Alexei, Her Russian Billionaire

Alexei stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. He was wearing his boxers and his co*k rubbed against her pu*sy. Instinctively Maya wrapped her legs around his thighs. Alexei pressed a kiss to her cheek and nuzzled her palm.

“I want to be with you, printsessa. You could keep me grounded and I’ve not felt this comfortable with a woman for a long time.” He paused and looked uncertain. “But there is that problem between us we need to address.”

The elephant in the room. Maya braced herself.

“You mean the fact that you don’t want marriage and children but I do.” She said solemnly. But she didn’t look away. “I’m in relationships for the long-haul, Alexei. I don’t do things by half. If you’re not going to be on board with me than I’m not able to stay.”

“But do you want to?”

Maya didn’t need to think about that. She knew exactly what she wanted and she wanted Alexei Petrov.

“I want to stay.”

Alexei heaved a sigh of relief. He kissed her tenderly.

“I want you to stay, too.” He whispered. “I think, deep down, having children is what I want also. But I do have a lot of demons to deal with. And I don’t want to lose you in the process.”

Maya could see where this was going. He was giving her a chance to walk away. If she so wanted. But there was no chance of that happening. She ran her hands over his chest, feeling the muscles flex.

“I don’t want to trap you into anything. But I’ve got a handful of years before I get too old to have children. I can’t wait forever.”

“I’m not asking you to wait forever. I’m just asking for you to take it slowly with me for now. One step at a time.” Alexei ran his thumb across her cheek and smiled at her. “I don’t want to make you walk away and I’m willing to try for you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” And Maya could tell that he meant it. “Please, Maya. I want everything with you. I just need to address a few things first.”

Maya knew that. And she knew he was willing to try. It would be a bumpy process to begin with but she was prepared to wait. As long as she was with Alexei she was prepared to wait for him to deal with his past.

“I can help you with that.” She put his hands around his neck and tugged his head down. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Alexei’s body sagged in relief. Then he kissed her and Maya forgot about everything else.

*****

Alexei came into work an hour late. He hadn’t meant to but Maya was intoxicating. One kiss had led to another and then Alexei had taken Maya back to his room.

But both of them had to get to work. Maya had a meeting with a client and Alexei was going to be in a conference call at ten. So it was quarter to when he finally entered the gallery, holding the door open for two middle-aged ladies leaving and whistling as he crossed the floor to the stairs leading to the offices on the top floor. Everyone gave him curious looks as he went past them; they had never seen him this cheerful before. It wasn’t something they were used to seeing.

Alexei knew he must look a right idiot and he was acting out of character with his behavior and the fact he hadn’t dressed as smartly as he usually did – he hadn’t put on a tie and the top two buttons on his shirt were undone – but he didn’t care. He was on cloud nine.

After contemplating his relationship with Maya and deciding that she wasn’t worth losing, taking the next step to make them an exclusive couple had been a big thing for him. He could have lost Maya for good with his attitude towards a family but Alexei knew a good thing when he saw one. Maya wanted a family and children and, deep down, he wanted that as well. He just needed to fight his demons and forget that Maya wasn’t the same as Katya; she would never hurt him like that.

Ivan was in his office adjacent to Alexei’s. He came out as Alexei unlocked his door, leaning on the door frame and giving his friend an amused look.

“You’re in a good mood. What’s happened to change your tune?”

Alexei grinned.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He opened his door and went inside, putting his briefcase on the desk before shrugging off his coat and jacket, hanging them on the coat rack in the corner. Ivan followed him in. From the way his hair was standing up he had been working all night again. Alexei could never handle an all-nighter but Ivan managed it. He burnt the candle at both ends too much but Alexei could never get his friend to slow down.

“Earlier this week you were grumpy and snapping at everyone.” Ivan shut the door. “Have you been laid?”

“You could say that.” Alexei couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He sat down and leaned back in his chair. “Maya came back last night. She spent the night at my place. We’re officially a couple now.”

“Really?” Ivan blinked. “I thought you two had a disagreement.”

“We’ve talked it through.” Alexei felt his chest swell with pride. He knew he was acting like a preening peacock. “I’m willing to go the full haul with this relationship and Maya’s prepared to take it one step at a time.”

For a moment he thought Ivan was going to tell him he was an idiot. His friend had listened to him for hours about how he had screwed things up with Maya and probably had his own opinions on the matter. But Ivan gave him a smile and an approving nod.

“That’s great. Maya could do you some good. Apart from the last couple of days you’ve been smiling a lot more since you met her.”

Alexei was glad Ivan was on his side. That meant a lot to him. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling, bouncing his chair.

“I can see her as my wife, Ivan. I really can.”

That surprised him. Until that moment Alexei hadn’t thought about marriage. But saying it out loud sounded right. It sounded good.

“Well, give it a little time before you jump into it. You need to know you’re really sure before you commit to something like that. Otherwise you’ll lose her for good.”

“I know.”

After Katya, Alexei wasn’t going to rush into anything. He was going to take his time and get the hang of a new relationship. He knew Maya was special and Alexei wasn’t about to ruin this for both of them.

He glanced at the clock and realized the conference call was about to begin. Sighing, he sat up.

“I suppose we’d better get on with business. Are you ready for this call?”

“You bet I am.” Then Ivan’s head leaned to the side as the sound of shouting reached their ears from the outer office. “Sounds like something’s going on out there.”

Alexei stood and came to join him. Ivan opened the door and Alexei saw Widecombe arguing with their personal assistant Lucy. The former kickboxing champion was standing her ground but Widecombe was towering over her, looking like he was going to lash out at her.