Hidden Truths: Epilogue

Dressed only in sweatpants, Sergei is sitting on the bed and staring at the wall in front of him, his body still and eyes vacant. Shit. He hasn’t zoned out once since we got back from Mexico. I leave the stack of clean towels I’m carrying and slowly approach the bed.

“Hey, baby.” I stand between his legs and wrap my arms around his neck. “I was thinking, maybe we could paint the living room pink. That girly, pastel shade, you know?”

He doesn’t move a muscle. Leaning in, I press my lips to his and trail kisses from his mouth, up his cheek to his forehead, then continue down his nose until I reach his mouth again. This time, his lips move slightly, responding to my kiss.

“Felix and Nana Guadalupe took Mimi out for a walk,” I ramble as I press my palms to his chest and push on it lightly until he lies down on the bed. “I think something is going on between those two. They have been spending a lot of time together. Do you think Felix is cheating on Marlene with my nana?”

“He and Marlene broke up last weekend,” Sergei says and places his hand on my hip. He’s still away, but he’s coming back slowly.

“We should use this time alone. What do you think?” I straddle his waist and bend to place a kiss at the center of his chest. “I can massage you with my oils after if you want.”

“No, thank you.”

I look down to find him staring up at me, but his eyes are still unfocused. Damn, this is a bad one. Tugging the waistband of his sweats, I slide them off along with his boxer briefs as I kneel before him, then I take his hardening cock in my hand, lean in, and suck on the tip. It twitches hardens more in my hand, and I can’t help but smile. Even zoned out, he still responds to me. I run my tongue along the underside of his hard cock. I take him fully in my mouth and suck. I do these same movements a few more times before crawling back up his body and placing my nose to his when I notice he hasn’t fully come back to me.

“Will you make love to me, baby?” I trace the tip of my finger down his nose. “Please.”

Sergei’s hands come to the small of my back, then glide up along my spine, lifting my shirt with them. He takes the hem between his fingers, and in the next moment, the sound of fabric being torn fills the room. Smiling, I take the ruined shirt off, do the same with my shorts and panties, and straddle him again, positioning myself above his cock.

“I love you,” I whisper.

Sergei blinks, then meets my gaze, his light eyes filled with desire. He grabs onto my hips, slamming me down on his cock, and I gasp.

“I fell asleep.” He pulls me onto his chest, then rolls us until he is on top of me. “I dreamed about Diego dragging you back to Mexico.”

His hand slides into the hair at my nape, gripping it, while his cock slides out. I grab his shoulders, pulling at him and arching my back, trying to get him inside me again, but Sergei just smirks and moves his free hand to my pussy, teasing my clit.

“What are you doing?” I moan.

“Playing.” His hand disappears, and his cock slides inside. He drives into me twice, then pulls out again. His finger replaces his cock.

A growl filled with frustration and need leaves my lips. “Sergei!”

“Yes, baby?”

“I need you,” I choke out. “Inside. Now.”

“How much?” The finger in my pussy curls and hits a spot that has my body shivering. Then the finger vanishes, making me want to scream. I’m so close. If he continues to torture me, I’m going to lose my mind.

He pinches my clit, then slides his finger back inside. “I asked, how much, Angelina.”

“I’m going to kill you,” I whisper in his ear, move my mouth to his shoulder and bite him. Hard.

A low growling sound leaves Sergei’s lips as he thrusts into me, burying his cock to the hilt. His hand drifts down my leg until it reaches my knee.

“You little cheat.” He moves my leg up and to the side, opening me wider.

I smile, then moan as he starts pounding into me and clutch at his shoulders, trying to keep myself from sliding up the bed. It doesn’t quite work, so I brace my hands against the headboard and pant as his hips jackhammer me into a mattress. He is so big it hurts a little, but it’s the good kind of pain. One that reminds me he’s here, both mentally and physically. As orgasmic tremors rock my body, my eyes drift shut, but a heartbeat later, Sergei grabs the back of my neck.

