Free The Russian's Pregnant Mistress by Elizabeth Lennox

straightened her shoulders. Her chin jutted out when she said, “I’m going to eat that now, but not because you told me too. Only because I’m really hungry. But you’re not going to watch me do it so just back away.”
    Damon took a step back, relieved that she was going to be reasonable about something at least. She took the braised chicken out of the microwave and sat down with the plate, eagerly taking a bite of the savory chicken and crisp green beans. He watched in fascination as she closed her eyes, enjoying the flavors, savoring them with each bite.
    “This is really good,” she said softly, reverently. “Do you want a bite?” All traces of anger were gone now that she was eating something. She was still mad at him, but that anger was temporarily displaced by her love of food. She’d get back to being mad at him as soon as she’d eaten this entire plate of food, she told herself silently.
    All Damon wanted to do was pull her into his arms and taste her, ignoring the food. She looked so sensuous eating like that and it was making his body react. Hell, everything about this woman made his body harden. Even watching her sleep affected him!
    “No. I’m good, thanks.” His voice was gruff and he was relieved when the doorbell rang.
    He went to answer it, telling her it was probably one of his guards. He returned a moment later with a package from the pharmacy containing two pregnancy tests. He then stood by the table with his arms crossed over his chest, watching to see what she was going to do next.
    Gabby looked at the pregnancy test kit boxes, her appetite suddenly disappearing. The bite of chicken in her mouth turned to sawdust and she had to focus on swallowing so that she didn’t gag on the meal.
    “There it is,” she said softly. She didn’t get up, didn’t look at him, didn’t even move. She just stared at the boxes as if they were snakes about to attack her.
    After waiting for several moments, he grew impatient. “We won’t have the information any sooner unless you take the test, Gabriella.”
    She took a deep breath and nodded her head. “You’re right.” She still sat there for another moment, trying to gather her courage.
    “Gabriella?” Damon prompted, impatient to get the results. He had no idea what was going through her pretty head but he was starting to wonder if she was worried about the results. Could she genuinely not know that she was pregnant? Had he been the only one to put the pieces together?
    Gabby snapped her head around to look at him, her eyes wary. “I’m….”
    “The results won’t change by anxiety,” he replied although the words were more gentle than he’d intended.
    Gabby took a deep breath and nodded her head. “You’re right,” she finally said. She stood up, picked up one of the boxes and headed for the bathroom. She was halfway across the room when she stopped, turned around and grabbed the second box. “Just to confirm any results,” she said in almost a whisper.
    Damon wanted to laugh at how cute she looked as she trudged to the bathroom, her shoulders back as if she were about to face the enemy and needed to brace herself. But there was little about this whole situation that was amusing and his stomach was tied in knots as he waited for the results. He realized that he wanted Gabriella to be pregnant more than anything he’d ever wanted in his life. He didn’t examine that too deeply, but accepted that feeling and tried to limit his expressions.
    He hated this vulnerability. Ever since he’d turned sixteen and had started to earn money, he’d been in control of his world. Nika was the only exception and when she’d aborted their baby before he even knew that the child existed, he’d been devastated. Now, standing in her tiny family room as he waited for her to come back with the results, he felt out of control, as if his life were hanging by a thread and the only thing that could snap it and create devastation was the small test that