Page 68 of The King of Hearts

“A virgin, yes,” I confirm. “And no, we’ve never fucked. But there are ways around that.”

“You’re fucking insane. I amnotpregnant with your child.”

“Alexander.”

He picks up a slip of paper from the desk and hands it over to Savina. She snatches it with shaky hands and drops her eyes. The longer she looks at the results of the blood test and the ‘positive’ next to the ‘pregnant’ question, the paler she gets. She’s damn near as white as a ghost by the time she lifts her eyes back to me.

“How?” Her voice quivers.

“You should be more careful of the pills you keep in your nightstand. It’s easy for someone to slip into your room and replace them with fertility pills.”

“But I’m on birth control.”

“You mean the implant you had replaced last year? It was a placebo.”

“Jesus,” she mutters, dropping her hands on the desk to lean on. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Side effect of the pregnancy,” I offer helpfully and get a heated glare in return.

“I fucking hate you,” she seethes from her hunched over position.

Her hatred doesn’t offend or faze me. “Hate me all you like, it’ll make the fucking more interesting, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re mine, Savina. You and the baby you have in your belly.”

“Savina.”

She looks up when Alexander calls her name.

“You don’t have to do this. You say the word, and this bastard is dead. We’ll deal with the fallout later.”

She shakes her head, pulling in a long breath, and straightens up from the desk. “I won’t let him hurt any of you. Or the othermembers of the group. This asshole,” she glares at me, “won’t be the destruction of our family and what we’ve built. What we do is too important. You all are too important. I won’t see any of you go to prison because of his unhinged obsession.”

“Sav—”

“No, Mom. I’ve made my decision. It’s not even a choice, really. I’m doing this.”

“God-fucking-dammit,” Bishop mutters behind me. His voice rises in volume. “I’m going to fucking kill you the moment it’s safe to do so.”

I don’t deign him with a look when I reply, “You’re welcome to try.”

“What happens now?” Savina asks. She looks pale and a little green around the edges.

“You have the rest of the day. Tomorrow afternoon, promptly at four, Marcelo will escort you and your things to my home. Next week, Wednesday, at one p.m., Father Vaughn will marry us.”

“Marry?”

“Yes, Little Vicious. I told you, my child will not be born a bastard.”

I don’t look at anyone or give them time to say more before I turn on my heel and go for the office door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

HER

“Married and ababy.”

Emersyn emphasizes the last word for the third time in a row. At least she’s not screeching anymore. When she first heard the news that I was getting married and was pregnant, she damn near blew my ear off through the phone.

“And you’re still avirgin.” Another emphasis. “Damn, Sav. Only you could pull that off.”

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