Epilogue - Boris

"Thank you, everyone, for coming out to the grand opening of Lyubov. Tonight's grand opening is all about the love we share with one another—whether that be our families, friends, or the partners with which we choose to spend our lives."

I hand the scissors to Fiona and watch as she cuts the ribbon. It flutters to the floor, and the people around us cheer loudly. Fiona and I head inside the club, letting the bouncers deal with the crowd and sorting through who's admitted and who isn't.

While Noch is dark and blue, Lyubov is themed in deep red, velvets, and rich cherry wood. Fiona commissioned local artists—apparently taking inspiration from Kervyn, who is apparently one of her good friends now. I wasn't there for the conversation, but I guess he's been very impressed with her since she joined the family.

He also told her that he's impressed with our most recent shipment of weapons. The second meeting with Nevio went much smoother, and Kervyn said I've set a high bar for others in the Bratva to reach.

Which makes me even more nervous today. I pull at my collar.

"Hey," Fiona says, coming to my side and looping her hand around my elbow. "Breathe, babe. You know they're going to understand."

I turn to say something to her but spot a very special guest coming in through the front door.

Olive Allard has really come into herself in the past year. That silly, party-obsessed girl has been replaced with a tall, headstrong woman who commands a room. Fiona notices my line of sight and jolts a little.

"I'll be right back," she says, releasing my arm and hurrying over to Olive.

Olive is the leader of the Corsica now, having surprised everyone when she stepped into her father's shoes instead of letting the Corsica fall back into obscurity like everyone thought she would.

During her time as the leader of the group, she's recovered as many of the human trafficking victims as possible and attempted to support the families affected by it. It's admirable, but she shows a lot of hesitation when working with Bratva. However, Fiona is hoping to change that.

I follow Fiona with my eyes as she greets Olive and the two embrace. Their friendship didn't come out the same on the other side of the ordeal but evolved into something different.

"Ready, brother?" Roman asks, raising his eyebrows at me as he comes to my side. Our entire family is here under the pretense of celebrating the opening of the new club, but the real purpose is something far more important.

Fiona thinks I'm nervous because we're going to admit to everyone that we haven't really been married this whole time. She thinks we're going to the courthouse on Monday to sign the real papers and actually make her a Milov this time.

But that's not the whole truth.

Fiona is far too special for a hasty courthouse wedding.

This is why, today, in front of all our friends and family, I will propose to her, and if she says yes, we'll have our wedding in this very club. A car and plane are waiting to sweep us away on our honeymoon.

If she says yes.

"Calm down, dude," Viktor says, rolling his eyes. "You've already done this once."

"Yeah, but I wasn't waiting on a yes last time. Or asking in front of everyone."

"Isn't letting yourself be kidnapped like the most hardcore yes there is?" Anya asks, brushing past. She's been heavily involved in this process, advising me on what she thought Fiona would like for her dress and flowers. The bartenders here have instructions on creating a specialty cocktail for our engagement.

If she says yes.

"She's going to say yes," Anton says, joining the conversation out of nowhere. "If she wouldn't say yes to a proposal, I doubt she would have stayed after being kidnapped twice. She's been through hell and back for you."

"I'm aware of that, thank you," I say, reaching into my pocket and feeling the ring box there. Perhaps this is why all my cousins chose such alternative methods of finding their brides—so they could avoid the nerve-wracking process of asking for her hand.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please," I say, moving to the front of the room an hour later. Fiona joins me, thinking I'm just going to explain the situation and announce our courthouse marriage. "About one year ago, I met a woman who would change my life forever," I glance over at her, smiling as she reaches out and takes my hand.

"We haven't been entirely truthful with everyone," I say into the microphone. "This entire time, you all have thought we were married, and that's because I lied about it. I coerced Fiona into lying about that, and I would like to remedy that now."

I turn from the microphone, and Fiona gives me a confused look until I get down on one knee and gaze up at her, opening the ring box for her to see what I can promise her if she'll be mine forever.

"Fiona," I say, watching a tear slip down her face. "Will you marry me?"

"How nice of you to ask," she murmurs, which makes my siblings, who are close enough to hear, laugh. "Yes, of course I will."

I stand and wrap her in my arms, hugging her close.

"I'm glad you said yes," I breathe, "or this next part would have been very awkward."

