The Russian's Pregnant Mistress (7 page)

Another wash cloth was handed to her but she shook it away. “Not warm,” she said softly, unable to get much energy into her voice.

Another one was brought to her forehead a moment later, and this one was blissfully cool. She let her head drop into the strong hand and just reveled in the amazing feeling of the cool towel. “Thank you,” she sighed and closed her eyes.

“It’s late September, Gabriella. When were you going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?” she asked, uncaring of what he was talking about unless it would get him out of her cottage so she could rest in peace.

“Tell me that you are pregnant.”

Her heart stopped in that moment and she lifted her head, staring up at him. But that movement wasn’t good and once again, her stomach heaved out the air, which was all that was left.

Gabby wanted to cry but she didn’t have the energy. All she wanted to do was lie down on her bathroom floor and let the cool tiles sooth her heated body. “I’m not pregnant.”

He gritted his teeth, assuming she was lying to him. A woman didn’t fall asleep in the middle of the morning, wake up throwing up, be eight weeks late and not be pregnant. He wasn’t stupid and he resented the fact that she was even trying to fool him. “Let’s test that out,” he growled and dialed a number on his cell phone. When the other person answered, he gave terse instructions and then hung up again. “Come along,” he said and picked her up in his arms, carrying her to the bed once again.

“Please, just leave me alone,” she begged, but there was no use arguing with him and when he put her down in the middle of her bed, she felt better since the world wasn’t moving any longer.

Damon watched her sleep, making sure she was okay for the next few moments. Once her breathing was deep and rhythmic, he moved out of her bedroom and took out his phone. He made several calls, arranged things exactly the way he wanted them, then showered and waited for Gabriella to wake up so he could explain how things were going to work going forward.

He tried to calm down as well. He was furious that she hadn’t told him that she was pregnant. Was she planning to have an abortion? Not while he was around! And he damn well knew that he was going to be around. She might not like it, but she’d better just accept that fact. Until this child was born, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight unless she was with one of his body guards.

Nika had done that to him when he was eighteen and he’d vowed that it would never happen again.

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, determined to get everything settled as soon as possible. A thought occurred to him and he ate up the distance between her den and kitchen. Sure enough, there was barely any food in the pantry or fridge. Was she trying to starve herself? He knew that women wanted to be thin but this was extreme. She’d lost too much weight and it showed on her face along with the dark circles. Even the spark had left those beautiful, blue eyes of hers.

He pulled out his cell phone again and gave more instructions. Forty-five minutes later, Justin arrived with four bags filled with fruits, vegetables and various other groceries. They were all stacked in her pantry and fridge by the time he heard her waking up.

He moved into her bedroom and stood beside her bed, too furious to even touch her.

She rolled over, her eyes sleepy and her hair rumpled. She looked like a siren pulling him towards the rocks, intent on his destruction. Damon cursed himself for letting his body react to her warm, almost naked body once again. He had to be firm. She’d be his soon enough and he’d have to exercise patience until that time. Until then, he had some rules to lay down.

Not yet though. Everything wasn’t in place. A few more days and she’d be his. He had to be patient. He bent down low and looked her in the eye, irritated when she sank back into the pillows warily. “I have to go but I’ll be back. You need to eat something. And Justin will be with you until someone comes along to relieve him tonight.”

She didn’t like the sound of his statements. It sounded like Justin would be guarding her for more than intruders but why would he be thinking along those terms?

“Why is he even staying here?” she asked, trying to sit up without coming any closer to him. She didn’t want to touch him, afraid of what happened each time that happened. She was suddenly ravenous so she slid her legs off of the bed and stood on the opposite side. “And why are you still here?” All her anger and resentment at his previous departure coming back now that her stomach wasn’t heaving violently. “Don’t you have some emergency to run off and resolve?” She grabbed a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt as well as some underwear, hiding those pieces in her hand before she slammed into her bathroom. “Feel free to do another disappearing act today!” she called out through the bathroom doorway.

