Uncle Aleksei Series

Chapter22

I don’t want to leave heaven. But I have no choice.

And it really is heaven.

I wake up wrapped in the inked arms of my Russian, his tongue tracing patterns on the back of my neck. My lower half wakes up with a vengeance, eager to please. To be pleased. The tightening of those delicate muscles hurts, though, from having Aleksei inside me so many times since yesterday. A flush moves over my cheeks remembering the things he said to me in the darkness last night. When we see your father someday in the future, you will call me Daddy, Georgina. He will know I’ve claimed his little girl in every way imaginable, and his responsibility to you is gone. If he needs convincing, he’ll take the place of the priest next time.

My agreement, my screams echo in my ears, and wetness trickles onto the material of my panties. Aleksei’s chest rumbles at my back, but his mouth makes a reluctant noise.

“I want nothing more than to watch you ride my cock for the first time, angel, but you will recover for a while first.” He laughs into my hair, a wickedly decadent sound. “Plus, I know what happens when you don’t eat breakfast on time.”

Wrinkling my nose, I roll over and shove at his big shoulder. “What happens?”

“You pout at Aleksei. You stomp around and cannot focus on your reading.”

This is the first I’m hearing of this. “I do not.”

His indulgent smile sends my pulse racing. “Da, angel. You never stop being cute, but I prefer a happy Georgina.” A coarse hand roams over my bare hip. “I prefer when you’re smiling because it means I’ve done my job and pleased you.”

As sweet as this sounds, this is the crux of our problem. Do I love that Aleksei has made my happiness his life’s work? Of course. He’s my husband now, and his happiness is very important to me, too. But…sometimes I want to be responsible for my own happiness. I want to figure out my own meals. Plans. Bathing suits. I want to have an individual goal as a woman, as well as goals as a couple. Making him understand this is going to take more than words, though. If I’ve learned one thing about Aleksei, it’s that he’s stubborn and tunes me out when I’m saying words he doesn’t want to hear.

Which is why I’ve formed a plan.

Some of my apprehension must be showing on my face, because Aleksei frowns. “What is the matter? Tell me so I can fix.”

“Nothing is the matter,” I say, mimicking his accent and earning a lip twitch. “What are our plans for the day?”

He sighs, massaging my hip now with a lazy thumb. “I must spend some time in my office downstairs making phone calls.”

“To whom?”

For a few quiet moments, he seems to be cataloguing my features. “I am not a man who is accustomed to working behind a desk, Georgina, but when I met you and decided to build the house, it became obvious I would need to pursue a more…practical line of work.” Humor twists his mouth. “I will be checking on my investments.”

A giggle climbs my throat. “My hit man has been making investments.”

“Da. Lucrative ones.” His dark eyebrows draw together. “I was not sure if you were aware of the duties I performed for your father at night. Or back in Russia.”

“I’m aware.” I slide closer and rub my breasts against his hairy chest, gasping when he yanks my hips closer to his. “I’d love you no matter your profession. But I’m grateful you did something outside your comfort zone. For us.”

“There is nothing outside my comfort zone, Georgina.” He rolls one massive shoulder. “Except, perhaps, Justin Bieber concerts.”

I break into a fit of laughter, and after a couple beats, Aleksei joins me. It’s a heavy, rusted sound, but it’s amazing and I wish I could roll around in it forever. A pang catches me in the middle when I remember what must be done. What I have to do this morning in order to set the correct boundaries between us. If my heart were the only thing in charge, I would never leave this bed or my husband. My brain is on board, too, though.