Quickly, I pulled out a cardigan and slipped it on. I looked like I was trying to pull off a super preppy outfit so no one would look twice at it.
Without thinking about it too much, I stepped outside into the hall and before I could psych myself out, I made my way downstairs. I stopped just short of the door and took a deep breath. I could do this.
He wouldn’t think any less of me and the way I looked. He wasn’t like that. He never was.
My eyes fell on him; I had to hold my breath as it caught. Whatever he said I did to him, it could never compare to what he did to me.
He was dressed in light-colored chinos with a blue and white checked, button down shirt which was rolled up to his elbows and, instead of his usual combat boots, he had on a pair of brown, lace up shoes. His hair was tied back in a bun but those same, few, stray hairs always fell over his eyes, framing his face.
My god.
Cautiously taking the steps down one by one, I let out the breath I was holding, careful not to fall over my own feet.
He turned, catching my eye, and a wide smile spread across his face.
‘You look beautiful.’ He stepped up, meeting me on the last step.
He brought his hands to mine and slid them up, over the cardigan coming to rest over my elbows.
‘You don’t look so bad yourself.’
He laughed and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, when he pulled back he led us to the car, as was his customary way, he opened my door for me and closed it once I was inside.
As soon as we were both seated, he shifted the new Hummer into gear and we were on our way.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked, glancing around, as we drove past all the main turn offs I recognized around this part of Long Island.
He smiled.
‘It’s a surprise, but you’ll love it.’
‘Come on,’ I teased. ‘You know I don’t like surprises.’
‘I know, but you’ll like this one.’
‘If you say so, Boss.’ I raised my eyebrow.
He laughed that infectious laugh before turning his attention back to the road.
The way he drove with his arm resting on the centre console as he held my hand was enough to make anyone crazy, the effect it had on me… well it was a little more than that.
This was the soft, tender side of the man I knew to be fierce and powerful and the supernatural, Celestial Being half inside me, was going crazy.
Forcing myself to calm down, I held his hand in a death grip. I seriously had to stop acting like a high school girl about to get laid on prom night.
After about twenty minutes on the road, he finally pulled up to a large mansion overlooking the beach, nestled amongst three long piers lined with massive yachts.
My eyes scanned the horizon, dozens and dozens of small white boats dotted the shoreline and there were hundreds of people.
‘You got us a boat for the day?’ I glanced at him.
Raising an eyebrow, he smiled. ‘Not quite, come on.’
He got out of the car and I followed him, walking down to the shore until we reached a small, paved path that led down past the trees to the marina.
A middle-aged man walked up toward us from a large, white yacht by the end of the dock with a smile, waving Illarion down. I glanced back at the yacht. Damn. It was probably the biggest one there, too.
Illarion greeted him with a smile before introducing me once we stopped just before the path met the pier.
‘Salvador, this is Miss Hart.’
‘It’s an absolute pleasure, Miss Hart.’ He shook my hand and with a smile, he turned his attention back to Illarion. ‘Mr Lazarev, everything is ready, as you asked.’
‘Thank you.’ He smiled, taking the key from him. ‘Please make sure Maria calls me if she needs anything.’
He smiled, gracefully shaking Illarion’s hand. ‘I will, Mr Lazarev, thank you.’
‘No problems, we’ll be back in a few hours.’
Illarion took hold of my hand bringing my attention back to him.
‘You okay?’
My mouth dried up.
‘Ace?’
‘There are a lot of people here.’
‘Just focus on me.’
Just like he said, I did. I looked up at him and then back at the other people on the pier. Couples and families all around us were getting into their yachts, some were already alive with the sound of people partying. No one was paying us any attention, and that relaxed me slightly.
‘Come on,’ he said, gently drawing me against him.
Together we walked down along the wooden slats and when we stopped, my breath caught as we came up to the one Salvador had come from. Briefly taken aback by the mammoth sight before me, I looked up, stunned. It towered over every other boat here and it sure as hell looked better than the rest.
‘After you,’ Illarion said softly in my ear as he came to stand beside me and nodded to the steps.
He didn’t need to tell me twice. I climbed up, absorbing every single inch of its beauty. It was incredible; every step was like walking into a dream.
I’d never been on a boat of any kind, let alone one like this. It must have been at least two-hundred feet.
Once I reached the deck, I stepped up and over the last steps and waited for Illarion to join me. My eyes swept the horizon, taking in the crystal blue skies around us and the endless expanse of sea ahead.
‘Do you like it?’
I turned on my heel.
‘It’s amazing.’
He smiled, taking my hand.
‘Come on.’
He led us around to the front and I didn’t need to have any super-heightened senses to hear the people below talking about the boat and how incredible it was, questioning who owned it, what kind of job the person had. All the usual questions people asked when they saw something like this in public. Usually only celebrities and billionaires were privy to this sort of thing.
The four decks were a sight in themselves, it was impossible to fathom such a grand piece of architecture.