She showered quickly, not bothering to put on any makeup. It was Saturday and she had nothing to do except clean her house and she’d done most of that already. She’d lost the momentum on her usual cleaning spree, didn’t feel like doing much else other than curling up in a chair with a bowl of popcorn and watching a sappy movie.

After pulling on her clean clothes and brushing her teeth, she ran her fingers through her curls, satisfied that she looked presentable enough for her television and any missed dust bunnies due to her aborted cleaning schedule.

When she opened her bathroom door, she stopped and listened, actually nervous about facing Damon after everything that had transpired over the morning. Gabby wasn’t sure if she was more embarrassed by the way she’d attacked him sexually or how she’d thrown up so violently afterwards.

She didn’t hear any more noise outside, so she assumed that Damon had followed her instructions and left. She leaned her head against the door, wishing that he hadn’t been so obedient. Why couldn’t he have fought for her? Was she not good enough for him? Did he have someone else? Was he married?

That thought spurred her into action and she hurried out of her bedroom, only to find him sitting on her sofa checking his messages on his cell phone.

She ignored the soaring excitement of her traitor heart and said, “What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to get out. Several times, in fact.” She stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and trying to be intimidating and assertive. Unfortunately, she feared that she was neither and her body still betrayed her. She felt her nipples harden at the incredible sight of him in her house, looking relaxed and delicious to her starving eyes.

He stood up and took in her appearance, from the top of her curly head to her bare feet, stopping to admire those lovely breasts that were poking against her thin tee shirt. He saw her nipples harden even more and smiled, his eyes moving to hers, letting her know that he understood the impact he had on her. He then came over to stand in front of her, towering above her and ignoring her glare. “I don’t follow orders very well. Never have, never will.” His eyes softened slightly before he said, “Unless they’re orders that I find interesting. Anything you’d like to toss at me that I might want to hear?”

She blushed and hated him for his soft laughter. “Get out!”

“Not until I see you eat something.” He walked out of her family room, leaving her standing there with her mouth hanging open with fury.

“And what if I’m not hungry?”

She stood in her kitchen doorway while he picked up some carry out boxes from her fridge which she knew hadn’t been there before. He opened the lid of each, peeking into several of them before he nodded and stuck one of them into the microwave to heat up. “Then you’ll eat anyway. You have to eat properly for the baby.”

Gabby had forgotten about that and the thought dissipated all of her anger. Her whole body went slack and one of her hands covered her stomach protectively. “I’m not pregnant,” she whispered sadly.

He stopped watching the food heat up and turned to face her. Something about the way she was looking at him struck a chord inside of him and he almost relented. But he had experience with this sort of thing. When it came to women, they didn’t want to give up their figures by getting pregnant. Gabriella’s figure was significantly more enticing than most so she had more to lose. He suspected that she would look smoking hot when her pregnancy started showing. Her lush curves and adorable bottom would only be accentuated by a swollen belly. He didn’t say any of this, thinking she’d just be unhappy about the impending damage to her body so he stayed on topic.

“Don’t try and fool me, Gabriella,” he replied sternly. “I’m not an idiot. All the symptoms are there. If you’re too impatient to take a pregnancy test, then so be it, but I’m going on the assumption that you’re pregnant until proven otherwise.”

Her jaw dropped open. “Are you saying that I’m lying to you about being pregnant?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he replied softly and with a great deal of menace as he leaned forward over her.

Gabby just about screamed with her frustration. Poking him in the middle of his chest, she snapped, “What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m not pregnant?”

“Take a pregnancy test,” he came back quickly.

“Bring it on, big boy!” she yelled back at him, hands on hips and not intimidated at all. Well, she was, but she hoped it didn’t show. The man was huge, after all.

He pulled out his cell phone and, at the same time, pointed at the microwave and said, “Eat!”

