Chapter Twenty-Five: Sophia

Groggily, I open my eyes looking around the sterile white room. I’m in a hospital. My body feels heavy and as I lift my arm, I can see there’s a drip in the back of it. That’s right. I survived a kidnapping, and a Bratva gun shootout. A looming presence takes form near my bed, a pair of eyes staring at me. It’s Andrei, standing guard near the top end of the bed with the nurse on the other side.

“Oh hello! You’re awake. Perfect timing. I’ve got some food here for you, and it’s time for you to take your insulin. Not knowing where my body hurts, I slowly slide up, the nurse pressing the button to lower the bed to level.

“Ah, thank you,” I say, taking a deep breath as she hands me a water. As I sip through the straw, Andrei surveys me.

“How are you feeling?” he asks softly.

“Like I’ve gone twelve rounds in a boxing ring,” I admit, watching a smirk curve on his lips.

“That would make sense. The nurse wants to talk to you about a few things. Are you up for it?”

“Sure.” The familiar tools for a blood test are set up on a trolley behind the nurse as she places a strap around my arm to find the vein for a blood test.

“I’m Nurse Stephenson, and you and your sweet baby are in good hands. You gave us quite the fright, but it’s understandable given the circumstances,” she explains, shifting a brief gaze to Andrei, who nods as if he knows her personally. Not knowing how to answer, I give a nod back.

“I’m feeling okay, I guess,” I respond, not yet fully alert.

“Yes, you might be a little off. Your blood glucose readings were terribly low and had dipped to a critical level when you were rushed in. That can cause serious complications for the baby if not managed correctly, you understand?”

“Yes of course. I’ve been managing my diabetes for years, and it’s been fine,” I tell her, a little snappy that she’s lecturing me about a condition I know all too much about.

She taps the vein near my elbow with a sympathetic smile as Andrei stands by listening intently. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say you weren’t doing a good job. Just that often mothers can develop gestational diabetes on top of things because the baby is sucking more nutrients from you. You’ll have to watch it like never before.”

Softening I sigh as the needle goes in and blood is drawn. “Apologies,” I say to her quietly.

“We’re going to have in-home nurses at the house, so it won’t be a problem,” Andrei reasons, placing a comforting hand on my arm.

“Ah lovely. There we go.” She finishes drawing the blood, turning it into a sample and applying a sticker.

“So, what can happen to the baby?” I ask, feeling overwhelmed.

“It can lead to changes in the sugar levels, which can affect the health of your baby, or at worst the baby could develop metabolic syndrome, obesity, impaired glucose tolerance or worse. They could be pre-dispositioned as a candidate for type-two diabetes.”

Horrified at the possibilities, the whites of my eyes widen like saucers. “Oh no. What can I do?”

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be alright. That’s not going to happen, right, Nurse?”

“No. It won’t, provided you follow a stricter schedule in monitoring your levels, and from what I can see, you’ve been managing your condition very well outside of this incident. So well done.”

Relieved, I press my eyes shut, wanting to go home to our warm bed. It’s not something I would believe could ever be uttered from my mouth, but it’s where I want to be right now.

“Okay. Thank you for the information, Nurse,” I say as she pats my arm with a wink.

“You’re going to be fine.” That’s when I feel the gauze bandage under my neck, wondering where else on my body has been affected.

“Is the baby good?” Andrei inquires as the nurse smiles.

“Oh, yes. She’s doing very well. Healthy.” My eyes brighten as Andrei stares back at me, his eyes open.

“It’s a she?” Andrei asks.

“Yep. It is,” the nurse replies proudly with a broad smile. Andrei smiles too, and it’s different from the one at the ultrasound. This feels more heartfelt and like he wants to be involved in the process. We might be getting somewhere.

On the drive home, we talk excitedly about having a girl. “I can’t wait. She’s going to have so many cute girlie things. I wonder whose dominant hair gene she’s going to have?” I toss the idea around in my head as Andrei’s eyebrow hitches.

“That’s what you want to know about our child?”

Nodding triumphantly, I let out a gleeful laugh, happy to be free and that Andrei and his Bratva men are safe. “Yes! Of course. And if she’s going to be tall or short.”

