Page 102 of Sexting the Single Pakhan

Tears sting my eyes again. “You’re not a monster.”

“I know I’m one, Laurel. I kill people.” The words are blunt, unapologetic. “I run an organization that profits from violence. The Bratva is my life. They gave me and Igor hope when we had none. They’re my family. I can’t walk away from that.”

I swallow hard. “I know.”

I can’t ask him to leave that life. It’s not fair. The family he built when he had nothing, is what kept him and Igor alive. It’s what shaped the man sitting here holding my hand.

He lifts my hand to his lips, kisses my knuckles. “But I swear to you, I will protect you from this life. I will never let it touch you. Never let anyone hurt you or our child. I’d give my life before I let that happen.”

His eyes burn into mine. “I promise you that,” he says. “With everything I am.”

I reach up slowly and brush my fingers along the sharp line of his jaw. His stubble rasps under my touch. “I’m not asking you to leave it,” I whisper. “Be it as it may… that life is what made you who you are. The man I fell in love with.”

His eyes snap to mine. “Really?” The word is soft, almost disbelieving. “What are you saying?”

I smile. “For a man who runs an empire, you can be kind of slow sometimes.”

He laughs, low, the sound vibrates through his chest into mine. He grabs my hand, brings it to his lips, kisses the inside of my wrist. Then grazes his teeth over the sensitive skin there, just enough to make me gasp and laugh at the same time.

I can’t remember the last time I actually laughed. The sound fades, and I clear my throat.

“That day outside the office building… I was there to tell you my decision. And… to tell you about the pregnancy.”

He groans, deep, pained, and drops his forehead to mine. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I understand now.”

He pulls back just enough to look at me. “How did I get so lucky with you?”

He kisses me then, slow, deep, achingly tender. When he pulls away, his hand rests gently on my stomach.

“Move in with me,” he says.

I open my mouth to protest, but he cuts me off gently.

“Let me rephrase. Not move in permanently. Just… come stay with me for a while. You’re pregnant. You need to be taken care of. I know I contributed to the stress that raised your blood pressure. Let me fix that. Let me make sure you’re okay. At least for now. Please.”

I search his face, open, earnest, pleading in a way I’ve never seen from him before.

“Okay,” I whisper.

Relief washes over him so visibly his shoulders drop. He kisses me again, soft, grateful, and rests his forehead against mine.

“Alexei is going to be over the moon,” he says, voice thick.

I smile, tears pricking my eyes again. “I can’t wait to see him. I miss him.”

Leonid kisses me once more, deeper this time, his hand splaying wide and protective over my stomach.

“I love you,” he murmurs against my lips.

And for the first time since those two lines appeared on the test, I breathe with ease.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Leonid

Laurel is asleep in my bed, curled on her side under the heavy duvet, breathing slow and even. We got back from the hospital a few hours ago, her blood pressure finally stabilized after two days of IV meds, monitoring, and insistence from every doctor on the floor that she rest.