Chapter Fifty-Six

Sephie

We talked with Battista for a few more hours, but we still struggled to come up with a plan for Martin. We didn’t have quite as many details on him and the Mexican cartels were a definite wild card in everything. We were going to need more information on them as well before coming up with a plan on how to handle that situation.

Once Battista left, the mood in the room was noticeably lighter. Everyone seemed relieved to finally have some kind of plan. It had felt like we were stumbling around in the dark for weeks now, trying to decide what to do. At least now we had a sense of direction; a place to start.

On the elevator to the penthouse, I asked, “How likely do you think it will be that Martin will get word of what’s happening in the city and will run or try something else?”

“Is he smart enough to run though?” Ivan asked.

I laughed. “I think that’s fair, but I’m also not totally sure what you mean. For once.”

Ivan waited until we were all inside the penthouse, in the kitchen, to explain further. “I have a feeling that Martin thinks he’s won already. With Trino gone and everyone basically working with him because they likely don’t have any other choice, he’s probably thinking he’s untouchable already.”

Stephen added, “That could work to our advantage. If we keep Trino here and stay completely away from Colombia until after Ricardo and Sal are taken care of, he’s very likely to get comfortable and think he’s safe down there. That’s good for us.”

“I think we need to talk more with Trino. We need more details about what’s going on down there before we come up with a definite plan for him,” Adrik said.

“You’re going to bring the mayor and the DA in on the plan for everyone else?” I asked Adrik.

“Yes. I would like to meet with them once more before turning Dr. Moretti over to them. I want to be sure about them before I hand him over.”

“Oh, he’s the loose end you don’t want to have to tie up for them,” I said, remembering his earlier statement about being pissed off. He smirked at me, walking to me. We still couldn’t stand any unnecessary distance between us. Even my demon would calm down when he was touching me. She wasn’t rowdy when we were apart, but there was an increase in my level of anxiety until I was with him again.

“We need to meet with the leaders of the ‘resistance movement’ in the city again and let them know what’s happening. If they know it’s coming, they can be better prepared,” Ivan said.

“And apparently armed to the teeth thanks to Battista and his strange connections,” I said. “Nobody will be sad about that little detail.”

Ivan looked at Viktor and Adrik both. “I do wonder just who this arms dealer is that he’s friends with. My money is on Boris,” he said.

Adrik chuckled. “I almost asked if it was him when he brought it up. I think we should ask to meet him.”

“Who’s Boris?” I asked.

“He’s an old friend of Vitaliy’s. He’s been running arms around the world my entire life. War is his profit. That being said, he’s not a totally bad guy. He always makes sure to supply both sides of every conflict,” Adrik said, unable to hide his smile.

I couldn’t help but laugh too. “Grey area,” I said.

That evening, Vitaliy and all his men were coming over for dinner. When he took Armando’s house, I made him promise that he would still come for dinner regularly while he was in the city. He made good on his promise. He would come over at least once a week to have dinner with us. Sometimes he would come with just Aleksei, and other times, he would bring everyone.

Tonight was a special treat because Ilya brought Jessica with him, much to everyone’s surprise.

When everyone walked in, Vitaliy caught me and pulled me slightly away from everyone. “Ilya told me everything about her. She’s not as strong as the rest of you, but she’s similar to all of you when I touched her. She’s still very much a scared little girl, however. Ilya has been good for her so far. She’s been good for him too. He seems happier. He asked if he could bring her so she could see you again. He told me she asks about you often. Forgive me for not telling you. I hope you don’t mind, malishka, but I think it would be good for her to spend time around you,” he said.

“You should know by now that I’ve perfected the art of feeding a small army. Even if she eats like me, there will be plenty. I’m actually really happy to see that things are working out between them,” I said, watching Ilya with her over Vitaliy’s shoulder. He was affectionate with her and clearly protective of her. Not that he had anything to worry about with us, but men tend to become protective of the women they’re developing feelings for. Most of the time, without even realizing it’s happening. It was, in fact, adorable to witness.

