Page 113 of His Prince
We make our way to the garden slowly, stopping to kiss one another as we go. Everything seems to sing within me, and it seems to be echoed in the nature around us. The birds, the insects. Everything seems so alive.
When we finally make it to the greenhouse, Mikhail picks me up and carries me inside, almost like he’s carrying a bride over the threshold. But this is even more romantic. My most favorite place in the world and he’s ushering me into it.
“You know, I used to love gardening with my grandmother,” he says lowly, a secret admission, one I know I’ll cherish for ages.
“Did you?” I ask when he finally sets me down.
“I did. She had the most beautiful roses and incredibly hardy vegetable plants. She was so proud of it all.”
“Well, I’m sure they’re nothing compared to hers, but I’m growing veggies. You can help me tend to them.”
“I will,” he says. “Thank you.” He stands by my side, watching as I run my fingers along the leaves of the orchids, leaning over to whisper to the budding flowers.
“I wish you would have told me how much you loved gardening before. I would have invited you to help me plant everything.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to,” he says, peering over at me. “But now that you’ve brought it back to life, I realize how much I missed it.”
“Well, it’s yours, Mikhail. And we can expand it too. We can make it anything you want,” I say and grin softly at him. “This can be your space just as much as it’s mine.”
“Perhaps we can grow the vegetable garden and add in some fruit trees,” he finally says, and I almost burst out of my skin.
“I would love that. So much.”
We smile at one another and then he clears his throat and looks away. “If I wasn’t born into this business, I would have chosen just a normal job, a nine-to-five. Maybe have kids, get some chickens.”
“Chickens?”
“Yes, that’s domestic, no?”
“I mean, a dog would have been better, but we can totally do chickens.”
He huffs. “A dog too. I just want to be left alone. I want to live in peace. I’m tired of all of this.”
“I never would have guessed that, honestly.”
“Never was able to admit it until now. I was taught a man’s place is never just a father, just a husband. I was always meant to take over the business. I was never going to be ordinary.”
“And you don’t like it? Being in the mafia?”
“Not as much as I should. If it all burned down tomorrow, I wouldn’t bat an eye. Ivan, however…well, he’s the one who should have taken over, but he doesn’t look the part. He’s not tough enough. Sohere I am, the figurehead while he runs the security and technology logistics.”
“And he’s pretty bad at it,” I say, and Mikhail huffs a laugh.
“He is.”
“But are you happy?”
He hesitates for a long moment. “I am.”
I’m not completely convinced, but I let it go. Now’s not the time to go into it. I just want to live in this bliss for a little longer.
So we just work in silence for a while, my chest humming with contentment. When we finally move outside, he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, his lips hitting the side of my neck.
“You know, we could get chickens,” I suggest, and he nibbles on my earlobe.
“That’s not at all what I was thinking right now.”
“I know,” I reply, wiggling back against his hardening cock. “But we could have the guys help build a coop. Think about it. Fresh eggs, a small chicken run we can set up to allow them to roam safely.”