Chapter 17

The night before her doctor’s appointment, he treated her to a night out. He took her to dinner and to the opera.

He also booked them into one of his hotels, where they spent a night of passion.

He was putting on his shirt when she came from the bedroom, dressed and ready to go to her doctor’s appointment.

“You look gorgeous,” he said, looking at her black skirt and pink top.

She walked up to him, smiling.

“Thank you, and don’t look so serious. Smile, you look so sexy when you do.”

He placed his arms around her waist and drew her close.

“Okay, what do you want?”

“What makes you think I want something?” she asked, putting her arms around his neck.

When he raised an eyebrow at her, she knew she should tell him.

“All right, there is something I would like.”

“What?” he asked, still holding her close.

“Do you remember when you took me to the art gallery and how much I enjoyed the art? Especially the paintings?”

“You want me to buy you some art?”

She smiled, shaking her head.

“No. When I was young, I always loved to draw, but my stepfather would throw away my pencils and paper. With you gone a lot, I have nothing to do, and I was wondering if I could take some art lessons. I looked into it, and a class is starting in a couple of weeks.”

She cleared her throat when he said nothing and thought maybe he wouldn’t let her. She lowered her eyes.

“Never mind, it was just a thought.”

Her smile had turned upside down, and he knew she was sad.

He lifted her chin up so that she would have to look at him.

“Is this something that would make you happy?”

She nodded her head.

“Yes, it would.”

“Then I shall arrange it for you.”

Looking up at him, a smile appeared on her face.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” she said, kissing his lips.

“You can thank me later, but right now, we must get to your appointment.”

He liked seeing her happy. She had lived such a sad and pathetic life, and he felt she deserved some happiness.

If taking art lessons would make her happy, then he was all for it.

When they got to the appointment, they were taken right away to one of the offices.

Only seconds later, the doctor walked in.

After talking to her for about twenty minutes, he had her do a urine sample, and then she was taken into the examination room, where she put on a gown.

Dmitry was made to wait in the doctor’s office while she was being examined.

When it was done, she dressed and returned to the office to be with him while they waited for the doctor to join them.

He took hold of her hand, his thumb lightly caressing her skin.

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine,” she answered as she nervously waited for the doctor.

The gray-haired elderly doctor walked in carrying her chart and sat down behind his desk.

“Well, Miss Burke, you are definitely pregnant—two weeks to be precise. Everything looks good, and I will write you a prescription for your prenatal pills. We’ll start scheduling your appointments. Do you have any questions for me?”

Dmitry and Danica looked at each other and shook their heads.

After leaving the office, they headed back home.

Once they got home, she told him she was feeling a little tired and was going to lie down.

He told her to go on and that he had to go into his office and make a few calls.

He was sitting behind his desk making the call for Danica’s art lessons when Bepa walked in.

Without saying anything, she placed his coffee on the desk and left the room.

He snickered; he knew she was mad at him, but he didn’t care.

She had been overstepping for a long time now, and it was time he put her in her place.

He sat back, thinking about his men’s visit to Lawrence, Danica’s stepfather, after returning from the island.

He instructed them not to kill him, only to teach him a lesson.

It turned out that the lesson was quite severe: busted nose, broken ribs, and a smashed kneecap.

He never did tell her what he had his men do to him; there was no need for her to know.

Before going upstairs to check on her, he walked into the kitchen, which surprised the kitchen staff as he had never gone there before.

When he asked for a cold glass of orange juice, the one young lady’s hand shook when she handed it to him.

Taking it, he headed upstairs and went into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed and placing the glass on the nightstand.

He stared at her for a moment; she had stolen his heart, which was scaring him.

She could feel somebody watching her as she woke up.

Opening her eyes, she saw Dmitry sitting on the bed.

He looked so serious, as if he was in deep thought.

“Hey, is everything all right?” she asked, sitting up.

“Yes, all is good. I thought maybe you might like a nice cold glass of orange juice,” he replied, reaching for the glass on the table and handing it to her.

She took the glass from his hand.

There was something different in the way he looked at her.

“Thank you. Are you sure there is nothing bothering you? If I’ve said or done something, just tell me.”

“I’m sure. It’s just that I am so happy that we are having a baby and that you will be staying after giving birth.”

She put the glass down on the table.

“Dmitry, you said you would never fall in love or marry me. I will live with that, but one thing I will not accept is you sleeping with anyone else. Can a man like you be faithful to one woman?”

“You are the only woman I want.”

“Give me your word that you will not cheat on me.”

Over the last few months, she had learned a lot about him.

What she admired the most was that once he gave someone his word, he never went back on it.

He cupped her face in his hands.

“I give you my word that I shall have no other. You are the only one I need. Now I have some good news for you. I’ve registered you for the beginner’s art class, and you will start next week.”

She let out a squeal and threw her arms around his neck.

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

Letting go of him, their eyes locked; she moved her head closer and kissed him.

She felt his arms going around her as he lowered her down onto the bed.

Undoing the buttons on his shirt, she caressed his chest and moaned softly when she felt his hand going between her legs and inside her panties.

