Chapter 31

Ivan

I didn't knowhow we got to where we were an hour ago to being inside her now, but it felt amazing.

Her warm, wet pussy.

Her soft breath against my mouth.

Hearing her tell me she loved me.

That she was in love with me.

I was positive I'd never tire of hearing those words.

I'd also never tire of making love to her, and as much as I wanted to pound into her until we were both insane with pleasure, I needed to connect with her. Get past the misunderstandings and frustrations of the last couple of months.

"Say it again," I said, my body frozen above hers.

She smiled, her hands still on either side of my face. "I'll say it, but this is the last time until you say it back."

I gazed down at her in adoration, completely overwhelmed by the fact that she was mine.

Really, truly mine.

"Then do it," I whispered, my lips close to hers.

"I love you so much, Ivan. So much it hurts. So much there was no way in hell I was leaving without at least telling you. So much I'm willing to give up almost everything for us to be together."

I gently kissed her, my cock buried deep inside her, our bodies as connected as our souls. I wanted to stare into her beautiful eyes, but I also wanted to close my eyes and do nothing but feel.

Feel her.

Feel her love.

Feel everything about this beautiful creature who was now as much mine as I was hers.

"I love you too," I said finally. "So much I was willing to let you go if that was what would make you happy. So much I couldn't bear the idea that you didn't love me too. So much I was only going to last as long as my mother needed me before going after you. Even if you rejected me, I love you too much to not at least tell you one time."

"I'm sorry I made you feel bad," she whispered. "I swear, I was just trying to get Stevie off my back. She's been driving me nuts. I shouldn't have thrown you under the bus, but sometimes that's what you do when you don't want to ruin a friendship."

"You can throw me under the bus any time," I replied. "Just give me a little warning first."

"I will. Promise."

"I'm doing my best to be sweet and romantic," I said, taking in a shaky breath, "but I really need to…"

"Fuck me?" She tilted her face and nipped at my lower lip. "Do it, Ivan. Fuck me hard and show me who I belong to."

Oh, sweet Jesus, that sounded like exactly what I wanted.

Of course, she knew that because she knew me.

She loved me.

So, I gave her exactly what we both wanted, plunging in and out with rough, deep strokes that made us moan and grope and kiss and touch. Her fingers dug into my skin, scratching down my back as she pulled me deeper. Our mouths were fused as if they'd been glued together, and every little cry and whimper brought me closer to release.

"Say it," I panted. "Fucking say it while you cream all over my cock."

"I love you, my Russian hockey stud," she murmured, biting on my lip enough to make me move faster. "Now make me come."

"Come for me, baby… come with me." I moved harder and faster until a familiar fluttering of her pussy told me she was right where I wanted her.

I rocked into her, angling my hips to go even deeper, and she cried out.

"Ivan—fuck! Yes yes yes!"

We got off together, our bodies thrusting and pumping and grinding out every drop of pleasure until neither of us could move.

"Holy hell, how do you do that to me every damn time?" she whispered.

"Same way you do it to me." I pressed soft kisses along her jawline.

"So… do I need to get on a flight today?"

I softly nuzzled the tip of my nose against hers. "Maybe you should."

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"Not because I want you to leave, but because maybe Stevie really needs you. I mean, Damien is an ass. Now she wants out but she's pregnant. She probably needs you more than I do. All I'm going to do is sit at the hospital all day and watch my mother sleep."

"I feel like I should be here until she wakes up," she said. "Once we know for sure she's going to be okay, then I'll leave."

I smiled, loving her a little more with each passing minute.

"I love you, sweetheart. I'm so glad you decided to stay and talk things out."

"Me too." She paused. "You were going to come after me, right? You weren't going to just let me leave…"

I hesitated. "I hadn't gotten that far in my head, because I honestly was trying to focus on my mother, but yes. I know that I would have eventually come to my senses. It might have taken a week or two, depending on how Mom does, but yes. I wasn't going to let you go without a fight."

