Grigori bent down and whispered something in Nikki’s ear, and her eyes turned huge, and she whispered, “Really?” Grigori nodded, and she said, “Yes, I think I’d like that.”
“What?” Beth asked, taking her wide gaze off my stomach, but not her hand. “What would you like?”
Grigori bent down, still holding Nikki in his arms, and whispered in her ear. I didn’t catch what he said, but I saw her eyes go as big as Nikki’s had. She squealed, nodding really big, her blond curls dancing around her face. Grigori cleared his throat, and stood, placing Nikki back on the floor, and beckoned for Ember to come over.
Daniil’s hand tensed on my stomach, but a quick glance at him showed me that his face was peaceful. He even winked at me. Guess I was going to find out what all this was about the good old-fashioned way.
Ember walked through the silent room and stood in front of him with her eyebrows puckered, her head tilted all the way back so she could stare him in the face. She was just as confused as the majority of the room, and Grigori cleared his throat again, and cupped her cheeks, asking gently, “Do you still want to have more children?”
Her breath caught, and like her daughters’, her eyes went huge. She licked her lips and nodded in quick jerky motions. Grigori smiled down at her, and I had to lean into Daniil to see past Grigori’s hair hanging around his face. He said softly, “I’ve been doing some research. It may not be as easy as it was before. Are you sure about this?”
She nodded again.
He cleared his throat again, and then stated in the softest, sweetest tones I had ever heard him use before, “You said before that I’m all you ever want to know, that I was all you ever wanted in a man.” He paused, kissing the tip of her nose. “Well, honey, you’re all I have ever seen as the perfect woman. You’re strong. You’re fierce. You’re shy. You’re sweet. You’re caring. You’re protective. You’re all I ever want to know. You’re all I could ever want in a woman.” He leaned his forehead against hers, his hair barely covering his pink cheeks. “I love you, Ember, and I want to have children with you.”
Oh…oh, my. He had taken the plunge and also made this declaration in front of everyone. No wonder he had no real issues with her talking alone with Brent.
Ember’s voice cracked when she said, “I love you, too.” She was visibly trembling, and she placed her small hands on his heated cheeks. She lifted on her tiptoes and kissed his lips softly. “You’ll be a great daddy.”
Grigori sucked in a big breath, but I still saw the huge smile—a truly contented smile—he rested against her lips.
It was silent for all over a heartbeat as Grigori proceeded to—ahem—start the baby making process right in front of us with a kiss that nearly dropped Ember, but Carl cleared his throat, grabbing everyone’s attention from Ember and Grigori. I made sure to keep my eyes off Brent and Cole since I was almost positive even with the truce they had going on, no one in their situation wanted to hear that.
Carl stood and took Anna’s hand, pulling her up from her seated position to stand next to him. Her eyes were huge, but she was smiling softly as Carl laid the next big one on us. He grinned, tugging Anna in close, looking like a big ‘ol love sap, which was just odd on a man that looked as tough as he did. He stated clearly, and loudly, “With all this talk of babies, I thought it would be a great time to announce that my wife is pregnant.”
Everyone in the room—minus Ember and Grigori, who were still lost in one another directly in front of Daniil and me—cheered and started congregating around them. The loudness startled me for a second, and I know I jumped, scaring poor Beth, who still had her hand on my belly. Daniil shushed her…and me…but I got over it quickly enough. I wasn’t going to allow some damn happy cheers to rattle me for too long.
All in all, it had been one heck of a good evening all around.
I was ready for the party Daniil had been testing and preparing me for. It was time to meet my kidnappers. Mafia style.
One week later, I had to keep reminding myself that I could do this. My mom was helping me into a green dress that matched my eyes, but it was satin, and it bunched directly under my breasts, which were growing damn huge, and draped over my belly, making me look like I had three huge pillows taped around my stomach instead of three tiny babies inside my womb. My back was killing me, my ankles were on the verge of swelling, my tits were tender, and I swear one of Daniil’s children had a foot jammed up under my ribs that no matter how many times I massaged the area, the little bugger kept his or her foot budged tight. And I was hungry, my appetite back in full swing.
The dress hung down to my sandaled feet, and it felt like Heaven, but tonight wasn’t about Heaven. Tonight was about putting two people firmly in Hell. I had to look like I wasn’t affected by what they had done to me. Daniil hadn’t told me who he thought they were. He said he would tell me when it was time. In other words, it was party night.
To top it off, I hadn’t told my mom what was going to happen. Not because I was afraid to, but because now that I knew the primal urges parents had, I was afraid she would take care of business before I got the chance. Especially, with that far away, primal look she got in her eye sometimes when I had—they were getting fewer with each day—a moment when I zoned out and started singing. And that included my dad, too. God love him, he was a devout Christian, but it was there in his eye, too.
So, mum was the word.
“I think Dr. Wisser is going to put me on bedrest soon,” I grumbled, trying to drape the dress differently so it didn’t show exactly how big I was. It didn’t help. There was no hiding a pregnancy of almost five months with triplets. I glanced around Daniil’s bedroom, wondering if there was anything here big enough to make me look smaller. “He hinted at it last week.”
Mom finished zipping up the back of the dress, which the tighter it got, the bigger I looked. “Good. You should be off your feet.”
“Mom,” I griped, turning toward her, putting on my green gloves, which she had to help me with the arm that had the cast – only three more weeks of that damn thing to go. “I don’t want to be an invalid.” I hesitated, and then stated, “I’m not sure I can handle being cooped up in a bedroom for that long. I need to be able to move around.” Make sure I wasn’t trapped.
My mom’s eyes went to that primal place for a heartbeat, but they softened almost just as quickly, and she said softly, “We’ll figure something out. I’m sure Daniil would put a bed in every room of this house so you won’t feel…” She couldn’t say it. She still had issues from my ordeal, too.
I sighed, nodding and turning back to the mirror. My cheeks were rosy, my nose pert, my lips red, and my close curls… “God, I really do look like one of those damn dolls.”
“What dolls, sweetie?” she asked, peering over my shoulder to look in the mirror.
We both jumped when Daniil chuckled from our right. He was a sneaky one at times. I hadn’t even heard him come in the room. He walked over and wrapped his arms around my stomach, thank God, he had long arms, and bent down kissing my—rosy—cheek, murmuring quietly, “You know what kind of kewpie doll you look like tonight?”
I puffed out a breath, ignoring how my mom was quietly leaving the bedroom. “A fat, ugly one?”
He chuckled again, shaking his head. “You look like my kewpie doll.”
I smiled a little at that until I really saw what he looked like in the mirror next to me, and I groaned. “You look all damn debonair in your James Bond attire.” He wore a black tux, his hair pulled back from his sharp features, the clothes fitting him excellently, showing off his large physic.