I hugged Vitaliy’s neck, feeling him relax as he held on to me. “I’ve missed you, old man,” I said, grabbing his hand and walking further into the kitchen.

“You feel different than the last time I saw you, malishka,” he said in Russian. Obviously, Jessica knew some things, but not other things just yet.

“You should shake your son’s hand, Vitaliy. He’s the reason I feel different,” I said, grinning at him. His eyes went wide, but his curiosity got the better of him. He walked immediately to Adrik, who offered him his hand. He was smirking at Vitaliy, already enjoying the reaction we were all expecting.

Vitaliy cursed when he took Adrik’s hand. “You … But … How?” he finally managed to get out.

Adrik chuckled. “It’s quite a long story. I don’t want to be rude in front of our newest guest, so we’ll get into it later,” he said, still in Russian.

“Come. Let’s eat first,” I said. I might’ve snooped in her head, but I knew Jessica was starving. I gingerly grabbed her free hand that Ilya wasn’t holding and pulled her toward the food. “Your stomach is going to drown out the conversation, so let’s give it something to do,” I said, winking at her. Her cheeks went red and she looked like she wanted to hide. “Don’t worry, mine can wake the dead when I’m that hungry. Ask any of the guys. They’ve all heard it,” I said, laughing.

“Even I know about her stomach, ptichka,” Ilya said to Jessica. “Vitya told me about it many times.”

“See? It’s legendary,” I said. As Jessica got her food, I leaned closer to Ilya, telling him in Russian, “Um, the fact that you call her your little bird might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” His cheeks turned bright red. I just winked at him and walked back to Adrik.

I tucked myself into his side. He was smiling as he asked me, “What did you say to him to make his face turn so red?”

“He calls her ptichka. I told him it might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Adrik pulled me closer. I could feel a twinge of resentment. “Not cuter than me calling you solnishko.”

It was so hard not to laugh, but I somehow managed. He was actually jealous and maybe a little worried that Ilya’s pet name for Jessica was better than him calling me solnishko. “That’s because you calling me solnishko is not cute.” I felt the resentment quickly turning to anger, so I stepped in front of him, placing my hands on either side of his face. “It’s divinely endearing,” I told him, loving the switch between his anger and the smile that stretched across his face. I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his as I told him, “I would much rather be your sun. We both know I’m not delicate enough to be a bird anyway.” I ended up finally losing the struggle to not laugh and I giggled against his lips.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he told me as he wrapped his arms completely around me, holding me tightly.

After dinner, I caught Ilya and Jessica slightly away from everyone else. The rest of the guys were deep in discussion, switching between Russian and English, which meant Jessica couldn’t really understand most of what was being said. “How are you, Ilya? No more issues?” I asked him in English, hoping he would understand my question.

“None. I’ve been quite good. I really like working for Vitaliy. Aleksei has helped me tremendously. I feel like I’m really catching up in my training,” he said, proud of his progress.

“Yeah? We should train together again soon. I would love to see it,” I said. I looked down at Jessica. “And how are things with you? You definitely look much better than the last time we met,” I said, smiling at her.

She grinned at me. Her grey eyes lit up as she looked up at Ilya. “Much better. I can’t thank you enough for helping me that night. I’m very happy it happened, as I never would’ve met Ilya otherwise, but I would like to never be in that situation again.”

“I can’t say I blame you there. How long have you been able to see these things?” I asked her, curious about her ability to see angels.

“As long as I can remember. My parents think I’m crazy. My grandmother thought I was special and would argue with my parents all the time in my defense, but she died several years ago,” she said, looking down at the floor.

“You still see her though, don’t you?”

Her eyes got wide and her cute little smile stretched across her face. “I do. I see her all the time. She follows me around most of the time. That night at the fundraiser was the first time I’d seen other angels in the same place, at the same time. I usually only see one at a time. I was excited about it, but then everyone thought I was crazy.” Her bright face darkened as she thought about that night. “I’m not sure what would’ve happened if Ilya hadn’t heard the commotion from the kitchen.”

