Page 98 of Lord of Justice

Chapter Forty-Seven

In which there is so much groveling. And sex.

Iris…

Dawn is leaking around the edges of my closed curtains when I feel a weight settle on my bed.

"Andrey?" I murmur, my hand flailing blindly for him.

"I'm here," he says, taking my hand and putting it on his chest. Squinting in the dim light, I see that his head is bowed, looking at the floor. It hurts for some reason. Andrey is not one to ever bow his head.

"Is it all done?" I ask drowsily, trying to focus. How big a dose of pain meds did Auntie Ella give me?

"Yes." He lifts my hand off his chest and kisses it. Each knuckle. My wedding ring. The palm of my hand and my wrist. "Elana Carrington and Carlisle Sinclair will suffer horrendously for what isleft of their lives."

"Are you going to be in danger, though, for killing them?" I take hold of the sleeve of his shirt, the only part I can reach. "Now that you're a higher profile Morozov, will it lead back to you?"

He finally looks at me. There are dark circles under his eyes, and his shirt is wrinkled. There may be a bloodstain on his sleeve. "I didn't kill them." There's a silky tone of satisfaction in his words that I'm not sure he notices. "I delivered them to the people they had betrayed the most. They wereveryhappy to receive Elana and Carlisle."

"That's… that's genius," I say. "Complete, utter genius. You made a Solomon's Judgement. Like, when King Solomon offered to cut the baby in half because the mothers were each claiming the child and… Oh, what thehell?This is theworstpossible analogy I could use. What is wrong with me?"

"I understood the reference," he says gently.

"If you've done this amazing thing, why aren't you happier?" I ask. Because he is not happy. Andrey seems terribly sad, in fact. I don't think I've ever seen sorrow from him before. I didn't know he was capable of it.

"I have something to tell you, something you are owed. I'm offering you the chance to leave me,"he says, as if the words are physically painful. "I would still take care of you and the children, of course."

My heart is plunging into my stomach. I thought he was happy. Hecriedwhen we found out about the babies. "Is that what you want?"

"No," he says instantly.

"Then why are you-"

"I want to be your husband," he cuts me off, taking my hand, gently avoiding the IV. "I want to be a father to our children. I would always keep them, and you, safe. But…" He pushes his hair back, it's standing up in spikes, and my usually perfectly groomed husband doesn't seem to notice. "I forced you to marry me, Iris. I manipulated you, and I don’t have the right to demand anything from you. I am so truly sorry for what I’ve done, and for hurting you. I understand, I think, the pain I've caused you. Now that I know what this…" he's searching for a word, as if "love" is still too alien to contemplate.

"Love?" I supply. "That we love each other?"

"I understand enough to know that love shouldn't be selfish," he says hoarsely. "If you asked, I would release you from our marriage." Now, his black eyes sharpen. "But know this. I will spend the rest of my life getting you back. Whatever it takes."

I should say something about his noble offer to release me from a forced marriage. Or about his strength of character to make amends for that shitty trick he pulled on me.

Instead, I lick my dry lips and ask, "What would you do to get me back?"

He moves closer, his hip pressing against my thigh. "I would shower you with roses and irises every day. Wherever you went, I'd find you, climbing through your window to lick you into a dozen orgasms, so many that you'd cry and beg me to stop."

Did I just chirp? I don't recognize the sound that just left my mouth.

"I would change diapers." His face twists a little at that one but he carries on. "I'd get up in the middle of the night to feed our babies. And when they were soundly sleeping, I'd come into your bedroom and lick you again."

Gripping the collar of his shirt, I pull him closer. "I don't want to leave. You are making amends and apologizing, that's what I needed. I believe you."

He's barely breathing, listening intently.

"When you were holding me and we were watching the ultrasound together, that was everything I'd hoped for. I want to be here with you. For therest of our lives."

Andrey…

Iris wants to stay with me, she's embracing this marriage.