Page 93 of Merciless Union
She just looks at her daughter until Elena finally turns and walks away.
Alexei steps forward. “Maxim, I’m sorry.”
Maxim holds up a hand. “You made a mistake in not keeping a better eye on our sister. But everyone has been through a lot today, so I’m not going to get into an argument with you. Just do better in the future.”
Alexei nods. “But, what about Erik? Don’t we still have to deal with him?”
“Erik can be dealt with another day. So far, he hasn’t responded to what you did to his bar. Maybe he doesn’t even know it was you. But right now, I just want to go home and rest.”
“Understood.” Alexei takes a step back, offering me a smile. I give him one in return.
Vasilisa turns her cool eyes on to me. “And how could you be so stupid getting yourself kidnapped and putting my son in danger?”
I open my mouth to speak when Maxim lays a hand on my shoulder.
“Mother,” he says, “You will not speak to my wife like that ever again. As the wife to the leader of the Bratva, Arina outranks you. You don’t get to judge her. So, I suggest you keep your judgmental comments to yourself. I’m taking my wife home now. I’m glad that all of you are safe. Good day.”
Maxim holds my hand as he leads me out of the apartment. I look at him in awe as we make our way back to the car.
After dropping Nik at his home, where he promises Maxim he’ll actually rest, we finally get back to our penthouse.
Stepping through the doors, I only have one thing on my mind – I want to get as close to humanly possible as I can with my husband.
It seems, though, that Maxim has other ideas, as he holds up a hand to me as I take a step towards him.
“What?” I ask softly.
Maxim sighs, reaching out to rub my arms. “I wanted to explain. The painting,” he clarifies at my frown.
“What about the painting?” A slight sting goes through me at the memory of him rejecting it.
“I didn’t hate it, Arina. You are so incredibly talented. You did a great job at capturing my likeness.”
“So, what was the problem?”
“The problem was you did almost too good a job at capturing my likeness. My expression in the picture was one of sternness. Frankly, I hated how I looked. Not because you did a bad job. But because you were accurately reflecting what you saw. I’ve had a lot of walls up and it showed on my face. I don’t want to be that man anymore – one who is distant and cold. I want to show you kindness. I want to be the husband you can depend on. I want to be the husband… who loves you.”
I gasps. “Maxim…” His words ring through my ears.
“So, I was wondering, if it wasn’t too much for you, if you’d be willing to do another painting? But this time, one of us. One that reflects us now and not who we were when we first met. Would that interest you?”
“Yes,” I blurt out. “Yes, that would make me so happy.” I cup his face. I know I’m ready to say it. “Maxim, I love you too.”
We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment. He actually loves me. I never thought I’d hear the words. I know, truly, that I love this man and want to be with him the rest of my life, despite all the tough things we’ve gone through.
I also realize that I don’t want to wait a single moment more for Maxim to touch me.
I stand on my tippy-toes and kiss him so deeply that it’s almost hard to breath. Maxim wraps his arms around my back, pulling me flush to him.
We walk to our bedroom awkwardly, still kissing as we go, neither one of us wanting to let the other one go.
I laugh as we land on the bed, all of our limbs intertwined. Maxim smiles as he presses sweet kisses to my lips.
After we remove our clothes, we lay on our sides, our gazes locked in a heated moment.
Then Maxim gently rolls me onto my back, spreading my legs open. He touches me between my legs, rolling my clit around with his finger until pleasure starts to spike through my body. My arousal coats his finger.
“Maxim, I need you,” I beg, clutching at his shoulders.
