This day was not what I expected. I was shattered after the fire and found out the truth about Zhenya. Then, her brothers showed up. They brought their A-game but also proved everything she had ever mentioned about what they thought of her. Yet, she was so much more.
Slowly, I approached Zhenya, where she sat. I could see she was shocked at my sudden revelation and felt sure she had doubts. But I was prepared to convince her. I had to make her see, make her believe in me. I wanted her to be mine forever, to spend the rest of our days together.
I stopped before her and went down on my knees. Taking her hands in mine, I smiled as I spoke tenderly. “Zhenya…,”
Before I could continue, she started rambling. “Akim, I am so very sorry. Please, you don’t need to keep covering for me or my mistakes. I know I have hurt you deeply. No words could ever make right what I did and all I’ve put you through. You don’t have to do something you don’t want to just for the sake of peace or whatever reason you have.”
Carefully lifting her hand, I kissed her fingers before speaking. “No, dear Zhenya, let me correct you. What we shared wasn’t a mistake. Meeting you wasn’t a mistake, and what you have achieved wasn’t either.”
Letting her hand go, I caressed her cheek as I continued. “What we have together is something special. I have fallen in love with you. My proposal has nothing to do with you being a Chernykh or your brothers. I want to marry you because of who you are. I fell in love with the real Zhenya.”
I could feel tears pushing at the back of my eyes, and I looked down for a moment. As I defended her earlier, I concluded that I was in love with her. I couldn’t allow anyone to speak to her or about her inappropriately, not even her. The sheer need to protect her overwhelmed me.
All I wanted to do was make her happy, make her smile. Looking into her eyes, I spoke softly. “I fell in love with you, stripped of all your powers and connections. The woman sitting here before me is the one I want to marry.”
She just sat there staring at me. Swallowing hard, I wondered if I had said something wrong. Maybe she didn’t want to marry me. I would give her time to think and decided I should apologize.
I opened my mouth to let her know that I never intended to put words in her mouth or push her into something she didn’t want. Then, she stunned me as she spoke. “I love you.”
“What?” I asked. My mouth hung open. It wasn’t that I didn’t hear her, but my mind was having a hard time grasping it.
“I love you, and I will marry you, Akim Dubow,” she said, grinning. Zhenya jumped up out of the chair and lunged into my arms.
I stumbled backward but found my footing. I wasn’t about to go tumbling with her in my arms. I held her tight. I never wanted to let her go ever again, as a tremendous happiness came over me. I wanted to absorb all she was, her warmth, love, even her sweet odor.
She pulled back slightly. Placing her hands on my cheeks, she started speaking. “I’m so sorry for…”
I stopped her from saying any more as I took her lips with mine. It was one of our longest kisses. I wish we could stay that way forever. Her luscious lips glued to mine.
As we came up for air, I spoke before she could continue. “You must now stop apologizing. You have done nothing wrong. You are perfect in every way, just the way you are.”
Taking her face into my hands, I kissed her forehead. Zhenya jumped and wrapped her legs around me. Bending mine, I sat down with her on my lap. “I’m the luckiest woman on earth,” she whispered.
“Who could have ever predicted such a thing as this?” I replied.
“Well, not me. I came there wanting to bring you down,” she admitted, laughing. “I would never have thought feeling so strong could be possible.”
“I couldn’t be happier that you came, even with the wrong intentions. Look at us now. My body wanted you as soon as you caught my attention on that first day. I’m truly delighted that things turned out this way. It seems my body knew you were the one from the start. My perfect piece of the puzzle,” I said, getting up.
Holding out my hand, I helped her up from the floor. Pulling her into my arms, I kissed her softly.
Zhenya flopped down into the chair as I pulled back. “What about the Aslanovs?”
“What about them?” I asked.
“With everything that happened, how are we going to deal with this?” Zhenya asked. She looked worried.
Bending down, I took her hands in mine, laying tender kisses on her fingers. “Don’t worry your pretty face about it. We will have a plan to get all this sorted,” I said.
Zhenya smiled weakly at me before turning her head away. Placing my hand under her chin, I lifted her head tenderly. I wanted her to look into my eyes as I spoke. “I promise you everything will work out just fine. I will do so if I have to handle it all myself.”
Kissing her soft lips, I smiled. “I have something in mind that I hope will also appease Iosif,” I said with certainty.
“What if it doesn’t work?” she asked, raising her brows. A light furrow appeared on her forehead. They were the perfect little wrinkles and made her look adorable.
