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Humming contentedly, I wiggle closer, tangling my legs with his. I rest my cheek above his heart and relax, closing my eyes as I enjoy the comforting sound.
I wake with a start, my stomach twisting violently as it threatens to reject its contents. Mishka’s arm rests heavily across my hip, his body curled around me as we spoon. I must have dozed off accidentally.
But I barely have time to process that as my stomach gives another dangerous lurch. Bolting out of bed, I sprint across the dim room toward the bathroom, struggling to make it across the unfamiliar space in time.
I don’t even have time to close the door as my eyes find the toilet and I drop onto my knees. Violently emptying the contents of my stomach, I cling to the porcelain as I bury my face in the bowl.
Several waves of nausea hit me all at once, and by the time my stomach stops spasming, I’m gasping for air. Gulping it down, I flush the toilet and slump back against the cool glass of the shower, my bare skin chilled as my sweat turns a clammy cold.
It feels like the nausea hit me out of nowhere, making me question what I must have eaten that would disagree with me so much. Still, I put my palm to my forehead. No fever as far as I can tell.
Crossing my ankles, I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them to try and stay warm. But I don’t dare leave the bathroom because I barely made it, the nausea hit me so suddenly.
Resting my head against the shower glass, I close my eyes and think about what I’ve eaten recently. I had a few handfuls of popcorn for dinner, but nothing I can think of would really indicate food poisoning.
The vomiting just seems so random, and the nausea has vanished as quickly as it came.
My heart skips a beat as it starts to dawn on me that maybe this might not be food poisoning either. My period’s overdue. I hadn’t really been keeping close track of it because I hadn’t been sexually active before Mishka.
But now that I think about it, I haven’t experienced a cycle since we first had sex. I swallow hard as I think back to our first time. Mishka and I have been using protection religiously since we started dating, but we weren’t particularly careful when we slept together in the woods. He hadn’t had a condom, but it’s not like he came inside me…
Could I seriously get pregnant from that when he pulled out both times?
Yes. When I face the cold, hard facts, abstinence is really the only sure form of birth control.
My heart races at the terrifying possibility that I’m pregnant. At the time when we first had sex, I’d been so overwhelmed by everything that had happened, it just hadn’t crossed my mind. But now I feel like a complete idiot. I should have been more proactive.
“You okay?” Mishka appears in the doorway, looking concerned, and he hands me an oversized sweatshirt that must be his.
I don’t know how he knew to bring it to me, but I accept it gratefully and pull it on. “I’m fine,” I say, trying to hide the shaking in my voice. “Probably just some bad leftover Chinese at Katie’s.”
It’s the first lie I’ve ever told Mishka. But I don’t want to freak him out if I’m not actually pregnant. And even if I am, it’s not like we can just come out and admit it. My father might legitimately kill Mishka then.
“Can I do anything for you? Get you anything?” he suggests, his face revealing his sense of helplessness.
“You’re sweet,” I observe. Then, my face falls as another wave of nausea hits me. Turning toward the toilet once more, I lean over it as I vomit up nothing but bile.
Thick fingers scoop my hair back from my face, and suddenly, Mishka’s broad chest is behind me, his arms providing me warmth and stability as I dry heave.
Groaning, I slump onto the floor once more, and Mishka settles into the cramped space with me.
“You know what I would really appreciate right about now?” I say as my stomach relaxes.
“Hmm?”
“A glass of water.”
Mishka pats my knee, giving it a light squeeze before he rises. He slips from the bathroom with catlike grace that belies his impressive size. I can hear glass clinking a moment later and water running.
What am I going to do?
The water turns off, but it’s a long moment before Mishka appears in the doorway once more. Glass in one hand, he holds my phone in the other, his brows furrowing in his signature frown.
“Katie’s been calling,” he says, passing both to me.
I look at my phone first, and my eyes widen. “No wonder!” I gasp as I look at the time. It’s nearly two in the morning, and I’ve missed three calls from her. What if Vlad came in and found me missing? I wouldn’t put it past my new bodyguard to insist we go home at some point after midnight.
Heart pounding, I set my glass of water down with shaking hands and quickly call Katie back.
