Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Morning,” she whispers, her voice thick with sleep.
“Morning, Zveda Maya.” He brushes his lips over mine. “You alright? Bad dream?”
She shakes her head. “Not anymore.”
Her fingers lace through mine.
She lays against me as her phone buzzes on the bedside table.
“Did you forget to silence those notifications again?”
“Mhm. Someone distracted the hell out of me.”
I shake my head. “I’ll have to have a talk with Zoya. You don’t have to be her personal book assistant.”
Laughing, Ember pushes my chest. “As if.”
“Seriously, baby. You’ve become a star in your own right.” Her account has absolutely exploded, earning more than she ever imagined. Her follower count has skyrocketed. Here in my home outside of Moscow, she doesn’t just have a little nook enchanted with fairy lights to hide the cracked ceilings and fading wallpaper. Oh hell no. My little queen has her own library.
Built it myself and I’m damn proud of it. The grin on her face was worth it.
“Oh, please,” Ember says on a yawn. “My account is doing well because of you, not me.”
I stifle a snort. “Yeah, no. My occasional cameo has nothing to do with it. It’s you, babe. They want to see you. You let your authenticity shine, and that’s what they’re here for. You tell them to keep dreaming and all that.”
Her eyes narrow playfully. “You mean all those reviews about dark, brooding alpha males? Who could I possibly be drawing inspiration from?” She snorts. “Not my husband, who hardly shows his face on my feed.”
“Right. You just let the books keep doing their talking, babe.” I shove the covers off and give her ass an affectionate slap. “Let’s go. Gym time. You said your New Year’s Resolution was to get back to the gym so you could wrestle me. No more slacking.”
She throws her pillow at my head. “It’s not my fault you keep railing me every time I get dressed in my gym clothes.”
I shrug. “No regrets.”
As she tugs her leggings on, she sighs.
“What?”
“I miss the attention I used to get at the gym.”
She is baiting me, and she’s going to fucking regret that.
“Behave yourself, woman.”
Smirking, she ties her shoe laces. “It’s harder to get attention at a home gym.”
“You really need more attention?” I push myself off the dresser and stalk over to her, but she squeals and runs toward the kitchen, likely to grab the protein shakes she prepped in the fridge last night.
I shake my head and chase after her, but when I find her, she’s rummaging through the cabinets. “I can’t find the peanut butter.”
“Peanut butter?”
“Yes,” she says with a sigh. “I am dying for a peanut butter and pickle sandwich.”
I stare at her. She hasn’t asked for one of those since we went to the cabin. It feels like a long time ago now. Here in Russia, Zoya cooks for all of us at the family home, and Ember happily partakes, as we all do.
“Are you serious right now?”
“I just… it sounds so good right now, and I’m a little nauseous…”
We both turn to face each other at the same time.
“Ember.” I hardly trust my voice.
“I—I’m not ready, Rodion. I—I can’t, not now, not yet. We used protection!”
I am trying to be sympathetic, but what I’m actually doing is mentally tallying the closest place I can get a pregnancy test.
“We did, we did,” I tell her reassuringly, nodding. “But it’s not foolproof. We’ll just…let’s get you a pickle and peanut butter sandwich and a test, okay?”
“Rodion.” Her voice is a whisper.
She looks so small, so fragile, it twists something deep in my chest. “We need to find out,” she finally says, shaking.
“We do. But listen.” I pull her into me. Her fear is palpable. “What if I can’t do this? What if I—”
“What if you’re not alone?” I finish. “What if the two of us are together?”
Holding my gaze, her eyes shimmer, her fear still palpable. “Together.”
I nod. “Wait here,” I say, stepping away after seeing the notification on my phone.
It’s time.
“Rodion, what are you doing?”
“You’ll see.”
I slip outside, ignoring the snow biting at me. The driver meets me at the gate, and I take the small bundle he’s holding. It squirms in my hands, the softest little growl followed by a squeak. I can’t help but smirk. Feisty little thing.
Perfect.
“Behave,” I whisper, handing the driver a tip before I turn to the house. I take a deep breath and place another order before I go in.
My heart swells. Our little family might be growing in more ways than one…
When I step back into the warmth of the kitchen, Ember’s perched on a stool. The moment she sees me, her brows knit. “Rodion… what did you do?”
“Ordered pregnancy tests.”
“Rodion…” her voice trails off in a whisper as I set the bundle down at her feet, the blanket falling and revealing the sweetest little creature wobbling on tiny legs with big, fluffy paws promising he’ll grow to be big and strong enough to protect my girl in my absence.