Chapter 30

He stayed by her side for two days, talking and holding her hand. He couldn’t understand why she wasn’t waking up.

The door opened, and a nurse carried the baby and a bottle of formula. Another nurse followed, holding the small bassinet, and set it down on the table. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw his baby boy.

The nurse handed him the baby. “We thought you would like to feed your son. Have you picked out a name for the little guy yet?”

He took his son in his arms and looked down at his tiny face. “No, I’m waiting for his mother to wake up so we can choose the name together.”

She handed him the bottle and instructed him on how to feed and burp him. “If you have any trouble or need help, just buzz us, and we’ll come running.”

He walked over to the bed with the baby. “Hey, little guy, I’m your daddy, and this is your mommy. Isn’t she the prettiest woman in the world?”

He could have sworn the baby looked at him and smiled. Sitting down, he started feeding his son, who was staring up at him the whole time. “Let me tell you a little something about your mother. She is beautiful, smart, and has a heart of gold. I know she’ll wake up soon because she wants to hold you in her arms and love you.”

He was so busy looking at and feeding his son that he hadn’t realized she was awake. After drinking almost half the bottle, he burped the baby and laughed when a huge burp came from him. “Already you are taking after your old man. I do the same thing when I drink too much beer.”

“He will be just like you when he grows up.”

Looking over toward the bed, he saw her sitting up with a very weak smile. Getting to his feet, he walked over to her with the baby still in his arms. He sat down on the bed, his eyes filled with tears. “It sure took you long enough to wake up,” he said.

She was still feeling a little dizzy and confused. “I want to hold my baby,” she said, holding out her arms.

The tears flowed down her face when he placed the tiny bundle in her arms. “He is so beautiful, so perfect.”

“He sure is—perfect like his mother.”

She kissed the baby’s tiny head. “Why are we here? What happened to us?”

“You don’t know?” he asked, hoping she had no memory loss.

“The last thing I remember is being in the car with you on our way to dinner, and suddenly, there was a big bang, and then I woke up in the delivery room. It’s all very foggy. Tell me what happened.”

“On our way to dinner, the vehicle in front of us swerved into the other lane. There was a car coming toward us in the same lane and hit us head-on. We’re lucky to be alive.”

“What about the driver?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart—he didn’t make it.”

She couldn’t help feeling sad for the older man who lost his life driving them to the restaurant for dinner. “You are hurt; your face is all bruised, and you have stitches in your forehead.”

“I am okay, but you had me worried sick. I’m sorry, but they had to do a C-section on you to save the baby, and then when you went into a coma, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I never want to lose you.”

She kept kissing her baby as she listened to him talk. “I want to hear you repeat it,” she said.

“Say what?” he asked with a confused look.

“That you love me.”

He ran his thumb over his bottom lip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with a hint of a smile.

“I could hear you talking the whole time. I was unconscious. I heard you say you love me. Now that I’m awake, I want to hear it again from your lips.”

He tenderly stroked her cheek. “I love you.”

“Repeat it.”

He made a point of rolling his eyes at her. “You will never let me stop saying it, will you?”

“Nope,” she replied, smiling at him.

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. I know you said to repeat it, so I said it four times. I hope you are happy now.”

“I am, and I love you too.” She looked down at her son. “I love you both so much.”

He saw she was getting tired, so he took the baby from her and placed him in the bassinet. “We need to pick a name for our son. We discussed several different options, so which one do you prefer?”

“I know you said if we had a son, you wanted him to have a Russian name. I like the name Alek, but I would like him to have an American name. I like the name David.” When she saw him hesitating, she added, “How about David Alek Smirnov?”

He thought about it for a minute. “I like it; yes, we shall name him David. I need to let them know that you are awake. They will want to take you for some tests and examine you.”

She nodded her head in agreement.

When the doctor checked her out, he said he wanted to run more tests, so they took her into another room. Dmitry waited with David until she returned. When they came back an hour later, he could see from the look on the doctor’s face that something was wrong.

He went and stood next to her. “Is something wrong?”

“I was telling Miss Burke that she has developed an infection in her uterus, so I am going to keep her in for a few more days so that we can clear it up. But I don’t want either of you to worry because you’re in the best place possible and will get the best care.”

“Doctor, she’s going to be okay, though, right? And will she be able to have more children?”

“She will be fine, and I don’t see any reason why Miss Burke cannot have any more children. It might take a while before she can get pregnant again.”

After the doctor left, he went to sit on the bed beside her. “Are you in any pain?”

“A little, but they gave me something for the pain. I don’t want to stay here. I want to go home.”

“I know you do, but it’s only for a few days. Now, you close your eyes and get some sleep. You might as well get as much rest now because once we go home, that little guy over there will keep you busy.”

“You should go home and get some rest yourself. I don’t expect you to stay with me the whole time.”

“I am not going home until you do. I will have them bring in a bed for me so we can still sleep together.”

“But your business, don’t you have things to tend to?”

“My business can wait. You and David are my top priority. I get the feeling that you don’t want me here.”

She reached up and grabbed his hand.

“No, don’t ever say that. I do want you with me. It’s a comfort to me to know you’re here. I’m sorry, I was thinking of you.”