It didn’t take him long to undress her and remove his clothes.

Later, as she lay in his arms, she mentioned how Bepa fired the young maid Tabitha.

“Dmitry, I know she only fired the girl because she was nice to me. She was the only one who ever spoke to me. Can you hire her back?”

She hoped he would, but she was disappointed when he said no.

“Bepa is in charge of the hiring and firing of all household staff. She must have had a good reason for letting her go.”

She sat up, pulling the sheet over her breasts. “No, she didn’t. She hates me and didn’t like the fact that Tabitha and I got along. I know she was one of the maids, but we got along. It’s so lonely here when you are away; she was the only one who made me feel better.”

“I’m sorry, but I will not interfere.”

She climbed on top of him, kissing his neck and could feel his member growing. “Please, won’t you just this one time? It would make me so happy and extremely grateful.”

“Are you trying to seduce me into hiring the girl back?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, nibbling on his ear.

She let out a squeal when he flipped her onto her back and got on top.

“I will see what I can do, but first, we make love.”

He realized then that she had him wrapped around her little finger and there was nothing he could do about it.

Two days later, she was sad when he told her that he had personally asked the young maid to come back to work for him, but she refused. She did not want to work under Bepa’s supervision and had also found a new job.

Other than that, she was also excited to start her art lesson.

He and his two men drove her to the gallery where the lessons were to be held. “I will be back in two hours to pick you up. Craig will stay here to watch over you.”

He took hold of her chin when he saw she was about to protest. “Do not worry, he will wait outside the classroom.”

“Is it really necessary to have him here? I’ll be inside with the other students.”

“It is now known that you are my woman, so yes, it is necessary for your protection. Have fun, and I’ll be back soon,” he said, giving her a kiss before she got out of the car.

Craig walked her inside the building.

Two hours later, when he returned, he went inside to get her. Looking through the glass doors, he spotted her talking to a man. The man was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder as they talked and looked at the picture in front of them.

Going in, he kept his eyes on the man. He didn’t like how close he was to her.

She happened to look up and see him approaching. She could tell from his face that he was angry. She got up and stood between him and the man.

“Dmitry, I’d like you to meet Kyle Stephens, my art teacher.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Smirnov,” Kyle said, holding out his hand to shake.

Dmitry looked at the man’s hand for a second before taking it, adding more pressure than necessary. He didn’t reply; he just turned to her and asked if she was ready to go.

When they got into his car, she turned to him, a bit upset with how rude he had been to her teacher. “You were rude to him. Why?”

“I did not like how he was so close to you, the way he was hovering over your shoulder.”

“We were looking at my drawing, which you didn’t even look at. He was pointing out my mistakes and telling me how I could improve. It’s something he does with all of his students, and there’s no reason for you to be jealous.”

“I do not like him. I will find you another teacher,” he said with a heavy accent, which meant he was angry.

She turned her head sharply in his direction. “No, you can’t do that. I like it there, and I like the other students. They made me feel welcome, and my drawing was pretty good, which, if you had bothered to look at it, you would have seen for yourself. You have to stop being so jealous.”

He glanced over at the men in the front seat and back at her. “We will discuss this at home.”

He didn’t like her using that tone with his men upfront and able to hear them.

Giving him a dirty look, she scooted over to the door, further away from him. Crossing her arms, she refused to look at him.

When they got home, she didn’t wait for anyone to open her door. She did it herself and hurried up the walk toward the house.

He followed behind her with a scowl on his face, knowing they were going to have words.

Once inside, she went into the family room, went over to the table, and poured herself a glass of water.

He went up to her, taking the glass from her hand. “How dare you talk to me like that in front of my men? Sometimes you make me so mad I could shake you.”

She stared back at him, no longer afraid of him. “I’m carrying your child; you will not hurt me. Why do you give me something only to take it away because you are jealous? Nothing was going on; Kyle was not doing anything wrong.”

She couldn’t help it when the tears started. “You have to trust me and know I would never betray you.”

“You are so young and naive. He is young and handsome, and men like that only want one thing from women. Yes, I was jealous when I saw the way he was hanging all over you. He is lucky I didn’t kill him on the spot.”

“Is that your solution to everything that you don’t like—to kill?”

“If I so wish, then yes.”

“Then you would be a murderer. For your information, Kyle is gay, so there’s no way he would even hit on me.”

“You lie,” he snapped. “I can easily find out.”

“Then go ahead, check it out.”

She pushed him away when he tried to take her into his arms. “Don’t touch me. I’m going to lay down; suddenly I feel very tired,” she said, walking away and leaving the room.

He poured himself a drink, trying to control his anger. It didn’t help when Bepa appeared with a sickly grin on her face.

“What are you doing listening in on our conversation?”

“That girl is making a fool of you, making you soft. She is not the one for you. Send her away until the child is born and take it. You no longer need her; I’m sure she will give birth to a son, and if not, other women can bear you a son.”

“Leave me alone and mind your own business,” he yelled, throwing his glass of whiskey across the room before walking out.