MOLLY
Kirill was a buzzing menace of dark energy as he strode into the hospital suite, scattering nurses in his wake. He turned to me as soon as the door slid closed behind us, his men lining the hallway to stand guard.
“Strip, or I’ll help you,” he ground out.
“I’ll wait for the doctor, thanks,” I muttered, crossing my arms and perching on the edge of the bed. I couldn’t believe how bossy he was being about everything now he had caught the slightest whiff of a pregnancy in the air.
I’d known I had to tell him, but faced with his intense energy, my courage was failing. Yes, I was pregnant, and yes, I’d known it even when running away.I’d run away and had planned to keep his own kid from him. It sounded damning without knowing the whole story. I was sure Kirill was going to find it damning, regardless.
He pulled me to my feet and tugged at the small row of pearl buttons on the knee-length white dress I’d worn for the ceremony.
“Stop! You’ll tear it,” I protested.
Kirill glowered at me. “I’ll rip the entire thing right off if you don’t undress.”
“You are being so dramatic right now,” I snapped, turning away to take the dress off. I realized my fingers were shaking as I found a folded exam gown on the edge of the bed and pulled it over my head. I turned and crossed my arms over my chest.“Happy?”
“Not even remotely. Get on the bed,” he said in a tone that warned me not to protest.
I tossed my head and climbed up, knowing it was safer to play along when he was in this kind of dangerous mood.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed someone, speaking rapidly in Russian over the line. He swore as he hung up. “Doctor Petrov is on his way, but apparently golfing is more important than working on a Wednesday afternoon. I don’t trust anyone else, so we’ll wait.”
“Well, we could go home and come back later. I’ve been pregnant for a while. A couple of hours isn’t going to change anything.”
Kirill narrowed his eyes and leaned over me, caging me against the bed until I fell back against the pillow. “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” His tone told me how hard he found that to believe.
“Honestly? I still thought I might leave you . . . until you got shot, and I realized I couldn’t.”
His jaw clenched so hard, it was like he was trying to grind rocks with his teeth. “In the spirit of starting this marriage with honesty, you should know that answer really pisses me off, Princess.”
“Well, being dragged away from Willow Creek really pissed me off, so I guess we’re even,” I said with mock sweetness.
Kirill chuckled, but there was nothing warm about it. “Oh, sweetheart, we aren’t nearly even. I think that should be rectified right now. Pull your gown up again and let me see your panties,” he said curtly, and then stood expectantly over me.
Feeling a blush creeping through me, along with a whole lot of excitement, I slowly raised the gown up my bare legs until my French lace panties were on display.
He ran a hand up my leg to the panties and skimmed his finger across the front of the material.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m deciding how to punish you for running off while pregnant, and not telling me you were pregnant yourself.”
“I hope you’re also deciding how to punish yourself for all the shitty things you’ve done.”
He tutted. “You forgave me when you stayed, Molly. Now, you’re the only badly behaved one in this marriage.”
“You know that logic is fucked, right?” I asked, my voice trailing off in a gasp as he suddenly pinched my clit.
He turned away as I was about to beg him to do a whole lot more. He fiddled with something on a nearby tray as I lay there awkwardly with the gown hiked up to my waist while he ignored me. I started to lower it, blushing, when he turned.
“Don’t pout, and lose the panties,” Kirill commanded, approaching the bed.
I quickly complied, already excited for his filthy brand of inventive punishment.
He had his shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow, and the white dress shirt from the wedding hugged his broad shoulders and narrowed at his muscled waist in a way that made me more than ready for a little afternoon delight distraction.
My mouth dropped as he raised a hand and finished snapping on a latex glove.His huge hands were gloved, making him look like a dangerously tattooed doctor.