Her Russian

Chapter 43-Going Away

Galina had to admit that she felt better than she had in weeks.  She had made a real break through with Ilia and the strain that had been on them and their relationship was slowly easing up.  They were finding their way back to each other and it felt so good.

After they'd made love, he told her about Allister and Igor, plus the others, that were in his custody.  He had laid it all out on the line.  That they would suffer punishment at his hands and that it would be slow and methodical.

For the first time, where his work was concerned, he was honest and told her that it would not be pretty and if she wanted to be there, to watch, he would allow it but he also was honest and told her that he was worried it might change her perception of him.

She had no trouble or fear letting him know exactly what her perception of him was.  After she made love to him, he said he more than had her answer.

But, he told her, before anything like that happened, he wanted to take her away for a bit.  It would seem that Ilia Savin actually loves the outdoors and a few years back purchased a little cottage about an hour away from his compound.

It was just a little one bedroom house, in the middle of the woods.  It was far enough away that all you heard was nature but not so far that if you needed to get back to civilization quickly you could do that too.

It all sounded just too wonderful but she jumped at the chance.  For it just to be her and Ilia?  Hell yes!  She loved the people she shared a home with but at the moment, she needed just him.

Ilia told her that he'd had Erik and Yuri stock the place, so food, drink and whatever else they might need, had already been seen to.

He also told her not to pack too many clothes, because there wasn't really an occasion to wear them.  She blushed at his inference but her womb clinched at the thought of them being in bed the whole time.

She picked out her dark denim skinny jeans, a light material mint green sweater and beige flats.  She kept her makeup to a minimal and decided to only take her tinted moisturizer and lip balms and glosses.

She didn't need to impress Ilia, he had already told her countless times how beautiful she was without makeup and she believed him.

All of her cuts and bruises were either gone or almost completely faded.  The only evidence left of what she'd gone through was little scars on her palms and knees.  They were very faint and only she and Ilia knew where they were.

Grabbing her small bag, she checked her appearance one more time, blew out an excited yet nervous breath and headed down to Ilia's study to meet him there.

Leaving her bag outside the door, she knocked softly and was told to come in.  Max, Roman, Erik and Yuri were all in there with Ilia.

Galina stopped short when she saw Ilia.  For the first time, ever, he was wearing fitted dark denim jeans, a tight black tee shirt and boots.  She could literally feel her mouth watering.

The tattoos on his arms were sneaking out from underneath the sleeves of his shirt and she knew what else was hidden beneath the material and it excited her.

He looked good enough to eat!  She'd never seen him so relaxed and happy.  When he looked up, seeing the look on her face caused him to smirk.

"Good morning everyone" she said brightly.  Ilia held out his hand to her, which she took immediately and he kissed her, full on the mouth.  Not intimate kissing, but just a good long kiss on the lips.

He didn't seem to mind that they had an audience either.  She liked the carefree Ilia and was looking forward to spending more time with him and getting to know him more.

After all, as far as she was concerned, this was the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

Bringing her hand to his lips, Ilia asked her if she was ready to go.  Smiling, Galina responded with "You have no idea!"  Returning the smile, he ushered her to the door.

Once outside, Galina noticed Ilia coming to open the passenger's door for her.  "What's going on?" she asked confused.

"I'm driving" he said grinning at her.  "Max, Roman, Erik and Yuri will follow.  I told you Galina.  This trip is all about us.  I just wanted it to be us in the car."  She smiled broadly at his answer.

"Well then, Mr. Savin" she said trying her best to imitate his smirk.  "Let's get going."  Winking he went around and got into the driver's side and they took off.

"So, where are we going again?" Galina asked.  "About a year ago, I bought this piece of land out in the middle of nowhere.  I didn't realize until I had gone out to actually see it, that it had a little cottage on it.

It was in pretty bad shape, so I hired some contractors, they fixed it up and now I use it for a hide-away.  And you my dear, are the only other person besides myself to ever come and stay there" Ilia took her hand and kissed it again.

Galina knew she could definitely get used to his attention again, in fact, she was finding that as the days passed, she craved it more.  She couldn't get enough of him.

"So" Galina started once they got on the road.  "Can we talk?" she asked looking at Ilia.  "What do you want to talk about, little kot?" he asked, giving her that heart-stopping smile.

"Well, have you ever wanted to be a father?  I mean, have you ever wanted to settle down, have the wife, 1.2 kids and a dog kind of life?" she could feel the blush burning all the way up her neck and to her face.

Ilia looked ahead and then he looked at her.  "I never really thought about it, until recently, that is.  And yes, I guess I would like to be a father.  I would like to see how it went being a husband first, you know?

In my business, as you have experienced first hand, it can be dangerous and so one has to really think hard about whether you want to bring an innocent into it all.  But, yes, to answer your question, I would like to have that someday."

Galina seemed happy with his answer and then it was his turn.  "Had you ever been in love, before me?" he asked.

"Just once.  Or so I thought.  I was a senior in high school, he was a jock, played sports" she clarified and continued.  "He was popular and I wasn't.  I was shy and quiet and a book nerd.  

He was nice enough but after we had an intimate night together, but we never made love and I guess I wasn't what he was looking for and that was that.  I never gave relationships much thought afterwards.  

Until I met this devilishly handsome man, that turned my world upside down, it was the fartherest thing from my mind.  Now, I'm not sure how I ever existed without it."

Ilia loved her answer because he leaned over and rested his arm on the console and pointed to his lips.  Galina knew what he wanted and she gave it to him.

Continuing their conversation, they talked about her life in Boston, his life in the mafia and his parents.  Before too much longer, Ilia informed her that they would be there soon.  

She couldn't wait, an entire week with him all to herself and she was going to show him just what kind of wife she would be and hoped that it would solidify how he felt about her and show him just how much she needed him in her life.