She eyes the pregnancy test, a mix of excitement and nerves written all over her face. She’s officially late for her period, has been for several days, but we’ve both been too nervous to actually get the damn test.
“What if it’s negative,” she whispers.
I laugh and say, “Then we fuck some more, sweetheart. This test is going to be positive, whether it’s today or a year from now doesn’t matter. It’s going to happen.”
She nods her head and takes a breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”
I throw my jeans back on while she slips back into her clothes before we go upstairs. She tells me there’s no way in hell she can pee on a stick while I’m watching her, so I pace outside the door until she’s done. Wrapping my arms around her, she rests her head against my bare chest and we wait the three minutes that feel like a lifetime. As soon as those two pink lines pop up, she starts crying and I’m smiling bigger than I ever have in my life. Laughing, I pick her up and kiss her.
“Zolotse, we’re going to be parents.”
She cups my face and starts crying harder. “I’m so happy,” she says, her voice shaking as she whispers the words. Resting her forehead against mine, we hold each other, both of us savoring the moment, imagining the little life growing inside her. “I didn’t even know it was possible to be this happy.”
“I know, baby. I feel the same way. I expected to live my life alone, but then I met you, and all of a sudden I wanted all these things I’d never even really thought about before. Now I have a wife,” I bring my hand to her stomach, “and soon I’ll be a daddy. You’ve given me so much, so much more than a man like me deserves.”
“You deserve everything,” she says, resting her hand on my chest, “and I’m so grateful that I’m the woman who gets to share all this with you, Vasya.”
“You’re the only woman I’d ever want to share any of this with, baby.”
As if sensing the excitement, Ruslan comes in and butts his large head against my thigh. Nina laughs and pets his head. “Looks like you have another person to protect,” she tells him. He licks her hand and gives a funny grunting sound to show his happiness. He’s the most vocal dog I’ve ever known, and it never fails to amuse me.
I hug Nina tighter, knowing that our lives are just going to keep getting better. I don’t deserve her, but I’ll happily spend the rest of my life loving and worshipping every inch of her. I know how lucky I am to have her, and it’s something I won’t ever forget. Running my fingers along her stomach, I smile at the thought of her growing bigger with each passing month. The thought of her swollen belly sends a possessive rush through me and makes me hard as fucking steel.
“Damn,” she whispers, feeling me strain against my jeans.
“I was just thinking about you being very pregnant.”
She laughs and looks up at me like I’m joking.
“I’m very serious,zolotse, and I’ll happily spend the next nine months showing you what your pregnant body does to me.”
She smiles when I pick her up and carry her to bed. I’m excited to tell everyone we’re going to have a baby and to let my brothers know they’re going to be uncles, but all that can wait. Right now I want to celebrate with my wife.
Epilogue
Nina
Nine Months Later
“We have way too many stairs in this house,” I say, resting a hand on my large belly and bracing the other against the wall.
As soon as the complaint is out of my mouth, Vasily scoops me into his arms, carrying me like I weigh nothing at all and not like I’m nine months pregnant and about to burst.
“You’ve got to stop doing that,” I say with a laugh. “You’re going to throw your back out.”
He laughs and kisses my temple. “You know I love carrying you, and you’ll never be too heavy for me.”
I don’t bother arguing and instead relax against him, happy to get off my feet. The last nine months have gone by in a whirlwind. It seems like only yesterday Vasily and I were staring at the pregnancy test, smiling and laughing, both of us happier than we’ve ever been. So much has happened since then. Volodya is settled in the southern half of the city, ruling with an iron fist from the snippets I hear, and now that the Medvedev Bratva owns the city, things have quieted down a bit. Valeri is back in Moscow, but it looks like he’ll be joining his brothers sooner rather than later. I know Vasily can’t wait to have him back here.
My parents have sold their house, presumably to pay off my father’s debt, but I haven’t talked to them since the day I walked out of their house. I have no desire to ever see them again, and I’ve stopped feeling guilty about that. My family is here with my husband, his brothers and all their men, Katya and Svetlana, and Ruslan. And soon our son will be joining us, and I can’t wait.
Vasily looks down at me and smiles, looking just as sexy as he did the first time I saw him. His blue eyes run over me, growing darker when he reaches my belly. I laugh and lightly smack his hard chest.
“You’re insatiable,” I tell him, meaning every word of it. The man hasn’t been able to keep his hands off me. The bigger I get, the hornier he gets. Seeing me grow with his baby has caused some sort of caveman gene to take over. I’m not complaining, though. I’ve been walking around in a cloud of orgasmic bliss and taking full advantage of it.
Vasily smiles and sets me down by the bed. Bringing his hands to my belly, he slides them under my shirt and strokes my skin. When our son gives a strong kick, his eyes widen and he lets out a soft laugh.
“He’s feisty tonight,” I say, pressing my hand against Vasily’s.