I move back to the microphone, addressing the crowd—my family, cousins, siblings, and friends.

"If you wait for just a short intermission," I say, "we will be right back with the said wedding."

"What?" Fiona laughs, her face lighting up with joy as I carry her out of the room. Everyone in the room cheers, and the moment I get her into the back rooms, Anya meets us.

"Come on!" she says, chiding me, "You're not supposed to see the bride on the wedding day."

"The rules are very confusing," Fiona laughs as Anya tugs her away. Viktor, Anton, and Roman come with me into a separate room, where we change into our wedding clothes. Thirty minutes later, when we emerge into the club's main area, it's been transformed into a wedding venue.

"This is amazing, Boris," Pen says, approaching me and putting her hand on my arm. "So much fun! I'm not even mad about the fake marriage thing."

"I'm a little mad," Kervyn says, "but we'll have to see if the catering makes up for that."

I swallow thickly, wishing, suddenly, that we hadn't asked Anton to oversee the catering. We should have gone for the best, most expensive catering company in the city. Maybe even conducted a nationwide search—

"Cousin," Kervyn says, putting a hand on my arm. "Take a breath, man, I'm kidding."

Everyone laughs at my expense before I go back up to the stage to wait for my bride. Anya, Olive, Penelope, and Arina all act as stand-in bridesmaids. They may be missing matching dresses, but they all look gorgeous.

Fiona outshines them all when she appears in her wedding dress. It sparkles in the light, and I almost laugh, thinking about how all her favorite clothes sparkle.

Our eyes catch as she walks down the aisle toward me, and I have to take a deep breath to keep from tearing up.

My crazy woman. My twice-bride. The person I want to spend the rest of my life with. The ceremony passes quickly, and I press my lips to hers, causing a loud applause from everyone in the room.

We have traditional Russian wedding food, which Anton insisted Fiona would want based on how much she loves his cooking. Dessert is a delicate white cake with flowers.

After the festivities, I escort Fiona out to the car. The moment we climb in, I know she's thinking about that time in the limousine on our way to the first family event.

"I wasn't sure where you would want to go for the honeymoon," I say, grinning at her when she climbs into my lap. "So, I planned a flight to every country. If you want, we can spend two months honeymooning across the globe."

"Who is going to run things while we're gone?"

"Roman and Viktor, primarily."

Fiona sucks in a breath through her teeth.

"I don't know about that," she says, resting her forehead against mine. "They might not be able to handle it for that long."

"We'll have the rest of our lives to run things and spend time with those bozos," I say, hands tightening on her hips. "Let me have you all to myself on this trip."

She nods and leans against me as we ride to the private airfield.

When the plane takes off, we head to our private room, and I lay her down, taking off her wedding dress delicately and laying it over the back of the chair. I bite my lip when I see the lingerie she's wearing underneath.

"Anya thought of everything," she laughs.

"Oh, god, do not talk about my sister right now."

"Fair enough," she says before I slot myself between her legs. I take my time, running my fingers and tongue over every inch of her body like I'm learning it for the first time. I peel the lingerie from her body, tasting her, gripping her hips tightly as I make her come on my tongue.

"Is it just me," she breathes after finishing, "or are you getting better at that?"

"I didn't realize there was room for improvement," I say, grabbing her hips and dragging her to the edge of the bed. She's on her back, her hips right on the edge, and I step between her legs, holding them up and staring down at my cock as it slides into her.

I want this every night, every second that I can have it. I want Fiona and I alone in a bedroom, where I can do what I want to her.

This woman is my wife. She's my everything.

Fiona throws her head back and moans as I pound into her. When her hand finds her clit, it spurs me on. I imagine the pleasure she feels, and I reach down, grabbing her hips and tilting her so I can go even deeper.

"I love you," I say as I come undone inside her. I can tell from the look on her face that the sound of those words rivals the pleasure of the orgasm shuddering through her body.

When we're done, she reaches up, grabs my face, and kisses me hard.

"I love you more," she says before falling back on the bed, her arms and legs splayed.

"Oh, you always have to outdo me, don't you?" I ask, and she scoots up, spreading her legs and arms out for me to join her.

"Maybe," she says, "depends…what's my punishment?"

"Oh," I say, flicking off the light and giving her a devilish grin. "I think I can come up with something pretty creative."

*****

THE END