri and Nikolay might be hard to convince, but I think I can get them to come around. Will you be by my side, though?”
Rae cupped his chin with her palm and raised his face up for a long kiss. “Of course,” she said. “Always.”
END OF BOOK 1
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The Russian’s Assertive Lover
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Book 2, The Russian’s Assertive Lover, Available Now To Preorder!
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Book 2 will dive into Nikolay’s story, read the blurb below:
She wants to erase the mark of her past. He lives every day with the marks of his own…
Courtney Melard doesn’t trust Nikolay Tonov. In fact, she doesn’t trust any man. But she desperately needs cash, and tending bar at a club run by one of the notorious Tonov Triplets is her only option. She’s willing to ignore his ties to organized crime, but what she can’t seem to ignore is her reaction to his piercing blue eyes and sexy, muscled body. The man is dangerous in more ways than one.
After a brutal childhood in Russia, Nikolay only cares about two things in life: business and his brothers. With a struggling strip club on his hands, he certainly doesn’t have time to worry about a petite strawberry blonde with a strange tattoo on her hand. He’s never let a beautiful woman get under his skin before, and he has no interest in starting now. Then why can’t he get her out of his head?
Courtney and Nikolay’s chemistry soon turns electric, but as things heat up, their troubled pasts may ruin their chance at a future.
Book 2, The Russian’s Assertive Lover, Available Now To Preorder!
Click here.
