Page 92 of Seduction (Wicked Vows)

The look he gives me is half serious, half teasing. “You don’t really know my brothers yet. And yes Vera, it’s all possible. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that with you, anything is possible.” His tone is earnest, filled with that deep, resonant certainty that always seems to steady my more tumultuous thoughts.

I smile, leaning into him. “I want all of it, Nikko. The bustling days filled with purpose, and quiet evenings like this, just us and the world standing still.”

He brushes a strand of hair from my face. “And we’ll have it all. We’ll build it together.”

“And the porch?” I tease lightly, caught up in the beauty of our shared dreams.

“The porch will be there, overlooking the best sunsets, with space for two rocking chairs—yours and mine,” he promises, a playful glint in his eye. “And a bunch of little ones.”

“A bunch?”

He shrugs. “Four, right?”

“Sounds right.” I grin.

We resume walking, our steps slow and measured. “I want our kids to grow up knowing they can be whoever they want and that we love them uncondtionally.”

“And with a mom who reads them more stories than they know what to do with,” Nikko adds, chuckling.

“Every fairy tale. And maybe I’ll teach them to type with more than just their index fingers.”

He grins, and my heart turns in my chest.

“What was Viktor talking about with Lydia?”

Nikko sobers. “Your marriage to me poses a problem with her affiliation with the Ledyanoye Bratstvo. It may be something we need to dissolve. But that is for another day.”

“Ahh.”

“I love you, Vera Romanova,” Nikko says, his voice low and full of emotion as we make it back to our home.

“And I love you, Nikko Romanov,” I reply, my heart swelling with an indescribable joy.

Hand in hand, we stand, eager and ready for whatever happens next, with the certain belief that as long as we are together, we can face anything.

THE END