I glanced at Ilya, who was watching her. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. “I have a feeling Ilya had been watching you for longer than you realize,” I said, winking at him.

She looked up at me, surprised. She then looked at Ilya, who had a guilty look on his face. “It’s true,” he said. “I had seen you earlier in the evening and kept an eye on you the whole night. When you didn’t come out of the kitchen, I might’ve walked over to find out what was going on. That’s when I saw what was happening and went to get help.”

“You were watching me? Really?” she asked.

“I mean, not in the stalker kinda way. I was trying to see if I could catch your eye, but you kept your head down almost the entire time,” he said, smiling at her.

“I don’t like attention from strangers,” she said quietly.

“I don’t either. It’s why I surround myself with giant men. They keep me hidden,” I said.

She grinned at me, her cute face once again brighter. “That’s one of my favorite things about Ilya.” His wide smile stretched across his face at her admission. It was official. They were adorable together. It was easy to see they both cared about each other very much, even after only a short time.

I was watching them with each other for a moment when she looked at me very seriously. I chuckled. “You can ask whatever you’d like, Jessica,” I said.

“How did you know I wanted to ask you something?” she asked me, her eyes wide.

“It was written all over your face. What would you like to know?”

“You’re … different from the last time I saw you. You look different to me,” she said, shyly.

“You’re right. I am different. Can you tell me how I look different to you?” I asked.

She looked around nervously, then took a step closer to me. “You have … wings,” she said. She was so cute, it was difficult not to laugh at her. I didn’t want to tell her Andrei had already shown us what she could see the last time we saw her. “They’re different colors now.”

“What colors are they now?”

“When I saw you last time, they were only white. Now, they fade to black toward the ends,” she said. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at Adrik. “His are almost all black now.” She looked at Ivan next. “His are like yours, but they have red tips. I don’t know what it means, but every other angel I’ve ever seen has only had white wings. I don’t know why you’re all different.”

“Can you see anything on those three men?” I asked her, pointing to the Wonder Twins and Stephen. They were on the other side of the kitchen from Ivan and Adrik, so I don’t think she was paying attention to them before.

She studied all three of them for a few moments. “They’re like you were the last time I saw you, but it’s harder to see. It’s not as visible to me. I didn’t see that last time. Are they different too?”

“Yes, they are. We’re all different from the last time you saw us,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was trying so hard to be brave, but it was somewhat overwhelming for her. I could feel her calm down every time Ilya touched her. It was very sweet to witness.

“What happened?” Ilya asked.

“That’s a bit of a long story. I’m not sure how much we should share right now, but it’s all necessary for what’s coming,” I said in English. I switched to Russian and added, “Everyone but your brother can now make their eyes go black. I have a new color too. I’m not sure how much she can handle right away, so let’s take baby steps for now. She’s a very sweet girl, but she’s very clearly overwhelmed.”

Ilya nodded in agreement. He kept the conversation going in Russian as he added, “She is overwhelmed. She’s trying to understand everything. I told her a little bit about what happened to me. She’s fighting against wanting to believe it and believing her parents’ assessment that she’s crazy. She wants to believe everything, but she’s been told she’s crazy for long enough that she won’t let herself believe it.”

My heart hurt hearing that she was struggling that much. I looked at him, his arm still protectively around her. “Ilya, you’re good for her. She’s good for you too. I can see it clearly. Hell, even Vitaliy can see it. He told me when you guys first got here. We can try and help her out as much as we can with accepting that she’s different. She’s even different from all of us. Keep telling her that it’s okay she’s different and that you believe her. It’ll take time, but you can help her turn it around.”

“I tell her often, but I will tell her more,” he said, looking down and smiling sweetly at her. They were all kinds of adorable. I just wanted to squeeze both of them.