"Speaking of your mom, I need to get in the shower and put my makeup on," she said, emphasizing the last part of the sentence. "Because we're running late."

"I'll text Aunt Gayle and tell her, so yes. Go get ready. And take as long as you need." I rolled off her and we both chuckled.

"Come with me," she whispered, standing up and wiggling out of the pieces of clothing that were still around her neck and ankles.

Like I was ever going to refuse a request like that from the woman I loved.

* * *

We gotto the hospital closer to eleven, but Aunt Gayle just smiled and came out to meet us in the hallway.

"She's waking up," she said quietly. "Do you want to go in?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"I'll wait here," Chey said. "They said just one person at a time, so don't worry about me."

I smiled, kissed her, and then walked into my mother's room.

It was weird seeing her hooked up to monitors and IV's, but she looked okay. A little pale, and there were a few scratches on her forehead, but mostly she just looked tired.

"Hey, Ma." I took her hand and held it between both of mine.

"Ivan." She didn't open her eyes right away, but a faint smile touched her lips. "You didn't…have…to come."

"You always say dumb shit when you're on pain meds," I teased. "Of course, I was going to come."

"On Thanksgiving… I'm sorry… I ruined… the day."

"Come on, you're more important than any holiday. You know that."

"And your new… lady friend."

"She's fine. She's here with me."

Her eyes fluttered open, and they were much sharper than I'd been expecting. "She's here?"

"Yes. But they only let one person into the ICU at a time."

"You should send her in."

I laughed. "So, you can tell her embarrassing stories about me as a teen? Yeah, that's not happening."

She smiled, even as her eyes closed. "I'm tired. I want… to meet her… later."

"You will. Promise." I leaned over to kiss her forehead. "You just rest and get better, okay? We'll be here waiting."

"You need… to go… back... to L.A."

"Not until you're out of ICU."

"All right, son." She seemed to be drifting off. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I waited until she was asleep and went back into the hallway.

"She seems okay," I said. "Just tired. What did the doctor say?"

"He said she's doing well and they're going to move her out of ICU once they see her eat something and go to the bathroom. Hopefully, by tomorrow."

"Thank god." I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I glanced at Chey. "She is very excited that you're here. She can't wait to meet you."

"I want to meet her too." Chey looked down at her buzzing phone and put it on silent.

"Stevie?" I asked.

She nodded. "Sorry. I'll talk to her in a bit."

"Who's Stevie?" Aunt Gayle asked.

"A very troubled friend of mine. I try to be there for her, but it's been non-stop lately and it's exhausting."

"You should go," I told her. "Really. We're literally going to sit at the hospital all day watching Mom sleep. If you can get Stevie away from Damien, it's win-win."

She smiled. "Well, I want to meet your mom first. Then I'll see about getting to the city to see Stevie."

"All right." I laced my fingers through hers. "Let's get some breakfast and then we'll see if Mom is more awake."

"I could eat," Aunt Gayle said. "I barely ate anything yesterday."

"Then let's go to that diner that's near the mall," I suggested, since it was only a few miles away.

"Pancakes," Chey said softly. "I really feel like pancakes."

"I don't think I've ever seen you eat anything like that," I said suspiciously.

"Once in a while I do, and this seems like this is a good day for it. And maybe I'll run with you in the morning."

"Meanwhile, I was thinking I'd have oatmeal or something," I muttered. "Thanks for ruining my plans to be good."

"You ran this morning," she pointed out.

"Oh. I guess that's true."

"Are we going to talk about eating or actually go get some food?" Aunt Gayle asked, eyeing us.

I laughed, putting an arm around Chey's shoulders. "Don't mind us. We fell in love this morning, so we're a little giddy."

"You…" Aunt Gayle opened her mouth and then wrinkled her nose. "Is that the euphemisms you young people are using these days? Ew. I did not need to know that! Geez." She stalked off toward the elevators and left us laughing.

"We didn't fall in love this morning," Chey whispered.

"Eh, close enough. Like she said, she doesn't need to know the details."

She leaned up to kiss me.