All In

Двадцать два

After three more very hot rounds with Alexei, neither of us can take it anymore, and we fall asleep wrapped up in each other. To sleep bare-chested next to him is warm and comforting, and a feeling I will forever need. 

In the morning, I awake as I always do, wrapped up with Alexei. He's gotten used to me moving away from him as I wake, so he just rolls the opposite way and lets out a deep snore. 

My footsteps echo on the stone floor as I walk into my own room. I close the door quietly and turn on that Russian News channel, just loud enough to hear in the bathroom, just quiet enough for Alexei to not hear it from his room. 

"Sergei Sokolov was spotted", grabs my attention quickly as I wrap myself in a towel before I turn on the shower. "The war criminal was spotted near a small airport town near the southern border. No other sightings have been reported at this moment, but we believe he has left the country, or flown up to a remote town in Serbia". 

I watch my daily dose of Russian news, then turn off the TV and turn on the shower in the bathroom. I thoroughly wash myself of the sweat and other fluids from last night, and allow my mind to wonder for a moment in the blissful warm water. 

I've always been a daydreamer, taking after my mother. She had always dreamt as a little girl she would leave Russia and raise her children differently than how most are raised there now.

If you had asked me what my dreams were three weeks ago, I would have thought about living life alone for awhile, saving up a ton of money from tips at the restaurant, moving out of the city again, and owning my own business of some kind. I wanted to make a name for myself by myself, especially after leaving Carson. 

But now, I can only think about my life with Alexei. I had never connected to anyone like this, and it was easy for me to think about what our future might look like. For him to take over the Volkov empire, or start one of his own, and then to marry him some day. I'm still too young to think about having kids, as I've always dreamed of having many years alone with my husband before we committed to having children, but what would Alexei want? 

And when I think about having kids, I think about how I can't. At least not at this moment. I am so infertile at this moment in time, I could tell Alexei to not wear a condom and we would still be 100% safe from having a child. I would have to start treatments at the doctors if I ever did; and I had never had the money before. 

After enjoying my relaxing alone time in the shower, I get out and dry off. Hickeys make a sloppy line from my sternum to my belly button, which make me smile when thinking about last night. The counter was a good spot, but the dining room table was not as fun because I felt like I was going to break the glass top if he fucked me too hard. 

I put myself into a purple sundress and let my hair air dry. 

I hear Alexei start to shuffle out of his room, so I open my door to see him closing his. He's dressed in his every day attire; black pants and a white button up. 

He takes one look at me, and a tent forms in his pants. I glance at it for just a second, then back up at his face.

"I don't know if I can go again right now", I joke.

Alexei fumbles with himself and clears his throat. "I could tear that dress off of you right now, but unfortunately, we have something to do today."

The look on Alexei's face tells me it's something I probably won't want to do.

"We're going to my apartment, aren't we?"

Alexei nods, and a flood of emotions hit me. I take a deep breath, and when Alexei sees my reaction, he walks over very close to me. "I'm going to be with you the whole time, Beautiful. We've been scouring the entire neighborhood since I brought you here, and he left the day after and hasn't come back."

"Okay", I take a deep breath. 

"I'll be with you the whole time."

"Thank you", I almost whisper.

Alexei brings his hand up to my face, his two fingers lifting my chin to look at him. "I promise nothing will happen. We'll get the stuff you need, then you'll never have to go back there again. I'll take care of the rest."

"Can I call May?"

He thinks for a second. "Yes."

I go back into my room to grab my phone, and dial May. She picks up quickly. "Aleks."

"May. Are you free this morning?"

"Of course."

"Can you meet me at my apartment building in like half an hour?"

"Is everything okay?"

"We're going to get my stuff. I want you to meet Alexei."

"Yeah", she stumbles over her words in disbelief. "Yeah, I'll be there."

I find Alexei in the kitchen making our coffees. He hands me mine, then makes his own. I take my coffee over to the balcony windows, where I notice a huge storm coming in from the south. Though perfectly sunny and beautiful here right now, the clouds are practically black. I have been so excited the past few weeks to see a storm from up here; to see the lightning strike from this high above the city. 

After a moment wrapped in my own mind, I feel Alexei against my back. "I'm going to arrange guards for May. So you can see her more often."

I turn to look up at Alexei, who just looks so perfect. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask me to do that", Alexei argues calmly. "I ripped you from your life, so it's my job to bring back what I can. If she wants, she can even come live with us. Irina would love another daughter."

I then turn my entire body to him. He takes a hold of my waist to keep me in close to him. "You're doing too much." I smirk, hitting his bicep playfully. 

Alexei chuckles and rolls his eyes. "I'm going to do whatever makes you happy here with me."

"You make me happy." He smiles at my words. 

"Finish up your coffee, Beautiful. We need to get going." Alexei places a kiss on my forehead just before he lets go, then goes to finish the last few sips of his coffee. 

We both place our coffee cups in the dishwasher, and Alexei grabs his keys, and I go to grab my own from my room. Before walking back out into the kitchen, I take a moment for another deep breath, realizing that this is going to be the official end of my last life chapter.