“Hmpf.” We pull into the estate as Andrei helps me out of the car, the relief washing over me when we walk through the front door.

“You know what I wanna know?”

Dropping my bags, feeling dead on my feet, I hobble behind him, making a beeline for the couch. “What?” I chuckle, enjoying the lively discussion as Andrei slots in beside me. Since the hospital he’s been sticking to me like glue, showering me with attention and affection.

“If they’re going to be feisty like you?” He bops my nose pulling my feet over his legs and taking off my flats one by one before beginning a heavenly foot massage. I groan happily as he kneads into the base of my foot, relaxing me.

“You think I’m feisty?”

“Would you call yourself shy?” he asks slickly, his hands working wonders on my aching feet.

“No, not exactly, but I’m pretty observant,” I tell him.

“I want her to be ‘stubborn with an attitude.’ Yeah, like her mother. That’s going to work for me.” Rolling my eyes, I shake my head, but I can’t disagree. It would have been the one trait that would have gotten me through if I’d made it to the courtroom. At the start it felt like a loss not to be a lawyer, but knowing I’m having a girl makes it feel less like that. It’s more of a feeling of bliss and excitement replacing it. Andrei continues, and it’s lucky he’s rubbing my feet. “But at the same time, absolutely beautiful.”

We stare at each other, the intensity of the passionate desire we both sought finding us again. Tingles sprinkle all over me as Andrei slides up my body, until we are face-to-face. He strokes a finger down the side of my face, our bond rock solid, given everything we’ve gone through. He holds off the kiss, our mouths a hair’s breadth from each other.

“What happened to Christopher?” I whisper, finding his dark curls at the nape of his neck, loving the feeling of running my fingers through them.

His forehead rests against mine as he kisses my nose. “Do you really want to know that, beauty?”

“Yes?” I shiver, not wanting to hide from what I’m a part of anymore. “I’m your wife, and I have a right to know. I can’t keep pretending, can I? Andrei eyes my lips, grazing them with tenderness.

“No, I guess not. What should have happened in New York is what happened,” he replies succinctly, but I sit up straighter, the electric current of desire buzzing between us.

“Tell me. How do you do it?” I suck on his bottom lip, and he groans, his face contorting with pleasure.

“Sophia. Please. Stay pure. You don’t want the gory details.”

“Yes, yes, I do. Don’t hold back,” I say seductively as Andrei’s hand slides up my shirt.

“We killed him. Nothing gruesome. Makar shot him with a silencer since we were in the neighborhood of other people.” Andrei’s hand cups the heavy weight of my breasts. Much to his delight, they’ve grown since the pregnancy, giving him more to play with.

“Smart. Where did they dump the body? Shallow grave?” I ask, guessing as Andrei places his head under my shirt, dipping my bra down so he can flick his wet tongue over my nipple. Arching my back, I let the pleasure take me far from any trauma I’ve suffered.

Andrei comes up for air, laughing. “You’ve been watching too many crime shows on TV. No. Worse. An incinerator so his body parts can’t be identified. Where the horses go to die.”

I’m shocked, but turned on as Andrei’s hands follow a trail down to my pants, unzipping my jeans. “You mean the glue factory? Where they take the old nags?”

“Precisely,” he whispers, one eye closed, the other open. “Is this for your research?” I giggle between moans, but Andrei stops me momentarily, his tongue tussling with mine, our bodies melding as one.

Gasping as we both come up for air, I wrap my leg around his broad back. “And there’s no trace?”

“No trace,” he adds, his fingers locating my wet spot and grooving inside me.

“Ah, so good,” I croon as he rocks his hand back and forth, reminding me of our first time on my couch. “No evidence. What about the bones?”

“Good question,” he pants. “It’s mixed up and grinded with the horse’s bones used for fertilizer. Sold in bags.”

Andrei’s fingers work in a circular motion exploring as I sigh. “Sold to us! There are people sprinkling the bone dust of criminals on their garden beds!” I shriek, the notion too funny and unbelievable at the same time.

“That’s why we get away with such a thing. Nobody would ever believe it. Let alone be able to prove it. Maybe I need to get you to sign a contract now.”

