42. Viviana

"You should invite someone over."

I roll over in bed, my head pillowed on my arm while I watch Mikhail do the entire world a disservice by buttoning a shirt to hide his bare chest. I'm distracted by the valleys and ridges of him and only manage a weak, "Huh?"

"You can't leave, but that doesn't mean someone can't come here to see you." He shrugs. "A friend or… whoever."

"Anatoly is my only friend."

Mikhail looks mildly horrified. "That can't be true."

If I wasn't so tired, I probably would have kept that confession to myself. But it's early and I'm not thinking clearly. "It's hard to make friends when you're on the run for six years. And it's not like there are a lot of options around here. Anatoly makes friends everywhere he goes, but Raoul keeps things strictly professional."

He bobs his head back and forth, reluctantly agreeing. "Fair enough."

"Mrs. Steinman is a hit with the under-seven crowd, but she thinks lingering before and after Dante's tutoring sessions makes for a ‘confusing power structure' for Dante. As soon as his session is over, she bolts."

I can't even blame her for that. She's being paid to teach Dante, not socialize with his grown adult mother. And I'm not desperate enough to pay her to be my friend…

Yet.

"There was Stella, but…" My voice trails off. Mikhail doesn't react, but I know he hasn't forgiven himself for not suspecting Pyotr was a spy. Anatoly still flinches any time there's even a passing reference to Stella. It's a tender subject and it's easiest not to talk about her.

Mikhail glances up at me while fixing his shirt cuffs. "I would stay, but there's still a lot of organizing to do at the new offices."

"And you called in sick yesterday."

"I didn't call in sick. I don't need to call in sick at my own company. I told them I was busy."

It wasn't a lie. Mikhail was busy…. ordering in lunch from my favorite cafe, playing with Dante in the pool, and thoroughly distracting me from whichever movie it was I convinced him to watch with me. We didn't even make it through the opening credits, so I'm really not sure.

It was a nice day and a very nice night, but it felt loaded. As the day went on, I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I still am.

"What was all that about, anyway?" I ask as casually as I can. "You never take off work."

"We spent a week in Costa Rica."

"Because I was in danger."

He frowns. "There was also the cabin."

"I was in danger. Again." I peek up at him. "Do you see why I'm worried? You don't stop working unless my life is at risk."

Mikhail kneels on the edge of the bed, his large hands cupping my face. "You have nothing to worry about, Viviana. Everything is fine."

"So I can leave the mansion again?"

"Almost everything is fine." He drops my face and pulls on his jacket. "As long as you stay here, everything is fine."

Tears prick the backs of my eyes and I turn away, blinking fast. Maybe I can fan them back into my tear ducts or dry them before they hit my cheeks. Mikhail explained why I need to stay on the property and I trust him. He's been through a lot. If I can make his life easier by following his rules until this war is over, I will.

That doesn't mean any of it is easy.

The bed dips under his weight. "Don't cry."

I swipe at my stupid tears. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"I want to see everything when it comes to you, Viviana." He grips my chin, tilting my face up to his. "You don't need to hide from me."

"I'm not hiding; I just don't want you to worry about me all day. I think I'm just tired and stressed. It's making me emotional."

"I want to make this bearable for you."

"‘Bearable' is such a low bar and you are leaping over it, Mikhail. I swear, I'm okay." I shove on his rock-solid chest. "Now, go. You're going to be late."

He leans his chest against my hand until I can't hold him back. My arm buckles and he falls gently against me, brushing his thumb over my damp cheek. "I'm the boss; I'm never late."

I snort. "Don't say that in front of your employees. It wouldn't be good for morale."

"The only person's morale I care about is yours." He presses his lips to mine for a soft kiss. And another. My stomach swoops as the gentle kisses turn more heated. They deepen and expand until his hand is cupped around the back of my head and I'm clinging to him, putting wrinkles in his clean shirt.

He starts to press me down into the bed, but I break away, panting. "Okay. Morale is officially very high."

"It could be higher," he growls, sinking his teeth into my bottom lip.

My stomach does another nervous flip. I chuckle and shove on his chest. "Mrs. Steinman is going to be here in a little bit. I need to get Dante out of bed and feed him breakfast. We don't have time for this."

