Page 89
She snorts softly. “You have a very suspicious definition of compromise.”
“I disagree.”
“You think compromise means everybody eventually does things your way.”
“They do.”
She laughs.
I brush my thumb across her cheek. The last of her tears are gone now, but uncertainty remains.
“We’ve never talked about marriage. Or livin’ together permanently. Or whether you want more children. Or how many children. Or if we're gonna completely ruin a kid by lettin’ Ivy name it.”
I lean forward, resting my forehead against hers again. “I want more children.”
Maggie stills. “Just like that?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
I think of Ivy asleep across the hall and the child growing inside the woman I love. “I don’t know,” I admit. “Enough for the house to feel full.”
Emotion washes across her face so fast that she turns away, blinking rapidly. I catch her hand before she can retreat completely and pull her back to me.
“My mama had me young,” she says while tracing absent circles against my palm. “It was always just the two of us. I loved it, but...” She shrugs. “I always wanted a big family.”
I lift her hand to my mouth and press a kiss against her knuckles. “You have one.”
Fresh tears gather in her eyes. “I really do, don't I?”
“Yes.”
She laughs under her breath and shakes her head. “You're gonna make me cry again.”
I cup her face in both hands. “You’ve done enough crying for one night.”
I lean down and kiss her, taking my time.
“I love you, Maggie.”
Tears fill her eyes again. “I love you too, Alexei.”
She melts against me, her arms circling my neck as she kisses me back. The kiss deepens naturally, carrying all the emotion of the evening with it. Relief. Fear. Hope. Love. The future. Every feeling we’ve been carrying finds its way into that kiss.
When we finally part, neither of us moves very far.
“I should probably shower,” I murmur, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “It’s been a long day.”
She smiles. “That’s the least romantic thing you've said all night.”
“I’m a practical man.” I keep her hand in mine. “Come with me.”
Color rises in her cheeks as she threads her fingers through mine.
The bathroom is warm by the time the shower is running, steam already rising through the room and fogging the mirrors. For the first time all day, the world outside these walls feels far away.
Maggie sits on the counter while I remove my tie. She watches me silently, her eyes following every movement as I strip off my shirt and drop it onto the bench beside the door. I undress slowly, my focus never leaving her. My trousers and boxers follow, pooling on the floor until I stand bare, the heat of the room flushing my skin. I step toward her, my cock already thickening, rising in anticipation of what’s to come.
