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“Viktor, Em said she thought it might be the Nécessaire egg.”
He turned to smile at Tegan. “It was, but its loss is meaningless compared to what I did to your sister.” He glanced back up the staircase. “Do you think she will ever forgive me?”
“Not if you keep acting like a dumbass,” said Kendra.
Viktor rolled his eyes. The girl was a menace. He turned to stare at her, secretly happy to see her drop her eyes and take a step back. “Then how about you help me with that. I fear that I will need all the help I can get to get her back.”
“We’ll help, won’t we Kendra,” said Tegan, who was the sweetest of the lot of them.
“Sure, I’ll help,” said Kendra, taking a step towards him. “But if you hurt my sister again, I will end you.”
In that moment, he began not only to understand Kendra, but to appreciate and like her. “Understood.”
That evening, after consulting with Tegan and Kendra who had proved to be valuable allies, he sent Emerson a text message.
I have more faith and trust in you than you will ever know. Enough so that I am putting my life in your hands. In order to prove it, I am locking myself in container number RIAU7162534 at the main shipping dock at the south end of the harbor. It will be loaded on The Suvrov, which sails at 6 AM. Save me, malenkaya, or don’t. I would rather die than live without you.
Dramatic? Sure.
True? Absolutely.
It didn’t really matter that he had friends at the docks and that his life wasn’t really in danger. He’d needed a way to prove to her that his trust in her was absolute, which wasn’t an easy thing to do.
Later that night, he sat in the dark, dank container wondering if perhaps trusting Emerson’s two sisters had been a smart move, but he hadn’t had a better idea. When he heard footsteps outside the container door, he hoped for the best. He believed she would open the doors, and his faith in her would be justified.
She flung open the door, shining a flashlight in his face. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Viktor sank to his knees, adopting the position he had demanded she greet him with—well, except for the naked part.
“You came, malenkaya. You saved me.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Viktor. Get up off your knees. God only knows what’s on the floor. Did you doubt I would? Although, you should know I know you well enough to know you had a backup plan in case I fucked up as badly as you.”
“Perhaps. But the sentiment in my text was sincere. My humblest of apologies for ever doubting you in the first place. Please say you will forgive me. I have never pleaded with anyone for anything, but I am begging you to do so.”
She stepped into the cargo container. “How am I supposed to say no to you?”
“I’m praying you can’t. I love you, Emerson Ravenel.”
“Yeah, that’s where the real issue was in not forgiving you; I love you, too. Now will you get up and come kiss me?”
He rose gracefully, which wasn’t nearly as easy as she made it look. He wrapped his arms around her, his mouth taking hers in a passionate kiss.
When he let her come up for air, she grinned at him, removing something from her pocket. “Want to know how I spent my day?” she asked, holding up the Nécessaire egg.
He returned her smile, reaching into his own pocket and fishing out her ring. He held it up so she could see it. “I propose a swap, although it isn’t much of one on your end. As soon as we’re married, the Nécessaire egg becomes yours, as well.”
She watched as he placed the ring on her finger. Her dazzling smile could have lit up not only the container but the entire harbor. “Deal,” she said, raising her face for another kiss. Just before his mouth came down on hers, she whispered. “And I’m keeping the parasol. I figure I’m going to need it.”
Viktor chuckled and kissed her deeply.
His great-great-grandmother had once told him the blood of the tzars flowed through his veins. Someday, he would tell his own children the same.
The Carriage House
Charleston, South Carolina
Several Months Before