The sleek design of the yacht was out of this world. Tinted, glass windows surrounded each deck, and the rest were some incredibly designed panels that glistened in the sun. Illarion must have been close to whom ever owned it, I mean you didn’t just time share a baby like this. No, this was a personal purchase. Something you buy with love in your heart, or a crap ton of cash.
Deciding that it didn’t matter either way, I sat down at the beautifully prepared table for two on the sleek top deck.
Another two, well dressed men approached us.
‘Mr Lazarev, we’re ready to sail.’
‘Great.’ He smiled, handing them the keys.
The two men bowed courteously and took their leave.
A few moments later, the yacht began to move and I could imagine how extravagant a boat like this looked to people on the shore. I wasn’t at all surprised by the small crowd of people forming to watch it leave.
‘The water always calms me,’ he said, thoughtfully, bringing my eyes back to his. He leaned forward toward me, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
‘Thank you.’
‘You know I’d do anything for you, Ace.’
I did know. My heart grew heavy. He’d done a lot for me, gone through a lot for me.
Letting a comfortable silence settle, he poured two glasses of champagne, a Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon. What else would Illarion drink?
He handed me a glass and held out his.
‘Is, is that White Gold?’
He laughed. ‘You know your vintages.’
My eyes widened. Yeah. Yeah, I knew vintages like this, because I’d looked them up dozens of times and dreamed about them.
He raised his glass again, chuckling.
‘A toast to us.’
‘I can toast to that.’ I laughed, taking a sip.
God that was good.
Dad was always buying and bidding on the most exclusive bottles on the planet. Sometimes
, just for the hell of it, he’d buy one and the three of us would go to the outdoor cinema, watch a really bad movie, and drink the bottle. But we’d always missed out on this one. Maybe because Illarion always snatched it up first.
Memories like that were the ones that hurt the most. I took another sip of the champagne and closed my eyes. The sun was warm on my face and Illarion stayed quiet, letting me enjoy my moment.
Not long after we’d left the marina, the engines came to a stop alerting me. Illarion got to his feet drawing me up to mine. He took my glass from me and replaced it on the table before leading me down another set of stairs that led down to the lower deck and around to the front.
Once we stopped, he moved to me, closing the gap between us.
Slowly he pulled off my cardigan and hung it up, safely away from the edge.
‘Ila….’
‘Don’t, you don’t need it.’ He shook his head slowly. ‘You don’t need that around me, you know that.’
I looked around, anywhere but at him.
He caught my chin and tilted my face back to his; I hadn’t even realized that I had wrapped my arms around myself.
Slowly, he drew his hand across my skin cupping across my elbows, slowly sweeping down and unfolding my arms. He waited patiently until every muscle slowly unlocked and I placed my hands on his arms.
‘You can relax, enjoy the sun. I see the yearning in your eyes.’ He cupped my cheek and smiled. ‘It’s just us here, my staff won’t bother us.’
My eyes shot up to his.
‘This is yours?’
He almost laughed.
‘Why would I bring you to someone else’s boat?’
I was dumbfounded.
‘Come on, I wanted to show you this.’
I still had no words, so I followed until we came to another stop.
He turned my body around so I was facing the large white, hull. A giant version of the Lazarev crest that adorned his home, was printed on it.
How did I miss that?
He wrapped his arms around my stomach pulling me back to lean against his body.
‘My father thought it was appropriate.’ He chuckled. ‘The Lazarev men were quite fond of this sort of display. I don’t really care for it, but it was important to them and so here it is, I kept it as he wished.’
‘It’s amazing,’ I shook my head looking up incredulously.
‘I wanted to show you because this is where my dad proposed to my mom.’ He paused to sweep my ponytail over one shoulder where he placed a soft, tender kiss on the curve of my neck. ‘This is where he came to ask her, where he told her that he wanted her to share his name. Well not this boat, but you get the idea.’
I swatted away a tear that fell from my eye. I was transfixed by the gravity of the words he’d spoken. He wasn’t only being sentimental when he offhandedly mentioned that he wanted me to stick around. He’d let me into his heart and his home, he opened up about his family.
‘I know you want to wait. I just wanted you to know that I meant it, every word. I’ll wait as long as you need me to wait.’
Illarion tightened his hold on me, and exhaled deeply, drawing my attention to him. My insides tightened, he was on edge.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I need to show you something,’ he said softly.
When I turned around, he handed me his cell.
‘What is it?’
‘Take a look.’
The phone had a video loaded on it and all I had to do was press play. When the video started, I was confused, until I saw one of their faces and then I felt sick. The screen split into three, simultaneous feeds—police body-cams.
The voice on the first screen was a man’s.
“Jarrod Sharpe. You’re under arrest for the rape of Acacia Hart….”
His voice trailed off and everything else became a blur.
Illarion wrapped his arms around me, tightening his hold and before I could swat away the tears, his thumb coasted across my cheek and wiped them away.
‘How?’ My voice was barely a whisper.
‘I told you, Ace, I’d do anything for you. Whatever it takes.’
He tucked his phone back in his pocket and swept his thumb across the curve of my lip, bringing his face down to mine.
My body reacted moving up against him, pulling his body closer.
