Satin Princess(57)

Jessa nods.

“Well, then it might have triggered a reaction from your body. You need to try and keep yourself out of stressful situations, Jessa. But for right now, your baby is strong and healthy.”

“Thank you,” she whispers. “Thank you so much.”

Mathers gives Jessa a smile, gives me a respectful nod, and then heads out of the room. The nurses follow behind her to give us some privacy.

Jessa hides her face in her hands and takes a deep breath. “I was so scared,” she says without looking up at me.

I stay where I am, still not trusting my own two feet quite yet. The relief hit me like a sledgehammer. I need to regain my bearings. “I know.”

“I really thought I’d lost the baby.”

“But you didn’t.”

She nods. “Anton?”

Sighing, I release my death grip on the table and go sit down next to her. “Yes?”

“Was it really her? Was it Marina?”

“I think so, yes.”

She shudders. “So she was following us?”

“Yes.”

“She’s not going to stop, is she?”

“Stopping has never really been her strong suit.”

“She wants to kill my baby.”

“She wants to kill my baby,” I say. “You’re innocent in all this. This is about me, Jessa. She wants revenge.”

“She can’t have it,” Jessa says fiercely, her hands falling across her still-flat belly.

“I agree.”

Jessa’s face falls a little as she tries to rein in her emotions. “But I don’t know if I can do this, Anton.”

“Do what?”

“Live like this, always having to look over my shoulder. Wondering when she’s going to jump out at me next. It’s too much. For my body and for my sanity and… and for my heart, too.”

“She’s not going to be a problem for much longer,” I assure her.

She blinks up at me for a moment, trying to process what that means. She’s no fool, though. She knows this can only end one of two ways: either we die, or Marina does.

Her throat rides with a hard swallow. “What if you can’t find her?”

“I will. She’s making it easy, in any case. Her obsession with you means she can’t seem to stay away for too long.”

“Anton…”

“Yes?”

“She may want revenge, but I don’t think it’s for what you think it’s for.”

I frown. Unease seeps into my gut. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the miscarriage is not why she’s trying to get back to you.”

“That’s only one of the reasons,” I say. “She wants to get back at me for our entire farce of a marriage.”

Jessa tilts her head like she sees some hidden code in my face that I haven’t figured out yet. “You don’t see it, do you?”

I shake my head. “No, and I don’t care to. I stopped caring about Marina’s reasons a long time ago, Jessa, and I suggest you do the same. She’s not worth it. We just have to make sure our family is protected.”

Her eyes go wide as she gnaws nervously at her lower lip.

Our family. God, that feels so right on my tongue. Jessa is the family I never knew I needed. Never knew I wanted. And this baby is the second chance I’ve been avoiding since Marina’s death.

I’m not prepared to let either one slip through my fingers.

“Come on, let’s get you into some clean clothes so that you can rest.”

“You don’t have to. I can manage on my own.”

I ignore that and carry her off the bed.

“Anton,” she protests halfheartedly. “I can walk.”

Again, I ignore her. I take her into the bathroom and sit her down on the closed toilet seat. Then I start unbuttoning the front of her dress.

She’s wearing a nude colored lace bra that barely covers her nipples. Her breasts have gotten slightly bigger. It’s the only real evidence that she’s pregnant.

She stands shakily, and I push the dress down her hips. Her panties are nude and lacy to match, though the front is stained with blood.

When I reach for them, she backs away from my hands.

“Anton, you really don’t need to do this.”

“I want to.”

“You can send in one of the nurses,” she suggests. “Or I can do it myself.”

“Jessa, will you stop being childish? I’ve seen blood before.”

“This is different.”

“No, it’s not.”

I bend down and peel the panties off her. I don’t even flinch at the sight of the blood staining her smooth skin. When she’s naked, I fill the tub with water while she cleans herself with a wet cloth.

“Are you feeling any pain?”

“No,” she says softly.

“Discomfort?”

“No.”

She turns to me, everything on full display, nothing between us. She looks like a dream. Venus reincarnated, coming out of the ocean pure and perfect.

My cock wants her, despite her delicate situation. But it’s easier this time to suppress my baser urges. She needs my tenderness right now, not my strength.