Chapter 24

For three days, he made her stay in bed and never tried to make love to her. He wanted her to rest and get better.

The lump on her head was gone, and her wrist was healing quickly. It was hard at night sleeping next to her and not being able to touch her.

On the fourth day, he returned home to find she wasn’t in bed or the bedroom. He had told her to stay in bed, so angrily, he rushed out and down the stairs.

Walking down the hall, he stopped one of the maids who was cleaning the floors.

“Have you seen Miss Burke?”

“Sir, she’s in her art room.”

Grunting out a thank you, he headed in that direction to give her proper hell. But damn it, when he saw her sitting on the loveseat with the paper and pencil in her hand—and seeing the smile on her face—his anger went away.

She looked up when she smelled his cologne.

“You are back early.”

“Yes, I am, and I caught you red-handed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did I not tell you to stay in bed? I do not like it when people disobey my orders.”

Tilting her head and batting her eyes, she gave him a sexy little smile.

“But I’m not just people; I’m your woman. Besides, the doctor only said I had to stay in bed for two days, but you made me stay for three days. I was getting so bored and feeling so much better,” she said, getting up and walking toward him.

When she reached him, she put her arms around his neck.

“I’ve been missing you.”

“You just saw me not four hours ago, so how could you miss me already?”

“I don’t mean miss seeing you; I’ve missed you,” she said, running her lips over his neck, placing kisses along the way. She could feel the bulge inside his pants growing and felt his hand pulling up the hem of her dress.

The way his fingers trailed up her leg sent shivers throughout her entire body, and a small moan escaped from her lips.

She stared into his eyes when he grabbed a handful of her hair and gently pulled her head back just before his lips came crashing down on hers.

The flames had been lit, and there was no turning back. They kissed passionately while removing each other’s clothes. He lowered her down onto the thick, cream-colored carpet.

He moved his hand slowly up and down the side of her body, moaning as he felt the wetness between her legs.

She lay beneath him, taking in the scent of his cologne and the feel of his hard body and the length of his manhood as he entered her with one hard thrust. She didn’t think there was anything better than the feel of him and the way he moved inside her.

The orgasm he gave her—she didn’t know how to describe it. It was like this explosion shooting through her entire body. Her body would shake, her heart thumping against her chest, her toes curling, and it felt as though her eyes were rolling into the back of her head.

She would have had the entire staff running to see if she was okay from her screams of ecstasy if he hadn’t covered her mouth with his in a passionate kiss that left her breathless.

As he lay on top of her—but not putting all of his weight on her—he looked down at her face. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips were slightly parted, and he could hear her rapid breathing.

He lowered his head to kiss her, and he felt her fingers caressing his back. Being inside her felt warm and tight; they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

“You are one hell of a woman.”

After giving her another kiss, he helped her up, and they started getting dressed.

Walking to the door, she looked over her shoulder at him.

“I’m going to take a shower. Would you care to join me?”

He was putting on his tie when she said that, but he had work to take care of. He watched her as she walked out, debating whether to follow her.

~Fuck it~, he growled to himself, tossing his tie down—he headed upstairs. Once he was in the shower with her, he knew he had made the right decision, especially when she surprised him by giving him a BJ.

He was shocked when she started kissing down his chest and made her way down to his manhood, taking it in her mouth and starting to lick the tip. His breathing became erratic as he closed his eyes.

She had never done this before—hell, she was a virgin before she met him.

“Baby, you don’t have to do this. I do not expect it from you.”

Looking up at him, she smiled and released him from her mouth.

“I’ve been reading up on this, and I know that men like it, so I want to do this for you. I may not be very good at it, but at least I’m going to try,” she said, going back to what she was doing.

He leaned his back against the wall, his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through her hair. This may have been her first time, but she did well. It didn’t matter to him that she couldn’t take all of him in, but what she was doing had him moaning, and before he knew it, he released inside her mouth.

He did have to chuckle when he heard her gagging a little and spitting it out.

He pulled her up by the arms, placed his mouth over hers, and gave her a passionate kiss.

“You did real good, baby.”

“I tried, but I’ll do better next time, I promise.”

Before leaving the shower, he made love to her up against the wall, letting her know how much she had turned him on.

Her phone rang as they were getting dressed, so she picked it up. He was sitting on the bed, putting on his socks and shoes, and by the way she was talking, he could tell it was Annika on the other end.

He could only hear her side of the conversation, how she was saying how sorry she was, and if they could do anything for her, she would let them know.

He waited until the phone call ended, and she hung up.

“Is there a problem with Annika?”

“She was calling me to let me know that Benjamin was murdered the day they went home.”

He was a master at hiding his emotions, and he was doing just that now.

“Did she say what happened?”

“When they got home, he received a call saying there was a problem at his factory. When he got there, he was ambushed, beaten, and shot.”

“Do they know who did it?”

“She told me it was one of his enemies, but they couldn’t prove who. There was no funeral; he just got cremated.”

“Why did she wait so long to call you to let you know?”