He groans in frustration, but I manage to walk him to the door.

Just before he slips into the hall, he hooks me against his body. "Later."

I have to press my thighs together at the dark promise in his voice.

"Later," I agree. "Later."

Mikhail looks me over from head to toe, his eyes snagging on the way the t-shirt of his that I'm wearing barely reaches the tops of my legs. He bites a knuckle and forces himself down the hallway.

I close the door, still feeling off-kilter from the kissing and his attention. My head is foggy and my limbs tingle. I blink hard a few times to center myself.

Then I sprint to the bathroom and drop to my knees in front of the toilet.

"You and Dante can't leave the mansion." Anatoly glances over his shoulder to make sure Dante is still focused on the stacks of blocks singing and dancing on the television. He lowers his voice. "We're in a war."

I roll my eyes. "Do you think I don't know that?"

"If you did, you wouldn't be asking me to take you on a field trip."

"It's not a field trip," I hiss. "I have an appointment."

He leans against the island and crosses his arms. "An appointment for what?"

"Nothing."

He snorts. "Okay. I'll be sure to tell Mikhail all about how I risked your life to take you to your secret appointment for nothing before he disembowels me."

I arch a brow. "Please don't tell me you're scared of Mikhail."

"Yes. Yes, I absolutely am," he says with no hint of shame whatsoever. "You've met your husband. He's scary. Especially when it comes to you."

I sigh. This was a bad idea. To be fair, I didn't brainstorm very many options before I decided Anatoly was my best one.

Making a rope out of my sheets and rappelling down the side of the mansion was a top contender, but I don't think I'd have the upper body strength for that on a good day. And today has not been a good day. I've thrown up everything I've eaten all morning. If I didn't get nauseous and throw up halfway down the do-it-myself rope, I'd probably pass out from low blood sugar alone.

I feel a little woozy right now, actually.

I grip the edge of the counter and Anatoly tracks my movements. He watches me with a careful intensity I recognize. These Novikov men miss nothing.

"What's wrong with you, Viv?"

"Nothing is wrong with me. I'm sick. Sometimes, humans get sick. Then those humans need to go see a doctor. It's fine."

Anatoly is out of his chair with his phone in his hand in a second. "If you're sick, I'll call Mikhail. We'll get a doctor here and?—"

"No!" I slap his phone away. He fumbles with it in mid-air for a second before he manages to get a grip on it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting insane." Then he leans back, assessing. "And now that you mention it, you look like shit."

"Gee, thanks." I cross my arms and mutter, "Hugging a toilet all morning will do that to you."

"You're throwing up? Is it a stomach bug?" He waves his arms between us like he's an air traffic controller.

"Something like that." I chew on my lower lip. "I'm pregnant."

Anatoly's eyes widen. "Again?"

I shrug. "I think. I d-don't know. I'm having all of the same symptoms I had with Dante."

Overly emotional? Check.

Nauseous? Check.

Nipples so sensitive I want to scream when a light breeze blows? Double check.

"Then you should still tell Mikhail." He waves his phone in front of me. "Not telling him shit is how things get complicated."

"Telling him the news before I'm sure could also complicate things. I don't want to get his hopes up, Nat. He really wants this."

Anatoly sags. "I know he does, but that doesn't mean I can lie to him. He'll know I've taken you through the gates the second we leave. There's no way to hide it."

He's still talking when my phone buzzes. I grab it from the island and almost can't believe what I'm seeing.

"What is it?"

I turn my phone around, biting back a smirk. "The perfect excuse."

MIKHAIL: I'm telling Anatoly to bring you to the new Cerberus offices today. I want to have lunch together and give you a proper tour.

Anatoly groans and looks up at the ceiling. "Why can my life never be easy?"

"Is that a yes?"

He jabs a finger in my direction. "It's a ‘fuck you' for getting me into messes like this."

"Was that a yes?"

He points to the stairs. "Go get dressed for your booty call with your husband. We'll stop at the clinic on the way."

I blow Anatoly a kiss, which he swats out of the air. But I don't care if he's annoyed. I might be pregnant.

And in a few hours, I'll know for sure.