He pummeled the man who had threatened to steal and sell our babies on the black market. When Chris slumped against the wall, Sergei threw him onto the floor and leapt atop him like a jungle cat tearing into prey. He pounded the man's face. A furious roar unlike any I had ever heard erupted from Sergei's throat. Chris coughed and gurgled, but still Sergei showed no mercy. He was going to kill him. He was going to beat this man to death right in front of me.
Pushing away Nikolai's hands, I shoved out of his protective embrace and slowly crossed to my husband's side. He flung his fist back, and I wrapped my arms around his thick arm. He jerked hard and nearly took me down to the ground. At the last moment, he realized it was me. I wound my arm around his neck and hauled him into a kneeling position.
Pressing my cheek to his blood-spattered one, I hugged him from behind. "Enough, Sergei. It's over. He's had enough."
Overcome with emotion, Sergei spun around and embraced me. He drove me back against the wall, his hands cradling my back and cushioning the sudden impact. He rubbed his face against my belly, nuzzling against me like a dog would its master. When he gazed up at me finally, there were tears in his dark eyes. Fear, relief, guilt, love—I could see his warring emotions playing out on his handsome face.
Even though all hell was breaking loose around us, we only had eyes for each other. He placed his battered, bloodied hands on my belly and tenderly kissed it. I ran my fingers through his hair and let the tears come. I didn't know what was going to happen now, but I trusted that with Sergei at my side, it would be all right in the end.
Chapter Thirteen
Four Months Later
"How many hooded towels do we need?" Sergei asked as he sorted through another pile of baby shower gifts. It had taken him half an hour to bring in all the bags and boxes from the party they had attended that afternoon at Samovar. Now Bianca sat on the couch in the living room with her swollen feet propped on an ottoman and helped him sort through everything.
"We're having twins, Sergei. We need twice as much of everything."
"But where are we supposed to put it all?" He made a stack of blue towels and pink towels on the coffee table. "Between your mother and mine, the nursery is overflowing. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to convert one of the guest rooms to a walk-in closet for our babies."
"I've heard worse ideas. You could do built-in shelves on three walls, but you would have to change the flooring. Oh, and maybe add a new window?"
Glancing over at her, he was glad to see that she had a teasing smile on her face. With all the nesting she had been doing lately, he couldn't always tell. Last week, she had asked him to move every single piece of furniture in the house, upstairs and downstairs, so she could vacuum and sweep behind and under them. He had tried to tell her that their babies wouldn’t even notice the dust, but she had turned on the waterworks and that was that.
Bianca yawned loudly. "I’m beat."
Sergei studied the mess in their living room and made an executive decision. "This will be here in the morning. Let's go upstairs."
She perked up at that. "Will you rub my back?"
Rub my back had become her code word for sex. No matter how innocently it started, every back rub seemed to lead to lovemaking. Not that he was complaining. He had heard that some women preferred to shut down bedroom activities as their pregnancies progressed, but Bianca was the complete opposite. There were nights when he was the one pleading exhaustion. She had become absolutely insatiable.
"Come on." He grabbed her hands and hauled her into a standing position. The heavy curve of her huge belly seemed lower to him than it had yesterday, but he couldn't be sure. It might have been the cut of her top that fooled his eye.
With his hand against her lower back, he led her upstairs and into the master bathroom. She happily stood still while he stripped her naked and got the shower ready. He helped her inside and then shucked his clothing to join her. Never one to waste a chance to get his hands on her, Sergei lathered up his palms and made sure every last inch of her luscious body was squeaky clean. He spent a little extra time on his favorite parts.
After that nightmarish night where he thought he might lose her and the babies, Sergei never took these moments for granted. Flashes of memories he would rather forget tormented him. Like him, Ivan had to be dragged off the man who had manhandled and beaten Erin. Kostya had done what he did best and cleaned up the scene, but Bianca and Erin had been forced to sit and wait in a different location for a police rescue that was orchestrated by the cleaner. Sergei had joined Ivan at one of the bars Besian owned to establish airtight alibis that included getting into a brawl to explain away their bruised hands.
The women had spent the night in a hospital for observation. He had stayed awake the entire time and simply watched Bianca sleep while listening to the reassuring beats of the babies' hearts on the monitors attached to her. When he had gone to visit his mother-in-law on a different floor, she had been sure to let him know how very disappointed she was that he had dragged Bianca into something so terrible. He had taken it like a man. No amount of guilt she heaped onto his shoulders would ever surpass his own. Slowly but surely, he was earning back Mona's trust.
When he and Ivan had discussed that night a few days later, both men had come to the conclusion that there truly was no escape from the dark deeds of their pasts. That sin was stained deep on their souls. They could leave Houston and strike out in places where they knew no one, but even that wasn't foolproof.
