Chapter 16

As soon as she got rid of the two men, she went to the bed where he was sitting.

“Stand up,” she ordered him.

When he stood, she pulled down his pants and told him to lie down.

“Baby, this is nice, you being all bossy, but I’m not really in the mood.”

She shook her head at him and removed his shoes and pants.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just undressing you so that you can get into bed.”

She covered him up with the blanket, and when she looked at him, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

Seeing her tears falling, he reached up with his good arm and touched her cheek with his fingers.

“Why do you cry?”

She lowered her eyes, not wanting him to read what was in them.

“Because I don’t like seeing you hurt. I don’t know what I would do if anything had happened to you. This life is so dangerous, and I wish you would give it up.”

He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.

“Even if I wanted to, I could not just walk away. I’m glad you are worried about me, but you must not fall in love with me. I will never love or marry.”

He pulled her face toward him, giving her a tender kiss.

He then wiped her tears away.

“Come, get into bed next to me. We sleep now.”

Removing her robe, she got into bed, lying on her side; she stared at him.

“Are you in any pain? Do you need to take one of the pills?”

He pulled her closer with his good arm.

“I’m okay for now. Earlier, I heard what you said to Bepa, and I am proud of you for putting her in her place. It was about time you did it.”

She looked up at him; her tears had long stopped.

“I’m tired of her treating me like dirt, and when she tried to keep me away from you, I lost it. And next time she calls me a shlyukha, I’ll punch her in the face.”

“Oh, so you know what that word means?”

“Yes, I looked it up since no one would tell me. Dmitry, please don’t get shot again.”

He chuckled.

“I will do my best. Now sleep.”

“Does you getting shot have anything to do with those men that were in your office? I didn’t like their looks; they scared me.”

He let out a sigh.

“Why is it that when a man wants to go to sleep, the woman always wants to talk? I see no reason not to tell you, and you should be scared of them. They are very bad. The one who did this to me will be taken care of. Now sleep.”

In the morning, she could hear him moving around in bed, and when she opened her eyes, she could see he was in pain.

Sitting up, she rubbed his forehead, and it felt warm.

“Dmitry, you are in pain.”

She got out of bed, went over to his side, and took a couple of pills from the bottle.

Pouring a glass of water, she handed it to him.

“Here, take these.”

“I don’t want to. I hate pills,” he said, pushing her hand away.

“Stop being so stubborn and take the damn pills.”

He raised an eyebrow but took the pills and, putting them in his mouth, swallowed them.

“You are becoming very bossy. Those who try to tell me what to do usually get hurt. Maybe you need to be taught a lesson.”

“Well, I’m not anyone, and you need to take the medicine. Perhaps it is you that needs to be taught a lesson.”

“What could you do to me?”

She smiled.

“Make you sleep on the sofa and go without sex for a while.”

“As if that will happen,” he said—grabbing her arm, he pulled her close.

“You like sex as much as I do, so that won’t work.”

She looked at his shoulder and gasped when she saw blood on his bandage.

“You’re bleeding. I have to change your dressing, so let go of me.”

“Kiss me first,” he replied.

“Oh, all right,” she answered, leaning over and giving him a soft kiss.

She then went and got the first aid kit from the bathroom.

Returning, she removed the old bandage, cleaned the wound, and placed a new one on his shoulder.

Looking at the blood and the stitches, she started feeling nauseous.

“Are you all right?” he asked when he noticed how pale she was.

“It’s the blood; it’s making me feel nauseous.”

Covering her mouth, she ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Getting on her knees in front of the toilet bowl, she threw up.

She could hear Dmitry calling out to her.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” she yelled back.

Getting up, she went to the sink, rinsed her mouth out, and splashed cold water over her face.

Her stomach still felt queasy, but she returned to the bedroom and saw him getting out of bed.

“The doctor said you needed bed rest for a couple of days, so get back into bed.”

“I was just coming to see if you were all right. Did I hear you throwing up in there?”

“Yes, but I think it was just because of what happened to you, and seeing the blood made me a little sick. But I’m okay now. I’ll call downstairs and have the kitchen staff make us breakfast and bring it to us.”

“I can do that,” he said, taking the phone from her.

“I think you might be pregnant, so I want you to go take a pregnancy test.”

She knew there was no point in disagreeing with him once he had decided on something.

Going into the bathroom, she opened the drawer and took out one of the pregnancy tests.

After taking the test, she leaned against the counter, waiting for the results.

“Danica, what is taking so long?”

“I’m still waiting for the results. Be patient, and I will be out in a few minutes.”

God, were all men this impatient? she asked herself.

Time was up, so she picked up the stick and stared at it.

Taking a deep breath, she returned to the bedroom, where he was sitting up, waiting.

“Well?” he asked, motioning for her to come and sit on the bed.

Walking over to him, she sat down, holding the stick.

“It’s positive. You’re going to be a daddy.”

