Chapter 188 189

Chapter 188 189
“My wife,” I say instead. “She saw potential where others saw obstacles.” It’s not the whole truth, but it’s not a lie, either.

I excuse myself and head to the balcony overlooking the infinity pool that stretches toward the Pacific Ocean. The sun is beginning its descent, casting everything in a golden glow that feels like absolution I don’t deserve.

Rowan finds me there, slipping beside me with a glass of champagne in each hand. “To legitimate success,” she offers with a raised glass.

I take the flute. “Is there such a thing for people like us?”

“We’re making it exist.” She clinks her glass against mine. “Drink. Celebrate. You’ve earned this, Vince.”

I down the champagne in one swallow. It’s exquisite, but I barely taste it. My mind is elsewhere. On the future, perhaps.

“This is more than just a hotel,” I say quietly, gesturing to the sprawling property below. “This is proof.”

“Proof of what?”

“That we can build instead of destroy.” I turn to face her fully. “There’s more to the Akopov legacy than blood and fear.”

Her eyes soften. “I never doubted it.”

“Liar.” I smirk. “You doubted everything about me. With good reason.”

“Not anymore.” She sets down her glass and steps closer, her body flush against mine. “I know exactly who you are, Vincent Akopov. The good, the bad, the very fucking scary. And I’m still here.”

I grasp her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “Why?”

“Because monsters need love, too,” she says. “And no one loves like we do.”

I kiss her then, hard and possessive, not giving a fuck who sees. Let them watch. Let them see.

We have nothing to hide anymore.

When we break apart, I see Carver watching us from inside. He raises his glass in a mock toast before disappearing back into the crowd.

“He’s up to something,” Rowan murmurs against my chest.

“He’s always up to something.” I run my hand down her spine. “But not even he can take this away from us. Not now.”

Hours later, when the last guest has departed and our children are asleep in the presidential suite under the watchful eye of their godparents, I find Rowan in our private villa, standing on the terrace that overlooks the bay for which we named the resort.

She’s stripped down to nothing but moonlight and shadows, her naked back to me as she stares out at the water. I pause in the doorway to drink in the sight of her.

Mine. Still mine, after everything.

“They’ll never stop watching us, will they?” she asks without turning. She knows my footsteps, my breathing, my presence like her own heartbeat.

“No.” I don’t sugarcoat it. Never have, never will. “But they’ll find nothing to see.”

“Nothing they can prove, you mean.” She faces me then, gloriously nude and unashamed. “What did Carver really want today?”

I cross to her, still fully dressed in contrast to her nakedness. The power dynamic should be in my favor, yet she’s never looked more in control. I reach for the buttons of my shirt.

“He wants to extend the monitoring period,” I say. “Another five years.”

Her eyes flash. “On what grounds?”

“New intelligence suggesting ties between our shipping operations and the Ozerov Bratva.” I step out of my pants, leaving them pooled on the floor.

“It’s bullshit, of course. A fishing expedition.”

“Can he do that? Legally?”

“There’s legal, and then there’s federal.” I’m naked now, too, my cock already hardening at the proximity to her. “They can do whatever the fuck they want if they sell it right.”

Her hand finds my cheek and combs through my beard. “Then we’ll fight it. Together. Like we’ve fought everything else.”

I capture her wrist so I can press my lips to her pulse point. “Tomorrow. Tonight, I want to christen every goddamn surface of this place.”

She laughs, the sound like broken glass and honey. “Where do we start?”

I lift her by the waist, setting her on the balcony rail. The sixty-foot drop to the rocks below doesn’t faze her. Nothing does anymore.

“Right here,” I growl. “Where anyone could see you. Where anyone could witness that you belong to me, and I to you.”

Her legs wrap around my waist, drawing me to her center. She’s already wet, already eager, already mine.

“I’m all yours, Mr. Akopov.”

Five years, and still my cock responds to her like it’s the first fucking time. Like I haven’t been inside her thousands of times before. Like she hasn’t birthed two of my children, carried my name, worn my ring, held my bloodied hands when they needed cleaning.

Her body gleams in the moonlight, soft curves begging to be carved up by my hard edges. My cock is rigid against my stomach.

“You’re so beautiful,” she whispers as she taps my chin.

“Beautiful?” I laugh. “What I’m about to do to you is many things, but beautiful isn’t one of them.”

Her pupils dilate, swallowing the green until only a thin slice of it is left dancing around the edges. But she swallows and arches a brow. “Prove it.”

The balcony overlooks the entire resort. Anyone could look up and see the CEO and his wife, naked under the Costa Rican moon. Anyone could witness how I fucking worship her.

I dare them to.

I grip her throat, not squeezing yet, just establishing dominance. Her pulse hammers against my palm. “Touch yourself, moya zhena,” I command. “Let me see how wet you are for a killer.”

She obeys instantly, one hand sliding down her stomach to the apex of her thighs. Her fingers part her slick folds and reveal a glistening pink that makes my mouth water. She strokes herself slowly, deliberately, putting on a show.

“Soaking,” she confirms, bringing her fingers to my lips. “Taste what you do to me.”

I suck her fingers into my mouth to taste her arousal—tangy, sweet, familiar. My grip on her throat relaxes as I release her fingers with an obscene pop. “My turn.”

I drop to my knees, dragging her to the edge of the balcony rail. Her scent hits me first—that perfumed musk that’s driven men to war for centuries. I spread her wider.

“Mine,” I growl before burying my face between her legs.

The first stroke of my tongue makes her gasp. The second makes her moan. By the third, she’s threading her fingers through my hair, holding me against her core. I devour her, alternating between deep strokes and targeted flicks against her clit.

“Fuck, Vince,” she pants as she rolls her hips against my face. “Right there. Don’t stop.”

I have no intention of stopping. Not until she’s trembling, until she’s begging, until she remembers exactly who she belongs to.

I seal my lips around her clit and suck hard, slipping two fingers inside her at the same time.