Emily’s POV

My jaw was practically hanging on the floor when Alexei opened the door for me and I got out. The lake house was a beautiful 3 story building on the side of the lake. In fact, you could sit on the porch with your feet in the water.

The stone house was lit with lights in every room that made the house look homey from the outside. From what I could see, there were 6 people in the, what looked like the kitchen. Alexei had parked our black SUV between a Black Rolls Royse and Red Aston Martin.

Next to the Aston Martin was a Black Audi Spyder and a Black-Grey Lamborghini Mansory. I was quite a fan of cars, that's how I knew what type of cars were in the driveway. When I was little, my dad used to take me to car shows. It was our favorite past time. "Looks like we are the last to arrive."

I glanced up at Alexei as he took the bags from the car. I hadn't spoken a word since he drove through the eye scanner at the gate and into the beautifully paved drive through. I could see men in black walking the perimeter.

"These cars are beautiful." I tried to keep my hands to myself but the cars were screaming at me to touch them. Alexei pointed at each car starting with the Rolls Royse and ending with the Lamborghini, "Giovanni's, Octavia's, Valentin's and then Adonis."

So all his friends were extremely rich and important people. He took my hand and lead me up the stairs and then into the big glass doors. A beautiful brown skin woman opened the door. She screeched and ran up to Alexei before jumping him.

In any other situation, I would have been jealous but I could see that they were friends. She let Alexei go and pulled me into a hug, "Oh you must be Emily, and Alexei hadn't told me how beautiful you were." A slight blush rose onto my cheeks.

"I am Octavia, come in its freezing out here. Let me introduce you to the others." Alexei was left outside with our bags as Octavia pulled me into the house. I had a frightened expression on my face, causing Alexei to chuckle under his breath. I glared at him and mumbled a 'Help Me'. He simply shook his head and followed us inside.

Octavia pulled me into the kitchen were 5 other people sat. "This is Valentine and his partner, Natasha, Adonis and Gale, and then Giovanni." The guys simply shook my hand and took a hug from Alexei. Natasha and Gale simply looked at me as if I was beneath them and continued talking to each other.

I saw Octavia roll her eyes at the girls before emptying her glass of wine. "Would you like anything to drink?" I nodded and pointed at the bottle of wine. "Let's go put our bags in our room and then come back downstairs."

He took my hand and I followed him up to the second floor. "There are 5 bedrooms up here so don't get lost. The kitchen, lounge, and living room is downstairs with a few offices if we ever have to work. The third floor is like our fun room. I'll show you later."

I flopped down onto the comfy bed as soon as we entered the second room on the left. It was a big black room, smaller than our rooms at the hotel but still pretty big. The room was lit well and when Alexei walked into the bathroom I got a peek at the black walls and glass shower.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and wanted to wait a few minutes before going back downstairs. As if Alexei could sense my troubled mind, he sat down next to me on the bed. "You doing okay?" His question was soft and gentle.

I gave a small smile, "A little overwhelmed, but need a few seconds then we can go back down." He nodded and placed a soft kiss on my shoulder. My body relaxed and I turned to face him. He was gorgeous in every sense of the word.

His smell was intoxicating and having him this close made my heart pound twice as fast. He pressed his soft, warm lips against mine, taking me away from the world full of troubles. The kiss stayed slow but intensified with each breath that escaped my lungs.

We rolled so that I was on top. My hands fisted his shirt and he grabbed my hips. There was no grinding or any indication that this kiss would lead to sex. It was simply an oxygen stealing, legs weakening, heart almost stopping kiss.

When I pulled away, I was breathless and disorientated. He massaged his fingers into my hips and I laid my forehead on his shoulder. After a few relaxing minutes, I heard Octavia shouting from downstairs, calling us for dinner.

We got off the bed and I quickly plugged in my phone. I told Alexei to go downstairs before me so I could freshen up before leaving the room. He agreed and left the room. I pulled my hair out of the pony to redo it and then redid my speared lipstick.

I was about to leave the room when my phone rang. It was my mother calling. I wanted to just leave it but I knew that she would be mad. I hadn't talked to them since my father told me he would remove me from any support if I didn't come home soon and marry Rayon.

I still hadn't had a chance to talk to Alexei and inform him that I was still leaving at the end of this weekend. It had been a lovely 2 and a half months of getting to know each other, and if I could I would stay.

"Hello, Mama."

"Hello, Emily. How have you been?" We spoke pleasantries for a few moments before things got serious. "When are you coming home my dear, I've never seen your father this mad and serious about anything you did."

"Soon mama. Probably within the next few days. There are still a few things I need to do this side."

"I'm sorry you couldn't convince your father about this other man, but he knows what is best for you my dear. And marrying Rayon is something you simply have to do."

"I understand, I'll call you the evening before I leave." We said goodbye and I ended the call. The door opened and Alexei was standing there, and from his expression, I could guess that he heard everything.

It wasn't the way I wanted to tell him but know that he knew, there was nothing I could do about it. Before I could say anything he left the room and walked back down the stairs. I took a deep breath and followed him.

**Copyright © 2020 by Grace Write**