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Calm down. You could still be in danger for all you know.
He could be here to drag you away right now.
I take a deep breath, gripping the edge of the counter as I try to gain control over my raging hormones.
“Come out here now, Anna. I know that you see me, and I am tired of waiting.” His feet are tapping against the floor, slowly adding to my anxiety.
I tighten the fluffy towel tighter around my body, grimacing at the way it splits open over my stomach. That did not happen before, but with my belly growing steadily it seems that even towels have a hard time fitting me.
Will he think that I am still attractive even with the baby bump?
Some days it is hard to look in the mirror and see myself as pretty. I don’t know how he will. I go into the bedroom and look at the floor to avoid the deep blue orbs that want to search the depths of my soul.
“Look at me,” he orders, his tone deep and husky.
I glance up at him, stopping a few feet away.
Sergey stands, the white T-shirt he wears pulling taunt across his muscled body. Desire rocks through me as the muscles flex, making the inky tattoos that crawl along his sun-kissed arms stand out.
I could spend the rest of my life staring at his body and never get tired of it.
He takes two steps, putting himself in front of me. His calloused hand grabs my chin, forcing me to tilt my head back.
A war rages in his eyes, two battleships on an ocean in a hurricane. The muscle in his jaw clenches and his lips press together in a flat line before parting again.
“Why are you here?” I ask, keeping my voice soft and hoping not to anger him.
If I’m being honest, I’m tired of angering him. I just want to do whatever I have to for survival right now and then …
There is no moving on from life now that I have his baby.
I’m either tied to him until I’m dead, or he kills me.
That’s right, my only escape is death.
Sergey releases my jaw and takes a step back. “Why did you keep the baby? You could have gotten rid of it, and I would have been none the wiser.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, dropping my gaze to the shaggy cream rug. I flex my toes in the soft fabric, using the feeling to ground me.
I exhale slowly, hating the way my stomach loops and flips, knotting itself until it feels like my body is one tight spring, ready to burst. “I didn’t know what to do when I found out I was pregnant.”
“And when did you find out you were pregnant?”
I swallow hard, trying to ease the thickness in my throat. “The day before you came to my house. I had been feeling a little off and my period was late. I took one of those early tests and it confirmed the pregnancy.”
Sergey rakes a hand through his hair and looks more uncertain than I've ever seen him. Normally he has iron-clad self-control. He doesn't sway or bend. Every inch of him screams power. And he still does, but at this moment there is something else behind that dominant demeanor. It’s a man who doesn’t know what to do next.
At least we’re in the same boat when it comes to the baby.
I don’t have a damn clue what to do either.
He paces back and forth, stalking like a lion ready for a meal. “After you found out that you were pregnant, you decided to keep the baby?”
My eyes sting with tears, remembering what I went through all those months ago. “No. Not at first. I went to the clinic, and I wanted to speak with the doctor about my options. I didn’t think that I could support a baby and be on the run.”
“So, you always intended to run away?” Sergey’s face contorts into a mask of rage, his eyes narrow and his lips disappear, while his mouth becomes a very thin line. “You didn’t even think about saving your father’s life.”
“I was going to save his life. I was going to come to you and then he died, and he told me to run. It was his dying wish, I had to respect it. And I thought it would be the only way to keep our baby safe.”
