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Yet, as his eyes met mine, something about him was so incredibly sincere, and I could tell without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t lying.
“Why now?” I asked softly.
“The Orlovs want someone to answer for Gregor’s death. They’re calling for blood. Your blood, Riley,” he explained, and I stiffened in his arms.
“But I—” I began, and he shook his head.
“They won’t lay a finger on you, moya malyshka.”
That’s what this was? Obligation?
Maxim must have seen the hesitation flicker across my face because he shook his head and squeezed his arms tight around my naked body.
“I’m not proposing out of mere convenience or obligation, Riley. Yes, marrying me would place you under my protection, effectively deterring the Orlovs from making any moves against you. It’s a strategic advantage, true, but it’s more than that.”
I looked up at him, searching for any sign in his eyes that this was just a calculated move, a chess play in a dangerous game we were both caught up in, but I saw nothing that even hinted in that direction.
“Why me?” I whispered, the question laden with all the confusion and fear of stepping into a world I barely understood.
He reached out, his hand cupping my face gently once more.
“Because from the moment I met you, there was something about you that intrigued me, challenged me, made me want to be nearer to you. You think I don’t know you,” he smiled softly, his thumb brushing against my cheek, “but I know the kind of strength it takes to survive what you’ve survived. I admire you, Riley, more than you can imagine. I want to explore this… this thing between us. I want you by my side, not just because the Orlovs won’t dare touch you, but because you make me feel alive in a way that I haven’t felt since…”
His voice trailed off as he glanced at the picture on the table.
“Since her,” I finished for him.
My heart swelled at least three times the size. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled myself close against him. He grabbed my chin and forced me to face him before his lips captured mine.
“I love you, Riley,” he whispered, and I whimpered with feeling at his words.
“I love you too,” I murmured, and he devoured me with his kiss. We broke apart a moment later and he pressed his forehead against mine, the two of us sharing the same breath.
For several long moments, we stayed there, holding each other close, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark blue velvet case.
It could only be for a ring.
He opened it, revealing a ring that caught the soft light of the room. It was nothing short of breathtaking—a large, brilliantly cut solitaire diamond set in a band of delicate white gold.
Maxim took my hand gently in his, his touch firm yet filled with an emotion that trembled through the air between us. With deliberate care, he slipped the ring onto my finger, where it settled with a weight that felt like destiny.
“You’re going to marry me, Riley,” he said, his voice low and resonant. “That’s final.”
I stared at the ring, feeling a complex swirl of emotions. It was all happening so fast, yet deep down, a part of me was thrilled at the promise it represented.
“Is that a question or a command?” I asked, half-joking but needing to remind him—and perhaps myself—that I had a say in my own life.
He chuckled darkly, the sound vibrating through the air.
“You’re going to be a good girl and marry Daddy, Riley.”
It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t asking me to marry him. He was telling me I was going to marry him.
Demanding it, even.
And it made my stomach flip and flutter with excitement at the same time that a thrill shot up and down my spine.
The truth was I wanted to belong to him. I don’t know when it happened. I don’t know how.
