Yes, that’s precisely how he said it.
“You’re pregnant?” Dok’s face holds the same shocked surprise Nikolai’s held when he peered down at my positive pregnancy test
Smiling, I nod. I’m still in shock, but for once it’s a positive surprise.
“How far?”
“We don’t know,” I answer, bringing Nikolai into our conversation.
What I said earlier was true. This is our baby—not mine.
“Is there a way we can find out?”
Dok’s brisk nod makes me dizzy. “There are a few ways. Do you know when your last period was?”
I grimace. I stopped paying attention to my cycle months before Nikolai suggested I quit taking birth control pills. My monthly bleed didn’t interfere with our relationship. It just meant we had to be more inventive for a few days each month, so it never held much importance.
“Around twelve weeks ago,” Nikolai answers on my behalf.
He gifts me a wink, revealing he appreciates my bugged eyes. I don’t know why I’m surprised. He knows all aspects of my life, so I shouldn’t be stunned he keeps up to date on my period.
Dok pulls a phone out of his pocket. After a few taps of the screen, he lifts his eyes to me. “Okay, that will make you due around the seventeenth of January, but we’ll schedule an ultrasound when we return to Vegas. It will give us an exact date to work with.” He exchanges his phone for a notepad he stores in the breast pocket of his suit. “You should start prenatal vitamins and iron tablets as soon as possible. We’ll do a blood work up when we land to see if there’s anything else you’re lacking.”
My wide eyes bounce between Dok’s when he hands me a prescription for the vitamins he recommends. “Okay.” I’m equally stunned and surprised. I thought Dok was a nickname Nikolai’s crew called him because he stitches up their wounds. I had no clue he’s an actual doctor.
Suddenly worried he’s overstepped his mark, Dok returns to his post at the door before locking his eyes with Nikolai. “Was there anything else you needed?”
He shouldn’t be panicked. Nikolai is as thankful for his diligence as I am. It’s nice knowing we’re not the only ones on our baby’s side.
“Only for you to answer my original question.”
The need in Nikolai’s reply reddens my cheeks with heat. I’m not embarrassed. I love that his sexual appetite is as intense as mine.
Dok’s face turns the color of a beetroot, matching mine to a T. “No harm can be done to a fetus during. . .sexual activities.”
My lips tug high from the uncomfortable delivery of his last two words. Dok is a handsome man. Blond surfer boy locks float around his ears; his face is both handsome and well-carved, and his body could rival Nikolai’s if I could ever demand my eyes drink him in. Although he doesn’t have a dangerous aura like Nikolai, he handles himself well around members of his crew who are more built than him, so to say I’m shocked about his shyness would be an understatement—a major one.
My smile enlarges when Dok’s answer coincides with Nikolai pushing him out the door. He slides the lock back into place before spinning around to face me. If the gleam in his heavy-hooded gaze is anything to go by, he doesn’t just trust Dok with his life, he’ll also place our unborn baby’s life in his hands as well.
He slowly bridges the gap between us, his walk as arrogant as ever. It is a cocky swagger that reveals my every desire is about to be answered.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tickled pink by the idea.
6
Nikolai wakesme an hour before we are scheduled to land. The scrumptious feast the stewardesses prepared while I napped is visually appealing, but my stomach isn’t interested. Hormones aren’t wreaking havoc with my gut. It is the early hour. It’s barely 4 AM.
The reason for the odd hour of our trip comes to light when Nikolai murmurs, “The devil can’t tell time if he’s never seen the sunrise.”
Vladimir has been dead for nearly a year, yet Nikolai still struggles to comprehend it. It is understandable. Vladimir ruled with gritty, devious tactics that burned fear into the hearts of every man beneath him, but he was killed in a humble, barely spoken of way. His death has never been discussed out loud, and no funeral was held to honor his life. He was merely forgotten, laid to rest in the very room he sent his son to hell in. If he weren’t such a vile, indecent man, I’d feel sorry for him. It’s unfortunate for him empathy was the only thing he stole from me a year ago.
I’m drawn from my thoughts when Nikolai says, “Eat,Ahren. You need to keep your strength.”
His eyes drop to the plates of food spread out in front of us before he nudges his chin to the seat across from him. He waits for me to sit before slipping into his own chair. His shirtless torso and bare feet have my mind straying from the scrumptious treats in front of me to the one responsible for the true awakening of my hunger.
“Ahren. . .” Nikolai growls in warning while loading my plate with pancakes, bacon, and sausages. “?? ? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ????.”
I give him a frisky wink. “There are worse ways to die.”
