Chapter 19 - Rodion

The next morning, I wake up snuggled up with Anya and immediately, I find myself smiling.

Last night was pretty much perfect. The dancing, the laughing, the time we spent together was amazing.

And when we got home—she blew my mind. In every way possible, she is the perfect woman for me.

I knew there was a reason I was so attached to her from the second I laid eyes on her. I made the right choice, pushing to make her my wife.

She mumbles softly in her sleep and wiggles closer to me.

“Are you awake, princess?” I ask gently. “We have to get to the party soon.”

“What party?” she sighs, not fully awake yet.

“Raisa and Oleg—remember—they are announcing the gender of their baby at the barbecue.”

“Mm. Barbecue.” She giggles. “I’m so hungry after last night.”

“We did work up a good appetite with the dancing—and other things—“ I nuzzle my face into her neck, and she giggles, trying to wiggle away from me.

“I’ll make us some coffee. But I think we slept quite late. We should get going soon.”

Anya sits up, her hair wild around her face, hanging over her shoulder. She looks gorgeous. “I wonder how Ruslana is feeling this morning.”

“Like she deserves to feel,” I huff, brushing a strand of hair away from Anya’s eyes. “Thank you again, for everything you did for her last night.”

She shrugs.

“Stop talking so much and bring me that coffee you promised.” I love the cheeky grin that spreads across her face.

I grab her waist and tickle her until she begs me to stop—laughing so hard she might start crying.

“Fine. Coffee,” I chuckle, climbing out of bed.

“I thought they wanted to keep the gender of the baby a secret?”

“I guess they changed their minds.” I shrug as Anya and I walk towards the front door of Oleg and Raisa’s mansion. “Or they just needed a good excuse to throw a party and get everyone together again.”

She laughs, slipping her arm through mine.

The door opens just as I reach out for the handle and Roman is standing there, giving us a judgmental look, up and down our bodies with a sour expression on his face.

“You guys are late,” he snaps.

I glance at my wristwatch. “No, we really aren’t.”

He chuckles. “I’m kidding. But the party has already started.”

We walk into the house and a waiter immediately hands us each a glass of champagne. Roman’s cheeks look tinted from champagne already. “How long have you been here?” I ask curiously.

“Over an hour. Rigor didn’t read the message right and we got here early,” he chuckles.

“Dumbass,” I laugh, following him through the house into the garden which is set up with pink and blue balloons everywhere and bright flowers.

Raisa rushes over to us, pulling Anya and me into a group hug. “Yay, you guys are here. I don’t know why so many people came early. But anyway—oh good, you’ve got a drink.” She is hyper-excited.

I chuckle and grab her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. “Take a deep breath.” I grin.

She does and when I have her slightly calmer, I ask, “Do you and Oleg know the gender of your baby yet? Or are we all finding out today?”

She turns to point at a giant silver balloon. “We are all going to find out at the same time when we explode that thing.”

Raisa gets distracted when someone calls her name. “I’ll chat with you guys later,” she says, then disappears again.

“I’m going to say hello to my brothers,” Anya says.

She steps away from me and I quickly pull her back. Pressing my lips against hers, I whisper, “Don’t be gone long, princess.” She grins, her cheeks flushing pink, then she hurries away. I watch her hips sway in the tight blue jeans she is wearing. The white cotton crop top teasing me with a hint of skin visible around her waist.

Damn.

I just want to drag her back into my bed.

I can’t stop thinking about how incredible it was.

She is fucking amazing.

“Hey, man. Are you going to drink that girly drink, or do you want a whisky?” Rad asks, holding a glass towards me. I chuckle. “Whisky, thanks,” I say, taking it from him.

I drop the champagne off on a waiter's tray when they walk by and turn towards my brother.

“How are things going here?”

“Really good, actually. Everyone is in a great mood. You should have joined us for drinks after the joint operation. It was like a team building exercise.” He laughs, raising his glass and greeting Leon, who just walked out into the garden a distance away.

Leon smiles and raises his glass back towards Rad.

“Mm. It seems there is some improvement between us all.” I nod.

“Yes, I heard what happened with Ruslana. Man, that girl is causing trouble lately.” He shakes his head.

“I have a feeling she won’t be doing it for a while.”

“Roman told me about the guy who tried to take her home with him.”

I growl, still angry about it, not wanting to remind myself about that right now.

“Yeah, man, I know. I know. I would’ve broken his nose, too.”

“Have you seen her yet? Is she here?”

“Roman refused to let her skip out on it. She tried. She looks like shit. I think she believes she’s dying.She has serious regrets.”

“Good. She needs to suffer a bit to understand why I keep telling her not to do that shit.”

Across the room, I see Anya bending over a chair talking to someone. Her perfect, plump ass catching my gaze.

“Oh, there Ruslana is with your wife.”

Anya stands up and walks away. She returns a few moments later with fruit juice and a bottle of water.

I watch how gently she is treating Ruslana, brushing her fingers through her hair. Talking sweetly to her. Making sure she is hydrated. She is so caring. Even though Ruslana doesn’t deserve any of it.