She was somewhat nervous that she couldn’t understand what we were saying. “Don’t worry, Jessica. We were talking about how absolutely adorable you are. I don’t know how you’ve managed to do it, but he’s already wrapped around your finger,” I said, smiling at her shock.

Adrik walked over, sliding his arm around my waist. Jessica looked up at Ilya, still shocked at what I’d just told her, but she kept her mouth shut now that Adrik was there. I could feel she was intimidated by him. It was a common reaction to him, even before his latest level-up. Now, it was much more pronounced. He was aware of it, but he rarely tried to make anyone feel more comfortable. With Jessica, however, he did make an attempt.

He smiled at her, saying, “You look much happier than the last time I saw you.”

She smiled nervously, which made Ilya laugh quietly. “She is much happier,” he said for her.

She inhaled deeply, held her breath for a moment, then said, “I want to thank you again. I didn’t realize how much money you handed me until I got home that night. I’m very grateful.”

Adrik chuckled. “I’m glad it could help you out.”

“She tried to get me to give part of it back to you. I wouldn’t do it,” Ilya said. He looked down at her and her face hardened as she looked up at him. “It was our first fight,” he said, still completely amused by all of it.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew Adrik didn’t even know how much money he’d handed her. It didn’t matter.

“I don’t make that much in three months!” she said, still somewhat irritated that Ilya wouldn’t give part of it back. “I didn’t know it was that much money or I wouldn’t have accepted it!”

“Please, Jessica. Accept it. Keep it. Do not feel guilty for it. You needed to not have to worry about leaving that situation,” Adrik said. Ilya gave her a very clear “I told you so” look.

I laughed quietly. “He looks quite intimidating, but he’s one of the nicest men you’ll ever meet,” I said, leaning my head on Adrik’s shoulder. He pulled me closer to him.

“Just don’t tell anyone. I don’t want that getting out,” he said, kissing my forehead.

As the evening was winding down, Viktor caught me and Adrik off to the side of everyone else, asking, “Would you mind if I spent some extra time with Ilya once Vitaliy leaves for the evening? I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. I also haven’t gotten a chance to really meet Jessica yet.”

“Of course, Viktor. You know you’re free to do as you wish once I’m done for the day,” Adrik said.

Viktor looked at me, grinning slightly. “I didn’t want you to think I was avoiding anything,” he said.

“I don’t think that, Viktor. Anymore,” I said, mirroring his grin. “I think you should spend time with Jessica. She’s pretty adorable. I also think you can be good for her as well. I think you have an inside track to help her understand her gift. She’s slightly overwhelmed. She also knows that we’re different, but she doesn’t know why yet. I didn’t want to hit her with everything yet.”

He nodded. “I have talked to Ilya once or twice since they’ve been spending more time together. He said almost the same thing. He thinks I can help her.”

“He takes after his older brother with his level of intelligence,” I said, winking at him.

After Viktor had walked away, I told Adrik, “Even your father likes her. It was like the first thing he told me when they got here. She’s already got Ilya wrapped around her finger.”

Adrik pulled me in front of him, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I can’t imagine what that would be like,” he said, as he pressed his lips to mine. “I would never let that happen.”

I laughed, hugging his neck tighter. He pressed his cheek lightly to mine, rubbing his facial hair against my cheek lightly the way I loved. He whispered, “I love you, Sephie. So very much.”

“I love you. And your giant heart,” I said, hugging him tighter.

After Vitaliy left with everyone but Ilya, he and Jessica stayed in the penthouse for a few more minutes. They eventually left with Viktor to spend some quality time together.

Andrei glanced at me after they left the penthouse. “Did you see?” he asked.

“I did. I’m guessing you did as well?” I asked.

“Yup. I might’ve overheard you ask how you looked different. That’s when I looked,” he said, his handsome smile stretched across his face.

“Are you two going to let the rest of us in on what the hell you’re talking about?” Ivan asked.