His lips found mine, and he kissed me like he hadn’t kissed me for months. And this, this huge thing he’d done for me, it was beyond what I needed. My heart was healing, slowly, and I knew, without a doubt. He was here, with me. Completely.
I reached up, looping my arm around his neck, deepening the kiss until I felt it drown out every other thought.
‘Thank you.’
He smiled against my mouth. ‘You don’t need to thank me for this.’
His fingers brushed through my hair, gently sweeping it down my back.
Slowly, we pulled apart still leaving no space between us and I was completely open to that idea. All I wanted was to be close to him, to show him how much I loved him and appreciated what he’d done for me.
‘Lunch should be ready by now.’
When I replied with another kiss, he laughed softly tickling my neck with his breath.
‘If you actually want me to eat any food, we should leave now,’ I managed, pushing him back.
He was loving every minute. Jerk.
When he reluctantly nodded, I grinned, letting him draw me against his body.
‘Come on.’
He led us back up the stairs onto the main deck and around to the table.
We sat, and I downed the rest of the champagne.
The food came out and Illarion watched with careful precision as I took each mouthful, once the steak and salad were gone from both our plates, we moved on to the small serving of dessert.
‘How do you feel?’
Shrugging, I sensually licked my lower lip forcing my eyes to his as I seductively stabbed another strawberry onto my fork and placed it in my mouth; he let out a low growl.
‘Like something sweet.’
He grinned, shaking his head.
‘That is sweet.’
Again, I casually tossed my hair back over my shoulder, tilting my head back in an exaggerated manoeuvre as I took a cherry and toyed with it.
He grew restless, watching my lips, but he stayed exactly where he was. He patiently watched until I had both lemon tarts, every single strawberry and cherry.
And as soon as I was done, he got up, startling me. He pulled me up and, before I registered what was happening, moved us backwards into the tinted windows and, before we crashed into them, they slid open silently revealing an overwhelmingly huge bedroom.
My eyes took everything in.
As soon as the doors slid shut again, we were surrounded by three hundred and sixty-degree views of the ocean and sky above us.
The room was basically floor-to-ceiling-windows, and the rest was lined with sleek, black and white, leather lounges and a massive king size bed centred right in the middle. The roof was lined with the same tinted windows, the sun and the blue horizon washed over us.
‘Oh my god.’
‘Is this sweet enough?’ he whispered, coming up behind me, letting his lips linger by my ear.
My legs weakened.
He moved us toward the bed and gently lowered me onto it. He followed, pressing his knee between my legs and gently pushing them apart. A shaky gasp left my lips.
His lashes lowered, leaving only a sliver of his dangerously dark eyes visible. He pressed his lips to mine and quietly stifled another gasp as he trailed his palm across my thigh and under the hem of my dress.
The way my body responded to his touch made me realize that no matter what uncontrollable things went wrong, he would always be right.
He swept his hands under me and in one, fluid motion he flipped me up and on top of him so our positions were reversed and he brought my face down to his.
A deep, hungry kiss spread b
etween us as his hands worked their way up my thighs pulling with them, my dress. Up and over it went, he threw it to the floor haphazardly. Bringing his hands back to my skin, he trailed his fingertips up along the curve of my hip coming to rest just below my chest.
Through hooded eyes he watched me, every breath I drew was laced with a desire so deep it transcended mere physical touch; he was more than just someone I loved, someone I wanted to be with. He was everything.
He brought his hand to my cheek, leaving a blazing trail behind wherever he touched.
‘I love you, Ace.’
Those words burned a hole in my chest.
‘I love you, Illarion.’
He reached up again only this time he pulled me down, so our bodies were touching, length to length and no more room was available between us.
Less than a heartbeat later, he had unclasped my bra, expertly, before he tossed it aside with my dress. That and the way he knew exactly where to kiss me and where to touch me demonstrated just how incredibly good he was at everything.
A quick moment later, he reversed our positions until I was flat on my back and he hovered over me, a line in his jaw feathered as he drank my body in. He moved carefully, lowering his lips to mine, crushing me against him as though there would never be another day like today. And in our world, maybe there wouldn’t be.
Seeking permission, his dark eyes found mine.
He snaked his hand under me pulling me up and, arching my back, I let him in. His soul swam through me, infecting every corner of my essence.
His calloused hands coasted across my breast, drawing another breathless whisper of his name.
Suddenly, he was everywhere, he was everything, inside me and around me. He filled every crack in my bones, every chip in my soul. He knew how to fix me.
His hand slipped to the nape of my neck and he brushed his fingers through my hair, deepening the kiss, letting no space escape between us.
A broken cry was lost as he pressed his hot cheek to mine and gripped my body like a silent plea.
Nothing else mattered but the way he held onto me, the way he smoothed his hands over my trembling body.
The heat burned, scolding inside me, and the way his breaths quickened and the muscles in his arms tensed as he held me, I knew we were both close, so close to the edge. He closed his mouth over mine, stifling both our broken gasps as it finally broke inside us, exploding.
King of Hart Page 24