Anya moves from Ruslana to say hello to my brothers, smiling and laughing and bringing everyone together. Between herself and Raisa I think that they are the real reason our two families are starting to get along. Yes, the joint operation went really well yesterday—but Anya was the one who calmed that meeting down—and without her we might have still been arguing over which was the best route to take.

Between her diplomacy and Raisa’s little baby on the way—our families are becoming more like family and less like a business arrangement.

I stand leaning against the doorframe, watching Anya move from group to group, her bright smile is infectious, and everyone seems to enjoy her company. Her brothers tease her, and she takes it well, my brothers have even started teasing her a little and she is playful in return.

Every now and then, she glances over to me, her eyes glittering brightly and my heart flips.

“You haven’t taken your eyes off her since you got here,” Renat says, standing next to me.

“My wife? Is it a crime to watch my own wife?”

“No, I’m just wondering if maybe you started to go soft for her. Maybe you caught some feelings—and this isn’t just a business relationship anymore?”

I stand up a little straighter, pushing my shoulders back and clearing my throat.

“It’s always about business, Renat. You know that. Our marriage is to strengthen the alliance,” I say sternly.

“Mm. Well—it’s starting to look like something else.” Renat laughs and walks off.

I turn my attention back towards Anya, who is at Ruslana’s side again, handing her a small plate of food and trying to convince her to eat something.

Taking a deep breat,h I mull over my brother’s accusation. I was quick to deny it—but if I’m at least being honest with myself, I have to admit that my obsession with Anya did not fade when I got her. In fact, it got stronger and continues to get stronger every moment we spend together.

I don’t think this obsession is ever going to disappear—and deep in my heart, I know something else.

I know that my emotions are becoming entangled in this marriage, too.

It’s not something I expected or planned for, but it’s there.

***

“Can we have everyone’s attention?” Oleg calls out, standing in the garden near the giant silver balloon. Next to him, Raisa is practically giddy with excitement.

Anya slips her arm around my waist and leans into me. “I can’t wait,” she grins.

My heart softens as I stare down at my wife. Realizing that I am falling for her is an intense thing to process. I watch her smile as she looks around the party, taking in everyone else’s joy.

She moves in slow motion in my eyes, and when she lifts her gaze towards me, a broad smile spreads across my lips. I reach out and wrap my hand over her jaw, tilting her face towards mine and kiss her tenderly.

It seems to take her by surprise. But she melts closer into me.

I lift my eyes back towards Oleg and Raisa, but my thoughts are still on Anya.

“One—Two—“

Raisa stabs the balloon as Oleg releases a confetti stick at the same time and blue streamers and glitter flakes explode into the air around them, raining down on the entire garden like a bright storm.

“A boy!” I hear people around me shout. Raisa is screaming. She is so happy. She jumps up into Oleg’s arms and he spins her around, kissing her cheeks and her neck and her lips.

I chuckle. It’s great to see her so happy. I was wrong about Oleg when I first met him. I thought he was a terrible match for my sister. But they are actually perfect together and at the end of the day, I would never want anything else for her.

Anya squeals in delight next to me. She jumps up and down and spills some of her champagne over her white top.

“Oops,” she sighs, dabbing at it with a serviette.

The dark blue lace of her bra is shining through the wet white fabric.

My cock stirs and I clench my jaw tightly, turning her to face me so that no one else can see.

She notices how I’m trying to keep her hidden and laughs. “It’s just a bit of champagne. I doubt anyone cares.”

I brush my hand over her breast. “I care. These are for my eyes only,” I growled darkly.

I lift her in my arms, and she laughs, telling me I’m being dramatic.

I carry her into the bathroom, sitting her down on the basin countertop.

“Take it off,” I command.

“Why?”

“Because I will rinse it for you. Then I’ll go and see if Raisa has something else you can wear.”

“Oh,” she says, sounding surprised. “That’s really sweet of you, thank you.”

She pulls her top over her head and hands it to me. I grin, my eyes on her beautiful breasts.

“I see why you wanted to help. You weren’t being sweet at all, were you?” She laughs.

I lean down and nuzzle my face between her breasts, then push her legs apart and step close to her, pulling her mouth against mine.

I kiss her as though she belongs to me. Because each day that passes it feels more and more like she does. Like she is giving herself to me. Not just her body—but her heart and soul as well.

The more she gives me, the more I want of her.

I want everything.

I want to know everything about her, and I want to give her the world.

Even though I would love to lock her in this bathroom and do devilish things to her, I step away. “I’ll be right back, ok.”

“Don’t be long. And maybe—we can sneak away from this party early—“ She grins.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Both of us know that we have to get back out there to congratulate Oleg and Raisa, but we also both want the same thing—to be tangled in each other again and exploring each other’s bodies.

Upstairs in Raisa’s room, I find a pink crop top that will look very cute on Anya. I carry it back down to the bathroom. Anya slips it over her head, and I help her pull it straight. Then I kiss her again before we head back out to the family party.

I can’t wait to get her hom,e though.

My wife.

The woman who has stolen my heart in ways I did not expect.