The city had quieted down after that night, but Sergei continued looking over his shoulder. Sooner or later, his past would return to haunt him again, but he refused to focus on the what-ifs. He was living in the moment.
And right now, he had a beautiful, naked and very sexy woman panting in his bed.
Grinning wickedly, he slid down between Bianca's thighs to taste her. She made those sweet, whimpering noises as he flicked her clit and probed her pussy with his tongue. She responded so quickly these days. Always primed for his touch, he could bring her off with only a few minutes of sensual torment. It had become something of a game for him to see how fast he could make her scream.
"Sergei." Her thighs tensed under his hands. "Sergei. Oh, baby. Right there. Right—oh."
Perfect. He lapped at her cunt while she rocked and screamed with ecstasy. Shuddering and breathing hard, she let him flip her over without protest. He grabbed two pillows and shoved them under her belly and hips to give her some support. She wiggled her big bottom, and he smacked her plump cheeks, making her yelp and giggle.
Pushing her thighs apart, he nudged his cock between them and stroked it against her slick folds. She had grown so sensitive that he had stopped taking her as deeply or hard. He carefully entered her slick heat and groaned at the wonderful sensation. Snug in her cunt, he took his time tonight. Unrushed and unhurried, he set a languid, easy pace that let them both enjoy a slow build toward passion.
When Bianca started to claw at the sheets and twist them in her fists, he slipped a hand between her thighs to help her find that release she craved. His fingertips danced around her clit and settled on a rhythm that made her inner walls clench. Biting his lower lip, he thrust a little faster and changed the angle. She cried out and pushed back against him, urging him to stay right there.
She shouted his name as she came, and he loosened the stranglehold on his own orgasm. He chased her right over the edge, coming with her and pounding into her until they were both falling forward on jelly-like legs. He cocooned her lush body in his arms and enjoyed her soft, feminine warmth.
When she shifted a short time later, he put his hand against her lower back and began to massage the spot that gave her so much trouble. The pregnancy had been relatively easy all things considered. She had managed to avoid gestational diabetes and blood pressure problems. The babies were measuring ahead, but given his size and that of his brothers at birth, he wasn't all that surprised. Big babies were simply in his genes.
The relief sh
e received from his back rub lulled her to sleep. He slipped away from her just long enough to check the house one final time and turn off the lights. When he got back into bed, he pushed a pillow between her knees and sidled up to her back. He slung his arm over her waist and let his hand rest on her belly.
Sometime later, he heard Bianca calling his name. Bleary-eyed, he reached for her but grabbed the blanket instead. Sitting up, he realized she wasn't in bed. His gaze traveled to the bathroom where the light could be seen under the door.
"Bianca?"
"Sergei, can you bring me some clean clothes?"
Clean clothes? He glanced at the clock. It was one in the morning. Why did she need clothes at this time of night?
Shoving out of bed, he crossed their room and opened the bathroom door. He found her standing in a puddle and rubbing a wet washcloth down her inner thighs. For a moment, he wasn't quite sure what to think. Finally, it hit him. "Is that—?"
"My water broke," she said, shockingly calm. "I think all that back pain was actually early labor."
"What?" He rushed to her side, grabbing a towel from the bar and dropping it onto the puddle there. "Are you sure?"
"I woke up forty minutes ago with cramps. They're getting stronger. I'm just glad I had to use the bathroom. I came in here, felt a pop and then it gushed out everywhere." She wrinkled her nose. "This would have ruined the floors."
"Who cares about the floors? But isn't it too early?"
"Thirty-six weeks is a little early, but we're having twins. That's not so uncommon."
He tried to remember everything from the books and classes but his mind blanked. With a sweet smile, she touched his face. "Get me some clean clothes, please. We need to shower and pack our bags. I'll call the hospital to let them know we're coming in like the doctor said, okay?"
"Okay." He dumbly nodded his head and headed toward their bedroom to get the clothes she wanted.
"Sergei?"
He stopped in the doorway and glanced back at her. "Yes?"
"Don't panic. We can do this."
"I'm not panicking." He moved into the bedroom and started digging through the closet for something comfortable for her to wear. He picked up the list she had started for her hospital bag. He thought of the mess downstairs. There was so much to do and no time to do it.
Shit. I'm panicking.
Don't panic.
"We can do this," he repeated softly. If Bianca said it, then it had to be true.
* * *
Sleepy and sore, I let my eyes adjust to the early morning sunlight now spilling through the window of our post-partum suite. The pain meds were starting to wear off, and soon I would feel the true pangs of recovering from a C-section. Though I had wanted a vaginal birth, the babies had had other ideas. Not long after being admitted to the hospital, my obstetrician had come in to check on me. Thankfully, she had been on call so I had a familiar face treating me.