As a peak builds inside me, I wriggle around Andrei’s fingers, my arm draped around the back of his neck as I stare into his eyes. “You mean the one where it’s death until we part?”

He nods, bruising my mouth with a kiss. “Yes, that one. But since you’re planning on divorcing me after the birth of the child, our Bratva secrets must be protected,” he jokes as I wrap my legs tighter, running out of room on the couch.

“But you’ll find me, won’t you? And I have your girl,” I remind him with a wink as he pulls me up in an aroused state.

“True. Come on. Let’s get comfortable in our bed, wife.” Led by him, I smile in my languid state as we reach our bed and I lay back, happy to give myself to him. He strips me of my stretchy jeans, dragging my underwear down with his teeth. I enjoy the show as he strips, revealing his taut, hard muscles that ripple with every motion. Maybe it’s a cliché, but I truly feel as if he’s been sculpted from the gods and sent as a special package just for me. His thick cock stands to attention, and I feel my pussy clench at the sight. Andrei knows I want him, and I like how confident and assured he is.

“Don’t just stand there,” I say, breathily, Andrei’s face lighting up in amusement as tendrils of his near jet-black hair hang loose and in his potent dark eyes, making his broody appeal even stronger.

Now we’ve loosened up in the bedroom together, I’m getting to know all the ways of pleasure, my body tuned to Andrei’s hot commands. He discards my panties, my legs spreading open so his mouth can dip inside my inner thighs. I shudder as his versatile tongue glides up, until he reaches my core.

I ache so much for him, but he’s not willing to give me what I want straight away. No, he plays a game, licking around the folds of my entrance as I run my hands through his hair.

“Why are you teasing me so badly?” I groan in frustration, gathering balls of the duvet in my hands.

“Wait. I’m teaching you patience, Sophia. It’s going to make you come harder.” He gives my clit a long lick, his wolfish eyes staring up at mine for a second. It’s a sweet anguish, but I want it to stop. No continue. No, I don’t have a clue what I want in the heat of this moment. All I know is I can’t do without his addictive touch. He’s the only man who can do it for me.

“I don’t want patience. I want you inside me,” I admit, dying a small death inside.

“Ah, I like you like this. Talking. How badly do you want it, Sophia?” he asks, gravel in his deep voice.

“Badly,” I groan, twisting and turning as Andrei laps at my pussy again, but not long enough for a climax to come. “Badly. Make me come, Andrei,” I call out, feeling liberated as Andrei ceases the game, his mouth swirling in motion, diving in and out for treasure. Soon enough he finds it, an internal explosion bursting free. He was right, the long foreplay session did make the orgasm incredible. Feeling like I can fly, I release a long groan, the pleasure continuing as Andrei grins, flipping me on my side, spooning me from the back.

“Was that good, wife?”

“Yes, so good.” His hot breath lands in my ear as he grips my waist, holding my body in place as he thrusts from behind, his hard length stretching open my internal walls. His hair sticks to my face as he pumps, my breasts bouncing with every thrust as I crave him to penetrate me deeper.

“Do you like it harder, Sophia? Did you miss this?”

“Yes, keep going,” I insist, bucking my ass back against him, turned on by the sweaty slap of our flesh colliding.

“You are so fucking sexy. I wanted you in the alleyway,” he confesses, a meltdown of feverish desires ruling us, both of us lost in one another. “When I saw you in the club, I wanted you to be mine forever,” Andrei grunts, our sweat mingling as I feel another orgasm building like a mountain peak inside me.

Andrei speeds up, the bed matching our frenetic lovemaking, as his shaft thickens, his hand caressing my throat as my pussy contracts around him, the catalyst for his climax. “Andrei!” I cry out, spent in the best possible way.

“Ah, ah, Sophia. You do things to me. Things I can’t describe,” he puffs, his climax sending him into more confessions. Giggling from the intensity, I steal back my breath as his tight grip breaks from my body and we fall back, the bed soaked with our sweat.

We lay in each other’s arms, resting peacefully, and for the first time since my parents’ death, I feel as if I belong to someone.