Page 55 of Daniil
Damn, this feels good.Even better than I remember, which is saying something.Sex with Daniil was so satisfying I could still feel him for days after I left.No one else ever gave me that much pleasure.
I wind my arms around his neck, kissing him back like I’ve been starved without him.Because I have.There haven’t been any men since the last time we were together—who wants to sleep with a pregnant woman?Not that I wanted to sleep with anyone either, but it was just easier to stay alone.Focus on my child and survival.
And forgetting his father.
“Fuck, baby.”Daniil reluctantly pulls away.“If we keep this up, I’m going to take you right here.”
“Not unless there’s a condom in your pocket, you’re not,” I say softly.“I’m not protected, and another pregnancy isn’t on the table.”
“Noted.”He brushes my hair out of my eyes.“Is another pregnancy…eventually… on the table?”
“You mean would I want more kids?”I lift one shoulder hesitantly.“I think maybe?I’m thirty-four so the time for that is limited.I don’t want to be having a baby at forty.I know lots of women do, but the risks increase exponentially after thirty-five and if it’s going to happen, I would prefer it to be sooner rather than later.”
“So…a year from now?”
“What are you asking?”I ask in confusion.
“Simply whether or not you’d be open to having one or two more.”
“Two is probably a no.One is a definite possibility.”
“Was your pregnancy difficult?”
“You mean beyond the normal stuff like weight gain, stretch marks, and swollen feet?No.I felt pretty good up until about thirty-eight weeks.At that point I slowed down a lot, and Landon came and stayed with me until Micah was born.He was a godsend, really.”
“What about your parents?”
“Mom is gone, and we don’t speak to our father.He’s… not a nice man.Drinks too much, gambles, has had a string of wives and divorces in the last decade.We both stay away.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Life is very rarely a fairy tale.”
“That’s true.Losing our parents and older brother was devastating,” he says quietly.“To all of us.”
“I can’t even imagine,” I whisper, reaching out to touch his cheek.“I’m so sorry that happened to you.Were you away at university?”
He nods.“Elen too.I went straight to Paris to get her, and then we all secretly met up to come up with a plan.We knew our cousin Anwar would be looking for us.Mostly Erik, since he was next in line for the throne, but we were all scared.Angry.And the worst part was feeling helpless.Anwar planned everything so strategically, there was no way to prove what he’d done.He killed his own parents in that attack, so he truly had no conscience.”
“He’s dead now?”
He smiles, though it’s not a happy smile.“Oh, yeah.”
“Good.”I wrinkle my nose.“Terrible human being.”
“I don’t believe he was human.More like a direct descendant from the bowels of hell and the devil himself.”
I grimace.“That sounds about right.”
“Anyway, depressing talk on what’s been a beautiful day so far.”
“For sure.Shall we head back?Micah will probably wake up soon.”
“Sure.But I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Can I stay with you tonight, Courtney?”
