Half an hour later,it was done. With Olga and Max as witnesses, Molly was finally my wife. We went to the diner next door to eat lunch. It was a fairly rowdy table as some of my more trusted men joined us to eat and toast every five minutes, following Russian tradition. Mallory and I kissed after each toast, and I grew readier to get home and get rid of everyone else so I could have my wife to myself.
“Okay, final toast!” Ivan announced as he stood and picked up Mallory’s champagne glass. He pressed it into her hand. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you aren’t drinking. That’s bad luck after a toast!”
Olga had drunk far more than I’d ever seen her drink. The usually quiet and stoic housekeeper was pouring herself another generous glass, and as she looked blearily at Ivan guiding Molly’s glass to her lips, she stood, her chair scraping roughly over the floor. “Nyet!” she shouted, stilling everyone.
I turned to her, shocked, and took in her pink cheeks and bright eyes.
“No alcohol for the mother to be,” she scolded.
Tight shoulders relaxed around the table.
I smiled placatingly at her before turning to Mallory.“She’s going to be on your case about keeping healthy from now on, you know, in case we start a family.”
Molly, who was still staring at Olga.
The older lady shocked us all again as the conversation restarted by slapping the table hard.
“What is it?” Ivan heckled her.
Olga pointed a finger at him. “Alcohol is bad for babies, and that includes alcohol for toasts. I won’t have their first child have problems because of you, Ivan Ivanovich,” she snarled. She tutted loudly at his confused expression. “It’s like you block heads can’t tell when a woman is pregnant.” With that bombshell delivered, she plopped back into her chair, picked up her glass, and downed it in one. “Na Zdorovie!” she toasted merrily.
Slowly, I turned to Molly, looking for a clue in her expression. I needn’t have looked too hard. She blinked at me, her cheeks turning petal pink immediately. Last night and her unexpected request to fuck her raw played in my mind in a new light. A memory of the attack, too vague to pin down, played around the edges of my mind.
“Princess, do you have something to tell me?” I asked, trying desperately to keep the excitement out of my voice.
“Like what?” she asked in an innocent voice.
“Mallory Chernova, tell me now, or I’ll take you home, tie you down, and fuck the truth out of you,” I warned.
Her blush only deepened. “If that’s supposed to convince menotto—”
“Are you pregnant?” I cut in, suddenly more desperate to know than to breathe.
Molly took a deep, steadying breath, and then shrugged. “You’ve no one to blame but yourself.”
“Did you know when you ran away from me?” The urgent question pushed past my lips before I could help it.
Her expression confirmed my fear; she didn’t need to confess.
“Kirill—” she started and cut off sharply when I stood.
Everyone watched as I pulled her up and started toward the door, snapping out rapid fire commands to my men and Max.
“Where are we going?” Mallory demanded as we reached the street outside.
I scanned the surrounding street, more paranoid than ever that someone might try to hurt Mallory. She suddenly seemed so vulnerable.
“The hospital. We’ll talk about you keeping it from me, andrunning awayfrom me while pregnant later.”
“Good! Then we can talk about knocking someone up without asking them first if they even wanted a baby,” Molly came right back at me, fire spitting from her eyes.
“I look forward to it,” I snapped, shielding her body from the street the best I could as I took her toward the car.
“Me too!” Molly exclaimed, getting into the car and glaring at me.
Well, this should be fun.
21