“Jessica said I looked different to her this time. You all do too. I asked her to explain how. As she did, I snooped to see what she sees. It’s pretty dang impressive, if I do say so myself,” I said. I quickly shared what she could see when she looked at all of us. Before, she only saw our wings from the perspective of us being able to walk through Heaven. Our wings were white, but they had a different look from other angels she’d seen, so she knew there was something about us that wasn’t like other angels. This time, she could see the black in our wings. It made me wonder if she’d soon be able to see demons the same way she sees angels or if her gift was just getting clearer for her.

“Boss and Ivan are clearly in a competition over who has the cooler wings,” Misha said as he looked at what Jessica could see.

I chuckled. “I’m surprised Vitaliy left without finding out why we’re all different.”

“I fully expect him to be back tomorrow because of that,” Adrik said.

“How was Jessica? Did you tell her why we all look different now?” Stephen asked. I could feel him slightly worried about a new woman. Out of everyone, he had every reason to be. I went to him, sliding my arm around his waist and resting my head on his shoulder as he put his arm around my shoulders.

“She’s still overwhelmed with everything, so I didn’t get into specifics. I think Viktor can be good for her. Ilya is definitely good for her. She’s a very sweet girl. I think she’ll be fine with everything eventually. She’s still struggling with accepting her own gift. I didn’t want to scare her, so she just knows we’re different for now, but she doesn’t know why,” I said. Silently, I said to Stephen, “I looked in her head. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. I know you’re going to anyway, but you don’t need to keep your distance as you wait for her to get mean. Besides, you have me as your attack dog if she proves me wrong.”

He didn’t respond, he just squeezed my shoulders a little tighter.

“I might’ve checked on Trino’s girlfriend too. I don’t know, I got nervous when Andrei said she was Mexican and her uncle was killed when Trino took over,” Misha said, looking a little sheepish.

“What did you find?” Ivan asked.

“She’s good from what I could see. Uh, we’re also going to their wedding once everything calms down. So, yeah. That’s a thing that’s happening,” Misha said.

I laughed. “Now that you know you can use your demon to help you, are you spying on more people?”

“NO!” he said, acting indignant that I would even think that.

Ivan caught my eye. We looked at each other and then back at Misha. “Who else?” we both said at the same time.

“Okay, maybe just a couple people. I was having trouble sleeping. I was bored. It’s not a regular thing,” Misha said, slightly embarrassed.

“Who?!” we all demanded at once.

“I might’ve checked on Giana,” he said quietly.

“And?” I asked.

“She’s doing well. She and her friend moved recently to Portugal. They’re planning on staying there through this next year, then they have plans to move again. Giana has a job, she met a guy, her friend is trying to talk her into going back to school. She’s living the most normal life ever and she seems really happy about that,” he said.

I just couldn’t help the tears that fell as I was completely overcome with relief and happiness that she was doing well. I still didn’t want to be friends with her, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want the best for her.

“Misha, I’m really glad you spied on her,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. “It makes me really happy to know that she’s doing okay.”

“I think we’re all relieved to know she’s okay. I don’t think any of us want to be BFFs with her, but she still didn’t deserve to be treated that way,” Ivan said.

“You took the words out of my mouth, Squish,” I said.

“Who else did you spy on?” Andrei asked. “I know that’s not the only one.”

Misha laughed. “Right again,” he said in between laughs. “I might’ve also tried to find Vanessa to see what she’s up to now that Massimo is dead.” More laughter. “I don’t know how, but I could smell her when I found her.”

We all laughed. “I hope you didn’t watch her for very long. That smell will get on you,” I said.

“What is our dearest Vanessa doing now?” Ivan asked.

“She’s trying to find a replacement for Massimo, but she’s not having much luck. She’s working at a club somewhere in the city. She gets lots of male attention. Lots,” Misha said, his eyes wide.

“I don’t want to know any more. Please stop talking,” I said, making everyone laugh.

“Come here,” Adrik said silently to me. I squeezed Stephen once more, then walked across the kitchen to Adrik. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tightly. “Close your eyes, Andrei,” he said, before he kissed me passionately. Everyone else laughed.