“That’s sweet, but let’s concentrate on you getting better.”

“Wake me up when it’s time for David’s feeding. I want to be the one to do it since I missed out on the last few days.”

“You will now sleep,” he said, kissing her tenderly.

Over the next two days, she slept a lot, her pain went away, and the infection cleared up nicely.

Tabitha came to visit and fell in love with David.

Danica just knew she would be the perfect nanny for her son.

It bothered her every time she saw Dmitry and Dennis whispering out in the hallway, and every time she asked him about it, he said it was nothing.

Five days after waking up from her coma, she was allowed to go home, but only under the condition that she have complete bed rest for at least another week.

If she had any pain, she was to contact the doctor right away.

When they got home, he carried her upstairs, and Tabitha carried David.

He settled her in bed and sternly told her not to get out of bed unless it was to go to the washroom.

“But I need to care for David.”

“Tabitha will take care of him and bring him to you when it’s time for his feeding.”

“Dmitry, I want our son in the room with us, at least for a while.”

“All right, I’ll bring the bassinet here, but Tabitha will hand him to you whenever you want to hold or feed him. Don’t you dare give me that look; I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. You want to get better, don’t you, so that you can take care of him full-time?”

“Of course I do,” she said, giving him a dirty look.

He left the room, headed to the nursery to get David, and let Tabitha know he was moving the bassinet into their bedroom.

“Don’t worry, sir, I will stay with her and help her with the baby.”

For the next few days, she did as she was told and stayed in bed.

It made it easier to have David by her side and Dmitry lying beside her in bed at night.

She loved how attentive and loving he was and how he helped take care of the baby.

The only thing he refused to do was change David’s diaper, but she would get him to do it one of these times.

A week later, he took her and the baby to the doctor for a checkup.

They were both happy that her infection and stitches were healing beautifully.

David was also thriving, putting on a little weight, and he was a very happy little baby.

Meanwhile, extra security was set up inside and outside the house.

He even hired extra guards to patrol the grounds twenty-four seven.

He knew that Bepa was out somewhere, and she would eventually strike, but when was anyone’s guess?

When Danica questioned him about all the extra security, he told her that now that they had a son, he just wanted to make sure everyone in the house was safe.

He also informed her that he was going to teach her how to use a gun, saying that it was always a good idea to learn how to shoot one properly.

Over the next three weeks, she rested a lot, and he taught her how to handle a gun.

While Tabitha watched David, he took Danica out back and set up some targets for her to shoot at.

He stood behind her, his arms around her, helping her aim the gun.

“Feel the weapon, how hard it is.”

When she giggled, he turned grumpy.

“Danica, this is serious, not to be taken lightly, so do you mind telling me what’s so funny?”

“It sounded funny when you said that, and the gun is not the only hard weapon.”

She could feel how hard his manhood was when he was pressed up against her.

“I think you are horny and need some loving.”

“I can’t help it; this happens whenever I’m near you. As much as I would like to drag you behind the bushes, tear off your bottoms, and make love to you, we have to wait at least three or four months.”

“Oh hell no, I’m not waiting four months,” she said, looking back at him.

“Well, it’s doctor’s orders, so I won’t touch you until then.”

She let out a devilish laugh.

“We’ll see about that.”

He taught her how to handle the gun for two hours and was impressed at how fast she caught on.

He stayed at home as much as he could; his nerves were always on edge, wondering when Bepa was going to show her face and what she was going to do.

He had hired an army of men to look for her, checking every ship that came their way.

He even offered a two-million-dollar reward for the person who gave him the information about her whereabouts.

It was getting harder keeping it from her; she knew he was keeping a secret.

“I know you well enough by now to know you are worried about something. You need to tell me if it has anything to do with our safety—mostly David’s.”

He knew she was right, so he told her everything.

“I knew it, that bitch thinks she can come back here and hurt my family. Well, she has another thing coming to her. I will kill her myself if she tries to hurt our son or you,” she said, turning to look at him.

“That is why you wanted me to learn how to use a gun and for all the extra security. You shouldn’t have kept it from me. I had a right to know.”

He stared at her, thinking how strong and brave she had become.

He knew he would make her his wife as soon as he got rid of Bepa.

“Yes, you did. I am sorry. Please forgive me.”

“I’ll forgive you on one condition.”

“If you’re going to ask me to make love to you, I won’t; it’s too soon.”

“All right, but there’s nothing saying we can’t fool around. We don’t have to make love, but we could touch and kiss. Maybe I could try giving you another BJ. I know by now you must be in dire need of relief.”

He walked slowly toward her, removing his belt.

“Well, Tabitha is watching David, and as long as you don’t try to push me into putting my weapon inside your sweet spot, why not?”

He picked her up and carried her over to the bed, dropping her and removing her clothes.

Lying over her, he kissed her.

“I’ve missed this, and I love you so much.”

For over two hours, they kissed passionately, groping each other, and he had to use all of his willpower not to enter her.

She was true to her word; she gave him the release he desperately needed, and this time, she didn’t gag.

Yes, once, he did not believe in love or marriage, but being with Danica, he was now a believer.

Tony Marshall was right: when you love a woman more than life itself, you’ll do anything to protect her, to make her happy.