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I stroke her beautiful face and she leans into my rough hand as I whisper, “You have taught me that money can’t buy everything. I thought it could, that it was enough. I was a fool.”
I grip her a little tighter and whisper, “True wealth is when someone you love gifts you their heart. When they accept you for all your faults and love you, anyway. Become part of your team as an equal and you walk hand in hand through life, forever smiling into one another’s eyes. That walk opened my eyes to more than just the passing scenery, Lilli.”
Her eyes sparkle but not with fear this time. With something else I have never seen directed at me.
I can’t tear my eyes away and I say huskily, “It made me view my own life differently and I don’t like it. I want to be that old man in the future gazing lovingly into your eyes, celebrating a shared past, hopes and dreams that may not have all worked out but made us stronger. I want that with you, Lilli and I suppose somewhere between leaving this apartment and returning, I discovered that I am crazily in love with you. That if you love someone, you let them go and if they love you too, they come back and accept you for who you are.”
I don’t even get a chance to breathe after the last word as she crushes her lips to mine, the tears running down her face as she kisses me hard, with a desperate passion that causes my hold to tighten even further.
Our tongues clash and our bodies grind so tight against one another, I can feel her heart thumping through her clothes.
She pushes her hand under my shirt and pulls me in closer and I return the favor by inching up her sweater and pressing rough fingers against her smooth skin.
Then she breaks away and cups my face this time and the happiness in her eyes causes my breath to hitch as she whispers, “I’m sorry, Mikhail.”
I swear every nerve in me is stretched to breaking as she whispers, “I never gave you my decision.”
“Which is?” I swear I stop breathing as the tears roll down her face.
She whispers, “I’m not going anywhere. I suppose my fate was sealed when you washed my blood off my face with gentle strokes and curiosity in your eyes. I was lost then, and I am lost in you. I never wanted to leave, but I needed more and I’m not talking about money here. I needed your heart and now you have given it to me I promise to take good care of it.”
She laughs softly and her happiness makes me smile as she whispers, “I want to be that old woman holding your hand as we walk in the park. I want to be your Iris Mahoney and I want to be your wife. I want every role assigned in your life and I don’t want you to look for something I can give you in the arms of anyone else.”
She laughs and the tears roll down her face as she nods. “I accept your offer of freedom, Mikhail, but I’m afraid I must decline. I’m not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER 48
LILLI
Iknew a walk in the park would be magical. Now everything has changed, and it’s as if the snow has settled and the sun has come out, revealing a picture of such beauty it takes my breath away.
I have everything I ever wanted and more than that, I have the heart of a man who is so magnificent I am pinching myself he feels the same way.
Mikhail appears more emotional than I have ever seen him, and his eyes glitter as he removes my sweater and unhooks my bra.
I stand gazing at him with a soft smile on my face and desperate yearning in my eyes because this is the first time I don’t feel as if I’m here by force.
He tears off his own shirt and my heart flutters at the strokes of genius that covers his skin. I step forward and trace the image of a rose and say, “I wonder if you somehow knew how important a rose would be in our life.”
He holds my hand against it and whispers, “The next tattoo I get will add fire and ash to that rose. I will carve your name into it to remind me how powerful a burning rose can be.”
“Can I have one too?” I ask and he growls.
“NO!”
“No?” I glare at him, and it makes him laugh as he says softly, “Your skin is perfect. Why spoil something that is already a masterpiece?”
“I can ink my skin if I want to.” I say indignantly, and he shakes his head. “You can do anything you want to baby, but right now, all I want is to be inside my woman and we will talk about this later.”
“A shared decision, perhaps. It will be the first of many.”
He surprises me by placing his hand on my fluttering stomach and whispering, “And we will have many decisions to make.”
He drops to his knees and presses a soft kiss on my stomach and whispers, “The first time I came inside you, I hoped to create a life in there.”
“Fuck, Mikhail!” I gasp and he chuckles against my skin. “Language, Lilli.”
He presses light kisses against it and says almost to himself. “Even back then, I knew. It was always you Lilli, the keeper of the key to my heart and I pity you for your role in my life, but shit happens, I suppose.”