Gabby crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him while he spoke on the phone. She was actually painfully hungry and whatever was in that microwave smelled incredibly delicious. But because he ordered her to, she wouldn’t eat any of it.

Damon glared right back at her, furious that she would be so obstinate. She’d lost weight since the last time he’d seen her and he knew she must be starving. But she was just being stubborn for no apparent reason.

He barked an order into his phone, then quickly snapped it shut. “We’re getting married if you’re pregnant.”

She gasped and pulled back. “I’m guessing no one has ever called you a romantic, huh?” She would have been thrilled at the offer of marriage if he’d said it in a nicer way. And for a better reason. Her parents had married because of an accidental pregnancy and that had ended in disaster. She wasn’t falling down that hill with Damon.

“With a prenup!” He was stung by her comment, because she was right. Barking at her that they were going to be married wasn’t the best way to go about starting a relationship. His only excuse was that he was still reeling from the possibility that she might be carrying his child. Their child, actually. But if she didn’t want it, he’d be fine without her. There was no way she’d get rid of the babe though! He’d see her in court before he’d allow that to happen again.

She continued to glare back at him but in the end, she was just too hungry to continue the game. She stepped back and straightened her shoulders. Her chin jutted out when she said, “I’m going to eat that now, but not because you told me too. Only because I’m really hungry. But you’re not going to watch me do it so just back away.”

Damon took a step back, relieved that she was going to be reasonable about something at least. She took the braised chicken out of the microwave and sat down with the plate, eagerly taking a bite of the savory chicken and crisp green beans. He watched in fascination as she closed her eyes, enjoying the flavors, savoring them with each bite.

“This is really good,” she said softly, reverently. “Do you want a bite?” All traces of anger were gone now that she was eating something. She was still mad at him, but that anger was temporarily displaced by her love of food. She’d get back to being mad at him as soon as she’d eaten this entire plate of food, she told herself silently.

All Damon wanted to do was pull her into his arms and taste her, ignoring the food. She looked so sensuous eating like that and it was making his body react. Hell, everything about this woman made his body harden. Even watching her sleep affected him!

“No. I’m good, thanks.” His voice was gruff and he was relieved when the doorbell rang.

He went to answer it, telling her it was probably one of his guards. He returned a moment later with a package from the pharmacy containing two pregnancy tests. He then stood by the table with his arms crossed over his chest, watching to see what she was going to do next.

Gabby looked at the pregnancy test kit boxes, her appetite suddenly disappearing. The bite of chicken in her mouth turned to sawdust and she had to focus on swallowing so that she didn’t gag on the meal.

“There it is,” she said softly. She didn’t get up, didn’t look at him, didn’t even move. She just stared at the boxes as if they were snakes about to attack her.

After waiting for several moments, he grew impatient. “We won’t have the information any sooner unless you take the test, Gabriella.”

She took a deep breath and nodded her head. “You’re right.” She still sat there for another moment, trying to gather her courage.

“Gabriella?” Damon prompted, impatient to get the results. He had no idea what was going through her pretty head but he was starting to wonder if she was worried about the results. Could she genuinely not know that she was pregnant? Had he been the only one to put the pieces together?

Gabby snapped her head around to look at him, her eyes wary. “I’m….”

“The results won’t change by anxiety,” he replied although the words were more gentle than he’d intended.

Gabby took a deep breath and nodded her head. “You’re right,” she finally said. She stood up, picked up one of the boxes and headed for the bathroom. She was halfway across the room when she stopped, turned around and grabbed the second box. “Just to confirm any results,” she said in almost a whisper.

Damon wanted to laugh at how cute she looked as she trudged to the bathroom, her shoulders back as if she were about to face the enemy and needed to brace herself. But there was little about this whole situation that was amusing and his stomach was tied in knots as he waited for the results. He realized that he wanted Gabriella to be pregnant more than anything he’d ever wanted in his life. He didn’t examine that too deeply, but accepted that feeling and tried to limit his expressions.