“Look at me,” he barks while going completely rigid, his cock swelling impossibly more as he finds his own release.

I gasp and open my eyes. Placing my palm on his cheek, I peer into his light depths. “Always,” I whisper.

I look up from the juice I’m squeezing and smile when my eyes land on our three-year-old son, who’s clutching Mimi around the neck. With my dark hair and Sergei’s light eyes, he’s the perfect mix of both of us. “What is it, Sasha?”

“Daddy’s sleeping awake again,” he says.

I leave the orange on the counter and cross the kitchen to crouch in front of him. “Did you try giving him a kiss to wake him up?”

“No.”

“Let’s go do it together, then. Yes?”

“Okay.” He takes my hand and leads me to the living room.

Sergei is standing in front of the window, motionless, staring at something outside. I lift our boy in my arms and come to stand in front of my husband.

“Ready?” I ask, and Sasha nods eagerly. “Okay, hold tight, just in case.”

As I lean our son toward his dad, he wraps his little arms around Sergei’s neck and places a kiss on his cheek. Sergei’s hands shoot out instantly, seizing the boy around the waist and pulling Sasha tightly to his chest.

“Sorry.” Sergei bends to place a kiss on my lips. “How long?”

“No more than five minutes,” I say into his mouth. “You’re doing great, baby.”

Sergei’s episodes have diminished significantly over the last couple of years. This one was the first in the past three or four months. They don’t last for hours anymore, and it’s easier for him to snap out of them.

“When are Albert and Guadalupe arriving?”

“Why do you keep calling him that?” I laugh. “He hasn’t lived here in three years.”

Sergei smirks. “Because it pisses him off. Crazy old bat. Did you hear what he bought Guadalupe for their anniversary?”

“Nope.”

“A shotgun.”

“Classy. I’m sure she’ll love it. When do they . . .” My eyes snag on the TV behind Sergei that’s showing breaking news. “Whoa. Did you see this?”

I grab the remote and turn up the volume, staring at the live video of the aerial view of what looks like the aftermath of a devastating fire. The news ticker at the bottom of the screen says it’s happening in the New York area. There’s no way to tell what the structure was before the fire, only the general shape remains. The scene changes to images of a man and a woman who have been presumed dead in the fire. The man looks to be in late thirties, handsome, wearing a suit. He seems like a businessman. I shift my gaze to the other photo. The text under it says the woman is twenty-three, but the black pantsuit she’s wearing, aloof expression, and stern hairstyle make her look older. The news anchor keeps talking in the background, but I don’t catch what she says because Sergei bursts out laughing next to me.

“I knew it.” He snorts and shakes his head. “Someone must have really pissed off the antisocial motherfucker.”

I stare at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“That.” He points at the TV screen, which is once again showing the destruction caused by the fire. “See how evenly and thoroughly the building is burned down? That’s extremely hard to achieve. I only know one person who can pull it off.” He laughs again. “Albert is going to lose it when I tell him Az is alive.”

“The guy from your unit? The one who disappeared?”

“Yup.” He places a kiss on Sasha’s cheek, then places his hand at the small of my back, right over my tattoo and pulls me into his side.

I meant what I said when I agreed to having ‘Prinadlezhit Sergeyu Belovu’ tattooed on me, and was both surprised and amused when Sergei asked the tattoo artist to replicate the words on him too, replacing his name for mine. ‘We now belong to each other.’ is what he told me as the gauze was placed over the fresh ink.

There’s a sound of approaching steps, and I look over my shoulder to see Felix and Nana walking into the room. Felix looks up at the TV, then stops abruptly.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” he snaps, shaking his head while glaring at the screen. “He promised he would stay low. Does this look like staying low to you?”

“You tricky old ass,” Sergei barks, staring at Felix. “You knew Az was alive?”

“Knew?” Felix raises an eyebrow. “How exactly did you think he managed to disappear and stay under the government’s radar?”

“Do you know his real name?”

“Of course, I do.”

“What is it?” Sergei asks.