Yennifer I was way out of my league. Why did I ever think this was a good idea? I had stepped out of my truck and was staring up at the profoundly striking architecture of the De’Aubery Estate. I’d only seen a few small, grainy glimpses of the house in newspaper articles about the former tenants. Those pictures had not done this place justice. I knew Nikolai was the Russian millionaire. I’d connected the dots early on, and had kept it secret from my friends, unsure as to how they would react. Plus, I hadn’t ever meant to build any kind of relationship with him before I found out I was pregnant. What was I doing here? What would a Russian millionaire do with a pitifully poor American woman who had nothing to offer other than the burdens of a child? As I was about to scurry back into my truck and make a mad dash out of there, the glossy-painted black double doors—that did not fit in with the rest of the house—opened and Aaron stepped out. “Hi there,” he called out. “What can I he
YenniferA seriousness washed over his features."You're pregnant?" He clarified. Behind those stormy, grey-blue eyes, I saw him processing the news I just laid on him.I nodded."How long have you known?""About a week. I'm just under six weeks pregnant," I rambled, my gaze dropping from his as my heart rate picked up speed. I was waiting for his rejection. For him to tell me to get out and leave and never come back. I had no right to be here. I had no right to seek him out after our one-night stand without strings attached."Lapochka." The way he whispered the endearment made my heart skip a beat. His voice was deeper and filled with tenderness. He reached over and placed a hand over my worrying ones. The contact was both soothing and electrifying, which made no sense. My gaze flitted up to his, hope buried deep in my chest.It was strange how I never really cared what Ron thought. I never once worried ove
YenniferI’m in love with you….His words rang through my mind. Over and over again.I was frozen, unsure how to respond.My heart rate increased. Though, not necessarily in a bad way.I wanted to be disturbed by his confession.Yet, I wasn’t.And I think I was more concerned by that than anything else.The helpless romantic in me was thrilled by this, while the rational side of me was throwing red warning flags.Love at first site wasn’t something that happened in the real world. Especially to women like me. It was only something that happened in my romance novels, I reminded myself.“I know it comes as a surprise, Yen, that someone could fall head over heels in love with you so quickly," Nikolai started, saying the quite parts out loud. "I know it isn’t something that usually happens.”“It doesn’t happen.” I snapped out of my daze, gently extracting my hand from his, knowing his touch would continue to distract me. I was so torn. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to run as far away
Nikolai /“Well that went well.”/ Aaron teased as I stood on the porch, hands in my pockets, while I watched Yen drive away. Sure it had, I grumbled to myself. She was on the defensive. I moved far too quickly for her comfort. Normally, I didn’t fumble like that. With her, my senses were a jumbled mess. That was okay. I was sure, one day in the future when we were older, we would look back on this day and laugh about it. /“Don’t you need to get going?”/ Yuri asked. Yes, I did. Sighing heavily, I started stripping. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in the kennel again. Not when I was so close to my own damn bed. But I knew how much Yen needed the wolfdog in her life right now. She would be devastated if he disappeared. Not to mention, I would do anything for her even if it came at the cost of my own discomfort. I raced back to Yen’s house, praying she didn’t hightail it back. Luckily, I got back with a few minutes to spare. I laid down on the rug in the living room and proce
Yennifer I woke up exhausted on Monday morning. It had been another rough night. My dreams haunted by the past. I trudged through the house tiredly, letting Ragnar into the backyard on my way to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I poured a bowl of cereal and ate it really quick before bringing him back inside. Ragnar followed me upstairs as I went up to get dressed for the day. He laid down just outside of my bathroom and I smiled. He was such a good, well-behaved boy. Pulling out my makeup, I made my eyeshadow and eyeliner heavy around the eyes before painting on a thick layer of dark lipstick. I left my wavy hair down and adorned one of my intricate golden head chains. I put on large sun-moon-star drop earrings and clipped the matching necklace into place. Next, I added the golden nose-to-ear chain embellished with small gold diamonds and fake crystals, the septum piece non-piercing. Then, I slipped the delicate golden hand chain bracelet onto my right hand. I pulled on a p
Yennifer"Ron!" I exclaimed, my gaze moving over him. His short, dark brown hair was slicked back to perfection. His light brown eyes were smiling at me as he held a very large bouquet of flowers in his hand. His pressed light gray suit looked handsome on him. I hated how my heart hurt seeing him, though there was no yearning to get back with him. More of just mourning the future I had planned with him in my mind. “What are you doing here?”"I thought I would stop by and say hi. I wasn’t the nicest the other day, and I wanted to apologize in person." He held out the bouquet. It was a beautiful assortment and I did love my flowers. After admiring them for a moment, I passed them off to Pete, who immediately went into the washroom in search of a large vase.Turning back to Ron, I continued, “Thank you. The flowers are beautiful,” I complimented, folding my hands in front of me. I waited patiently for him to say whatever was on his mind. It was a rare occasion when Ron came by my shop. E
NikolaiI thanked Dimitri and Anatoly before sending them away. “Call off the search of the grounds,” I told Dimitri. “And reward everyone’s efforts with fresh meat and blood.”As I turned back to the room, I wasn’t sure what to expect.The space was extremely small. I had to walk hunched over so I wouldn’t hit my head and the space was just wide enough for me to move around comfortably.Taking everything in, I decided to explore the room before determining where I should begin.The small, school desk that looked to have been made in the Civil War era, was pushed up against the far wall, the one that backed to the hallway on the other side. It was worn, a bit weathered, and had a thick layer of dust. It had an opened storage shelf and a small, rickety stool. The small, wooden filing cabinet was pushed up against the outer wall of the building.Opting not to trust the stool, I knelt before the desk, deciding to look at the contents neatly placed inside the desk. There were several jour
NikolaiYen calmed down quickly after I was safely home.Peter apologized to Yen profusely before leaving, promising in the future he would make sure I was safe inside before going back to work after coming to let me out around lunchtime.I don’t know what it was, but there was a tenseness in the air. It could have been related to the argument they’d had about me. Though, from the glances Pete kept sending me suggested otherwise. He was trying to convey something.When Pete left, Yen took me inside. We ate dinner. She sat on the loveseat with a book while I curled up beside her, resting my head in her lap. It was then I realized the tension was coming from her. What was bothering my lapochka? What had happened earlier in the day?“Why are you looking at me like that?” Her question took me by surprise. I hadn’t realized she’d seen me staring at her through her book. Tipping the book to the side, she peered at me for a moment, running a finger between my eyes and down my nose. Those gor