Now that she was pregnant, she knew there was no leaving; she would stay with her baby and raise her or him, which she had already decided to do.

Even though he had said he would never fall in love or get married, she would have to learn to live with that.

The truth was, she had fallen in love with him, but she could not tell him that.

She thought if she were to tell him, he would push her away, and that was the last thing she wanted.

She would learn to live in and accept his world, but her child would not be a part of the business.

Sitting up, he took the pregnancy stick from her hand and looked at it. A huge smile lit up his face.

“You have made me so happy. I will make a doctor’s appointment for you, and we will go together. You and our child will get the best care, and I give you my word that I won’t let anything happen to either one of you.”

Putting one hand behind her head, he pulled her close for a kiss.

“Come, lay down next to me.”

She got into bed and felt his arm go around her.

“It took a while, but you finally got what you wanted,” she said, giving him a big smile.

“I always get what I want. You should know that by now. We will go out and celebrate. Where would you like to go?”

She shook her head.

“You’re not going anywhere for the next two days. The doctor said you need to rest and heal. When you are feeling better, then we can decide what to do. I rather enjoyed dancing last time, so perhaps we could do that.”

“Whatever you want, I shall give you, but right now, I want you naked and under me so that I can show you how much I appreciate you giving me a child.”

She wiggled out of his arms and got out of bed.

“Oh my God, you just had a bullet removed from your shoulder, and you’re still thinking about sex. Well, you can forget that for the next few days.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and a smirk appeared on his face.

“Baby, there is no way I am going to wait two days to make love to you,” he said.

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her back, causing her to fall on top of him.

The door opened, and Bepa entered the room carrying a tray with their breakfast on it. Her jaw dropped open when she saw Danica on top of him.

“Have you no shame, woman? He has been injured, and you are lying on top of him like some cheap tramp.”

She jumped out of bed; her face had turned a dark shade of red. She was about to say something, but Dmitry beat her to it.

“Bepa, you are never to enter this room without knocking and being given permission to do so. The next time you call her names or insult her, I will put you on my plane, and you will be back in Russia. This is your final warning.”

Bepa stood there with her mouth wide open. She knew that look in his eyes meant he meant what he had said and would send her back to Russia.

There was no way she would go back there, so she would have to keep her mouth shut and her opinions to herself.

“Yes, sir, you don’t need to worry about me anymore. I will be more respectful toward Miss Burke.”

“That is good, and you can congratulate us. Danica is pregnant with my child.”

Bepa placed the tray of food on the table. Putting her hands behind her back, she clenched them, feeling her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands.

It took every ounce of willpower she had to force a small smile on her face.

“This is good. Congratulations to the two of you. If there’s anything I can do or get you, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

He nodded his head.

“Thank you. You can go now.”

When she was gone, Danica sat next to him on the bed.

“That was the fakest smile I have ever seen on anyone. You know she didn’t mean it. She is not happy about me having your baby.”

He reached up and tenderly stroked her cheek.

“I do not care what she thinks or feels. All I care about is you and our child. I am hungry—we will eat now.”

“Stay in bed. I will bring your food to you,” she said when she saw him getting up.

“I can get up and go over to the table to eat. Now be an angel and pour me a cup of coffee.”

She poured his coffee just as he asked, and when he made a face, she knew he was in pain, so she went and got his pills.

“You are hurting—take these, and you will feel better.”

She placed her hands on her hips when she saw he was about to protest.

“You will take them even if I have to force-feed them to you.”

Grinning, he took the pills from her and popped them in his mouth.

“Woman, do you not know who you are talking to? Who permitted you to speak to me in such a manner?”

She couldn’t help giggling. He looked so serious, but now that she was pregnant, she had a bit of an upper hand on him.

“Yes, I know who I’m talking to, and no one has given me permission. As long as you are confined to bed, you are under my control and will do as I say.”

“When I am better, I shall have to punish you, but do not worry, you will enjoy my punishment this time.”

“Eat your food and get back into bed,” she said assertively.

She liked having him all to herself for the next two days.

He kept looking at her while he ate; he knew he had created a monster.

As long as she didn’t treat him this way when others were around, he would let her continue.

If he were honest with himself, he liked that she was speaking up and becoming more independent around him.

“Why do you keep staring at me?”

He smiled at her.

“I like that you feel free to speak to me as you do. But I’m asking you not to talk to me like that in front of others. They will think I have become soft and will try to get the upper hand on me. I need to keep them fearing me, and if they see a woman is whipping me, it will only cause trouble.”

“I’ll make a deal with you.”

He looked at her suspiciously.

“What kind of deal?”

“If you give me your word that you will treat me with respect—even in front of people—I will be quiet. I will not talk back to you and do what you tell me to do.”

“You have my word.”

“Good,” she said, smiling back at him.

“Now, as soon as you’re done eating, get back into bed and rest.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, saluting her.