The Don and His Russian Bride

XIX

The back of my hand slid across my forehead, collecting the perspiration. "Get out."

Luc leaned against the doorway to the gym with a sly grin permeating his features. His arms crossed in front of him lazily in contrast to his watchful eyes. The punching bag next to me shifted back and forth— an aftermath of my heated exertion. If Luc didn't leave his cockiness outside the door, he would undergo the same impact of the punching bag.

"Why? I'm not causing any harm, am I?"

"You don't need to be in here." I reached for the floor where my water bottle was positioned. It would be a long time before I could get him to leave. He liked being told what to do about as much as I did.

Slowly, his arms unfolded. He pushed himself away from the doorway before shrugging. "I didn't realize I needed a reason to be in my gym."

"No, but I can give you a reason to stay out of it. I don't want you here."

"Just when I thought we were getting along." He crept forward as if stalking prey that could bolt at any sudden movement. His tone held no trace of bitterness, only a hint of playfulness that meant he was teasing me. He enjoyed it when we went back and forth with each other, each comeback of mine continuing the volley. Causing my frustration had turned into his favorite game.

"You didn't think that would last very long, did you?" I kept up the charade.

"I was hoping it might."

"We both knew it couldn't last forever. You're too insufferable for that to happen."

Luc's hands flew to his chest as if receiving a fatal shot. "You wound me."

Despite his act, he kept moving closer to me. He didn't stop until he was only about a meter away from me. The sound of our breaths syncing distracted me from every thought going on inside my head. I couldn't come up with another snide comment as much as I would have liked to.

My heart beat slowed to its resting rate and I lowered my voice when I asked, "What are you really doing in here, Luc?"

"Is it so bad that I want to spend more time with my wife?"

"Ugh." I threw my head back in the most exaggerated fashion. "I should've never been nice to you."

Luc grabbed my arm gently and pulled me flush against his chest. My head remained tilted back so I could look up at his face. "Why's that?"

"You're very clingy."

His chuckle made me want to stay in his arms the entire night, waiting to hear that sound again and again. "I've waited to be with you a very long time."

"A whole month and a half?" I took a step back. If he was going to say sappy things just because he thought that's what I wanted to hear, then I wouldn't believe a word.

"No. Longer than that. I've wanted a marriage like this before I met you." This time he reached out and held my hand. His thumb brushed against the wrap across my knuckles. "In the short amount of time since you agreed to give me a chance, I've never felt closer to anyone than I have with you."

"Not even with Armando?"

Luc bit his lip trying to contain his smile. He shook his head before turning his head towards the opposite end of the gym. "No. Not even with him."

"Are you sure? Maybe there's more between the two of you than I realized." I teased while he still refused to look at me. "Wait. Are you blushing?"

"Stop it."

"For what it's worth, I think you two would make a phenomenal couple. You could've been happily married to him a long time ago."

His chuckle stopped short as he directed a gaze to cut right through me. While we worked towards getting to a better place, our relationship performed an act of balancing playfulness with seriousness. Luc spoke low, his voice full of genuine curiosity when he asked, "Are you happy with this marriage?"