Her Russian Millionaire

“No, thank you.” Jalisa rested her arms around his neck. She rubbed her lips over his face, feeling the rough texture of his beard stubble. He peppered kisses around her face.

“I love my mother very much.” He kissed her on the nose. “She is my best friend.”

“Okay?” Jalisa’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

 “My mother says that if I fall in love with a girl, I must tell her that and she will be mine.” His thick Russian accent tickled her ears. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Is she in Russia?” Jalisa asked.

“She is.” Erik stopped at a rose bush and gently brushed the petal with his finger tip.

“I bet you miss her.” Jalisa wanted to continue the conversation. “How old were you when you came to America?”

“I was around twenty-four or so. A young, stupid man. I thought I would find easy gold.” He shrugged. “Turns out you have to work hard for it, just like in Russia.”

“What do you do for work? I never see you working in the bar. You mostly just look at me with those puppy dog eyes.” Jalisa led him to a stone bench, and they sat.

“You noticed that, huh?” He chuckled before growing awkward. “I, uh, own businesses. Small stuff, really. It’s not interesting.”

Erik derailed the conversation away from his work and to Jalisa’s personal life. They spoke of where Jalisa grew up, her friends at school, Nikita’s softball team, and her father. It was all things that made her very homesick. Tears prickling in the corner of her eyes, she expressed how devastating it was to not have a home anymore.

“Things have been tough for you. I would like to make it better. Give me time. I would just hand you the money to go off on your own, but I’ve got a lot of business to take care of here. I’m in sort of a transitional period,” Erik promised her. “Before you ask, yes, I must be able to leave and start a new life with you. I would never send away such a chance to a happy life with a beautiful life.”

Jalisa started to cry at the emotions welling up inside of her. Erik was beginning to be her knight in shining armor, her light in the darkness. Was she falling for him too fast? Perhaps, but it felt good, and it felt right. Something in her connected with him in a way she had never connected to anyone else.

 Erik pulled her close and wiped away her tears. The two exited the gardens as a soft twilight began to fall. Jalisa got back in her seat, slightly disappointed that the date would soon come to an end. Erik cleared his throat loudly to get her attention.

“I would like to invite you to my house for wine, but I do not have one. I am staying in a hotel because I have plans to fly to England soon.” He focused on the road and could not see the way she bit her lip. “The offer still stands, though. I promise it is a good hotel. You will have lots of room, and I will never force you into anything. We can order room service.”

“I don’t drink, but that sounds lovely,” Jalisa agreed.

The hotel was, indeed, excellent. He resided on the second-to-top floor in a room that could have been an apartment. The walls were cream and baby blue, with plush black carpeting. One king-sized bed full of goose down pillows and silk blankets sat in the middle. A wooden table with soft chairs was arranged next to the sliding glass door that lead out onto the balcony.

Jalisa ran a finger over the dark blue bedding. She could feel Erik’s presence behind her. Turning to him, a fever lit in her. Bold and certain, she brought his lips to hers. The air was filled with the sound of their soft kisses. Her fingers ran up his strong back and felt of his prickly undercut.

Jalisa bit her lip and hesitantly pushed the fabric out of the way.