One year later
Pavel needed to take a shower. He wiped the blood off his face after that disastrous meeting and made extra sure he looked presentable when he entered his home, but he still felt dirty. Unclean and unfit to enter the sanctuary that was his and Marina’s home.
Leave all the mess and bloodshed outside, Viktor once told him. Good advice. When Pavel was home, he didn’t want to think about business. His focus was a hundred percent on his woman and his newborn baby.
“Pavel, is that you?” came Marina’s voice from somewhere in the house.
Right after he dealt with Aldo, they looked for a house right away. Pavel knew his penthouse suite wasn’t the ideal place to raise kids. Marina and their baby deserved a real home. They found a perfect two-story farmhouse-style house with a wraparound porch just a block from where Viktor and Ava lived.
Pavel took off his shoes by the door and went in search of his wife and child. He found them in the living room. Marina sat in her father’s old rocking chair, with Gia in her arms. They named their daughter after Marina’s grandmother, a tribute to her Italian heritage. Pavel leaned over to give her a soft and tender kiss on the mouth. Gia, in deep sleep, stirred but didn’t wake.
He gave his baby girl a kiss on the cheek as well. Marina reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.
“How did your meeting end?” she asked.
“Badly. I’m just glad I’m home,” he said. Pavel decided not to tell her it ended with a few dead bodies. His wife generally knew what went on in the family business, but Marina didn’t mind being kept in the dark about certain details.
“How was your day?” he asked.
Pavel decided a shower could wait. He took a seat on the sofa. Marina set Gia down in her day cot, then slipped into his lap. His favorite position. He wrapped his arms around her waist, then gave her ass a squeeze. She wore a knee-length white strapless dress and no underwear.
He could easily tell that by the way her nipples peaked under the soft cotton fabric. Pavel bet if he slipped his hand under her dress, he’d discover she didn’t bother any panties. She always gave her husband easy access. Pavel pressed his trouser-covered erection against her belly. They both agreed that it would be nice if Gia had another sibling to play with.
“Yegor drove us to the new store. Construction’s on schedule. The contractor told me the place would be done in two months’ time,” she said.
“That’s great news, baby,” he said, nuzzling her neck. She put her hands on his shoulders.
“It is. I can’t wait to see the store when it’s done.” Marina let out an audible sigh and the minx began rubbing herself on his thigh. Pavel groaned. At this rate, he’d be tempted to rip that dress off her and fuck her senseless.
Truth be told, he’d been surprised she agreed to move the bookstore to a new location, to a much safer neighborhood. Then again, having Gia had to do with that decision. Either way, Pavel was pleased his wife took her safety and that of their daughter seriously.
“It’d be amazing,” Pavel said. “Baby, let me clean up first before we do anything.”
“I don’t care. I need you inside me now,” she said.
Pavel began to argue, but Marina put a finger to his lips. She could be bossy on rare occasions. Marina was his wife, after all. He closed his mouth on the digit slowly, watching her as she lifted the hem of her dress. Pavel undid his pants and pulled out his thickening cock.
Without another word, he slipped his dick inside her. Marina moaned against him. Her pussy felt so tight, so right around his dick. He pumped in and out of her, strokes fast and sure. Marina panted. He tangled his fingers into her hair and plundered her mouth, slipping his tongue down her throat.
It didn’t take long for her to come all over his prick. Pavel savored the sight of her unraveling. Marina arched her back and fisted the lapels of his jacket. Afterward, she closed her eyes and rested her gorgeous head against his chest. They didn’t speak for a few moments. Peace and contentment filled him. Two things money couldn’t buy.
“I love you, you know that?” she asked him.
“And I love you,” he said.
Not long ago, saying those three words to someone else felt like an admission of weakness, but not anymore. If Konstantin Kotov were still alive, he would’ve been disappointed how Viktor and he turned out. Their own man would say they’d both led the Family down a path of ruin.
Pavel thought the opposite. By having children to carry their will, they secured the family bloodline. That didn’t mean Pavel would force Gia and any of his future kids down the same path. Whatever his children chose to do, he and Marina would support their choices.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, trailing her fingers up his chest.
“My father,” he answered.
“He’d be so proud of you and Viktor,” she said.
Pavel shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks. He’s dead and has no say in our future. What about you? Have you thought on what I’ve said?” he asked.
Marina nodded. “I’m ready to visit my father’s grave.” She took a deep breath. “It’s finally time I forgave him. I want him to see Gia, too. That’s stupid, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not,” Pavel said. “I’m sure his ghost will be happy to see you and his granddaughter.”
“You truly believe that?” she asked.
“I do,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Then this weekend, we’ll stop by his grave. Pay our respects.”
Pavel still didn’t think much of the man who put Marina in so much trouble, but he also had to thank Marina’s father for putting her in his path.
The End
Other Books by Winter Sloane:
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