Page 77 of The Bratva's Innocent Forbidden Bride
“Holy shit, Tati,” I said, then repeated a similar sentiment in Russian.
Her heart pounded as I gently lay on top of her, and mine was beating just as hard. Only for her. After I could breathe a bit better, I rolled onto my back. In an instant, she was resting on top of me, a mass of hot skin and bunched up wedding dress.
“What are the chances of you taking that thing off and both of us forgetting where we’re at for another round?” I asked.
She rose up on her elbow, lipstick gone, mascara smudged, hair coming out of the intricate updo in all directions, and never looking more beautiful. “I’m afraid that Mila would never forgive us for not cutting the cake. There’s a special song and everything. And if you mash it in my face, I’m deadly serious about hunting down a lawyer.”
I tapped her nose. “No cake will ever touch this precious commodity. I’d expect death instead of a divorce if I did something like that.”
“I do love you so much,” she said, the threat of cake mashing forgotten. “I still can’t believe we’re really married.”
“It’s only been about an hour, to be fair,” I said, then got serious. “I can’t believe how happy I am. It’s like I never realized I wasn’t before. But now I get that there was something missing.”
“You changed everything for me,” she said, resting her chin on my chest. “No, I think a better word would be you fixed everything. I’d still be plugging along in the studio in Moscow if it weren’t for you.”
“Now you’ll be plugging along in a studio in LA.”
She kissed me, then frowned. “Don’t downplay how different my life is, even if I’m doing the same job. There’s no more secrecy. I’m not scared of my own shadow. I feel like I belong to something now.”
“You do,” I assured her. Not just a new family or a new city. “You belong to me, and I belong to you. We belong together.”
Her serious expression burst into a radiant smile as she heaved herself up and began to fix her hopelessly tangled dress. “Let’s go eat some cake, and then…”
I finished it for her. “Then everything else.”
Whatever we wanted. A team, a family, together. Always together.
*****
THE END
