Page 109 of Wrapped in Perfection

He closes his eyes. "Anna—"

"No. You don't have to tell me right now, but someday, you will. I will know every side of you. And I will still be here. Because your love for me isn't selfish or unkind. And my love for you isn't, either."

He opens his eyes, but I see his doubt in my promise.

"You gave me your trust." I kiss him. "Trust in my love for you. All of you."

22

Dmitri

Anna's a flowerblooming into full brilliance. Every day, I watch her grow more confident in her abilities with work but also herself. The talent she has is incredible, and she still doesn't realize how special she is. Any opportunity to tell her, I do, but she stays humble.

She wants to learn Russian, so I'm teaching her a little bit each day. Sometimes she wakes me up whispering Russian in my ear.

She's spending a lot of time in her office working on our roof design and the new project for Sacha. We haven't gone out in a week. The grand opening for a restaurant my brothers and I invested in is tonight, so I want to take Anna.

I knock on her office door.

She's at the table and spins toward me. Her face lights up whenever she sees me, and it's an expression I hope she never loses. In Russian, she says, "Hello, my sexy man."

I chuckle and kiss her. "What are you working on?"

She beams. "I'm glad you're here. I want to show you something." She turns to her monitors, types something on her keyboard, and a 3D design of the rooftop relaxation area pops up.

"Wow! That looks incredible. Is that a firepit?"

"Yes. We have to bring gas up for the grills, so it's not much more to run the line over here." She points to the edge of the roof, where glass will be installed. "And these loungers are concrete so they don't get destroyed. But I think we should install a closet room against this back wall to store pillows and padded cushions."

"I love it. Great idea."

She points over my shoulder. "What's that?"

"I'm stealing you away from your work and taking you out tonight." I hold the plastic bag in front of her. "This is for you."

She pulls up the plastic and touches the gold dress. "Wow. You have good taste, Mr. Ivanov."

"Of course I do. And my good taste can't wait to see your ass in this dress," I cockily state.

She turns slightly, pumping her ass cheek in the air, and points to it. With an innocent expression, she says, "This ass?"

I slap it and pull her into me. "Don't tease me with your ass. You know I take it seriously."

She laughs.

"Your stilettos are on the kitchen table."

"New shoes, too? You're spoiling me."

I lean into the curve of her neck and kiss it. "Mmm...is it if I get benefits?"

She smiles. "When do we leave?"

"We have a few hours. Take your time."

She strokes her hand above my ear and tilts her head. "Why don't you ever tell me I have five minutes and to hurry up?"

I kiss her until she's breathless and I'm hard. "Why would I want you stressed, kotik? Hmm? I want you relaxed and happy. And all night, I'm going to stare at you, thinking about how later I'm going to be wrapped up in your perfection."

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