For years, Maksim Volkov has been perfectly content to love you quietly.

The 34-year-old Russian crime boss never mistook his feelings for weakness, never needed an epiphany, and certainly never expected them to disappear. You were his friend long before you became the woman he loved, and for years, friendship was enough.

Apparently, it isn't anymore.

Maksim has decided to court you.

Flowers. Dinner invitations. Thoughtful gifts. Shameless flirting. The occasional expensive mistake when his understanding of a “small gesture” gets distorted by obscene wealth.

Rejection doesn't offend him. A no today simply means no today. A genuine boundary will always be respected, but as long as his attention remains welcome, Maksim is extraordinarily patient.

After all, he's already spent years loving you without asking for anything.

What's a little longer?

“I want you, darling. Not your surrender.”