They were stronger than any words, even I love you. She would never live another day of her life without feeling a bond with this man.
Even if they didn’t live in the same house and never again shared their bodies.
Was that because she was a virgin? She didn’t know and didn’t care.
It simply was.
Rapture built between them, their breathing growing more erratic, a sheen of sweat washing over their bodies, the physical heat between them growing by degrees. Her own heart was beating so fast and hard, she could feel it in her ears. She knew his tempo would mirror hers if she laid her hand against his heart, but holding onto his shoulders as they mated was taking all her coordination.
Suddenly that feeling, that ecstasy only he had brought forth, was right there, ready to burst inside her.
“Maxwell,” she cried as she thrust up to meet him.
“Give it to me, dorogaya. Now.” His voice was fractured and harsh with need.
She had no thought to deny him, bliss shattering through her, destroying the last defense she may have had between them.
And then his big body went rigid, his throat corded, his jaw clenched, before he gave a loud shout and came, too.
It was the most profound moment of her life. She had never felt this close to anyone. Not to her family, not to her SBC, not to anyone.
“Dorogaya.” Max collapsed on top of her, whispering Russian into Romi’s hair.
She welcomed the weight, not really caring how hard it was to breathe in that moment. She didn’t know what he was saying, but she recognized the endearments he’d used with her and wallowed in the emotional warmth that poured through her with each utterance.
Sometime later, Max lifted away only enough to come down beside her, wrapping his body possessively around hers.
“That was amazing,” she said, though it was probably pretty obvious to him that he’d melted her brain along with her nerve endings.
“It was.” He sounded a little surprised by his own admission.
She didn’t say anything, just snuggled in, feeling like she couldn’t get close enough.
“We did not use a condom,” he said, no regret in his tone, just stating a fact.
“No, we didn’t.”
“We will in future, but for your first time there should be no barriers between us.”
And he said he had no romance in his soul. “I could still get pregnant,” she pointed out, but with no heat.
“If you do, you do. We are getting married regardless. If you do not, we will wait some time for our first child.”
“You think that’s your decision to make alone?” she asked, not upset, because she didn’t and he’d figure that out, but wondering.
“No. Do you disagree?”
“No.”
“I thought not.”
Hmmm…maybe he just knew some things, too.
“Which is not to be taken as an agreement from me on your highly irregular marriage proposal,” she reminded him.
“Duly noted.” He flipped her onto her back and looked down at her, his eyes dark with an unexpected renewed passion. “But for now, let’s keep on testing our physical compatibility.”
Oh, man, as if that was in any kind of question. She didn’t say anything like that, though. Romi just returned kiss for kiss and this time around he seemed content for her to return caress for caress, too.
Later, she was grateful for his height and strength as they showered together. Her legs were as rubberized as if she’d run a full-length marathon.
Other muscles felt just as used, too.
She sure wasn’t going to feel bad about missing her evening workout for the day.
He made dinner and it wasn’t just soup out of a tin, either. He grilled chicken on the balcony to his penthouse, while rice finished in the cooker, and then sautéed asparagus in olive oil and garlic.
She smiled at him as they ate. “I’m impressed.”
“That I can cook?”
“Yes. I’m pretty sure it’s not your typical skill set for a Corporate Tsar.”
He shrugged. “I don’t like keeping staff on site. Besides, cooking relaxes me.”
“I’ve heard that.” She wasn’t sure she saw the appeal.
“Don’t you cook?”
“Nope. We always had a housekeeper.” Mrs. K had come to work for them when Romi was in primary school, but there had never been a time when her father didn’t employ someone in the position.
Romi was definitely no one’s idea of a domestic goddess.
“We didn’t.”
She sidled up to him, enjoying the way his arm came out to automatically pull her into his side. “You don’t sound like that bothers you.”
“It doesn’t, but since I wasn’t raised with them, I’m more apt to find household help intrusive than not.”