“When it happened, she feared for her life and her two daughters, so they left and went to Spain to live with her family.

“She would have called you instead of me, but she knew how close the two of you were, and she couldn’t bear to break the news to you, so she asked me to tell you.”

“I despised the man for what he tried to do to me, but he was still a human being and didn’t deserve to die the way he did.”

She went over and sat next to him.

“I know you were angry with him for what he did, but you two have been friends for many years. I’m so sorry.”

He wrapped his arms around her, placing her head on his chest and stroking her hair.

“What happened to him is sad, but after what he tried to do to you, he ceased being my friend. I’m just sorry for his family. Annika is a good woman, and she deserves better.

“She’s still young and beautiful, and someday she will find the right man to love her how she deserves to be loved.”

The next few days flew by.

She went to her art classes.

She really enjoyed it, and it helped to pass the time at home when he was away on business.

It seemed, though, that he was spending more time at home with her than he was away, which she was very pleased about.

“So, have you found someone to replace Bepa?” he asked one night as they were getting ready for bed.

“I do have someone in mind.”

“So are you going to tell me, or are you keeping it a secret?”

She climbed into bed next to him.

“Richard.”

“But he’s our butler.”

“I know he is, and he still can be. I thought he knew all it took to run this place since he had been with you for many years.

“He’s wonderful with the staff, knows who you are and what you do, and is not afraid to work for you. I think you should promote him to head of the household and give him a raise.”

“Oh, you think I should, do you?”

She giggled when he rolled over on top of her, pinning her hands above her head.

“Yes, I do. So will you?”

He smiled as he stared down at her.

“I would with the right persuasion.”

She reached up and placed her hands behind his head when he released them.

She pulled him down so that she could kiss him.

The way he was moaning and panting, she knew he would agree.

It was always a surprise to her as to how fast he could remove her nightgown and enter her.

There wasn’t much foreplay this time—he was too horny to take the time—but she didn’t mind.

Even without the foreplay, she enjoyed their sex life.

More time passed, and things were going perfectly for them; she still waited to hear those three little words from him.

So many times, she wanted to tell him she loved him but was afraid to—not knowing how he would react.

She was now six months pregnant.

They could have found out the sex of the baby, but she talked him into waiting, saying she wanted it to be a surprise.

He went with her to her doctor’s appointments; he was very loving and attentive toward her, surprising her with little gifts now and then.

The baby’s room was all set up; she even had him helping her to pick out the paint and the decorations.

It was painted in a neutral color so that it would be suitable for either a boy or a girl.

She was still hoping for a girl, and of course, he was hoping for a boy.

For the most part, her hormones were under control, but there were times when she became very emotional and a little demanding.

One night, she sat up in bed and woke him up.

“Dmitry, I’m hungry.”

“Some cheese and crackers are wrapped up on a plate for you; eat those and let me get back to sleep, woman.”

“I don’t want cheese and crackers. I want some strawberries. Won’t you go down and get me some?”

“Baby, it’s three in the morning.”

When he heard her sniffling, he rolled his eyes, got out of bed, and pulled on a pair of pants.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Before he could get out the door, she called out to him.

“Maybe you could put the strawberries on top of vanilla ice cream and pour chocolate syrup—maybe add some sprinkles.”

He let out a sigh and nodded his head.

“Anything for you, princess.”

He went down to the kitchen and found the ingredients he needed.

As he was putting it all together, he kept thinking about what the others would feel if they saw him doing this.

A man who could kill, one who has ordered others to be executed—and here he was making an ice cream sundae.

Next, she will have him polish her toes and fingernails.

~Oh God, please don’t let her ask me to do that,~ he said silently.

But he knew damn well that if she did ask, he would do it.

She had him wrapped around her little finger, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it.

When he got upstairs and handed it to her, she looked at it and backed up at him.

“You forgot the sprinkles.”

“There weren’t any. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to do without them.”

The truth was, he did forget the sprinkles.

“It’s just not going to be the same, but I guess it will have to do,” she pouted.

He got back into bed and under the covers.

“Enjoy it,” he said and closed his eyes.

“Want some?”

“No, I don’t want some. You know I don’t eat that junk. Please let me go to sleep now.”

He was tired and wanted to sleep, and of course, she was in the mood to talk.

“You must take me shopping to buy a dress for that party next week. I don’t have anything fancy to wear—not something that fits me anyway.”

“Can we discuss this tomorrow?”

“Why are you getting mad at me?” she said, sniffling as she wolfed down the ice cream.

He sat up and turned to look at her.

“I’m not mad at you. I’m just tired. If you want me to take you shopping tomorrow, I will do it, but only if you let me go back to sleep.”

She put down the half-eaten bowl onto the nightstand.

“Want to have sex?”

He rubbed his forehead and let out a groan.

“Now you are horny and want me to make love to you.”

“Yes,” she replied, giving him one of her sexy smiles.

“What the hell, why not?” he said, lowering her onto the bed.

He had no problems with making love to her—it was all he ever wanted to do, and when she was the one who suggested it, he sure as hell was going to go for it.