“I am never going to live that one down,” Andrei said. I turned and leaned my back against Adrik’s warm chest, pulling his arms tight around me.

“I mean, it’s never gonna not be funny, Bubba,” I said, laughing.

“We still need to figure out why you got blocked that one time and couldn’t see anything,” Stephen said to Misha, somewhat cryptically.

“You got blocked, Misha? When did that happen?” I asked. I felt Adrik tense slightly and I instantly knew what he was looking for. I squeezed his arms tighter and chuckled. “I know what you were all discussing. I love you all very much for trying to protect me from that conversation.”

Adrik leaned down and kissed my cheek, saying quietly, “Misha was looking for outcomes pertaining to the families. He could see nothing.”

“Has that ever happened before, Misha?” I asked. I didn’t have a bad feeling about this, but it was definitely a new occurrence that we’d never experienced before.

“No, it’s never happened before. I’ve always been able to find an answer, but everything was fuzzy that time. It’s been getting clearer for me every other time too,” he said. He was visibly perplexed.

“Have you tried to look for that same answer again?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah, same result each time,” Misha said.

My mind was racing. I unwrapped Adrik’s arms from around me so I could walk to the remaining cookies I’d made for Andrei. They all smirked at me, knowing I had a serious sweet tooth if something was bothering me. “What? Sugar helps me think,” I said, biting into the cookie.

“They need frosting next time,” Misha said. “They’re just boring without it.”

“Noted, my adorable Russian guardian,” I said. As I finished the cookie, I had an idea pop in my head. “Were you looking for Sal’s kids specifically?” I asked. Misha nodded his head. “What if the outcomes on them aren’t clear because no one knows what will happen to Sal yet? Like we don’t know if Stephen will be needed or if Adrik will be needed. Make sense?”

“That falls in line with what Misha was looking for, actually. We said there was a possibility they would never move against us if they find out what really happens to Sal,” Ivan said.

I felt Adrik getting itchy because I was no longer next to him, so as I walked back to his side, I said, “There’s also the possibility that no one knows what will happen when Adrik is needed.”

Everyone was quiet as I settled into Adrik’s arms once more, loving the contentment I could feel from him once he had his arms around me again. “Do you think Kostya can find that answer?” Ivan asked.

“We can ask him. Lena might be able to find out too. Those two are the most accessible, I think,” I said. “I’m not entirely sure anyone like us has ever existed before though. There may not be answers to be found.”

Andrei yawned as everyone mulled over what had been said. “We can worry about it all tomorrow. I think everyone should get some sleep tonight,” Adrik said. Sleep was definitely the last thing on his mind right now, but it sounded reasonable enough to everyone else.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Adrik’s lips were on mine. He was desperate for me, like he hadn’t seen me in months. “What is wrong with me,” he said against my lips. “I cannot get enough of you right now.”

“Please never do,” I said, pulling him with me toward the bedroom. I didn’t think the guards outside the door needed another performance tonight. I would prefer if no one heard me this time.

By the time we made it to the bedroom, we were both completely naked. A trail of clothes remained between the kitchen and the bedroom, waiting to show us the way out should we need it at any point. We were both giggling at our inability to control ourselves.

His hands were everywhere at once, making sure there was as little distance between us as possible. His desire felt different. It was almost primal. I broke the kiss long enough that I could look at him. His eyes were swirling between his usual blue and black.

I smiled at him, switching my eyes to black. It was all he needed to stop the internal struggle he was having. He smirked at me as he roughly grabbed me, picking me up. When he got closer to the bed, he all but threw me on it. Flying through the air was now a surprising turn-on for me.

He usually struggled to maintain control and would force himself to go slow, at least in the beginning. He still worried he would hurt me most of the time. Tonight was not that way. He flipped me onto my stomach and pulled my hips toward him. He was inside me and I was moaning before I even knew what had happened.

