Page 92 of Darling Dmitri

Arty straightened his tie, trying to keep his composure. “Sorina, I never meant to hurt Irina. It was an accident, but I was so ashamed and devastated at the time. I blamed myself for years.”

He rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t even know she had a child. I didn’t know until I received a letter years later from your aunt when she was…” His voice trailed off. “Very sick. She told me about you and how she was devastated to leave you alone in the world with nothing.”

He seemed pained, as if reliving the memories. “I don’t even know why she reached out to me, but I guess she didn’t have any options.” He exhaled. “I’m so glad she did. Maybe, in a way, I had a chance to redeem myself. I loved your mother very much, and when I met you and saw how much you resembled her…I just kind of thought of you as my own. I thought of you as the child Irina and I could’ve had together.” His eyes glistened with tears. “I never wanted you to face life’s hardships. It was my second chance.”

I could see Arty’s regret and knew he’d done everything within his power to provide for me and give me a stable life. This whole situation was still raw, but I knew I didn’t want to hold resentment for him for the rest of my life. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye, and I had my own growing family to think about. “Thank you for telling me this.”

“I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I always had your best interests in mind.” He dipped his chin. “Both of your best interests.” He raised his eyes to Dmitri. “I just never thought you would end up like this…together.”

“I love her,” Dmitri said quietly.

“I know you do.” He sighed in resignation, yet he was still holding on to resentment.

“Arty, if you want to work on forgiveness between us, you’re going to have to accept us being together.”

He reached out closed his hand over mine. “Is this what you really want?”

“Yes.” I squeezed his hand. “I love him, too.” I paused, worried about telling him about the pregnancy, but I didn’t want any secrets lingering over our heads. “We’re going to have a child.”

His eyes widened in shock. “You’re pregnant?” I thought he might withdraw, but he didn’t.

“Yes. Please try to be supportive of us. I don’t want any more resentment or bad feelings among us. It’s not healthy for me, the baby, or any of us.” I laced my fingers in his. “Please.”

“I will try.”

His response wasn’t exactly a resolution, but it was definitely a start.

Dmitri

—Three Months Later

“Touchdown!” Sorina jumped up and down with her controller in hand, still as lithe as ever, although she was five months pregnant with my child. She had a tiny bump, and her tits were definitely fuller. Otherwise, you couldn’t really tell. I sure as hell could when she was naked, and she just grew more and more alluring each day.

Not to mention, we’d just had our second sonogram, and I knew we were having a son. So far, everything looked great, and I was in awe of the life growing inside her. It moved me so much it brought tears to my eyes, and I’d never cried in my life. Not necessarily true because my heart surged and eyes watered when I saw the first sonogram and heard the quick thump of our baby’s heart. I knew my love and my son were my life.

She moved into the house before the semester began, and we were acting like the lovesick clichéd couple that I’d given Nick and Roman shit for. But it was all good, great actually. Thank god this house was huge. Kenzie and Theo were as pleased as punch to hear the news about us and were constantly giving her advice on prenatal care. We were a family, and it was somewhat bittersweet because by the time summer rolled around, we would all move on with our new lives after college.

Sorina and I were playing Madden, and I’d created a monster by teaching her how to play. Too well, to the point she could beat me, but in my defense, I always got distracted by her when we played. “Pay up.” She held out her hand, waiting for me to slap some money in it. Oh, brother, she’d been around Axel and Nick too long, with her sassy ass betting on video games. She even two-finger saluted me the other day, and I wondered if I needed to have a talk with Axel about how close they were. I was still insanely jealous, but I was working on that. Kind of. Not really. Who was I kidding? That would never change.

I took her hand and pulled her into my lap; she landed with her back to my chest and legs hanging over my thighs. She’d been tempting me in this damn peasant dress and thigh-high tights all afternoon. The hem barely reached mid-thigh, and don’t even get me started on how her breasts looked like they were about to spill out of her top. “I’ll pay you in full. I can promise you that.” I slipped my hand under the hem of her dress and cupped her pussy.

She gasped. “Someone could come in.”

“Then we better be quick.” I unbuttoned my jeans and reached into my briefs, taking out my dick. I pulled her panties aside and felt her cunt was more than ready. She was so damn horny now; it was a dream come true for me. “God, you’re perfect.” I kissed her on the neck and eased inside of her.

“You are, too,” she moaned and clamped her thighs around mine, sliding down my shaft. Damn, she felt like heaven, and I was the sinner who’d slipped into the pearly gates unnoticed, knowing full well I wouldn’t have been allowed access any other way. I placed my hands on her waist, about to move her up and down on me, but heard a voice blaring through the speakers, announcing a new game. I glanced down and noticed she had the controller squashed under her palm on the couch. She must’ve accidentally reset the game.

“Yeah, I guess we can meet at the library later.” Axel rolled in with a scowl on his face and a cellphone at his ear. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m not the one who needs this grade. If you want my help, you better drop the attitude.” Sorina startled, clearly embarrassed, but I held her still. At least, for now, the hem of her dress covered what we were doing, but if she moved off me, there would be no hiding it.

He dropped down on the coach and grabbed the remote I’d previously tossed aside and kept yakking on the phone.Seriously? “Yeah, whatever Natalie, you come with your A game, and I’ll come with mine.” What was up with him? Lately, he was always slipping off saying he was working on some project for one of his classes that would take the rest of the semester to finish. There was no sign of the revolving door of girls that showed up at the house vying for his attention. The only person I’d seen around him was this girl Natalie who was supposedly helping him with this so-called ‘project.’ As personable as Axel was, he’d been acting weird and secretive. Whatever. Right now, he was getting on my nerves.

He clicked off his phone and glanced at Sorina, apparently oblivious to the fact he’d interrupted us. “You ready to play, troublemaker mama?”

“Uh…” Her voice was shaky at best as she squirmed on my lap. “Maybe another time.”

“Ah, come on, you can’t do me like that. You gotta give me a chance to redeem myself.” He didn’t give me a glance, and he damn sure couldn’t take a hint. There was a sick, obsessed part of me that wanted to fuck her right here in front of him to show him she was unabashedly, unequivocally mine—and make no mistake, I could make it happen if I wanted to. However, the thought of anyone else seeing her pleasure drove me to the brink of insanity.

“Axel, leave us, now,” I snarled. “Before I kill you.”

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