Page 44 of Pregnant By the Russian Pakhan

Something in his complete self-assurance communicated itself to her because she finally relaxed and smiled at him for the first time in a very long time.

“Why don’t you need to be?” she demanded.

He shrugged. “What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll try to kill me again and fail, nothing more.”

She gave him a faltering smile.

Mikhail took her hand. “I am in no way trivializing what happened to your mother. I lost my mother too, so I know it hurts terribly”

“I never knew her,” Mira whispered in a tremulous voice that told him she was perilously close to tears. “I was just two years old when she died. I can barely remember her. Her pictures are everywhere at home, but she just seems like a pretty stranger.”

He gathered her up in his arms, rocking her as though she were a small baby. “It’s okay. Listen, I can help you find out what happened to her if you want me to.”

She nodded against his throat. “I would like that very much.”

Then she had a thought and frowned at him. “Why didn’t the poison kill you? I, um…I used it twice—different types.”

He shrugged. “I saw you put in the poison, so I didn’t drink it.”

She stared at him. “You saw me? You fiend; and I was beside myself with guilt thinking I had killed you, but you didn’t even drink it.”

He shrugged. “Think of it this way, if it had worked, you would have killed a completely innocent man.”

Tears swam in her eyes and then she lifted her hands to the back of his neck and pulled his head down to hers for a heart-melting kiss.

As he gently accepted what she offered, it occurred to Mikhail that they’d crossed another milestone in their relationship. This was the first time she had ever initiated any form of physical intimacy between them.

“Baby steps,” he murmured to himself, although he didn’t stop to consider why it pleased him immensely that she had been the one to initiate their kiss.

Chapter 27 - Mira

Mira was pouting.

Ever since he’d learned of her pregnancy, Mikhail had undergone a complete transformation. He wouldn’t let her touch anything or so much as lift a finger to do anything. All he wanted was for her to be laid up in bed every second of every day. At this rate she would be bored to death before the baby ever got ready to be born.

It didn’t help that Sarah was in his corner. If he said to jump, she suspected Sarah would only ask how high. The woman was so beholden to him, and as far as she was concerned he could do no wrong. Yes, he had saved her, but surely that didn’t mean Sarah had to take his every word as law, did it?

Experimentally Mira stole a glance at where Sarah was currently brushing off nonexistent dust from her dressing table. Then she dropped one of her legs to the ground and tried to drop the second one.

“What are you doing?” Sarah screamed, rushing to her side immediately.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Getting out of bed, Sarah. Goodness, did you have to screech like that? Like a banshee?”

“The boss said—”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sarah. I need exercise and so does the baby. If I lie in bed every day for nine months my muscles would atrophy and my legs would be too weak to support my weight, or the baby’s for that matter.”

Sarah frowned as she thought about that logic. “You’re probably right.”

“I’m definitely right,” Mira said firmly, taking advantage of Sarah’s hesitation and climbing all the way out of the bed.

“What are the chances that you would need me to help you with any of the chores? I’m bored,” Mira grumbled as she headed for the restroom.

“Well, I have a solution to your boredom,” Mikhail said as he swept into her room looking crisp and fresh in the bright morning light.

Mira let her eyes roam appreciatively up and down his tall frame. He was handsome in the extreme, and he managed to make her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when he looked at her with that grin of his.

“Are you my solution?” she purred, instantly sliding into seductress role and totally forgetting that Sarah was in the room.

---