Page 78 of Lethal Alliance

I open my mouth to correct her, then see Roman’s frown and close it again. He made the appointment. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like how the wordsMrs. Stevanovskysound.

I’d be lying if I said I felt anything other than absurdly touched by everything that has happened since I woke to see that white stick by my bedside.

I wipe off the gel from the appointment and change back into my clothes, still stunned that Roman seems to be actually happy about this, about having a baby he never planned for, especially given the chaos we are in the middle of.

In the limo, his hand closes over mine. “I have to go back up to the lab this evening, work with Mak and Dimitry to iron out our plans. And tomorrow, I have to fly to Switzerland.”

I nod. “To see your mother?”

His mouth tightens into a grim line. “Whether we use it or not, I need to get the key to the vault. I’m not sure whether I’ll have time to see my mother. I’m going straight from Switzerland to Miami.”

He’s going to war.

My heart skips a beat. I know it has to happen to get the girls back. That doesn’t mean the idea of Roman bursting into the Miami compound with a gun in hand doesn’t terrify the fuck out of me.

I fix on his comment about his mother; it is the easier part for me to focus on right now.

“But we have to see your mother, at least.” I turn his hand over in mine. He lets me hold it, but his eyes remain firmly fixed on something out the window. The traffic is heavy, barely moving. It would be faster to walk home, not that I imagine Roman will be letting me walk far anytime soon. His overprotectiveness is sweet. It’s also annoying.

“Not ‘we.’ Me. You’re not going to Switzerland.” He says it with the kind of finality I normally wouldn’t argue with.

“You can’t open the Miami vault without me.” I try to make my voice calm, but I can’t quite disguise my agitation. “I have to be there, Roman, whether either of us want that or not. I may as well be in Switzerland too.”

“No chance you’re coming to Miami.” He shakes his head once, sharply. “And we’re not opening that vault, not yet anyway. We just need the Orlovs to believe that we will, which is why I’m getting a gel imprint of your fingerprints done tonight. They won’t know that gel imprints don’t work, or even if they suspect, they won’t be sure. The technology was new then.” He glances at me, his face set in implacable lines. “Vilnus Orlov already has our daughters, Darya. There’s no way I’m giving him a chance to take you and our baby. I don’t have a fortress in Miami, but I do here, one that will be locked down more closely than Alcatraz. I need to know you’re here, and safe, or I won’t be able to do what I need to.”

I nod slowly. “I understand that. Can we compromise by allowing me to come with you to Switzerland? I can fly back here after we’ve got the key.”

And after we’ve met your mother.There’s no chance we’re going to Switzerland without meeting Rosa Borovsky, urgency or not.

“Women aren’t supposed to fly during the first trimester. Especially with bad morning sickness.” He glances sideways at me, his mouth curling slightly at my surprise. “I looked it up while Dr. Ballasteros was examining you.”

“I’m over ten weeks, and she also said the morning sickness should begin to recede almost immediately. To be honest, I already feel better.” It’s true; I suspect that half of my symptoms were stress related, because ever since I realized that Roman actually wants this baby, my entire body has felt more settled. “Please, Roman.” I squeeze his hand. “I can’t just sit here, waiting. At least let me come for that first part.”

“I’ll call the doctor and ask her.” Roman shifts across the seat and pulls me back against his body, his arms wrapping over my front. “I don’t want to leave you.” His lips move against my hair, and I hold his arms, relishing the reassurance of them around me. “Even the thought of leaving you alone...” His voice roughens, and he pulls me closer.

“I’ll be fine.” I turn in his arms, my hands coming up to his face. “But take me to Switzerland.” I kiss him.

He kisses me back hungrily. But as fast as the fire between us flares, he slows his kiss, lessens his grip on my body. His mouth moves beneath mine gently, with none of his customary fierce desire. I press against him, my hand sliding up his denim-clad thigh, edging toward the hard bulge threatening to thrust above his leather belt. My other hand slides beneath the navy linen beach shirt, touching just enough tanned, hard chest to set my insides churning.

He groans into my mouth, but one of his hands halts mine on his thigh, and despite the fierce tension I can feel in his body, he pulls back from me. “You need to rest, Darya.” He tries to smile, but nothing can diminish the dark lust in his eyes, the way they linger on the new fullness of my breasts, swelling over my sundress.

“Am I going to rest for the next seven months?” I trail my mouth up his neck, my whole body shivering with the desire to touch him.

“Darya—” But even as he’s protesting, his hands are roaming up the backs of my legs, teasing the lace at the edge of my panties. I feel a stab of triumph as his tongue swipes my mouth and his hands cup my ass. He rolls me against the rigid outline of his shaft. “Fuck.”

He hits the button that darkens the glass between the driver and us, and I smile against his mouth.

“Vedma,”he murmurs against my lips.

“Pakhan,” I murmur back, and the rumble of his laughter soothes every piece of my shaken soul. In a single movement he flips me over and lays me down on the back seat, tugging my panties over my legs and opening me to his mouth.

My eyes roll back in my head. “Oh...”

He licks me with a slow, sensual delicacy that is a world away from the leather seats and tinted windows of the limo. He holds my hips and tracks every crease and fold until I’m moaning and squirming beneath his hands, craving the hard length of him inside me. He chuckles when I writhe, the vibration of his laughter tripping me closer to the edge. He doesn’t even have fingers inside me and his mouth is driving me insane, my hips bucking off the seat as his tongue hits my center, curling and pounding me with such certainty I have no hope of holding out.

My hands twine in his hair, and one of his comes up to stifle my scream as I thrash against him. His mouth holds me in an endless moment of spasm after spasm, the world around me disappearing. I’m just coming back to earth, my eyes still closed, when he lifts me from the seat and steps out of the limo, growling an order at the driver.

I didn’t even notice that we came into the garage.

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