He was rough, but I loved it. I could feel his fingers digging into my hips as he held me tightly. The scar from the night of the ball was usually numb, but when he held my hips, I could feel his fingertips pressing into my skin. As strange as it sounded, it was nice to have something to feel there.

He was pounding into me, his rhythm unrelenting. I was beginning to question if I’d be able to walk the next day, but I wanted him to keep going. All I could do was grab the sheets and hang on as he showed no signs of stopping.

I felt his hand move up my back. Same as my hip, I didn’t normally have much feeling over my back because of my scars. He discovered that if he ran his fingertips over my scars, I could feel it. He was apologetic when he first did it. He thought I was sleeping when it happened. He didn’t want to make me uncomfortable by exploring my scars. I surprised him by telling him I really liked it as he gave me something to feel there, other than extreme pain, since it had happened.

With his hand on my back now, I could feel everything like normal. Like there were no scars. His hand left a trail of fire over my back and I loved it. I wanted more. “Your hand. Use the other one too,” I told him. Thank God for being able to talk to him silently. There was no way I’d have been able to get that out in between screams otherwise.

He moved both hands to my back, letting them roam while he pulled me back to him with each thrust. It started an entirely new wave of pleasure through my body. I was completely on fire under his touch. I could feel everything on my back like it wasn’t completely scarred. My body completely exploded. I was no longer in control. He was in complete control of my body, forcing it to ever higher levels of pleasure with each touch, with each thrust of his hips. He owned me in those moments.

Adrik could feel what I felt. Even through my pleasure, I could feel his gratification at being able to push me to new heights. He always took pleasuring me as a challenge. Like he was trying to beat his personal best each and every time. I fully supported it.

He didn’t let up, he just kept pushing my body to feel more pleasure with each time he pushed into me. It felt like I could do nothing but orgasm. There was no ending, there was no beginning. There was just pleasure.

I finally felt him find his own release and he collapsed onto the bed beside me. I had to work to catch my breath for the first time in a long time as I rolled over next to him. He immediately began to worry when he noticed. His eyes were still black, which somehow managed to calm me. I just focused on his eyes, finding peace in the fact that he would destroy anything and everything that ever thought to cause me harm. I couldn’t help but smile at him as my breathing finally returned to normal once again.

“That hasn’t happened in a while,” he said, concern very evident on his face.

“Um, sex like that hasn’t happened ever. I don’t know why you’re surprised I couldn’t catch my breath,” I said, grinning at him.

He chuckled. “Maybe you’re right.”

I got up, pulling him up with me. He reached down and picked me up, walking us both to the shower.

“I might’ve made it difficult for you to walk,” he said, a boyish grin on his face.

“You definitely did, but I loved every minute of it.”

As we stood under the hot water, he was watching me. “What happened when I put my hand on your back?”

“Mmm, you brought all the feeling back. It felt almost like I didn’t have scars. Same for the scar on my hip. I have feeling there when you grab my hips.”

He smirked down at me. “Well, then I’ll have to grab you more,” he said, holding me against him tighter.

“Please do. I’m a fan,” I said, giggling at the look of surprise on his face.

He leaned down and kissed me. “You never cease to amaze me with how perfect you are for me.”

“It’s like we were meant to be or something,” I said, grinning at him.

His face turned serious as he looked down at me, brushing a curl from my face. “Sephie, I’ve never been more sure that I can get through anything life throws at me now that I have you by my side. All of this … shit that’s happening with the other bosses? It doesn’t worry me in the slightest. I find myself enjoying the process, simply because you’re with me. I know you will always be there to make my path in life even brighter with your light.”

My breath caught. I looked up at him, my fingers lightly running over his facial hair. I felt the pull in my chest from him so strongly. A smile slowly stretched over my face as I looked at him, thinking about how completely I loved him. I felt the same as he did. I knew I could get through anything as long as I had him. I stood up and kissed him sweetly, then rested my head on his chest as his arms completely enveloped me. He sighed as I pushed all my warmth to him, his body completely relaxed and content to have me in his arms.