By palpating my belly, she had been able to tell the babies weren't in very good positions. An ultrasound had confirmed her diagnosis. Our son had both feet up near his head and his bottom down near my cervix, and our daughter had actually been slanted diagonally with her feet under my ribcage. For the safety of the babies and myself, a C-section had been recommended. The idea of surgery scared me, but I had chosen to err on the side of caution.
Everything after that was something of a blur. Sergei had been whisked away to change while I was taken to an operating room and prepped. Inserting the spinal block had been less than fun, but it hadn't been too bad. As they draped and prepared me for the surgery, I focused on the outcome.
Once Sergei had joined me, the whole thing had happened fairly quickly. Our daughter had been born first and then our son. Both were nearly seven pounds and so very long. Their cries had inspired my own. When Sergei had left to walk them to the nursery, I had been sad, but I reminded myself there was a lifetime to enjoy them.
Now, here I was, reclining in bed and starting to finally feel my legs again. Seated in the chair next to my bed, Sergei cradled our babies in his massive arms. They looked so unbelievably small against those brawny muscles. Both babies had dark, curly hair and skin that seemed to be a shade closer to mine than his. Our son had his bone structure, and I swore our daughter resembled his mother.
Soon our friends and family would descend on our hospital room, but right now, it was just the four of us. My family. The thought made me smile and filled me with such contentment.
Sergei finally stopped gazing at our babies and looked up at me. His eyes were glimmering with tears. He wasn’t the most emotional man so seeing him on the verge of crying surprised me. "What's wrong, baby?"
"Nothing," he said gruffly. "Nothing at all."
Very carefully, he stood up and brought the babies to me. He kissed our son before handing him over. I still couldn't believe this perfect, beautiful thing had been created and grown inside me. Cradling our daughter, Sergei bent down and captured my mouth in a lingering, loving kiss. We shared a secret smile and a look that needed no words.
I understood the tears in Sergei's eyes because now I had them too. This was happiness. Our journey together had taken us to some truly wonderful places, but this? This was the absolute best of them. I couldn’t wait to see what life had in store for us next.
Author's Note
Thank you so much for reading Bianca and Sergei's story. The Her Russian Protector series will continue this summer with a sequel to Nikolai and Kostya's book!
About the Author
I am a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. When I’m not chasing after my wild preschooler, I like to write super sexy romances and scorching hot erotica. I live in Texas with a husband who could easily snag a job as an extra on the History Channel’s new Viking series and a sweet but rowdy four-year-old.
I also have another dirty-book writing alter ego, Lolita Lopez, who writes deliciously steamy scifi and paranormal erotic romance tales for Ellora’s Cave, Forever Yours/Grand Central, Mischief/Harper Collins UK, Siren Publishing and Cleis Press.
You can find me online at www.roxierivera.com.
Backlist
Her Russian Protector Series
Ivan (Her Russian Protector #1)
Dimitri (Her Russian Protector #2)
Yuri (Her Russian Protector #3)
A Very Russian Christmas (Her Russian Protector #3.5)
Nikolai (Her Russian Protector #4)
Sergei (Her Russian Protector #5)
Sergei, Volume 2 (Her Russian Protector #5.5)
Nikolai, Volume 2 (Her Russian Protector #6)—Coming June 2014
Kostya (Her Russian Protector #7)—Coming Summer 2014
Alexei (Her Russian Protector #8)—Coming Fall 2014
Danila (Her Russian Protector #9)—Coming Fall 2014
The Fighting Connollys Series
In Kelly's Corner (Fighting Connollys #1)
In Jack's Arms (Fighting Connollys #2)
In Finn's Heart (Fighting Connollys #3)
Debt Collection
Collateral (Debt Collection #1)
Past Due (Debt Collection #2)—Coming Late Summer 2014
Paid in Full (Debt Collection #3)—Coming Winter 2014
Her SEAL Protector
Close Quarters
Seduced By…
Seduced by the Loan Shark
Seduced by the Loan Shark 2—Coming Soon!
Seduced by the Congressman
Seduced by the Congressman 2
Erotica
Chance's Bad, Bad Girl
Halftime With Craig
Tease
Eddie's Cuffs 1
Eddie's Cuffs 2
Eddie's Cuffs 3
Disturbing the Peace
Quid Pro Quo
Search and Seizure
Copyright © 2014 by Roxie Rivera
Cover Art by Melody Simmons/Ebook Indie Covers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or t
ransmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Roxie Rivera/Night Works Books
3515-B Longmire Drive, #103
College Station, TX 77845
www.roxierivera.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Sergei, Volume 2 (Her Russian Protector 5.5)/ Roxie Rivera. -- 1st ed.
ISBN 978-1-63042-020-8
Roxie Rivera, Sergei, Volume 2
(Series: Her Russian Protector # 5.50)
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