“Then we’ll sit and work through it. I’m sure together we can come up with a brilliant plan, just like in the office,” I reassured her. “As long as I have you, I can handle anything thrown my way.” I kissed her forehead hard, trying to smooth over the wrinkles and showing her how much she meant to me.
Pulling back, I looked at her. Our eyes locked as I spoke. “You have no idea what I’m prepared to do to keep you. I’ll give up everything.” I could hear my heart pounding. Glancing down, I made sure my chest wasn’t exploding as my heart swelled with love for her.
She rose as I stood up. Placing her hands on my chest, she leaned in as she whispered into my ear. “I feel exactly the same way. But what if?” Her fingers clutched at my shirt as we stood face to face.
I searched her face as I spoke. “Angel, baby, I will make it happen. I love you, and there’s nothing and no one who will stand in our way. Please don’t doubt us. What we share, no one will ever have or understand. It is ours.”
“Well, then,” she said, turning out of my arms. She walked away and then turned back to stand before me. “I love you too.”
As our lips met, the world outside disappeared. All I needed was my future wife in my arms. I will spend the rest of my life proofing to her just how important she is. How special and unique.
Taking hold of her hips, I pulled her into me. Our lips moved in sync as our hunger for each other grew. “You’re more than perfect,” I said under my breath.
“I’m nothing compared to you,” she replied shyly. “And I have to tell you a secret.”
“Yes?” I asked, leaning closer.
“I don’t know how, but I have become the luckiest woman on earth,” she breathed out heavily over my shoulder.
Feeling the sea monster coming to life, I smiled at her. “No, dear, you’re wrong,” I huffed. “There are no words to describe my luck.”
She took hold of my face and kissed me passionately.
Pulling back, I stared into her eyes as I spoke softly. “We have to stop this kissing now. The things you are doing to me. I have to warn you. There’s no stopping the beast.
Zhenya pulled out of my arms, laughing. “I’m sorry.” She said, walking to the door. “You want me to leave? I can, you know.”
Licking my lips, I could still taste her. “No,” I replied. “But I have to know if we are good now?”
“Yes, we are,” she said, swaying.
“Fine, then just one last word,” I added. She stood watching me as I walked closer. “I love you.”
“I have an idea,” she said suddenly.
I looked at her as I spoke. “Okay, let’s hear it.”
She quickly went through the plan with me. Once she was done, I leaned in and kissed her. “It is perfect,” I huffed. “Let’s go see what the rest think.”
As I started moving, she pulled back. I stopped and looked at her. “No,” she whispered. “My brother would never agree, knowing it was my idea, even if he likes it.”
“Okay, I’ll tell them it was my idea,” I replied, hugging her.
She nodded and took her hand and led her downstairs, where the family was standing in little groups. All eyes turned to us as we entered. “We have to take care of the Aslanovs. We have to send a message that we are not to be rivaled with,” I said as we came to stand in the middle of them.
“Yes,” Aleksandr agreed, stepping closer. “We have been racking our brains trying to come up with a plan. But these people are unpredictable.”
“Yes, we know, that’s why we have to act quickly. There’s no time to waste,” I added. Pulling Zhenya into my arms, I continued. “We have a plan.”
Iosif took two steps forward as he blared at me. “You have too few brain cells to come up with a decent plan. Go back to your playpen and play with your toys.”
Zhenya stepped out of my grip. I could see she had had enough of her brother as she defended me. “That was uncalled for! We are all on the same side here. Please do yourself a favor and listen to what Akim is saying. If you don’t want to be a part of this, you’re welcome to leave.”
Avgust walked to his side and spoke softly. “Give him a chance to explain.”
Iosif took a deep breath. He waved his hand at me, showing me to continue.
“Seeing that they are so unpredictable, we have to use their timeframes and actions against them. We have an idea of how that would work,” I said, looking at her as I finished. I nodded at her, showing her to continue.
As she went through the process, I saw the woman who had captivated me. She shone as she spoke. I hoped Iosif would see it, too, but I knew my family would. Glancing at him, I saw he was looking at her and actually listening.
Then it was like he could read my mind as he turned his gaze on me. He lifted his head but didn’t say anything. I wondered if he knew it was all her plan. As she finished, the others started chipping in, adding their thoughts.
I saw hope for us all; we could actually work together on this, and we would make it work. Family is everything to us all. If everyone could just see it.
