Page 40 of Dark Desires

My blood runs cold.

“Excuse me?”

“Something’s going on, and you’re going to tell me what it is.” He grabs a pair of boxers from his nearby dresser and steps into them.

“I’m fine,” I say, my voice coming out too fast, too defensive. “I just need to get home, that’s all.”

He takes a step closer, and I feel like a deer caught in headlights.

“You’re lying,” he says flatly. “You’ve been off since we came back into each other’s lives. And now you’re sneaking out of my bed like you can’t get away fast enough. What the hell’s going on?”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. The weight of the secret is crushing me, pressing down until it feels like I can’t breathe. I glance at the door, then back at him. There’s no escape. Not anymore.

“I can’t,” I whisper, my voice breaking.

“You’re going to have to, Isa.” He closes the distance between us, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest. There’s no way out now. No more dodging, no more hiding.

I take a shaky breath and look him in the eyes, my voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m pregnant.”

CHAPTER 13

ALEXEI

The words hit me like a physical blow, but not for the reason she probably thinks.

Pregnant.

That night—the night she disappeared despite my note begging her to stay—created a life.

I'd spent months wondering what I'd done wrong, why my plea wasn't enough to make her stay. Now I understand it was never about me not caring enough.

She was carrying this secret, this fear, and she chose to face it alone rather than trust what we had.

All I can do is stand there, processing. The woman I've been unable to forget, the woman who broke something in me when she disappeared, is carrying my child.

"You kept the note," I say quietly, remembering how she'd taken it with her.

Her eyes flash with pain. "Of course I kept it. I read it a hundred times, Alexei. You asked me not to disappear, and that's exactly what I did."

"Then why?" The question tears out of me. "Why did you leave? I came back with breakfast, ready to talk about whatever this was between us, and you were just... gone."

She wraps her arms around herself. "Because I was terrified. Because I knew my father would lose his mind. Because the alliance between our families?—"

"Fuck the alliance," I snap. "I would have figured it out. We could have figured it out together."

"How was I supposed to know that?" Her voice cracks. "I panicked, okay? I'd never felt anything like what I felt with you, and it scared me."

I step closer, my voice softening. "Is the baby okay? After everything that happened at the shootout?"

She pauses, her hand moving to her stomach. "Yeah. The doctor checked. The baby's fine."

The relief is intense. And it's all so strange. I've just learned about this child, and already I care about it more than anything else.

My mind churns, trying to process it all.