Page 158 of Emerald Malice

But I’m more tangled up in the father of my baby than I might ever be able to undo.

For tonight at least, I want him to feel the same way.

“Do you trust me?” The words barrel out of my mouth before I can second-guess them.

“Yes,” he answers.

“Then lie down.”

I’m stiff with nerves as I move to my closet and pull out two Hermes scarves that he gifted me. They felt too luxurious to wear, but I’ve found the perfect use for them now.

Andrey is watching me with a singular focus from the bed. When I climb over him and press one of his wrists to the bedpost, he doesn’t fight. Not as I wrap the scarf around his hand. Not even as I pull the knot tight.

When I move to the other side, he offers me his hand willingly.

Once he’s bound to the headboard, I shimmy his boxers off and have all the proof I need that he’s interested. He springs free, hard and ready, and I have to resist the urge to taste him.

I have other plans tonight.

I move to the end of the bed and slip out of my clothes, hoping that my courage doesn’t fail me halfway through. Once I’m naked, I straddle him, running my hands up and down his sculpted chest. It feels nice to have time to enjoy him—no rush.

“You have never looked as beautiful as you do right now.” His voice is a rasp, but his words are soft and sincere.

“You really think so?” I ask, sliding my hands over my stomach. “Even with the bump?”

“Especially with the bump.” He exhales slowly. “I want to be the one touching you like that. Do you know how fucking sexy you look with my baby in your belly? If I’d known what we were starting in that elevator… If I’d—” He swallows as his cock twitches. “I wouldn’t have waited for all the stuff that had to happen in between. I would’ve gotten you pregnant then and there.”

“That’s how you feel now, but then?” I wrinkle my nose. “We were strangers. You wouldn’t have wanted it.”

The dark expanse of his eyes tells me how much he wants it now. “Maybe if you’d asked nicely.”

A naughty little lightbulb pings on over my head. Do I dare?

I decide that I do.

“Pretend that I don’t then.”

“Pretend what?”

“Pretend I’m not pregnant. Pretend you don’t know me. Pretend… just for tonight… that this is the beginning of our story.”

“Natalia, I?—”

“Hush.” I press a finger over his lips and then drop my voice into a sultry purr as I grind down his body. “Andrey, I want a baby. I want you to give me one.”

His forehead creases with confusion as his eyes drop to my belly. I continue to grind myself against his erection, chasing the delightful pressure that’s building between my legs.

“Please,” I croon, working him against my entrance. “I want you to fuck a baby into me.”

Understanding flickers across his face, and he growls with want even as he shakes his head. “No. No, it’s not the right time.”

I pout, working the length of him between my legs, back and forth, again and again.

His cock is twitching, impatient to get this show on the road. As for me, I’m savoring this feeling: the heady mix of power combined with desire.

“I’ll give you a baby one day,” he continues without taking his eyes from my face. “But not now. Not yet.”

“Well then.” I slap my palms against his chest. “If you won’t give me what I want, I’ll just have to take it.”

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