A Virgin for His Prize, page 18
part #2 of Ruthless Russians Series
He waggled his brows at her, showing a playful side he had just started letting come out. “Come down here and I will tell you.”
“You have that look on your face.”
“What look is that?” he teased.
Oh, he knew. “Like you’re about to make love to me.”
“How astute you are.”
“Not in my dad’s house!” She laughed, though, really pleased that he wanted to, that nothing got in the way of Maxwell’s desire to be as near her as he could get.
And most times that meant ultimately joining their bodies.
“Not his house,” Max said with a secretive smile. “Not anymore.”
“What?” Her dad had sold the house? “Whose house is it?”
“Ours.”
“Are you serious?”
“Have I ever lied to you?” he asked, all humor gone.
“No.” Not once. She loved this man so much.
He grinned up at her, the playful Maxika back. “Now, are you coming down here or am I coming up there?”
“You’d better come up here. There’s more furniture.” Specifically the bed in her former bedroom.
He took the stairs two at a time and swept her into a truly stellar kiss.
She reveled in his affection, but broke the kiss to ask. “So, you bought me my childhood home?”
Maxwell nodded. “Your dad needs a change.”
“Yes.”
“So, this is a good house to raise a family.”
“I always thought so.” Oh, gosh…she was ready to just melt. “Is there anything not perfect about you?”
“How long it has taken to admit I love you?”
“You love me?” She’d hoped, thought…but she couldn’t be sure.
“With my soul and the heart I was so sure was dormant.”
“You say the cheesiest things.”
“But I am sincere.”
“And that makes them poetic.”
“I should have realized I loved you when I was plotting your downfall and that included you becoming my wife.”
“You’re used to seeing everything like a business to take over.”
“I was scared of what you made me feel, so I hid behind a blackmail attempt. I can’t believe you agreed.”
“How could I say no? I loved you, too. I love you. So much, Max.”
“Yes, well, you are married to a man who is perhaps not as smart as he always assumed.”
“Why is that?”
“I wanted a church wedding. That prenup was more a set of strings than arrangements for me to get out of our marriage when I was ready to move on. As if that could ever happen.”
“I noticed that.” She could be forgiven for a moment of smug reflection.
This man had been worth every risk and she just loved him so much sometimes it hurt how much.
“And the church wedding?” he asked.
She agreed. “A definite sign.”
“Did you know?”
“I suspected in Haiti.” But she couldn’t be sure. Not without the words.
“Because I built you a home to give away.”
“Exactly. You’re an incredible man, Maxwell Black. My man. My superhero.”
“Your tsar maybe.”
“Did the tsars love passionately and forever?”
“Some of them.”
“Then you are my tsar.”
“And you are my wife, the love of my life.”
“With no expiration date.”
“No.”
The kiss that sealed their vows was filled with their love and sparked their passion, exactly how they lived their lives together.
EPILOGUE
MAXWELL HELD TIGHTLY to Romi’s hand as he followed his mother into the hotel’s restaurant.
Inside, waiting to meet him was a group of his family.
Viktor’s was there, too.
Like so many things Romi and Madison did, they’d planned this reunion for their husbands with their Russian families.
Two men raised in a new country with a different life here to meet and connect with a heritage they’d never left completely behind.
His mom had been talking to her family for months. All Romi’s doing. They were thick as thieves now.
Which was a good thing.
He loved his mother, but he adored his wife.
Her father was with them as well. As moral support, he’d called it.
Harry Grayson had remained sober and started dating his housekeeper two months after getting out of rehab. They were engaged to be married in the fall.
His family still wasn’t speaking to him, but they’d made overtures to Romi.
She’d shown something of a ruthless streak herself in refusing anything to do with the rich and powerful Graysons because of the way they treated her father.
Maxwell looked over at where Viktor was hugging a distant cousin, his expression pained, and smiled.
Neither man had gotten any more adept at physical expressions of affection with anyone but their wives. That would change, too, soon.
Because Romi and Madison were doing something else together.
Carrying their first children.
The future stretched out in front of Max in a long winding road that glowed with promise, paved with emotion that might bring pain, but the happiness was worth it.
Very worth it.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed Max’s story, don’t miss Viktor’s story in AN HEIRESS FOR HIS EMPIRE by Lucy Monroe.
Keep reading for a special excerpt from HEIRESS’S DEFIANCE by Lynn Raye Harris.
Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.
Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!
Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy,
only from Harlequin Presents:
Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)
Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)
Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)
And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!
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We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Presents title.
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
Harlequin® Presents® welcomes you to the world of THE CHATSFIELD
Synonymous with style, spectacle…and scandal!
Read on for an exclusive extract from Lynn Raye Harris’s stunning conclusion
to this exciting eight-book series:
HEIRESS’S DEFIANCE
* * *
“YOU HAVE NO CONTROL over me, Christos, no matter what you think. Yes, you control The Chatsfield empire, and you control access to my trust fund. But you won’t intimidate me the way you’ve intimidated my family.” She walked over and put her palms on his desk, leaned over until her eyes were at the same level as his. She was all in now, her emotions whipped to a furious froth that had been bubbling for weeks, ever since this man showed up and started giving orders like a despot.
Christos’s eyes glittered. He stood very slowly, and Lucilla straightened. Even in her heels, she wasn’t as tall as he was. He looked down on her as if she were a bug beneath his custom shoe.
“You’ve been wanting to say that for a while, have you not?” His voice was mild, amused, and yet it also managed to be hard and unflinching.
Her heart raced, her skin heating from the inside out. Yes, she’d been holding it in and, yes, it felt good to finally say what she’d been thinking. But she also felt as if she’d committed an error. She’d admitted to the enemy that she cared very much about his elevation over her when what she really needed to do was be quiet and take him down from the inside.
“I have, indeed. You might be congratulating yourself on dispersing my siblings on your errands, but don’t think you’ll handle me quite so easily.”
His eyes slid over her then, and her stomach tightened. “I wouldn’t dream of handling you, Lucilla. But if I did, rest assured, you would do as I wished. And you would enjoy every moment of it.”
* * *
Step into the gilded world of THE CHATSFIELD!
Where secrets and scandal lurk behind every door…
Reserve your room!
December 2014
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books, S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781460341766
A Virgin for His Prize
Copyright © 2014 by Lucy Monroe
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Lucy Monroe, A Virgin for His Prize
