Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
As for the sixth territory, Ivan had yet to pick a replacement and was currently dealing with all of Oleg’s fuck-ups—Andrei’s words, not mine.
Me? Well, I stared down at the ink I’d gotten. I don’t know what I had done for Ivan to decide that I was now under the complete protection of the Volkov Bratva, but I had the same ink around my wrist as Aurora, the same ink that was on Andrei’s knuckles—ivy surrounding a V. I liked it. Every now and then, it caught my eye and made me smile.
“What are you smiling about?” Andrei asked, coming back to the beach.
Ivan had allowed us the use of his island once again. He knew about the news I wanted to tell Andrei, and had insisted we use his island.
Tucking my hair behind my ear, I smile up at him. “Can’t I just be happy?”
“Yes. We’re surrounded by the ocean. We’ve had peace and quiet all day. I’ve made love to you every single chance I’ve had.”
He moved in close to me and I press my hand against his chest, crawling on his lap, straddling his waist. I feel the hard ridge of his cock as he pressed between my thighs. I kiss his lips and trail them back toward his ear.
“I’m pregnant,” I said.
Andrei cups my head, pulling my face back enough to look into my eyes. “Pregnant?”
“Yes.”
He releases my face and puts his hands on top of my stomach. “Our baby?”
I nod. My throat feels tight as I watch him.
“I love you, Adelaide,” he said.
I would never get tired of hearing that. “And I love you too.”
Epilogue
Adelaide
Five Years Later
I never knew being married could be so amazing. Being Andrei Belov’s wife didn’t come without its problems. He was the brigadier to Ivan Volkov. His life was constantly in danger.
“Daddy!”
Spinning around toward the back of the house, I smile as soon as I see Andrei. His son, Phillip, immediately charges toward him.
Seeing father and son always made me melt on the spot. Andrei had been so terrified of being a bad father. He’d told me about his past. About what his father, who wasn’t his father, had done to him. The price he had to pay for his mother’s mistake.
I yearned for the small boy, wanting to take care of him myself, so I helped the man. I helped Andrei to realize that he wasn’t going to be like his father. He was a better man. A kinder man.
When I gave birth to Phillip, he’d been so afraid to hold him. He feared dropping him, but once I showed him that he would give the world to Phillip, there was no stopping him. He helped with feedings, being there, giving me time to rest. The only job he tried to get out of was changing diapers, but I wouldn’t allow that.
He was involved in every single step of raising Phillip, and he had not once raised his fist to our son.
Phillip was a good boy. Resting my hand on my swollen stomach, I wondered if Andrei would be the same with our little girl.
He didn’t want me to get pregnant again. Giving birth had been a bit of a nightmare for him. He threatened all the doctors and nurses, who were only doing their jobs. As for me, I’d been in pain, but that had faded the moment Phillip was in my arms.
Andrei didn’t forget.
He lifted Phillip, putting a kiss on his cheek before letting him down. Our son knew not to come between me and his father. It was the only time Andrei had scolded our son. No one, not even our children, would come between us.
Andrei wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. Even though his soldiers were near, he didn’t care. He loved me.
When he pulled away, I opened my eyes.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better.” I smiled up at him.
“I missed you,” he said.
“You only went to get Anna and the kids,” I said.
Anna had become my friend. I was not sure if Andrei was happy about that. He had promised me it was only because he was jealous and didn’t want to share me. Not that I minded. There were times I loved having Anna over, because when she went home, he would become so possessive. Making love to me, marking me, telling me how much he loved me, and making me his all over again.
Only this time, Anna wasn’t alone. Slavik and Aurora had come for a rare visit, and so had Ivan. We had more guests arriving as well.
This was our family. We were not related by blood, but we were here by choice, and I chose Andrei Belov.
****
Andrei
I hated having people at the house.
Adelaide wasn’t mine when we had guests. She was the perfect hostess. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.