Page 23 of Pregnant By the Russian Pakhan

She felt mildly ashamed at the knowledge that if Mikhail had tried to fuck her standing up right there in the middle of his library, she wouldn’t have stopped him. She seemed to have absolutely no self-control where the man was concerned. And that was just dandy, because right before the waterworks had turned on and she had begun to cry, she’d been about to tack on a condition of “no intimacy” after their marriage. But one touch from him and all her best laid plans crumbled like a pack of cards.

Before she could say a word now, though, Mikhail interrupted smoothly, “She’s decided to marry me. We were…celebrating just now when you walked in. I presume you have the prenup?” He grabbed a decanter of wine and poured a liberal amount for the old man.

Alice in Wonderland couldn’t have felt more lost, Mira thought as she looked from one man to the other. Why was the lawyer talking as if they had expected her to come into the villa, slap Mikhail, and be forced to marry him? How could a prenup already be all set to go?

The lawyer peered at her. “You do seem like a nice girl. What’s your name?”

“Mira,” she said. What was his fascination with nice girls and for goodness sake what did that even mean?

“Dostoevsky,” Mikhail added, with heavy irony in his voice.

She saw the lawyer’s hands still in the act of ruffling his papers. Then he leaned back against his seat and looked at Mikhail. “As in, the Dostoevsky?”

A look passed between the two men and then Mikhail said briskly, “Get the prenup papers and a license, Will. I’m getting hitched today.”

That was it, then; one way or the other, Mira was effectively out from under her father’s thumb. He could hardly call the shots in her life if she was no longer under his roof and if she was married to no less a person than his archenemy.

Gaining independence from him and getting back at him were exactly what she’d hoped to achieve when she walked in here, Mira thought. So why did she feel as if the entire world was turning upside down?

Why couldn’t she shake the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach? Why was she so afraid that she was making the most terrible mistake of her life?

Chapter 15 - Mira

Mira was still in a daze. She couldn’t believe it was her wedding day. One minute she and Sarah had been hatching fanciful plans in her bedroom, and the next minute she was being whisked before a solemn-looking judge with thick bifocals and a heavily accented Texas twang.

It was a measure of how powerful Mikhail was that, for some reason, they hadn’t even had to wait until the next day to get married. As far as she knew, Chicago laws allowed a person to procure a license and then only get married a day later. But within minutes of speaking to Williams, the lawyer had not only secured the license, he’d found a judge from among the guests to wed them.

A niggling of unease trickled down Mira’s spine at the thought that Mikhail seemed to be in a rush all of a sudden. But she brushed it aside with a stern reminder to herself that this marriage was necessary for her freedom.

The judge got them to exchange rings, then said something about their “union” and ordered Mikhail to kiss his bride amid applause from the many gathered guests. Mira braced herself for another one of those toe-curling kisses he seemed to have perfected down to a fine art. But all he did was lean in and plant a soft peck on her lips.

She was shocked at his restraint.

Then Williams and a lady who seemed to be his wife came forward as witnesses and signed some legal documents after Mira and Mikhail had signed theirs.

Then Mikhail turned with her to face the guests. “My wife was a bit overcome with emotions when she walked in here earlier. That was the scene you all witnessed. But it’s been handled, and everything is fine again. Please enjoy the party.”

Wolf whistles and claps ensued all over the crowd as several of the guests strode forward to offer their good wishes to the new couple.

Watching him and his cronies, Mira had to silently admit to herself that she had committed a faux pas by slapping him in front of all these people. Mikhail was a proud man and he commanded a lot of respect. Her actions could have denigrated him in their eyes if he hadn’t twisted it to look like a lovers’ tiff.

She saw a few women still giving him come-hither looks even though they had just witnessed his wedding, and Mira stiffened in outrage. Mikhail, however, didn’t seem to notice their attraction toward him because as far as she could tell, he was courteous and formal with all the women with no special treatment being met towards anyone but her.

Mira hadn’t had a minute alone with Mikhail since Williams walked in. Once, when she’d started to remind him that the wedding had to be in name only, Mikhail had given his head a quick shake, silencing her and motioning with his eyes toward Williams.

So Mira had bided her time, waiting until she could get him alone to put forth her caveat that the wedding would never be consummated. But now that she had a ring on her finger and a signed document that said it was a legally binding marriage in all ramifications, she had to wonder if he would consent to any conditions after the fact.

As soon as the marriage was concluded, Mikhail gave her a wolfish grin. “You’ll be shown to your rooms. Now you only have to tell your father that you’re married to me to get him off your back.”

Something about the absolute relish in his voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in alarm. Unable to help herself, she grabbed his sleeve and tugged him close to her as she whispered, too low for Williams or any of his guests to hear, “Don’t sound so eager. There isn’t going to be any more…intimacy between us.”

Mikhail chucked her under the chin as he also whispered, “We’re wed, little girl. Call your father and share the glad tidings.”

Mira glared at him. “I did not trade in one lecherous old geezer for another. I won’t let you touch me again, Mikhail. I mean it.”

His grin vanished. “I’m not old. And I’m not lecherous. And I have absolutely no interest in touching a reluctant wife. I may have done many things wrong in my life, but I’ve never forced myself on a woman. I’ve never needed to.”

Duly chastised, she fell silent.

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